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== Overview ==
== Overview ==


The Blight Post enables the production of {{rl|Purging Fire}}, which is needed to destroy Blightrot Cysts during the [[Seasons#Storm | Storm Season]] or while they're awakened from their dormant state by a [[Glade Events | Glade Event]] in any other season.
The Blight Post is the only way to fight [[Blightrot Cyst]]s and remove the Corruption they cause. Blightrot Cysts will never chose a Blight Post to grow on.<br>
 
The structure is unlocked with the Smoldering City's level 6 Obsidian Archive upgrade (for 30 [[File:Icon MetaResource FoodStockpiles.png|16px]] Food Stockpiles), which also enables the entire [[Rainpunk | Rainpunk game mechanic]].
 
With the level 18 Obsidian Archive upgrade (for 156 [[File:Icon MetaResource FoodStockpiles.png|16px]] Food Stockpiles) each single Blight Post can be upgraded up to 2 times, allowing the choice between 1 of 3 upgrades with each upgrade level.
 
The game mechanic that makes The Blight Post necessary is only active on Veteran (or higher) difficulty. Blightrot Cysts may still spawn due to specific Glade Events that may eventually be encountered once this structure has been unlocked.
 
== Game Mechanic Overview ==
The entire [[Rainpunk]] technology only becomes available after the Smoldering City's level 6 Obsidian Archive has been acquired.<br>
This is speculative: I think the appearance of Glade Events that create Blightrot Cysts is related to having that level 6 Obsidian Archive upgrade unlocked, as otherwise it'd be possible to encounter Glade Events with negative effects that can't be dealt with.<br>
<br>
<br>
The entire Blightrot & Corruption game mechanic is only active on Veteran (or higher) difficulty but rain engines can be used on any difficulty once the Rainpunk tech has been unlocked.<br>
It is always available for construction on Veteran (or higher) [[difficulty]], when the Blightrot mechanic is active. An exception to this is the [[Training Expedition]] game mode: in this mode the player can freely chose whether or not to play with the [[Blightrot#Corruption | Corruption mechanic]] enabled before starting a settlement on any difficulty.<br>
<br>
<br>
Rain Engines:<br>
Once the [[Smoldering City]]'s level 18 '''Obsidian Archive''' upgrade has been acquired at the cost of 156 [[File:Icon MetaResource FoodStockpiles.png|16px|link=]] Food Stockpiles, the Blight Post can also be [[#Blight Post Upgrades | upgraded]] up to 2 times - with 1 out of 3 upgrades to chose from per upgrade level.<br>
With the Rainpunk technology unlocked any structure that has crafting recipes can have Rain Engines installed.<br>
 
To do so the Rainpunk tab needs to be selected, where first 4 {{rl|Pipes}} need to be installed with a button click.<br>
== Helpful UI elements: ==
This enables the use of Rain Engines in the structure. There's the same 2 types of them installed into all structures that can have them and with a left-click (higher) / right-click (lower) their settings are made.<br>
{| style="width: 100%;"
Rain engine #1 - production: 4 settings<br>
|'''<u>the Blight Post's 'Recipes' panel:</u>'''
1 - off (no rainwater used, no bonus active)<br>
|'''<u>the Ancient Hearth's 'Blightrot' panel:</u>'''
2 - +50% production speed<br>
|-
3 - +25% extra yield chance for any production<br>
|[[File:Blight Post Fuel Reserve bar.jpg|top|link=]]<ul><li>shows a color-coded bar</li><li>lists [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire / Blightrot Cysts<br>but lacks Corruption information</li></ul>
4 - +50% production speed<br>
|style="vertical-align:top"|[[File:Ancient Hearth Corruption bar.jpg|link=]]<ul><li>lists all the relevant information:<ol><li>existing Blightrot Cysts</li><li>Corruption / minute</li><li>%Corruption during Storm Season</li><li>current Corruption / Hearth resistance</li></ol></li></ul>
The effects stack. The higher the setting the more rainwater is used per worker that's currently producing anything.<br>
|}
Workers sitting idle, taking a break, fetching goods or delivering their produce don't cause this rain engine to drain any rainwater.<br>
'''Hint:''' The +25% extra yield chance is granted at the start of a worker's production cycle. Turning the rain engine off right after production has started (or lowering its setting by 1 to keep the production speed buff) will stop (or lower) the use of rain water and thus help saving resources and preventing (or slowing) the spawn of Blightrot Cysts. This requires a lot of micro-management for the right timing. Forgetting to make the setting in time results in either time or material wasted or both.<br>
<br>
<br>
Rain engine #2 - resolve: 3 settings<br>
'''<u>%Corruption display:</u>'''<br>
1 - off (no rainwater used, no bonus active)<br>
[[File:BlightrotLevel.png|link=]]
2 - +5 resolve for all workers assigned to this structure<br>
* always visible information at the bottom right of the UI
3 - +5 resolve for all workers assigned to this structure<br>
* displays %Corruption during the Storm Season
The effects stack. The higher the setting the more rainwater is used per worker that's currently assigned to the structure - without actually having to be in the structure, while sitting idle, taking a break, fetching goods or delivering any produce.
 
