Energy Sphere

An energy sphere that will instantly turn the enemy into a zombie on impact.

Nickname "**Energy Sphere**" (ES) is a gooey, floating blue sphere that constantly glows.

ES is a suicide attacker with the ability to detect and charge directly towards the closest unit, turning said unit into an Offal while destroying itself in the process. The level of the Offal will match the killed unit's level, making it more dangerous the further up a unit was upgraded. Before ES charges into a unit, it will slowly move toward their position. This is most visible when the target is not on the same linear path as it will slowly break away from said path. This is a subtle indication that an ES has locked-on to a target before it rapidly accelerates and charges into them for the kill. An ES can only target one unit at a time, so there's no fear of a single one being able to "splash" onto multiple targets and likewise creating multiple Offals. It is also unable to target stationary units, such as Generator and Empty Barrel, and will only deal a single trivial amount of damage to the bus without any additional effects. It cannot target units just behind the front of the bus.

ES is one of the most dangerous enemies throughout the entire endgame as it's able to ruin any kind of progress simply by targeting important frontline units. As it instantly targets any human unit that comes close to it, it's essentially impossible for melee units to fight against. Ranged units are the only sure way of killing it. Units with the high rate of fire perk are recommended the most but shotgunners can also work as well. Explosions from Red Barrel can heavily damage ES, although being a fire-immune enemy means it will not receive any afterburn damage. However, it does make it an easier target for ranged units or an Empty Barrel to follow-up on.

One particularly problematic way ES can break down a defense or halt an offense is by grouping together and chaining targets. Should two or more ESs group up, what could happen is each ES targeting the same unit, but after the first ES kills the target, the next closest target gets taken out by the second ES, and so on and so forth. Since ES rapidly speeds up in the presence of a unit, it can make it impossible for a unit to fight back effectively once a group of ES closes the gap. It is important to target groups of ESs ahead of time. When dealing with more than one Egg, there could be times where it is difficult to not trigger all of them at once, leading to a ES chain that quickly takes out multiple units.

If ES manages to get close enough to ranged units, it's advised to send out a fast, cheap melee unit as a sacrifice since ranged units generally take much longer to prepare and are usually very important to have enough of in later stages. Mechanic may sometimes be able to strike ES first with his charge attack if he runs into it at the right moment or angle, but using him for that purpose is a gamble that shouldn't ever be relied on. Using a Turret is extremely effective since ES is fairly slow and unable to attack non-human entities, making it likely to absorb significant amounts of damage and disintegrate before it ever reaches a target. Nitrogen can serve fairly effectively against ES due to the freeze stun actually being able to prevent it from locking onto units. Thanks to its lengthy slowdown effect, it can give most melee units time to approach and kill it themselves. However, the risk associated with its freeze activation and its own lengthy cooldown makes it a less than ideal choice in most cases.

Since ES technically transforms units upon contact, it is one of the very few things in the game with the unique ability to bypass certain perks, special abilities, team powers, and item set bonuses meant to protect against damage. It is also the only enemy that serves as the exception for units who would normally be protected against zombification on death.

* As stated, units that normally do not turn on death such as Grenadier, Specops, and Rogue will turn regardless upon contact. This subsequently extends to units affected by the 2/2 College team power and Paramedic Nancy's special ability, which provide the same effect.
* Shield points (SP) get completely ignored. The perks/special abilities possessed by Willy, Soldier, and Juggernaut, the 3/3 Police team power, and the Scout set effect are useless against ES.
* The 2/2 Military team power and the Lucky Guy set effect which both serve to protect the user against normally lethal damage cannot be triggered by an ES.
* Glenn's self-revive perk gets completely negated if he's killed by an ES.

It is important to keep proper team composition in mind as ES can counter or ignore certain team effects and disrupt certain unit functions, leading to a waste of courage and a failed mission. Having proper counters against ES and changing out some item sets for certain units could make their presence less frustrating to fight against.

ES can spawn from Egg when it is damaged. In missions where Eggs are fought, ES will be a constant threat even when the mission itself does not normally send them out in the battlefield.

### Abilities

* Upon reaching a target, speeds up and charges, destroying itself on contact.
	+ Guaranteed to turn any human unit it kills into Offal. Its level always matches the unit's level.
	+ Does a small amount of damage to the bus.
	+ Cannot target stationary support items.
* Fire resistance.

### First Encountered

* Stage 7, Mission 125.
* Spawned by Egg.

## Stats in Missions

 126
 128
 131
 132
 ...
 142

## Trivia

* Despite its ability to instantly destroy human units, Energy Sphere still displays a damage number when attacking.
* Energy Sphere, like most other common enemies, reuses the same hurt animations, which would then explain why it produces blood splats when hit, but still disintegrates into a puddle of plasma when destroyed.