Screech
Screech is a Focus mutation that uses the focus skill to inflict shock on opponents.
Location
Screech is located in the chemical plant, west of Slagtown. Not to be confused with the Iron Liver mutation tile, Screech's tile is near the control room, west of the area populated by tuskers. No hostile mobs block the path to this mutation.
Effects
This mutation grants:
+2 to Focus screech command: roll focus vs. focus to inflict shock.
Advantages
- +2 Focus. A large, straightforward buff.
- Counterplay to feint. If you don't have a way to counter feint, many PvE and PvP fights are automatically closed to you. Screech is a consistent feint counter for focus builds.
- Debuffs gunners. Maximum shock dose inflicts -5 to-hit on gunners; combined with Carrie, this can seriously hamper the accuracy of many gun builds.
- Debuffs dodge. Maximum shock dose inflicts -10 dodge, which helps against opponents that rely on dodge to defend themselves.
- Crowd control. Low-Endurance builds that are inflicted with shock will be prevented from moving. This makes slippery targets easier to hunt down.
Disadvantages
- Causes stress when used Lower cool and having lots of implants will quickly multiply this stress gain into an unmanageable amount. Like all stress gains this penalty is eliminated if you're a hideous freak.
- Useless against high focus targets. If the target of a screech has equivalent or higher focus than its caster, the shock simply won't affect them.
- Less useful against high-Endurance targets. Endurance resists shock, so targets with lots of endurance will just shrug the screech off. This stings screech's effectiveness in PvE, since lots of mobs have very high Endurance.
- Minimum 20 focus is required to screech consistently, but more is better, as it increases the magnitude of shocks and the range of viable screech targets.
- Easy to counterplay if it is anticipated. Heroin, endurance and earplugs defend well against screech, and anyone with good focus will ignore it altogether. This makes screech good for ambushes, but unreliable against prepared opponents, or in impractical PvP (pit tournaments, etc.).
- Cannot feint screeched opponents. If you're brainy and intend to feint everything and everyone you fight, screech will be of little use for you.
Screech
There is a lasting misconception that screech is a stunning ability. This is not the case; while screech can prevent targets from moving, it does not interrupt a target's actions or inflict the "stunned" status, unlike Writhing Smoke.
The screech mutation grants one ability, of the same name. Screech uses the focus skill, and requires about 20 focus for consistent success. On successful casting, it will inflict shock on any targets on the tile. All NPCs are viable targets, but players are only viable targets if they are engaged in combat (though the combat need not be with the caster).
When the screech hits a target, it will apply shock, resisted by focus and endurance. The higher the caster's focus outpaces the target's, the more severe the focus debuff will be; the resulting shock dose(s) will be resisted by endurance if the target's endurance is high enough. The shock debuff affects several stats, and is capped at five doses. For each single dose of shock, the following debuffs are applied:
- -3 Brains (-15 maximum)
- -2 Dodge (-10 maximum)
- -0.5 melee weapon skill (-2.5 maximum)
- -1 gun skill (-5 maximum)
- Must make increasingly difficult rolls with Endurance to move.
Successfully screeching another player in a yellow or green zone will challenge their corporation for six hours.
Appearance
This mutation does not change a character's appearance, but the following messages display on casting screech:
You empty your mind and let the mutation take over... A palpable wave of screeching static rolls out of ReadTheFineWiki, rattling your eardrums!
| Mutations | |
|---|---|
| Racial Mutations | Abomination • Chud • Hideous Freak • Vampire • Zombie |
| Focus Mutations | Carrie • Chiller • Fuck Machine • Salamander • Screech • Writhing Smoke • Empath |
| Movement Mutations | Leapfrog • Phaser • Clairvoyance |
| Flight • Blink • Medium | |
| Soak Mutations | High Density • Firewalker • Rubberskin • Snakeskin • Yeti Skin |
| Lithodermis • Solar Sponge • Silicone Skin • Eelskin • Yeti Fur | |
| Miscellaneous Mutations | Billygoat • Bleeder • Bloodhound • Brainslug • Brute Strength • Camelfat • Enigma • Fibrocartilage • Hooligan • Hyperimmune • Iron Liver • Junkrat • Mule • Nimble Fingers • Plant Whisperer • Stench • Twitchy Nerves • Superclot • Xray Vision • Cat Ears |
| Ripperlikes | Carcinocudgel • Horrorspike • Ripper • Tendrils |
| Joke Mutations | Third Nipple |
| Defunct Mutations | Jammer |