There's a good +15 resolve possible from this alone if a worker benefits from the Comfortable (+5 resolve) effect as well (without any other bonus effects).<br>
== Blight Fighter behavior ==
When ordering the production of [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire it will only be crafted while Blightrot Cysts can't be attacked or while running out of it while they can be attacked.<br>
<br>
<br>
Blightrot, Blightrot Cysts, Corruption:<br>
While any Blightrot Cysts are active, which is during each [[Storm | Storm Season]] and while working on certain [[Glade Events]] with the effect of awakening them from their dormant state, the Blight Fighters will try to destroy them.<br>
Let's clear up what each of these terms refers to.<br>
1) Blightrot<br>
A structure that got 4 {{rl|Pipes}} (Rain Engines) installed gets a counter in its Rainpunk tab that counts +1 up for each 1 rainwater used. That's the purple Blightrot counter. Aside from the bar's filling state providing a visual indicator for its value it's also possible to move the mouse over the bar to get a number displayed (example: 24 / 32). This counter increases with each unit of rainwater used, which is displayed as "water usage" on the very same tab, indicating the type of rainwater needed and how much has already been used up from the currently used 1 unit of rainwater.<br>
<br>
<br>
2) Blightrot Cyst<br>
It takes 15s (without any modifiers) to destroy a Blightrot Cyst. Other Blightfighters or [[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Blight Automatons'' can't assist to speed this up. Successful removal of a Blightrot Cyst uses up the unit's [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire, making it necessary to travel to the nearest Blight Post / Hydrant to get another one for the next Blightrot Cyst.<br>
If the Blightrot bar hits its maximum value it'll reset to 0 and a Blightrot Cyst will spawn on the structure (up to a fixed limit depending on the structure, switching to another nearby structure instead of there's no more space on the current one or the Ancient Hearth to if no valid structure is in range).<br>
<br>
<br>
3) Corruption<br>
Blight Fighters won't take their regular breaks so long as there's still enough [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire available and Blightrot Cysts that can be attacked exist.<br>
Each existing Blightrot Cyst causes Corruption - but only while the Blightrot Cysts are active, which is during each [[Storm | Storm Season]] and while [[Glade Events]] are active that cause the Blightrot Cysts to awaken from their dormant state in any season.<br>
The Corruption generated per Blightrot Cysts is +60 / min (Prestige 11: +90 / min instead).<br>
The [[Hearths | Ancient Hearth's]] default resistance to Corruption is 1000, but effects that may modify this exist.<br>
Upgrading either the Ancient Hearth's or any Small Hearth's level grants +150 Corruption resistance to the Ancient Hearth per upgrade level of any type of Hearth, meaning: The more Hearths with upgrade levels the higher the Ancient Hearth's Corruption resistance.<br>
<br>
While the Blightrot Cysts are trying to corrupt the Ancient Hearth a bar is displayed above it, indicating the progress of that. If that bar is completely filled it resets to 0 and 3 random villagers are killed, resulting in an impatience growth of +0.3 per Villager (Prestige 20: +0.8 instead) - but there are some effects that allow for villager deaths to have no negative consequences.<br>
The bar then starts filling up again, so long as the Blightrot Cysts remain active and according to the Corruption per minute generated vs the Corruption resistance that needs to be met to reach a 100% bar fill state again.<br>
<br>
Other than losing 3 random villagers with each 100% Corruption bar nothing happens, no matter how often it ticks. The Ancient Hearth will never stop burning unless running out of fuel and it won't be destroyed either.<br>
<br>
The current level of Corruption always depends on the number of existing Blightrot Cysts, which can be displayed when selecting the Ancient Hearth and checking the Blightrot tab. Other than that the bottom right of the UI has a percentage indicator for the current Corruption level vs the Corruption resistance.<br>
<br>
== Blightfighters ==
The workers assigned to a Blight Post are called Blightfighters. They're the only ones fighting Blightrot Cysts and this also means: The number of Blight Posts determines how many Blightrot Cysts you can remove in a given time. The more Blightrot Cysts the more Blight Posts and Blightfighters there are needed to combat the Corruption.<br>
<br>
Starting into an active Corruption phase with a Corruption value well above 100% isn't a death sentence for anyone though - given the right preparation: Blightfighters assigned to a Blight Post will position themselves next to a Blightrot Cyst before the Storm starts and additionally it takes 10s after the start of the Storm for the Cysts to become active.<br>
Each Cyst takes 15s to burn (there are modifiers for this value), which reduces the current Corruption by -50 and consumes 1 {{rl|Purging Fire}} that the Blightfighter then needs to refuel at the nearest Blight Post or [[Blightrot#The_Hydrant | Hydrant]].<br>
<br>
{{Species link|Harpies}} receive {{sl|Alchemy}} Proficiency bonus (+10% extra yield chance).<br>
{{Species link|Lizards}} receive the {{sl|Warmth}} Comfort (+5 resolve before any other bonus effects).<br>
Both species have a 1min 40s break intervall, compared to 2min with any other species or 2min 30s with {{Species link|Frogs}}.<br>
This means that even during 2min the Storm other species should be used for better Blightrot Cyst removal results, if available.
<br>
<br>
Once the season timer ticks to less than 15s before the start of the [[Storm | Storm Season]] all active Blight Fighters (and any Blight Post Automatons) will grab their [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire and position themselves next to the nearest Blightrot Cyst which doesn't have a Blight Fighter next to it yet. After it started there's a 10s delay until the Blightrot Cysts become active, which causes them to become vulnerable and start corrupting the Ancient Hearth. That's around 25s in total for the Blight Fighters to get ready.
== Production Chain ==
== Production Chain ==


