EMP Rocket

### Pros

Very good harassment tool in the early game. Disrupts opponent's economy. An effective attack gives a lead over the opponent in the arms race. Can stun-lock the opponent with repeated hits.

### Cons

Easily intercepted by anti-air. Launcher easily destroyed by snipers and heavy weapons. Can be countered by sacrificial bracing. Low direct damage.

### Special

Disables weapons and devices in the explosion radius. Will ignite opponent's background bracing when flying through it.

The EMP Rocket launcher is an early-game weapon that deploys rockets which will disrupt opponent's devices and weapons on impact. It is unlocked by the Armoury, and is part of the free Tons of Guns DLC.

## Overview

The EMP Rocket launcher deploys a single slow-moving rocket that will slightly snake along a mostly straight trajectory. While the raw damage dealt is negligible, its primary payload is the EMP explosion, which will disable all devices and weapons in its wake for 10 seconds, including the Reactor.

While disabled, most objects affected will cease to provide whatever function they had.

* Devices and Weapons currently being built will stop construction.
* Devices and Weapons currently being upgraded will stop the upgrade process.
* Damaged Devices and Weapons cannot be repaired.
* Weapons cannot be fired and will pause reloading.
* Reactors, Turbines, Smoke Stacks, Mines, and Propellers will stop producing resources.
* When a technology building is disabled, its weapons cannot be constructed for the duration.
* Doors cannot be opened, closed, or repaired.
* Energy shields are deactivated and become pass-through.
* Portals are deactivated. EMP rockets directly connecting with the portal will not be teleported, and will instead explode and destroy the portal in one hit (friendly portals still allow the EMP rockets of the owner to fly through).
* High Seas Ammo becomes unusable while disabled.
* Repair Stations cease to function.

Metal Stores and Batteries can be disabled, but it has no effect beyond pausing their repairs. They still provide the resource cap increase.

The weapon also affects guided missiles — Swarm Missiles and Warheads. When caught in the EMP blast, the missiles will stop flying towards their original target and will instead either scatter and lose targeting or circle in place. A passive ability of the Seep commander will instead cause the EMP explosion to send the guided missiles flying back to the fort which originally launched them.

Upon destruction, the EMP Rocket launcher will release a shocking pulse which disables all friendly Devices and Weapons around it.

An EMP Rocket can be upgraded into a Rocket once an Upgrade Center is built.

## Strategies

The EMP Rocket is mainly an early-game harassment weapon, meant to be used in the opening phases of the match to disrupt and delay the opponent. A single hit from the EMP will delay the opponent's weapons rollout, and repeated hits may cause a heavy weapons rush to effectively come to a grinding halt. This is aggravated if the EMP explosions happen to affect the resource production devices - especially the reactor - as it will take a significant toll on opponent's economy. Done well, this will lead to the opponent falling behind in the arms race, or will at least force them to invest in adequate defenses. At the extreme, the EMP is capable of completely stun-locking the opponent, especially when used en masse.

Outside of the early game, an EMP Rocket can be used an an effective support weapon for heavy-hitters such as Warheads or Howitzers. In some cases, the opponent might only have one Shotgun as a dedicated manual Anti-Air emplacement; with the use of an EMP Rocket, defenses can be disabled for a clean hit to land. It can also be used similarly to an Incendiary Mortar to bait enemy Flaks or Machine Gunners to fire.

An EMP Rocket can also be used as a dedicated Energy Shield or Portal cracker. Especially useful against the latter, as it is one of the few rare weapons which are not being teleported by the opposing fort's portals, and will instead explode and disable it with its AOE, or destroy it on direct impact.

The EMP Rocket is usually deployed with support of weapons countering anti-air — such as a Sniper, Shotgun, or Smoke Bomb. With skillful application, the EMP attack can also be shielded by a well placed Firebeam shot, as the beam will absorb all anti-air fire. Usage of EMP launchers as the main means of offense late in the game is generally ill-advised, however, since heavy weapons are likely on the field.

## Counters

Because the EMP Rocket flies slow and takes a single hit to destroy, it can be easily intercepted by anti-air — even by a single Machine Gunner (if not very reliably). This makes it mandatory to provide a heavy support of weapons dedicated to crack the opponent's anti-air (like a Shotgun, for example). It makes the weapon very APM-heavy to use. The weapon is generally useless in scenarios where the opponent already has a well-established anti-air.

At 130 HP, the weapon is very brittle, and can be destroyed by a single Sniper hit, or a well placed Shotgun salvo. Firebeams will make short work of EMP launchers, even protected by doors. Explosions from destroyed EMP launchers will disrupt the owner's devices, further disincentivizing their prolonged use into the game.

Miniguns also possess a rather significant damage multiplier against the launcher.

Since they deal negligible damage to the structure, EMPs can be easily defended against by sacrificial bracing. Simply extending large braces into the front to put a distance between the explosion and vulnerable devices is enough to render an EMP attack useless.

Another less obvious issue is that the EMP Rocket, as well as other weapons from the Armoury, are large in size. The sheer vertical size, not unlike that of Cannons, necessitates building dedicated large slots for the EMP launchers and its supporting Shotguns and/or Smoke Bomb launchers, and complicates fielding the weapon in the early stages of the game - a time where EMP strikes are the most devastating. Such slots also make it obvious where the weapon may be placed, in consequence making it that much more vulnerable to door sniping.