Description[]
The Prototype Thumper allows you to regenerate harvestable ore deposits in its vicinity. Standing at 16 feet tall, the Thumper is a large and powerful item and provides a lucrative payoff for those seeking more ore for their endeavors. Does not regenerate stone deposits or Deep Ore Despoits. The Thumper requires an electrical connection providing a minimum of 1500 units of power to activate. It’s best deployed in an area where you have previously mined all the available ore and can be activated and paused at your leisure with no cooldown on it being used multiple times.
The more ore available, the bigger the impact on the surrounding environment, so expect more opposition when taking on lucrative deposits in densely populated areas.
The machine itself won’t damage players but will disrupt the environment with dust clouds and more that could impair your vision and hearing (the screen shake can be toggled). The Thumper cannot be placed in bodies of water or on building pieces due to the immense weight. Placing the Thumper on a building piece will result in the collapse of the building piece. Must be carried in the G-slot/mounts heavy item slot.
How it Works[]
Once placed, the map will show a circle demarking which areas will have depleted ore voxels replenished (Oxite, Sulfur, Silica, Coal, Iron, Copper, Gold, Aluminum, Platinum, and Titanium voxels). You will see on the tooltip of the device itself how many of those voxels will be restored, and how dangerous the resulting event will be. Once finished, all depleted/partially mined voxels will be restored and randomized. When active, the Prototype Thumper may attract hostile wildlife (wolves, snow leopards, etc) if they are nearby.
The Prototype Thumper will deactivate upon receiving a moderate amount of damage and can be paused via manual interaction. Progress does not reset when the Prototype Thumper is deactivated by any means, except when the server restarts/the host returns to character select or the Thumper is picked up. Pausing the Prototype Thumper can give prospectors a moment to dispatch the current opposition.
The quantity of opposition and number of Landsharks spawned is only determined by the difficulty, not the number of voxels to be respawned. The difficulty is defined by the pool of replenishable ore voxels within range. Since the Prototype Thumper respawns partially-mined voxels, hitting any unwanted ore once is sufficient for it to be registered and randomized by the Thumper; this will not increase the overall difficulty because nothing was mined.
The Prototype Thumper still spawns Caveworms and Teenage Caveworms even if there is no ore to replenish. When used abusedly, prospectors can obtain a lot of caveworm materials.
Preparation[]
Clear a wide area of trees and other obstructions, you will need to be mobile and have clear shots of the encroaching enemies. The following loadout and consumables are highly recommended, but if you want more of a challenge, of course, you can leave out some steps or use lower-end weapons: Antibiotic Pills, Health Enhancement Tonics, a Hunting Rifle, Workshop armor or armor of your choosing (Composite Armor works wonderfully), and a Titanium knife.
Encounter Details[]
Depending on the severity of the event (shown on the device before you begin) you will have a varying length encounter with a varying number of three enemies: Caveworms, Teenage Caveworms, and Landsharks. Handle Caveworms however you normally would, a shot or stab in the mouth will do. Teenage Caveworms can be stabbed during their opening roar or one-shot with a well-aimed crit directly in the mouth with a rifle, or peppered down during spits. Landsharks are new, giant red worms with a prominent set of fins. Similar to the Sandworm, they can be crit in the mouth during roars, spits, or lunges. Their spit puts a nasty debuff that lowers armor, increases stamina consumption, and stacks up to 5. If you have multiple stacks, you will want to avoid melee attacks until it falls off or use an Antibiotic Tonic or Antibiotic Pill to remove the debuff. The Landshark can also submerge and will begin doing a dive attack. Keep moving and watch for dirt moving to dodge this attack as the worm jumps out of the ground for a quick strike. This hits HARD, so focus on avoiding it, and heal up if you get low with some Health Enhancement Tonics. Once it emerges, continue to deal damage and watch for opportunities to crit in the open mouth.
Crafting[]
The Prototype Thumper is manufactured at the Fabricator with the following resources:
| Amount | Resource |
|---|---|
| 8 |  Titanium Ingot
|
| 6 |  Electronics
|
| 18 |  Steel Screw
|
| 12 |  Composites
|
| 8 |  Concrete Mix
|
| 14 |  Epoxy
|
Gallery[]