Line 78: Line 43:
== Blight Post Upgrades ==
== Blight Post Upgrades ==


Blight Posts can be upgraded up to two times:
This becomes available when unlocking the Smoldering City's level 18 Obsidian Archive at the cost of 156 [[File:Icon MetaResource FoodStockpiles.png|16px|link=]] Food Stockpiles.
 
{| class="wikitable"
|colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" |Only 1 of 3 upgrades can be chosen per level.
|- style="vertical-align:middle;"
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" |Level 1 upgrades cost:<br>4 {{rl|Pipes}}<br>2 {{rl|Pack of Building Materials}}
||[[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_TripleIgnition.png|center|64px|link=]]
||[[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MobileSparkcasters.png|center|64px|link=]]
||[[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|center|64px|link=]]
|-
|Triple Ignition System
||Mobile Sparkcasters
||Blight Automaton
|-
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" |Level 2 upgrades cost:<br>6 {{rl|Pipes}}<br>2 {{rl|Pack of Building Materials}}
||[[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|center|64px|link=]]
||[[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_AlchemicalForge.png|center|64px|link=]]
||[[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|center|64px|link=]]
|-
||Manned Lookout
||Alchemical Forge
||Blight Automaton
|}
'''LEVEL I'''</br>
* [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_TripleIgnition.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Triple Ignition System'': -5s to destroy a Blightrot Cyst - from 15s to 10s. Affects Blight Fighters and Automatons of the Blight Post with this upgrade.
* [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MobileSparkcasters.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Mobile Sparkcasters'': +30% move speed for Blight Fighters of this Blight Post. Blight Automatons don't benefit from this upgrade.
* [[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Blight Automaton'': Assigns an Automaton to this Blight Post that helps fighting Blightrot Cysts but doesn't use up a worker slot. Automatons can't produce [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire but also don't take any breaks. Their move speed is increased while moving on roads but isn't affected by any other positive or negative modifiers. Automatons also don't get targeted by effects that directly kill villagers.
 
