Overgrowth

**Overgrowth** is an attack sector on Serpulo. It introduces the player to using higher-tier units, which are highly recommended for the strong defenses around the enemy core. Completing Overgrowth allows research of the Exponential Reconstructor, which is highly recommended to conquer extreme and eradication-level enemy bases.

Unlocking this sector requires completion of The Craters and Fungal Pass, as well as the Cultivator, Spore Press, Additive Reconstructor, Mace and Flare.

## Details

The bulk of this sector's defenses consist of Salvos and Scatters, with a small set of two Ripples in the occupied near the centre and a single Lancer and Parallax next to the Core. All resources are present, but Thorium is located very close or within enemy Turret range, meaning that a section of the base has to be cleared before it is accessible. Multiple Derelict ruins are scattered around the map, which can be reclaimed for cheap Blocks or destroyed for free Resources early on.

The enemy core is in the top-right corner at (267, 274) while the player core can spawn in four different locations: (87, 100), (75, 75), (162, 42) and (59, 167). Waves come from the core every 1 minute and 15 seconds, with 2 minutes and 30 seconds every wave. The enemy core has a no-build radius of 50 tiles.

The defenses around the enemy core.The defenses outside the enemy core.A group of Derelict structure and a bunch of Scrap near the center of the map.
## Strategy

Because this sector has a lot of entrances, it is important that you do not expand too far out for your base as it will make you have to defend a greater perimeter, which adds up over time in item costs. Air, ground and insectoid units will all appear together, meaning that you should plan out where they will attack and catch them before they deal too much damage. Thankfully, the only higher-tier enemy unit you will have to worry about is the guardian Arkyid, which should never be encountered if you strike fast enough. Deconstruct the derelict Vaults in the bottom-left corner for some free thorium - this is useful for some Fuse turrets that excel against ground units and the guardian should it appear. Lure the air units into a dedicated place and gun them down with Scatters, while Lancers can support your Fuses against ground attacks. It is also highly recommended to land with a core schematic containing turrets or a starting loadout containing all items possible, since bulky Atrax come quickly at the beginning.

If you do not have thorium in your loadout, building tier 2 units is the ideal way of progressing as the defenses easily shred tier 1's. A Core: Foundation or Core: Nucleus are also highly recommended for their increased unit count, which makes your attacks more overwhelming. Most defenses outside the core-zone can also be bombarded with the Ripple, although the process is slow. If you did pack thorium, you have access to tier 3 units straight away and can build a variety of units - the Fortress in particular outranges all the ground-targeting turrets here except for the Ripple. Zeniths are also effective for Blast Compound bombing.

## Trivia

* In Version 5.0, the fastest time for Overgrowth was in 44 seconds, by sneaking to the enemy core with the Dart and weaving in and out of Salvo fire while wearing down the core. This is no longer possible as the new core ships have virtually no building damage.
* Before Version 6.0, the boss for Overgrowth was the Eradicator, a boss unit that got reworked into the Reign.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1whF\_xrWFtacE69dFuqXlv\_RKTrxPq8GwWfj5FKqMet0/edit#gid=418886270
2. ↑ https://www.speedrun.com/mindustry/Overgrowth#First\_launch