The Ingenjorsmaskin 80 "Oxen" (ENG: Engineering Machine 80 "The Ox"), otherwise known as the Harvester, is a type of machine in Generation Zero. Despite being slow-moving foragers and showcasing a lack of intimidating looks, Harvesters do not think twice about demolishing threats. Their missile salvos, gas clouds, massive health pool, and melee bursts make them a force to be reckoned with, and quite the nuisance when you factor in their ability to summon reinforcements.
Physiology[]
Harvesters vaguely resemble cattle, a gorilla, or some similarly sized grazing animal. They are quadrupedal, with two short hind legs and two very long & large front legs that have slight functionality as arms/excavators. They are well-armored and have a stocky appearance.
Their main bodies have a box shape with a head on its front-left, a hydraulic siphoning rod in the middle, storage containers within its backside, and missile racks above them.
Abilities[]
Prototype[]
Ranged
- Missiles
- Much like the Tank's Missile Barrage, the Harvester fires a flurry of missiles at a player.
- Hunter Backup
- The Harvester curls up into a kind of fetus position protecting it almost entirely against frontal attacks, emits an audible distress call and a drop pod will fall down next to the Harvester. After a short while, the pod spawns one Prototype Hunter that will immediately engage in combat with the next player.
Melee
- Concussion Pulse
- If a player gets too close, the Harvester will emit a shock wave that damages players in a fairly big radius (around 10 meters). It will also knock them off their feet if they don't have the "Steady Feet" (left Survivor tree, fourth skill) skill.
- Melee Stomp
- If a player is right next to the Harvester (for example trying to hit it with a Melee weapon), it will hit the floor with one of its front legs, dealing high damage in a small radius.
Military[]
Ranged
- Missiles
- As mentioned before
- Hunter Backup
- Like its Prototype counterpart, the Military Harvester curls up and calls in Hunters, but this time, it's 2-3 Military class Hunters at once, one of which will likely be a Sniper variant. (Has a shoulder mounted sniper rifle)
- Tick Deployment
- The Harvester deploys an army of Military class Ticks, but only if the player managed to sneak behind it.
Melee
- Concussion Pulse
- As mentioned before.
- Melee Stomp
- As mentioned before.
- Gas Release
- Another countermeasure against players moving too close, the Harvester releases a cloud of gas that slowly damages players in a medium radius. This will not inflict a status effect, so players will stop taking damage as soon as they move out of the gas. (In the profile tab under eye wear apparel you can equip a gas mask that increases your gas resistance by 40 points, also under the skills tab in the combat tree the third level armor skill give you an extra 10% gas damage resistance against machines, the vanguard specialization in the combat tree can also increases your overall damage resistance by 25%, also note that gas damage can stack.)
FNIX[]
Ranged
- Missiles
- As mentioned before.
- Hunter Backup
- As mentioned before, but this time it calls in 3-4 FNIX class Hunters, including one Sniper variant.
- Tick Deployment
- As mentioned before, but this time it's FNIX class Ticks, which explode with a lot of damage.
Melee
- Concussion Pulse
- As mentioned before.
- Melee Stomp
- As mentioned before.
- Gas Release
- As mentioned before.
Apocalypse[]
Ranged
- Irradiated Missiles
- The Harvester fires a barrage of missiles that irradiate the area they hit. This deals a lot of initial damage and applies the Radiation status effect to any players it hits or that step into the affected area after the attack. It also has a much more sporadic and widespread volley, making it more difficult to dodge than missiles of the other classes.
- Hunter Backup
- As mentioned before, but it calls in 4 Apocalypse Class Hunters.
- Tick Deployment
- As mentioned before, but with Apocalypse Class "Stinger" Ticks.
Melee
- Concussion Pulse
- As mentioned before.
- Melee Stomp
- As mentioned before.
- Gas Release
- This version of the Gas Release consists of a purple gas cloud which can be ignited. This means that throwing a grenade or shooting a gas canister in there is going to deal a lot of damage to the Harvester. (In the profile tab under eye wear apparel you can equip a gas mask that increases your gas resistance by 40 points, also under the skills tab in the combat tree the third level armor skill give you an extra 10% gas damage resistance against machines, the vanguard specialization in the combat tree can also increases your overall damage resistance by 25%, also note that gas damage can stack.)