'''LEVEL II'''</br>
* [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Manned Lookout'': -10% Blightrot growth per Blight Fighter assigned to a Blight Post with this upgrade.
* [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_AlchemicalForge.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Alchemical Forge'': +50% extra yield chance when producing [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire at a Blight Post with this upgrade.
* [[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|float|24px|link=]] ''Blight Automaton'': Adds +1 Automaton that functions the same as its level 1 version.<br>


'''LEVEL I''' (Choose 1)</br>
== [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|32px|link=]] Manned Lookout upgrade ==
Cost: 2 {{rl|Pack of Building Materials}} + 4 {{rl|Pipes}}
Calculation:<br>[Blightrot counter maximum] divided by (1 - [summed up [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] Manned Lookout bonus percentage])<br><br>Example:<br>- each structure with Rain Engines installed gets a Blightrot counter that has a default value of 32 as its maximum, meaning that for every 32 units of rainwater used by Rain Engines in that structure +1 Blightrot Cyst will spawn<br>- 3 Blight Post, all of them with this upgrade, each of them with 3 Blight Fighters assigned, resulting in a [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] ''Manned Lookout'' effect of 90%<br><br>With this we have:<br>Blightrot counter maximum = 32<br>summed up [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] ''Manned Lookout'' bonus = 90% = 0.9<br><br>Calculation with this:<br>32 / ( 1 - 0.9) = 32 / 0.1 = 320<br>So due to the [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] ''Manned Lookout'' bonus of 90% the Blightrot counter increases from 32 (default value with no bonus) to 320 (10x as much), allowing the use of 10x the rainwater before +1 Blightrot Cyst is spawned by any structure with Rain Engines installed and active that hits that limit.<br>
* ''Triple Ignition System'': Blightfighters and Blight Automatons in this Blight Post need 5 fewer seconds to burn a [[#Blightrot Cysts and Removal | Blightrot Cyst]].
* ''Mobile Sparkcasters'': Blightfighters assigned to this Blight Post move 30% faster.
* ''Blight Automaton'': assigns a Blight Automaton that helps burn Blightrot Cysts to this Blight Post. They can't produce {{rl|Purging Fire}} and don't take up worker slots.
'''LEVEL II''' (Choose 1)</br>
Cost: 2 {{rl|Pack of Building Materials}} + 6 {{rl|Pipes}}
* ''Manned Lookout'': the use of water in [[Rain Engines]] generates Blightrot Cysts 10% slower for every worker assigned to this Blight Post.
* ''Alchemical Forge'': +50% {{rl|Purging Fire}} double production chance in this Blight Post.
* ''Blight Automaton'': assigns a Blight Automaton that helps burn Blightrot Cysts to this Blight Post. They can't produce {{rl|Purging Fire}} and don't take up worker slots.<br>
<br>
NOTE: While Blightfighters benefit from any effects that increase the generic villager speed ("Settlement Map" / "Survivor Bonding") the Automatons don't.<br>
<br>
IMPORTANT: "Manned Lookout" is a high risk high reward upgrade.<br>
High reward (1):<br>
Reaching a 100% value with this means all Blightrot counters freeze at their reached values and any amount of rainwater can be used without any negative consequences.<br>
<br>
High risks (2):<br>
1) underestimating the "Manned Lookout" buff<br>
Let's say you have 3x Blight Posts, each with a "Manned Lookout" upgrade and each with 3x workers assigned to it. That's 9 workers for a "Manned Lookout" buff of 90%.<br>
With that a standard 32 Blightrot counter turns into 320:<br>
32 / (1 - 0.9) = 32 / 0.1 = 320<br>
That's 10x the amount of rainwater you can use until a single Blightrot Cyst spawns. Now let's say you unassign 3 workers and the buff drops from 90% to 60% because of that:<br>
32 / (1 - 0.6) = 32 / 0.4 = 80<br>
The 320 Blightrot counter just dropped to 80, a 75% loss despite having only unassigned 3 of 9 people, worth 30% of buff loss. Don't underestimate the relevance of people assigned to the "Manned Lookout" Blight Posts with the higher numbers.<br>
<br>
2) Blightrot counter mechanic<br>
Let's say you remove or lose the 90% "Manned Lookout" buff completely and are back from a 320 Blightrot counter value to a value of 32. Instead of the structures keeping a ratio in relation to the maximum value the values are absolute, meaning: If there was a structure that had a value of 80 / 320 before it's now at 80 / 32. That means that each single use of rainwater will cause +1 Blightrot Cyst to spawn and the Blightrot counter to decrease by -32, which will happen 2 times until it's below the maximum of 32. This mechanic can cause massive Blightrot Cyst spawns, which then causes extreme Corruption that kills people, causing impatience to spike.<br>
