Blob

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File:BlobOvermind.gif

Originally just a random event with notoriously bad AI, the Blob has been revamped extensively and carefully so that it had new abilities and improved AI so it actually posed a threat, and ultimately became a playable role and round type. The basis is simple: you are a blob that intends to have Space Station 13 as its next meal, and must expand over as much of it as you can, devouring and destroying everything in your path. But beware of the more robust members of the crew, as they will come at you with all the fire-based weaponry they can muster.

Getting Started

When you first begin, you'll be the incorporeal Blob Overmind pictured at the upper-right of this page, with two commands on your HUD: "Deploy" and "Change Color". The overmind is functionally a Ghost, able to go wherever it wants and see everything happening on the station - it can be moved with with your directional keys or by clicking the left mouse button in the tile you want to go to. But a Ghost can't eat anything, so your first order of business is to pick a starting point with the Deploy command for the physical blob on the station. Choose carefully; your spawn location of choice can easily make or break you! Remember that you cannot expand on space tiles, so picking secluded areas in the middle of nowhere will only end badly - make sure you at least have a path to the interior of the station!

Once you Deploy, you'll be an itty-bitty piece of blob no bigger than a single tile, but given time and effort it will grow and cover the tiles around it. You'll also have these important bits of info on your Status tab:

• Bio Points: The points needed to use your abilities, showing how many points you have as well as your current maximum
• Generation Rate: How fast you accumulate Bio Points
• Blob Size: How many tiles the blob has covered
• Evo Points: The points needed for special upgrades
• Next Evo Point at size: How big you need to be to gain a free Evo Point

The blob can grow and attack things on its own, or you can use the respective Spread and Attack commands to choose the direction. Your best bet when starting out is to completely consume the room you start in and work from there. As for what the blob can attack and spread on, the options are plentiful, as there is very little that can get in the way of a growing blob; most stationary objects that you can't spread through/under, including walls and their girders, will gradually melt away. Let nothing stop you from becoming the biggest blob you can be!

Blob Abilities

The blob comes with a handful of special techniques to make your life easier and the lives of the crew harder. These are used by consuming "Bio Points" which the blob naturally generates; the bigger the blob is, the more Bio Points it can hold at once. As for actually using the commands, simply click the necessary icon while hovering the Blob Overmind over your target.

Icon	Name	Bio Point Cost	Description
	Spread	2 Bio Points	Creates a new blob cell beside an existing blob cell. The blob usually does this automatically, but having control where you spread (albeit at a small fee) is indispensable.
	Attack	1 Bio Point	Attacks something that's adjacent to a blob cell. Again, the blob does this on its own, though it's random and you will appreciate having control over it during the inevitable showdown with the crew.
	Repair	1 Bio Point	Heals 20 HP to a damaged cell. Very important since not only do you not want your size reduced, but you can't convert blob cells that aren't at full health.
	Absorb	Free	Human or Monkey on top of one of your blob cells? Use this on him; if he can't get away in time, he'll be killed instantly and you'll gain an Evo Point for the trouble! Note that unlike most cases you can Spread the blob onto tiles occupied by other players.
	Build Lipid Cell	5 Bio Points	Increases your maximum Bio Points by 4 for each of these cells you have. If you don't have enough Bio Points to use a command, these cells can be consumed to make up the difference.
	Build Mitochondira Cell	5 Bio Points	Increases the recovery rate of nearby cells.
	Build Thick Membrane Cell	5 Bio Points	Basically the blob's walls, these have much more HP than regular blob cells. Perfect for blocking off blind spots you don't want people getting into.
	Build Ribosome Cell	5 Bio Points	Each one of these you have globally decreases your Spread cooldown, neat! Also increases the Spread and Attack rates of cells near it.

Upgrades

Alas, for all the neat cells the blob has, it's still very easy to kill with a healthy dose of fire. And that's where these upgrades come in. These are activated by consuming "Evo Points"; rarer than Bio Points, you only get these at certain blob size thresholds or by pulling off a successful Absorb.

Icon	Name	Evo Point Cost	Description
	Increase Generation Rate	1 Evo Point (at first)	Boosts the generation of Bio Points. This upgrade can be used multiple times, and costs one more Evo Point with each use.
	Quick Spread	? Evo Points	Increases the general Spread rate of your blob cells and heavily reduces the cooldown of the Spread command.
	Fire Resistance	? Evo Points	A godsend, this reduces the damage you take from fire-based attacks. Mind you fire is still toxic to you, but anything that helps you survive longer is a plus.

Blob Weaknesses

Fortunately the blob doesn't have many weaknesses, but the few that it does have are things you absolutely must be aware of and be prepared for, or they will be your undoing.

• Fire. If a tile's temperature exceeds a certain threshold, you won't be able to spread on it, and enough fire or heat reaching a blobbed tile will instantly destroy the blob occupying it. This is mostly encountered in the form of weldingtool-wielding crew members or plasma canisters, or bombs in extreme cases.
• Space. The rule of thumb when spreading as a blob is, "If you can see stars, you can't spread there." Not due to heat or cold, but due to a simple lack of oxygen for the blob to evoluate with. Unlike with heat the blob can exist on a space tile if its flooring is somehow destroyed while sparing the blob, but it still can't go anywhere without an acceptable adjacent tile to spread on.

Tips & Strategies

• Thank carefully about where you deploy. You're at your weakest when you're starting out, so you'll want a secluded area that will give you time to grow to a decent size yet won't be found by the crew immediately. Or if you're feeling gutsy, try blocking off popular sources of welding fuel and plasma such as Toxins and Engineering.
• Try to force confrontations with the crew in choke-points like one-tile doorways or hallways. The less people are able to hammer away at you at the same time, the easier it is to fight them off. Do not allow yourself to be surrounded or rushed.
• Be aware of the locations of the station's welding fuel tanks and plasma canisters. If one has gone missing and isn't in its designated workplace, it's probably time to start spamming thick membranes because it's probably headed your way along with a small army of welders.
• Be very wary of Flamethrowers. These cobbled-together firearms are the blob's worst enemy and can cut entire lines of cells out of you. If you can't immediately Absorb the wielder, start spreading in the other direction.
• You can never have enough thick membranes. Put mitochondria beside them for the best results.
• Don't always try to just spread under a human right away. Instead, spread around him; this way you have more cells attacking him at once, and he can't get away when you spread under him to absorb him.
• There is one space-faring tile you can Spread on, and that is the catwalk. If you're feeling bold, you can travel along the catwalks connecting the station, or even deploy in the Routing Depot for some peace and quiet while you slowly creep into the station from multiple entrance points. Do note however that all it takes is one savvy player with a tool or two to bust up the catwalks and leave you stranded.