Misc
- EMP Resistance
- In addition, Apocalypse Harvesters are immune to the effects of EMP and will not deactivate upon being pulsed.
Weak Points[]
- The center pod has five core drive weak points, one on the center, two on each side of the drill, and two underneath it. The latter can only be shot from the side. Each are protected by front armor, but not from above.
- The front legs contains three core drives, one on each section that can be destroyed. The two drives are located near the upper axles protected by strong frontal leg armor. The drive on the upper foreleg is located in its center, protected by a series of side armor. However, the drives' minuscule sizes can be difficult to shoot.
- The hind legs contain a core drive on the fore-section that can be shot at. It is protected in the front by armor.
- The eyes that make up the "head" hanging off the main body is a critical point, but damaging this component will lower the chances of getting Vision Module drop from the Harvester.
- The Missile Pod on a Harvester's back should be one of the first things any player should attempt to attack. It can be hit from any direction and destroying it will render the Harvester unable to fire its missiles and deal a decent amount of damage to the machine. The Pod is highly armored however, so be aware of any salvos it releases while focusing the Pod.
- Below the Missile Pod on the backside is a set of three fuel cells. Destroying each one will do a considerable amount of damage to the machine and potentially destroy lesser machines like Runners, should they be too close.
- Between the Missile Pod is a ventilation system distinguished by its three fans. This can be shot off for medium damage.
- The Harvester's forelegs have Concussion Pads (Prototype) and Neurotoxin Dispensers (Military and FNIX) just below a set of armor which can be shot off to disable their concussion blast and gas attacks, respectively. Both components on each leg must be destroyed to disable the attacks.
The most effective way of approaching a Harvester is to leave its initial Hunter escort alive so it doesn't call in new ones, circle around the Harvester's back and to shoot everything there from top down. First the missile launcher, then the batteries and finally the Tick Pod. This will leave the back vulnerable to component damage. Using a PVG or an LMG is very effective and will often kill the Harvester with only one to two reloads in between depending on quality and mag size.
Story[]
Damn it, I should know better by now. Always expect the unexpected and above all else, never trust the slow machines. There is always something up with them. First, it was the gigantic heavily armed and armoured Tank, nearly killing our entire group. Then there was that hovering Seeker that seemed harmless and ended up getting us surrounded by enemies.
This time it was this massive four-legged machine that we stumbled upon in the main square of a village we were passing through. Standing with heavily plated legs on either side of a flipped car, the machine was using what looked like an enormous drill to extract something from the vehicle. We quickly realized it must be a Harvester of some kind, collecting fuel and other resources from its surroundings. In short, a perfect target for an ambush.
Alright, so we were reckless and desperate, but in our defense, we didn’t expect the blasted thing to be armed. As we started trying to wear it down with bullets two things dawned on us - the machine was heavily armoured, and it was able to defend itself. In fact, it slowly turned around and launched rockets at us. Rockets! Needless to say, we hightailed out of there as fast as our legs would carry us. Such a rookie move, we can't afford these kinds of mistakes any more. Always expect the unexpected, and never waste resources on an improvised ambush. Next time, we will come with a battle plan.
Trivia[]
- Harvesters are the slowest enemies in the game and can neither run nor jump, making it quite trivial to escape from a Harvester should the need arise for a hasty retreat.
- Despite being primarily resource gatherers, Harvesters are never seen in-game actually harvesting resources (save the infrequent instances where they're driving their spikes into the ground), nor is it explained why they have access to high-powered weapons like missile racks for what is ultimately a non-combatant role.
- Unlike other machines, Harvesters do not passively utter robotic chirps & tones. All that can be heard is the idling noise of their fuel systems. Harvesters do not emit their signature cries until they engage in combat, call reinforcements, or are destroyed.
- Harvesters are the only machines with heads offset from the center of their body.
- Why the Swedish military would develop the Harvester when humans & their own tools are much more capable of gathering resources themselves is questionable. This is especially so when you consider that the Harvester's spike can only manipulate so much and there is no obvious filtering system within the harvester to sort the types of resources it gathers.
Gallery[]