<br>
<br>
Table: What multiplier for the Blightrot counter and actual values you get depending on the active [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] ''Manned Lookout'' bonus:
{| class="wikitable"
|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MannedOutlook.png|float|16px|link=]] Manned Lookout<br>%value
|style="text-align:center;"|resulting<br>multiplier
|style="text-align:center;"|buffed value<br>(Blight counter: 32)
|style="text-align:center;"|absolute<br>bonus
|-
|10%
|1.111
|36
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>4
|-
|20%
|1.25
|40
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>8
|-
|30%
|1.428
|46
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>14
|-
|40%
|1.666
|53
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>21
|-
|50%
|2
|64
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>32
|-
|60%
|2.5
|80
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>48
|-
|70%
|3.333
|107
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>75
|-
|80%
|5
|160
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>128
|-
|90%
|10
|320
|<nowiki>+</nowiki>288
|}
If a calculation for the Blightrot counter's new value doesn't result in a whole number the final result is always rounded, which means: Rounded up at .5 value, otherwise rounded down. Verified by in-game testing.<br>
'''High risk and threat of this upgrade''': The higher the buff's value (maximum is 90%) the more important it is to keep it at that. Otherwise massive Blightrot Cyst spawns can happen, which is possible because of the Blightrot counter's game mechanic: Whenever it changes its maximum value due to positive or negative effects the ratio of already gained corruption doesn't stay the same, meaning: A 50% filled Blightrot counter bar will not stay at 50% whenever its maximum value adjusts to a lower or higher number but instead the current number stays the same as the maximum number shifts to a new value.<br>
Example:<br>
Due to unlucky circumstances a 90% buff was partially lost and you're now at 60%.<br>
Blightrot counters that previously ran at a 320 maximum are now at a new maximum of 80, which is only 25% of what they used to support, or a 75% loss in other words.<br>Any structure that had its Blightrot counter's current value at a higher value (let's say 177) than the Blightrot counter's new maximum (which is 80) will spawn +1 Blightrot Cyst per unit of rainwater used in its Rain Engines, which increases its current value by +1 (to 178) and then lowers it by the Blightrot counter's maximum (178 - 80 = 98). This keeps repeating until the Blightrot counter's current value is lower than its maximum value.<br>The higher the buff value the more important it is to keep the people alive and assigned that provide this buff or have extra people as backup to secure the buff or have many Blight Posts in case the Blightrot actually goes off like this. It's not always about people leaving due to low resolve, getting killed by a random event or other negative effect or starving. Sometimes a charming Kelpie can also cause disaster.
== Strategies ==
== Strategies ==
* Depending on the extent of [[Blightrot]] in your settlement, you may need the Blight Post right in the center of your industrial area. Your workers will need to go back and forth often to the Blight Post during the Storm, and you may need to minimize their walking distance.
* Depending on the extent of [[Blightrot]] in your settlement, you may need the Blight Post right in the center of your industrial area. Your workers will need to go back and forth often to the Blight Post during the Storm, and you may need to minimize their walking distance.
* If you aren't actively generating Blightrot with [[Rain Engines]], it may be worthwhile to deconstruct the Blight Post for building materials once you burn the cysts from an [[Event]] or [[Prestige]] 3's modifier.
* It may be worthwhile to deconstruct the Blight Post for building materials once you've burned all the Cysts during the Storm or an [[Event]].<br>Beware  the [[Prestige]] 3 modifier: [[File:Icon_PrestigeMod_BlightSwarm.png|frameless|16px|link=]] Blightrot appears every 3rd Clearance Season.<br>
* Among the level 1 upgrades, ''Blight Automaton'' is always better than ''Triple Ignition System''. ''Mobile Sparkcasters'' is the best choice when the average distance between Cysts and Blight Posts/Hydrants is more than 10 tiles.
* Assign Blightfighters up to 15s before the Storm Season: They'll position themselves near Blightrot Cysts if given the time.
 
