Slickster

This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-587362***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.
This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-587362***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.

## Slickster

Slicksters are slimy critters that consume Carbon Dioxide and exude Crude Oil.

### Reproduction Rate

wild: 60 cycles
groomed: 6 cycles

### Incubation Time

base: 20 cycles
lullabied: 4 cycles

**Slickster** is a critter found in Oil Biome. They consume large quantities of Carbon Dioxide and turn it to Crude Oil. The longhair variant consumes Oxygen and produce nothing but +50 decor in 7 tile radius.

## Molten Slickster

Molten Slicksters are slimy critters that consume Carbon Dioxide and exude Petroleum.

### Reproduction Rate

wild: 60 cycles
groomed: 6 cycles

### Incubation Time

base: 20 cycles
lullabied: 4 cycles

## Longhair Slickster

Longhair Slicksters are friendly critters that consume Oxygen and thrive in close contact with Duplicant companions. Longhairs have extremely beautiful and luxurious coats.

### Reproduction Rate

wild: 90 cycles
groomed: 9 cycles

### Incubation Time

base: 30 cycles
lullabied: 6 cycles

## Behavior

### Diet

Slicksters consume 20 kg/cycle (33 g/s) of Carbon Dioxide and output 50% of consumed mass as Crude Oil / Petroleum at their body temperature, it's almost heat-neutral, with some mass creation in the petroleum case.

### Space Requirements

Slicksters of all types require 12 open squares per slickster to avoid feeling overcrowded.

### Temperature Preference

Due to their high mass (400 kg) and near-vacuum environment they tend to live in, it may seem like Slicksters are not affected by temperature, but this isn't the case - they can freeze or overheat to death just like other critters. Unlike other critters, Slicksters prefer much hotter environments and are more endangered by cold than scalding heat.

### Movement

Slicksters move by hovering, They move over solid ground as a Hatch would, but treat tiles with sufficient quantity of liquid (> 1000 kg) as if they were solid. They can jump 1 and 2 tile up/down diagonally, and between 1 tile gap. They can wiggle and swim in water or polluted water mist above liquids, and in shallow liquid surface (<1000 kg) as long as it's not forming a tile. They fall and drown when the tile-forming liquid they just arrived at has pressure <1000 kg. When drowning, they will try to reach the surface and land on the nearest dense tile exposed to air. Since they have no learning memories, drowning once at a place won't teach them not going to the same spot next time. If there is an air-exposed tile in their reachable path, drowning is self-resolvable and not an issue to worry about.

Slicksters used to require a Critter Trap to catch them. As of the October 2023 update, they can be caught by wrangling.

## Variants

The Slickster has three variants, each with its own varied diet and temperature preferences.

### Slickster

 →  →

The Slickster is the purple variant and often found near the bottom of the map. Converts Carbon Dioxide into Crude Oil.

### Longhair Slickster

 →  →

A lower-temperature variant with a decor bonus. Can survive in temperatures of -5 ↔ 90 °C. Consumes Oxygen (30 kg/cycle, or 50 g/sec) and produces nothing. Acts as an expensive pet (there is a +50 Decor bonus from the Longhair Slickster).

A longhair slickster egg has an increased chance of laying when the slickster's body temperature is between 20 °C and 60 °C.

Can help curb oxygen overproduction with obligate 100% uptime SPOM (that is, one whose excess energy production is used to power other critical buildings, this dependency is not recommended and typically avoided). Two happy, tame longhair slicksters consume as much oxygen as one duplicant.

Useful for boosting decor before radiant bugs are bred or too expensive to feed, as care packages allow for longhair slicksters to be ranched much earlier on. (Shine bugs require around 40 cycles of constant breeding and attention to breed the abyss and radiant bug variant without specialized diets). However, all shine bug variants (with the exception of the base variant) provide more decor at a lower cost, making longhair slicksters really only useable for decor boosting in bedrooms when abyss bugs are not available, or when temperatures are inhospitable to shine bugs, such as in industrial zones. However, if playing on Spaced-Out, unlike shine bugs, slicksters do not emit radiation. This makes them viable for decor boosting, as prolonged exposure to just a handful of shine bugs will give dupes radiation poisoning.

Can also be ranched for meat if for some reason a colony runs out of food to feed hatches (and their variants) with and there is abundant oxygen production capacity from renewable water sources and SPOM. Though, their only advantage over say renewable drecko meat (balm lily, and produces meat at same rate) is ease of ranching (they don't climb on walls).

An interesting proposition, due to the advent of geo-tuning and industrial bleach stone production, is that water producing geysers produce significant amounts of power when fully geo-tuned (matching or even beating that of fully geo-tuned steam vents), but only if their (immense) output can be directed elsewhere. Since venting valuable resources, such as water, into space is ethically dubious, longhair slickster ranching can be used to convert this excess water production into meat while ensuring power production from geo-tuned geysers.

Largely serve as a disincentive to ranch slicksters in cold environments.

### Molten Slickster

 →  →

A higher-temperature variant. Can survive in temperatures of 75 ↔ 270 °C. Converts Carbon Dioxide into Petroleum.

A Molten slickster egg has an increased chance of laying when the slickster's body temperature is between 100 °C and 250°C.

* Either requirement makes Atmo Suits a necessity for rearing them.

## Ratios

* One max size Stable can contain up to 8 slicksters without mood debuffs.
* Each wild slickster can be fed by 4 duplicants.
* One Carbon Skimmer consumes roughly as much CO2 as 9 tame and happy slicksters or 36 wild ones.
* One constantly running Coal Generator can feed 0.6 tame and happy slicksters or 2.4 wild ones.
* One constantly running Wood Burner can feed up to 5.1 tame and happy slicksters or 20.4 wild ones.
* One constantly running Petroleum Generator:
	+ Produces enough CO2 for 15 slicksters
	+ Requires 120 tamed molten slicksters or 240 tamed regular slicksters to produce enough petroleum