Section 16:
Race
Information
The Melee game has 7 unique races
to choose from. Here is some
information about the 7 races.
Humans – The Humans are the
everymen. Humans have good relations
with the other races.
Krioni – Krioni are fierce war
lovers. The Krioni race has the ability of seeing through cloaking devices, as
every Krioni ship is equipped with sensors.
Despite their preference to war, Krioni tend to get along well with
police forces, but criminals hate them. Krioni specialize in explosive weapons
and have a very powerful arsenal.
Neothans – The Neothans are the
sneaky race. Neothans love to be
unseen. The Neothans have a reputation
for being criminals, and they get along well with other less than legal
traders. Neothan players have special
standing with fellow criminals, and they are rarely robbed. Neothans specialize in burn-damage weapons,
but suffer when it comes to EM.
Artes
– Artes are the best traders of the universe.
Artes do better when they sell goods, and they can get some special
deals on equipment from other members of their race. Artes have a specialty for frag weapons, but they are poor with
burning weapons.
Yodi’ki
– Yodi’ki love to find a home and stay put.
Yodi’ki upgrades often have to do with minelaying and other stationary
means. Yodi’ki specialize in EM
weapons.
Hyperions
– The Hyperions are a mysterious race.
It doesn’t seem like anything they have or do is conventional. Hyperions have a variety of costly but
useful upgrades. Hyperions specialize
in the strange sonic field of weapons, although they are poor with explosives.
Draconians
– The Draconians specialize in speed.
They love high-maneuverability ships, and are better at getting around
than other races. Draconians also love
fiddling with scanning equipment, and they often know more about you than you know
about them.
House Items
Unlike the Original game, the Houses in Melee are not owned by the races. Rather, they are owned by “traders,” commercial giants with a lot more clout than you. They are all in it for the money, but most also have a partiallity towards certain races. Consult the Houses Sell list to see what houses sell a certain item. The houses buy lists are often much shorter, but they list useful locations you may be able to sell your upgrade in order to use the slot for something better.
Upgrade: Sonar Sensors
Cost: 5000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Lord Bylor, Smith, Klamov, Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: Klamov
Description: Ah, the Sonar Sensors are back and better than ever. Well, not really. In Melee, there is a counter to sonar sensors, and a counter to that, and so on. Krioni players have no need for Sonar Sensors, their ships already have them installed. Sonar Sensors are readily available from almost all traders, but some will give a better bargain.
Upgrade: Particle Accelerator
Cost: 16000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Lord Bylor, Smith
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Who knows what a Particle Accelerator is really for. You can accelerate almost anything with it. This isn’t your backyard accelerator that can throw atoms at your friends, no, this sucker can throw some pretty big things really really fast. Try it with combinations of items and maybe you’ll find something cool. Be careful about overusing a particle accelerator. Lots of things do not enjoy being accelerated, and the results of accelerating things are not always positive.
Upgrade: Sonar Scrambler
Cost: 7500000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Klamov, Ashri
Houses Buy: Klamov
Description: The Sonar Scrambler is a tricky upgrade. If you have a Sonar Scrambler, enemy Sonar Sensors become useless. WARNING: If your ship doesn’t cloak, this is useless to purchase.
Upgrade: Sonar Descrambler
Cost: 7500000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Klamov, Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: Klamov
Description: Counters counters and more counters. The Sonar Descrambler counters the effects of a Sonar Scrambler. WARNING: If you don’t have Sonar Sensors, this is useless to purchase. The Sonar Descrambler is great to find those sneaky fellows who think it’s fun to hide behind a Scrambler.
Upgrade: Sonar Rescrambler
Cost: 12000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Klamov, Ashri
Houses Buy: Klamov
Description: Seems like it’s getting a bit out of control. The Sonar Rescrambler counters the effects of a Sonar Descrambler. WARNING: If your ship doesn’t have cloak AND a Sonar Scrambler, this is useless to purchase. With a Sonar Rescrambler, only those who have Sonar Derescramblers can see your ship.
Upgrade: Sonar Derescrambler
Cost: 10000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Klamov, Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: Klamov
Description: This one makes you wonder if the guy who made all these was on drugs. The Sonar Derescrambler counters the effects of a Sonar Rescrambler. WARNING: If your ship doesn’t have sonar sensors AND a Sonar Descrambler, this is useless to purchase. This completes the seeker’s set. If you have a Sonar Sensors, Sonar Descrambler, and a Sonar Derescrambler, you will be able to see every cloaked ship, no matter what.
Upgrade: Fuel
Cost: 1700, 1 cargo hold
Houses Sell: N/A
Houses Buy: Klamov, Ashri, Caz, Evil Merchant Man
Description: Everybody needs fuel. Except you. If your ship is configured properly, you can steal Fuel from enemy ships and then sell it for a nice cash bonus, as well as some extra exp. There is really no reason to buy fuel, as your ship somehow doesn’t seem to use any, but you might be able to find a place where you can buy it and then sell it somewhere else for more money.