* Facing Corruption levels well above 100% isn't that much of an issue if you can assign and supply enough Blightfighters to destroy Blightrot Cysts fast enough: Not only will their destruction reduce the existing Corruption but this reduction can even turn into a negative value that the remaining Blightrot Cysts need to overcome in addition to their regular Corruption rate.
Hints:
* If you have the [[File:Icon_PumpUpgrade_Automaton.png|24px|link=]] ''Blight Automaton'' it can fight the Blightrot Cysts while your actual workers are busy elsewhere. Since it doesn't take up a worker slot you can assign further workers if necessary. For travel distances below 20-25 tiles it's the best Level I choice, otherwise it's the [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_MobileSparkcasters.png|24px|link=]] ''Mobile Sparkcasters'' upgrade.
* The rainpunk overlay (default: Tab) can be used to inspect which structures use how much rainwater and of which type.
* having other Blight Posts / Hydrants near structures with Blightrot Cysts reduces time spent on getting more [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire, allowing for more Blightrot Cyst removal
* The Blightrot overlay (default: Z) can be used to view how many Blightrot Cysts are on which structures. To benefit {{Species link|Foxes}} it may be helpful to leave at least 1 Blightrot Cyst on a structure they're working at, so they get their Comfortable (+5 resolve) effect, which is done by clicking the lock-symbol either before any Cysts are removed or before the last one gets removed by Blightfighters as well.
* the [[File:Icon_BlightPostUpgrade_AlchemicalForge.png|24px|link=]] ''Alchemical Forge'' upgrade helps saving resources in the long run and a single Blight Post with it is usually enough to take care of your [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire production needs - some of it may even be requested by trade routes, allowing you to get some extra income and improved trade relations
* If either being done fighting Blightrot Cysts or running out of [[File:Icon_Resource_PurgingFire.png|16px|link=]] Purging Fire while some remain the Blightfighters will take their breaks again when they have to, causing them to consume food and services. Ideally they should be busy with their task for the entire Storm Season, so that they only start consuming goods again once it is over. The higher the Ancient Hearth's resistance to Corruption the more viable this becomes.


== See Also ==
== See Also ==

Latest revision as of 20:23, 2 August 2025

This article was last updated during version 1.7.5. The game is now in 1.11.2. Some information may be out of date. Help us keep the wiki up to date by comparing this article against the patch notes and updating it.

Blight Post

Building
(City Buildings)

A specialized building dedicated to fighting Blightrot. Blight Fighters will prepare Purging Fire Purging Fire during drizzle and clearance seasons, and use it to burn Blightrot Cysts during the storm.

Specialization bonus:
Alchemy Alchemy (Proficiency) Harpies
Warmth Warmth (Comfort) Lizards
Cooperation Cooperation (Comfort) Foxes

3 Workers

Recipes

20 Storage

Construction

4Planks Planks
3Bricks Bricks
2Parts Parts
5City score
40Build time
3 × 3Building size

Not movable

ID = 'Blight Post'

Overview

The Blight Post is the only way to fight Blightrot Cysts and remove the Corruption they cause. Blightrot Cysts will never chose a Blight Post to grow on.

It is always available for construction on Veteran (or higher) difficulty, when the Blightrot mechanic is active. An exception to this is the Training Expedition game mode: in this mode the player can freely chose whether or not to play with the Corruption mechanic enabled before starting a settlement on any difficulty.

Once the Smoldering City's level 18 Obsidian Archive upgrade has been acquired at the cost of 156 Food Stockpiles, the Blight Post can also be upgraded up to 2 times - with 1 out of 3 upgrades to chose from per upgrade level.

