T1 Light Assault Bots are tech 1 direct-fire units designed to perform raiding on lightly defended outposts or assist in direct attacks. They are quick and cheap to build, which makes them an integral component of any commander's T1 force. They are also very quick and agile permitting a limited amount of kiting and allowing them to attack and retreat quicker. It is inadvisable to use them against stationary defenses or commanders as they will be killed in 1 to 3 hits, only providing veterancy. They are also unique in that they are the only units able to fire out of a transport. That technique has been named the Ghetto gunship.
Outside the aforementioned Ghetto gunship, LABs are typically phased out within the first ten minutes of the game.
The Mech Marine has 10 more health than others, making it last slightly longer in a firefight against other mobile units. It will consistently defeat other LABs in one-on-one combat due to sustained damage and HP superiority, according to in-game testing. Its machineguns give it a high rate of fire and DPS.
Little is remarkable about the Flare other than the fact that it uses some sort of sonic weaponry. The long reload time makes this the worst of the true LABs according to in-game testing. (Though it will still easily defeat the Seraphim "Selen" Combat Scout). It is superior for the purpose of hit-and-run attacks in comparison to the other bots, precisely due to its weapon properties (high damage per shot, low firing rate).
The Hunter has slightly lower health than other bots, and fires its laser in bursts. It can consistently defeat Flares due to more consistent damage output, though it loses to Mech Marines. It can actually be very useful when combating other LABs that are tightly packed, because its burst weapon sprays a small area with fire. This gives it a small area damage.
The Selen is unique in that it serves the purpose of both light assault bot and land scout. It has lower HP and DPS than a conventional assault bot but higher health/DPS than a land scout. It possess radar as well as stealth and cloaking, which makes it more useful for surprise attacks. However, its stealth and cloaking deactivates when the unit moves or fires, and so move orders must be used with care. It is, however, even cheaper and quicker to build than other light assault bots, which makes it slightly more spammable. A useful trick when using them is to set them to hold fire and place them on a mass node, which prevents engineers from building on that spot. Note, however, that its primary purpose is scouting and not attack and is not cost effective to use them when defending against other bots. A mistake that new players often make is to build 15 of these and hope to do some damage. These are designed for the previously mentioned mass extractor prevention. In combat these will fall like dominoes. A bug: if a unit is already chasing the selen, the selen could stop firing and moving, but the unit will fire at the selen anyway. Also, The Selen only can fire forward when moving, so don't plan returning on fire when beating a hasty retreat from LABs
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