Upgrade: Valuables
Cost: 1500, 1 cargo hold
Houses Sell: Evil Merchant Man
Houses Buy: Klamov, Ashri, Evil Merchant Man
Description: Oh, so pretty… Only problem is you don’t really need them. Valuables are similar to Fuel. You can sell them for cash and exp, or buy them to try to sell them elsewhere for a profit. The majority of your valuables are stolen from enemy ships, though.
Upgrade: Prisoners
Cost: 3000, 1 cargo hold
Houses Sell: N/A
Houses Buy: Evil Merchant Man
Description: Prisoners are captured from enemy ships. You can then be a nice guy and sell them to a holding facility that will hang on to them to pass them on a ship back to their homeland, or you can be evil and sell them somewhere you know they won’t be treated well. It’s up to you, do you do the good thing, or do you try to get the extra profit? I know you’ll make the right choice.
Upgrade: Caz Laser
Cost: 3000000, 1 turret
Houses Sell: Caz, Evil Merchant Man
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The Caz Laser does 150 burn damage, making it the most powerful weapon in the universe without protective upgrades. Careful where you buy this, only Caz himself offers competitive pricing. Artes players cannot buy the Caz Laser.
Upgrade: Caz Missile
Cost: 1000000, 1 turret
Houses Sell: Caz
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The Caz Missile does 100 projectile damage, 45 explosive damage, and 45 concussion damage. Caz Missiles are not available to Hyperions.
Upgrade: Caz Wave
Cost: 2500000, 1 turret
Houses Sell: Caz
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The Caz Wave does 100 sonic damage and 100 EM damage. Not available to Krionis or Neothans.
Upgrade: Yodi’ki Deflector
Cost: 5500000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Ashri
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The Yodi’ki Deflector provides excellent protection verses EM weapons. It blocks 40% of enemy EM damage. Only available to Yodi’ki players.
Upgrade: Draco Shielding
Cost: 7000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Ashri
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Draco Shielding offers a new dimension of shielding that is resistant to burn damage. A ship with Draco Shielding will take 50% shield damage from burn weapons. With two Draco Shielding upgrades, your ship’s shields will block all shield damage from burn weapons. This does not affect the armor damage done by the burn weapons. This is only available to Draconian players.
Upgrade: Piercer
Cost: 15000000, 10 turrets
Houses Sell: Smith, Caz
Houses Buy: Smith, Caz
Description: The Piercer is a tremendous version of the Driver. It is a massive structure that accelerates matter to extreme speeds causing extreme damage to armor. The Piercer does 2500 projectile damage, but takes up 10 turrets. Only Humans and Yodi’ki have access to the Piercer.
Upgrade: Cloak
Cost: 18000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Evil Merchant Man, Thieves
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Cloak adds cloak to any Neothan ship.
Upgrade: Will of Peace
Cost: 8000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: An upgrade that shows how stoic a belief of peace can be. Lowers damage from all types of weapons by 5%. This upgrade is only available to Artes and Human.
Upgrade: Peaceful Aura
Cost: 6000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The ship is augmented by the pilot’s peaceful aura, and gains 5 maneuverability. However, in combat the ship deals 20% less damage. This does not affect turret busting. Artes and Human only. Only one such upgrade is effective.
Upgrade: Inescapable Justice
Cost: 4000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Another upgrade from Peace and Justice that enhances the ships target locking. Causes enemy ships to have a -2 penalty to maneuver when being attacked. This upgrade is only useful when you are attacking, not when you are being attacked. Krioni and Human. Only one upgrade is effective.
Upgrade: Justified Ends
Cost: 3000000, 1 upgrade
Houses Sell: Peace and Justice
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: The Pilot views any maneuver as justifiable when defending. Enemy ships have an additional -5 to maneuver when attacking this ship. This upgrade is only useful when you are defending, not when you are attacking. Yodi'ki and Hyperion. Only one upgrade is effective.
Upgrade: Drain Energy
Cost: 25000000
Houses Sell: Thieves
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: This modification allows the ship to recharge its shields with the shields it saps from others. Ships with this upgrade will retrieve 10% of the enemy shields destroyed by burning or EM damage. This upgrade is for Yodi'ki, Humans, and Neothans. Having more than one of these has no additional effect.
Upgrade: Traitor Maker
Cost: 30000000
Houses Sell: Thieves
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: With this upgrade, 50% of enemy drones that your drones destroy will be converted to your side. Neothans only. Having more than one of these has no additional effect.
Upgrade: Armor Harvesting
Cost: 40000000
Houses Sell: Thieves
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Allows your ship to boost your armor from the enemy’s armor. 75% of the armor your drones destroy will become yours. Neothans only. Having more than one of these has no additional effect. Armor destroyed by your weapons is not harvested.
Upgrade: Enhanced Drone Armor
Cost: 35000000
Houses Sell: Thieves
Houses Buy: N/A
Description: Reduces damage done to your drones from enemy weapons to 75%. Neothans, Hyperions, and Artes. Having more than one of these has no additional effect. Damage from enemy drones is not reduced.