Reticule Research HIVE Missile Launcher

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 The HIVE launcher fires a swarm of bio-guided homing missiles. Each missile’s targeting computer is actually a live hornet hooked up via a synaptic link. I feel bad for the guy who has to connect those suckers up - hands like raspberries… Anyway, that makes this weapon unsuitable for use by vegans.

The **Reticule Research HIVE Missile Launcher** is a grade 2 Weapon block manufactured by Reticule Research. Like all Reticule Research blocks, it can be crafted with a Reticule Research Fabricator.

It has 4 attachment point(s) and takes up 32 cell(s).

## Usage

This weapon is one of the most powerful homing weapons that one can ever obtain with its high projectile velocity, accuracy, and most of all, fire rate - all at no cost to damage. Unlike most explosive weapons, the HIVE Missile Launcher is not counted as a volatile block, it is less vulnerable to damage, on top of being already capable of absorbing some intense punishment.

One major downside is its cell count, which is rather high for a homing weapon. As such, it is better off used to snipe enemies at range, which it does decently. Another issue is its long heat-up time - When activated, the weapon will begin to unfold its entire apparatus for several seconds and load the missiles before it can fire. Likewise, when firing ceases, the weapon will also take some time to contract. This makes burst-firing impossible and forces the user to maintain sustained fire. Regardless, this block still suffices as a powerful ranged engagement weapon even with its trade-offs.

## Trivia

* The description implies that the HIVE Missile Launcher's homing is powered by Hornets (instead of a machine or a piece of program) and must be manually installed into the launcher's magazine. It is also one of the few instances where living creatures are referenced in TerraTech, suggesting that they do exist in-game but are never seen.
	+ However, the magazine never depletes when firing.
	+ For some reason, it uses a Seed AI for crafting, despite the fact that it was guided by insects.
	+ In real-life, beekeepers often use specialized equipment such as reinforced suits and masks to neutralize hornet stings, which are relatively easy to produce, considering the vast advancements in technology within the setting of the game. This implies that either RR is unconcerned with human rights of their employees or it simply cannot be done with the equipment on.
		- Ironically, the weapon doesn't actually need to have its ammunition manually configured when fabricated, suggesting that the manual labor of tweaking this weapon has been since rendered obsolete.

* It has one of the longest animations of any weapon in the entire game.
* It is also the explosive weapon with the highest rate of fire and the homing weapon with the best projectile velocity.
* Although the ammo compartment is open and grated by its rims only, the bees never escape the container.
* If the rockets do not target anything and fly straight, after around a second of flight the missile's trajectory will become highly erratic. It is the only weapon with such behavior in-game.