Helpful UI elements:

the Blight Post's 'Recipes' panel: the Ancient Hearth's 'Blightrot' panel:
  • shows a color-coded bar
  • lists Purging Fire / Blightrot Cysts
    but lacks Corruption information
  • lists all the relevant information:
    1. existing Blightrot Cysts
    2. Corruption / minute
    3. %Corruption during Storm Season
    4. current Corruption / Hearth resistance


%Corruption display:

  • always visible information at the bottom right of the UI
  • displays %Corruption during the Storm Season

Blight Fighter behavior

When ordering the production of Purging Fire it will only be crafted while Blightrot Cysts can't be attacked or while running out of it while they can be attacked.

While any Blightrot Cysts are active, which is during each Storm Season and while working on certain Glade Events with the effect of awakening them from their dormant state, the Blight Fighters will try to destroy them.

It takes 15s (without any modifiers) to destroy a Blightrot Cyst. Other Blightfighters or float Blight Automatons can't assist to speed this up. Successful removal of a Blightrot Cyst uses up the unit's Purging Fire, making it necessary to travel to the nearest Blight Post / Hydrant to get another one for the next Blightrot Cyst.

Blight Fighters won't take their regular breaks so long as there's still enough Purging Fire available and Blightrot Cysts that can be attacked exist.

Once the season timer ticks to less than 15s before the start of the Storm Season all active Blight Fighters (and any Blight Post Automatons) will grab their Purging Fire and position themselves next to the nearest Blightrot Cyst which doesn't have a Blight Fighter next to it yet. After it started there's a 10s delay until the Blightrot Cysts become active, which causes them to become vulnerable and start corrupting the Ancient Hearth. That's around 25s in total for the Blight Fighters to get ready.

Production Chain

Recipes in the Blight Post

1 Recipe in the Blight Post
Building Grade Ingredient # Product
Blight Post ★★★
0:40
10 Wood Wood
4 Oil Oil
3 Coal Coal
3 Sea Marrow Sea Marrow
1 Purging Fire Purging Fire


Blight Post Upgrades

This becomes available when unlocking the Smoldering City's level 18 Obsidian Archive at the cost of 156 Food Stockpiles.

Only 1 of 3 upgrades can be chosen per level.
Level 1 upgrades cost:
4 Pipes Pipes
2 Pack of Building Materials Pack of Building Materials
Triple Ignition System Mobile Sparkcasters Blight Automaton
Level 2 upgrades cost:
6 Pipes Pipes
2 Pack of Building Materials Pack of Building Materials
Manned Lookout Alchemical Forge Blight Automaton

LEVEL I

  • float Triple Ignition System: -5s to destroy a Blightrot Cyst - from 15s to 10s. Affects Blight Fighters and Automatons of the Blight Post with this upgrade.
  • float Mobile Sparkcasters: +30% move speed for Blight Fighters of this Blight Post. Blight Automatons don't benefit from this upgrade.
  • float Blight Automaton: Assigns an Automaton to this Blight Post that helps fighting Blightrot Cysts but doesn't use up a worker slot. Automatons can't produce Purging Fire but also don't take any breaks. Their move speed is increased while moving on roads but isn't affected by any other positive or negative modifiers. Automatons also don't get targeted by effects that directly kill villagers.

LEVEL II

  • float Manned Lookout: -10% Blightrot growth per Blight Fighter assigned to a Blight Post with this upgrade.
  • float Alchemical Forge: +50% extra yield chance when producing Purging Fire at a Blight Post with this upgrade.
  • float Blight Automaton: Adds +1 Automaton that functions the same as its level 1 version.

float Manned Lookout upgrade

Calculation:
[Blightrot counter maximum] divided by (1 - [summed up float Manned Lookout bonus percentage])

Example:
- each structure with Rain Engines installed gets a Blightrot counter that has a default value of 32 as its maximum, meaning that for every 32 units of rainwater used by Rain Engines in that structure +1 Blightrot Cyst will spawn
- 3 Blight Post, all of them with this upgrade, each of them with 3 Blight Fighters assigned, resulting in a float Manned Lookout effect of 90%

With this we have:
Blightrot counter maximum = 32
summed up float Manned Lookout bonus = 90% = 0.9

Calculation with this:
32 / ( 1 - 0.9) = 32 / 0.1 = 320
So due to the float Manned Lookout bonus of 90% the Blightrot counter increases from 32 (default value with no bonus) to 320 (10x as much), allowing the use of 10x the rainwater before +1 Blightrot Cyst is spawned by any structure with Rain Engines installed and active that hits that limit.

