Understanding the capabilities of each Vek species is critical to success in Into The Breach. Their unique attack patterns, resistances, and secondary effects turn every map into a veritable minefield, and you'll often find yourself focused on damage mitigation over destroying the monsters themselves. A single push or an extra point of damage can be all it takes to save a run, or to doom another timeline to destruction at the claws of the Vek Hive.
While no Vek should be underestimated, there are some species you really don't want to see popping up out of the ground. Here's why they can cause your pilots some serious headaches, and how to handle them.
Most bosses in Into The Breach are just a powerful version of a standard Vek. Every Leader-class bug is naturally more dangerous than the smaller types, so for the purposes of this list we're judging each species' overall power regardless of level.
8 Hornet
Vek Hornets aren't as capable of widespread destruction as other species, but their ability to fly makes them hard to pin down. They can't be knocked into water or chasms, and they have just enough health that you won't always be able to kill one when you really need to do so. On the bright side, the basic variant deals only one point of damage with its sting, so if you have to let an attack through it's often safe to leave a standard Hornet alone.
Alpha Hornets are another story. These big purple monsters attack an extra square in front of them and deal heavy damage, potentially taking out several buildings at once or disabling a mech in one shot. If you can, redirect their attacks to put that extra damage to use against other Vek.
7 Leaper
These mantis-like Vek can't fly, but they're unaffected by obstacles as they simply jump over anything in their way. When they land, they web a single target and prepare an attack. Their bladed arms deal heavy damage, and if they web a mech it could be lights out for the pilot if you don't intervene.
Leapers are fragile, with the standard variant having only one HP. Try to catch them with area attacks so that you aren't wasting valuable actions. Pushing them into a fire or a chasm is also an efficient way of handling troublesome Leapers.
6 Spider
Nobody wants to find spider eggs in their home, especially when they grow to be twenty stories tall. Spiders don't attack, but deploy an egg sac every turn. These sacs web every adjacent mech and spawn a Spiderling at the end of the turn. Spiderlings deal minimal damage and have only one HP, but they're an annoying distraction that keep your mechs from focusing on more important matters. An unchecked Spider and its spawn can quickly wear down the grid if they aren't dealt with immediately.
Try to eliminate Spiders as soon as they appear. In the likely event that doing so will leave too many attacks undefended, try to position the map to block emerging Vek. That will make it easier on the next turn to finish the Spider and clear off any Spiderlings it created.
5 Psion
There are several types of Psion, and each adds a global effect to the map as long as it's alive. These usually mean buffs for the Vek, but on the Volcanic Hive a Psion Tyrant can damage your entire team regardless of their relative positions. Psions don't do anything other than move around while they're on the field, but are nevertheless a priority target when they emerge.
You can always check which effect a Psion has by moving your cursor over it. Every island is home to a single Psion type, so be sure to check the Vek that are present on an island to know what you're up against before making landfall.
Psion Types
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Subspecies |
Coloration |
Effects |
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Soldier Psion |
Gray with green spots. |
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Blood Psion |
Gray with red spots. |
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Shell Psion |
Gray with purple spots. |
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Blast Psion |
Gray with orange spots. |
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Smouldering Psion |
Pink with blue spots. |
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Arachnid Psion |
Teal with purple spots. |
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Raging Psion |
Black with yellow spots. |
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Psion Tyrant |
Yellow with black spots. |
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Psion Abomination |
Pink with yellow spots. |
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4 Centipede
Centipedes have a dangerous ranged attack that damages tiles adjacent to the target and covers them in acid. Acid-soaked unit, mech or Vek, take double damage from all attacks.
While a Centipede can be turned to your advantage this way, their propensity for collateral damage can make it tricky to safely redirect their attacks. It's often best to have a mech take the hit and repair afterward if it saves buildings.
3 Bot
While they aren't technically Vek, some sentient AI systems become hostile in the monsters' presence. Exclusive to Pinnacle Island, corrupted Bots have high-tech weaponry that can set fires and damage large areas. They have only a single hit point, but they are often associated with secondary objectives when they appear, effectively holding your Reputation Stars hostage.
Zenith, the leader of Pinnacle, believes the Bots can be saved and will often ask you to spare them even as they incinerate buildings full of civilians. Use Smoke or Freeze to isolate the rogue Bots before they can do too much damage, or just ignore the Reputation Stars altogether and kill the Bots against Zenith's wishes.
2 Bouncer
Bouncers attack an adjacent tile and push themselves backward at the same time, potentially damaging two targets. Since this technically means they attack to the front and rear, flipping them doesn't actually redirect damage. It's possible to get them to fall into water or chasms, but only if you're lucky enough that they set themselves up for such a blunder.
Smoking out a Bouncer will cancel its attack, and is often the safest way to neutralize them if you can reliably do so. The ideal counter is to push them somewhere they'll do less damage, ideally ramming another Vek or a mountain.
1 Moth
These winged terrors were added in the free Advanced Edition update, and even the most skilled players will have a hard time dealing with them. Like Beetles, Moths fire arcing projectiles that allow them to hit any target regardless of obstacles. They also push themselves back one space when they fire, usually causing collateral damage in tight quarters. To top it all off, their wings render them immune to a quick plunge into water or chasms.
The Moths' backward push makes it hard to counter them the same way you would a Beetle; sure, you can redirect their shot, but chances are they'll still hit something with recoil. Neutralizing their attack with smoke is always a solid choice if available, but ultimately you may need to accept some damage to kill a Moth right away, preventing it from smashing up more buildings as the battle goes on.