Periodical Cicada

Mature Pharaoh Cicada variant (left) with its shed exoskeleton (right)

**Periodical Cicadas** are true bugs and variants of the base Cicada build. They are exclusive to the North American server and known for their mass emergence, to the delight of carnivore players and dismay of anyone in chat. They are also notable for creating the Prime Time Ability.

## Overview

The Periodical Cicada is a pure survivalist build; almost as pure as one can get, given the build's lack of offense, stealth or problem-solving capabilities. Although their below-average base stats (even for this kind of insect build) can let them down, P. Cicada players use safety and numbers and signature Ability to outlive and outbreed their many predators.

The build inherits many traits from the true bugs. While their exoskeleton isn't the hardest among insects, it's enough to shrug off wayward attacks. They're also resistant to running out of stamina, thanks to their large wings saving energy in flight and their energy-rich food sources.

When they emerge, P. Cicadas tend to latch onto trees and swarm the chat for mates. So obnoxious and persistent are they that whatever players survive will almost certainly complete the main quest.

P. Cicada is a popular build for beginners for its simple win condition and little dependence on high-level play to survive. However, their tendency to get eaten by just about any carnivore makes them one of the most inconsistent builds to finish the main questline and an unexciting choice for experienced players.

## Skills and Abilities

### Prime Time

Nymphs can stay underground for 13 or 17 years, depending on the player's party. Discovered by and exclusive to this build.

### Hyper Voice

User has an exceptionally loud voice. Among the insects, P. Cicada is the second loudest (the first being the African Cicada build). Stealth penalty.

### Flight

User can propel itself into the air and maintain altitude.

### Rostrum

Pierces though wood. Can siphon sap, water and other nutrients from plants. Although many true bugs use the rostrum offensively, cicadas do not.

### Dig

Can live underground. Exclusive to nymphs.

## Tier Placement

P. Cicada is considered a C-tier build, an average survivalist compared to other builds in their server.

Compared to D-tier survivalist insects, namely the strategically-similar Lepidopteran builds, P. Cicada boasts several advantages. Hiding underground gives their nymphs massive stealth bonuses until they mature, while Prime Time allows them to evade predators in an unusual way: since mature predator populations often peak and valley in three-year intervals, P. Cicada builds employ lifespans with prime numbers so they almost never emerge during peak predation.

Yet, the P. Cicada build is riddled with too many flaws to go higher than C-tier. Despite using flight as part of its gameplan, the P. Cicada build is ponderous and clumsy in motion. Because the mature build's strategy hinges on overwhelming their predators and have no other solid defenses, completing the main quest can often be out of the player's hands. It also suffers from Human builds cutting down their forests and spraying their trees with deadly pesticides. P. Cicada's place on the tiering rung is expected to fall if this continues.

### Pros

* Prime Time exploits mature population cycles.
* So many cicadas emerge at a time that it's hard for their predators to dent their numbers.
* Rarely deficient in stamina.
* Nymphs grow underground instead of on the surface.
* Decent Defense rating.

### Cons

* One of the worst Stealth ratings of any build.
* Generally below-average base stats for its size.
* Lack of weaponry and poor approach options give it no PvP potential.
* Little survival instinct due to its abysmal Intelligence rating.
* One of the worst fliers among the insects.
* Vulnerable to several forms of human activity.