Table: What multiplier for the Blightrot counter and actual values you get depending on the active float Manned Lookout bonus:

float Manned Lookout
%value
resulting
multiplier
buffed value
(Blight counter: 32)
absolute
bonus
10% 1.111 36 +4
20% 1.25 40 +8
30% 1.428 46 +14
40% 1.666 53 +21
50% 2 64 +32
60% 2.5 80 +48
70% 3.333 107 +75
80% 5 160 +128
90% 10 320 +288

If a calculation for the Blightrot counter's new value doesn't result in a whole number the final result is always rounded, which means: Rounded up at .5 value, otherwise rounded down. Verified by in-game testing.

High risk and threat of this upgrade: The higher the buff's value (maximum is 90%) the more important it is to keep it at that. Otherwise massive Blightrot Cyst spawns can happen, which is possible because of the Blightrot counter's game mechanic: Whenever it changes its maximum value due to positive or negative effects the ratio of already gained corruption doesn't stay the same, meaning: A 50% filled Blightrot counter bar will not stay at 50% whenever its maximum value adjusts to a lower or higher number but instead the current number stays the same as the maximum number shifts to a new value.
Example:
Due to unlucky circumstances a 90% buff was partially lost and you're now at 60%.
Blightrot counters that previously ran at a 320 maximum are now at a new maximum of 80, which is only 25% of what they used to support, or a 75% loss in other words.
Any structure that had its Blightrot counter's current value at a higher value (let's say 177) than the Blightrot counter's new maximum (which is 80) will spawn +1 Blightrot Cyst per unit of rainwater used in its Rain Engines, which increases its current value by +1 (to 178) and then lowers it by the Blightrot counter's maximum (178 - 80 = 98). This keeps repeating until the Blightrot counter's current value is lower than its maximum value.
The higher the buff value the more important it is to keep the people alive and assigned that provide this buff or have extra people as backup to secure the buff or have many Blight Posts in case the Blightrot actually goes off like this. It's not always about people leaving due to low resolve, getting killed by a random event or other negative effect or starving. Sometimes a charming Kelpie can also cause disaster.

Strategies

  • Depending on the extent of Blightrot in your settlement, you may need the Blight Post right in the center of your industrial area. Your workers will need to go back and forth often to the Blight Post during the Storm, and you may need to minimize their walking distance.
  • It may be worthwhile to deconstruct the Blight Post for building materials once you've burned all the Cysts during the Storm or an Event.
    Beware the Prestige 3 modifier: Blightrot appears every 3rd Clearance Season.
  • Assign Blightfighters up to 15s before the Storm Season: They'll position themselves near Blightrot Cysts if given the time.
  • Facing Corruption levels well above 100% isn't that much of an issue if you can assign and supply enough Blightfighters to destroy Blightrot Cysts fast enough: Not only will their destruction reduce the existing Corruption but this reduction can even turn into a negative value that the remaining Blightrot Cysts need to overcome in addition to their regular Corruption rate.
  • If you have the Blight Automaton it can fight the Blightrot Cysts while your actual workers are busy elsewhere. Since it doesn't take up a worker slot you can assign further workers if necessary. For travel distances below 20-25 tiles it's the best Level I choice, otherwise it's the Mobile Sparkcasters upgrade.
  • having other Blight Posts / Hydrants near structures with Blightrot Cysts reduces time spent on getting more Purging Fire, allowing for more Blightrot Cyst removal
  • the Alchemical Forge upgrade helps saving resources in the long run and a single Blight Post with it is usually enough to take care of your Purging Fire production needs - some of it may even be requested by trade routes, allowing you to get some extra income and improved trade relations
  • If either being done fighting Blightrot Cysts or running out of Purging Fire while some remain the Blightfighters will take their breaks again when they have to, causing them to consume food and services. Ideally they should be busy with their task for the entire Storm Season, so that they only start consuming goods again once it is over. The higher the Ancient Hearth's resistance to Corruption the more viable this becomes.

See Also