Funny enough, generally it’s agreed upon that Taunt Leafcutters are the better option for the the Formicarium, multiple of them taunting all at once causes the enemy to switch targets rapidly with each ant taking little damage which might not seem like much…until you learn they heal alongside that whenever they taunt. Their DPS is also a fair bit higher than a Stun major’s (Stun has a lower cooldown which actually hurts their DPS). While they are damage dealers, they also are tanks to help keep your smaller and weaker ants alive which Taunts do betters thanks to the 80% resistance they get at Level 3 once they reach low enough health. Another major thing holding them back is that they can only really stun one Ant at a time (at level three they gain a bit of a splash radius but it’s not that huge to where your going to be reliably able to stun multiple ants at once) not mentioning that a lot of enemies are immune to Stun. Both work just fine (especially for the upcoming mission) but that’s generally the pick. Oh, and for reference Leafcutter Majors have 200 health…at level 1. At Level 3/Max Rank that doubles to 400.
Thanks for the explanation! Even after reading your comment, I'm not entirely sold on Taunt. But I have not crunched the numbers, I guess someone has at some point. The fact that it is close enough to be at least situational where one is better, means the game has good balance :)
@@TortugaPower When it comes to Fire Ants the balance leans very heavily one way and it’s not very close, but for the other Ant variants it can go fairly well either way.
@@TortugaPower There is a widely preferred option yes (and as far as I can tell not very close) but on this one I’m not going to say too much since I don’t want to give away everything and want you to make your own decisions. Just keep in mind the you can switch abilities whenever you want (as long as you have the Royal Jelly for it), as well as what I said about the Major’s health at Level 3.
While I prefer the Stun Leafcutter ants since I hate chip damage, the general consensus is that Taunt is better because you are constantly distributing the damage between multiple ants, and it can work on large creatures, too (unlike stun). This won't save you from aoe damage from something a like a cricket dance or a velvet worm spray or the finger of god, but it's effective on a wider variety of enemies big and small. Also, from the level 2.2 onward, the OST of the story levels start to become really good and get even better after each level.
the finger of god, I forgot about that :D I agree about the OST, even listening while doing work. Stun vs. Taunt, it's great to know that this is not as straight-forward. I don't know enough to say myself -- e.g. I don't even know which creatures are immune to stun (besides I assume the boss creatures like the hybrids, bull frog, and the enormous whip spider in 3.2).
@@TortugaPower The general rule of thumb I'd give is if the creature is as big or bigger than an adult Spiny Bush cricket, it probably can't get stunned.
@@TortugaPower me too!! favorite level untill the matabele driver ant level gets released most likely. hope drive them back gets a balance change as its very easy right now
Is my build a w or l? Leaf cutter taunt, sharp abilltiy and shock proof (for bosses and op asf ants) with physical resistance stats to 11% , shooters-rapid , venom and weakening (changed it to the other one cus i realized it super buffs the crap out of my majors damage💀) range stats to 50 range+ attack speed 5% more better , fire ants with last laugh and the stinger damage buff thingy forgot its name… with aoe resistance stats to 8% and damage a little bit, black ant soldiers have meat wall (only meat wall cus im broke in royal jelly now😭) with armor by 11% and damage by a lil too , workers have efficient brood and nimble , queen royal guard and fierce mother (oh yea almost forgot i have the rest of my jelly to workers speed)
Funny enough, generally it’s agreed upon that Taunt Leafcutters are the better option for the the Formicarium, multiple of them taunting all at once causes the enemy to switch targets rapidly with each ant taking little damage which might not seem like much…until you learn they heal alongside that whenever they taunt. Their DPS is also a fair bit higher than a Stun major’s (Stun has a lower cooldown which actually hurts their DPS). While they are damage dealers, they also are tanks to help keep your smaller and weaker ants alive which Taunts do betters thanks to the 80% resistance they get at Level 3 once they reach low enough health.
Another major thing holding them back is that they can only really stun one Ant at a time (at level three they gain a bit of a splash radius but it’s not that huge to where your going to be reliably able to stun multiple ants at once) not mentioning that a lot of enemies are immune to Stun.
Both work just fine (especially for the upcoming mission) but that’s generally the pick.
Oh, and for reference Leafcutter Majors have 200 health…at level 1. At Level 3/Max Rank that doubles to 400.
Thanks for the explanation! Even after reading your comment, I'm not entirely sold on Taunt. But I have not crunched the numbers, I guess someone has at some point. The fact that it is close enough to be at least situational where one is better, means the game has good balance :)
Also, is there a stance on Armor (-3 dmg) vs. shock resistance (max 20 dmg)?
@@TortugaPower When it comes to Fire Ants the balance leans very heavily one way and it’s not very close, but for the other Ant variants it can go fairly well either way.
@@TortugaPower There is a widely preferred option yes (and as far as I can tell not very close) but on this one I’m not going to say too much since I don’t want to give away everything and want you to make your own decisions.
Just keep in mind the you can switch abilities whenever you want (as long as you have the Royal Jelly for it), as well as what I said about the Major’s health at Level 3.
@@deathclawproductions6723 Thanks. Cheers
While I prefer the Stun Leafcutter ants since I hate chip damage, the general consensus is that Taunt is better because you are constantly distributing the damage between multiple ants, and it can work on large creatures, too (unlike stun). This won't save you from aoe damage from something a like a cricket dance or a velvet worm spray or the finger of god, but it's effective on a wider variety of enemies big and small.
Also, from the level 2.2 onward, the OST of the story levels start to become really good and get even better after each level.
the finger of god, I forgot about that :D
I agree about the OST, even listening while doing work.
Stun vs. Taunt, it's great to know that this is not as straight-forward. I don't know enough to say myself -- e.g. I don't even know which creatures are immune to stun (besides I assume the boss creatures like the hybrids, bull frog, and the enormous whip spider in 3.2).
@@TortugaPower The general rule of thumb I'd give is if the creature is as big or bigger than an adult Spiny Bush cricket, it probably can't get stunned.
don't forget to upgrade your mortars attack speed and range it's very useful because whip spiders can catch low ranged mortars
Thanks! I do not remember facing whip spiders in the formicarium, must have forgot that.
strange? there are whip spider that appear their just very rare that or the so called final experiment
@@TortugaPower I’m assuming he’s referring to the Twins for the 4th Tier’s Formicarium Challenge.
Hello! just a little tip for leafcutter levels, do the army ant one first. its much easier and will take ALOT less attempts or even just one.
Love the army ant one!
@@TortugaPower me too!! favorite level untill the matabele driver ant level gets released most likely. hope drive them back gets a balance change as its very easy right now
Is my build a w or l? Leaf cutter taunt, sharp abilltiy and shock proof (for bosses and op asf ants) with physical resistance stats to 11% , shooters-rapid , venom and weakening (changed it to the other one cus i realized it super buffs the crap out of my majors damage💀) range stats to 50 range+ attack speed 5% more better , fire ants with last laugh and the stinger damage buff thingy forgot its name… with aoe resistance stats to 8% and damage a little bit, black ant soldiers have meat wall (only meat wall cus im broke in royal jelly now😭) with armor by 11% and damage by a lil too , workers have efficient brood and nimble , queen royal guard and fierce mother (oh yea almost forgot i have the rest of my jelly to workers speed)