Varkem Soldier (Enemy)

Enemy **Varkem Soldiers** spawn during Utgy's boss fight and throughout the rest of Chapter 4.

## Appearance

Enemy Varkem Soldiers wear a mask on their face unlike Varkem Soldiers in the Compound.

## Behaviour

Varkem Soldiers are far more dynamic than drones - instead of being assorted into different types like drones are, upon spawning each soldier is randomly assigned weapons and utilities, giving them different abilities and attack patterns, and the combination of what they are given can drastically change how the player deals with them.

If a Varkem Soldier has both a melee and ranged weapon, they will hold their melee weapon only if a player is within 8 blocks. Otherwise, they will wield their ranged weapon. They switch between the two accordingly.

**Melee weapons**

* The Varkem Energy Blade is basically the base melee weapon. Average damage, and does not change the soldier’s movement speed.
* The Varkem Greatsword causes the soldier to move slower, but they deal more damage.
* The Varkem Switchblade causes the soldier to move faster, but deal less damage.
* The Shockwave Gauntlet gives the soldier the ability to jump up and slam the ground upon landing. This inflicts a lot of damage, decreases your attack speed for 10 seconds and from the Celestial Defence section onwards it will also inflict the weakness effect. If you block a direct attack from a soldier wielding a Shockwave Gauntlet, it will disable your energy shield for 5 seconds.
* The Extreme Beam gives the soldier the ability to shoot a green laser beam in a similar manner to Experimental Drone L-453, though they have slightly longer range. This weapon also causes them to move much slower.

Varkem Soldiers that wield a Shockwave Gauntlet or Extreme Beam never have a ranged weapon.

**Ranged Weapons**

* The Plasma Rapid Blaster is a basic ranged weapon. They don’t shoot it as fast as the player normally does, don't worry.
* The Varkem Commando Phaser, when fired, turns into a green phaser bolt similar to the ones fired by Phaser Turrets, which cannot be blocked by energy shields and deals a flat 3 hearts of damage. Soldiers holding this weapon also have their movement speed reduced by 85%.
* The Fusion Energy Launcher is fired infrequently, but its shots explode upon hitting the player or a wall, dealing heavy damage. Varkem Soldiers that wield this weapon never have a melee weapon.
* The Lightning Bolt is a thrown trident-like weapon that deals high damage.

Utilities each have a chance of being randomly given to a Varkem Soldier, which give them special abilities that they may choose to use. Many of these abilities can only be used once by a Varkem Soldier.

**Utilities**

* The Energy Shield allows them to block with it, which they may do so while holding their melee weapon. This causes them to be invulnerable to all damage for 3 seconds, but they move slower and do less damage. A visual indicator that a Varkem Soldier has this ability is the Energy Shield in their offhand.
* Fusion Grenades allow them to throw two grenades at the player, which will curve through the air and explode upon impact with the player or a block. They have a short cooldown between the first and second grenade, but the first grenade will alert you that a specific soldier can throw a second.
* Black Hole Grenade allow them to throw it similar to a Fusion Grenade, which creates a black hole upon impact with the player or a block. Unlike player grenades these take a few seconds to form, but upon forming the player can be sucked in and take heaps of damage which can lead to death.
	+ Enemy Black Holes can be compressed and removed by throwing a Celron Force Field at it.
* The Force Field allows them to place it down, which they will do so if a player gets within 16 blocks.
* The Antimatter Orb allows them to place it down, which they will do if a player gets close to them. It will assist the Varkem Soldiers in battle, constantly damaging you in an area around it, and healing nearby Varkem Soldiers upon damaging players. Enemy Antimatter Orbs can be destroyed.
* The Healing Syringe allows them to heal themselves by 50 health. They will switch to it in their main hand upon dropping below 30 health, and after a few seconds they will be healed, as indicated by the green + particles.
* Rocket-Jumping allows them to sometimes rocket-jump, which will cause them to levitate sharply into the air before slow-falling back down. Every Varkem Soldier is assigned this utility except for those with Jet-Wings.
* Jet-Wings will cause a Varkem Soldier to levitate into mid-air, where they can move around in mid-air and shoot the player from above. They are given 100% Knockback Resistance when they have Jet-Wings. Only Varkem Soldiers that solely wield a Plasma Rapid Blaster or Varkem Commando Phaser (with no melee weapon) can be assigned Jet-Wings.

## Notes

* None of the utilities are mutually exclusive except for Rocket-Jumping and Jet-Wings.
* Fusion Grenades and Black Hole Grenades are not assigned to any Varkem Soldier until the Celestial Defence section onwards (with the exception of some Varkem Elite Soldiers).
* Varkem Soldiers cannot use multiple utilities at once - they will use one after the other if they can. For example, if a Varkem Soldier has both Fusion and Black Hole Grenades, they will throw the Black Hole Grenade first, followed by a short cooldown before the first Fusion Grenade, then another short cooldown and the second Fusion Grenade.

## Strategy

* It is possible to escape enemy black holes if you are on the outer edges by holding down “S” (or whatever you assigned your move backwards key to) to move backwards. You can also throw a force field on an enemy-placed black hole to destroy it.
* Most of the utilities are held in a Varkem Soldier’s hand for a couple of seconds before it is used, giving you a warning.
* If you see a Varkem Soldier holding a healing syringe, you know that they have lower than 30 health, meaning you can try to focus your attacks on them so that they don’t heal. A single hit from a Magnetic Repulsor will defeat them.
* If you get a Lightning Bolt, it can be used at a distance to attack Varkem Soldiers inside or behind Force Fields.
* Varkem Soldiers with Jet-Wings can be prone to flying directly above you and shooting you from there. If you keep taking random damage and aren’t sure where it’s coming from, look up!