Starship Troopers: Terran Command – Ultimate Guide to Bug Species

Over the course of the campaign, you are going to crush, kill and destroy innumerable hordes of Bugs. The most common subspecies you will encounter are Warrior Bugs. Warrior Bugs spawn at every active Hive, Tunnel and Bug lair. They are lightly armored, move quickly and travel in large packs.

Drones are not generally seen above ground as their role is to ensure a Hive is functioning as intended. They are similar in appearance to Warriors but are weaker and have lighter armor. Don’t underestimate them as they are still deadly up close and in numbers. Drones are only spawned at Brood Lairs.

Another common subspecies you will encounter are Chariot Bugs. These Bugs are lightly armored and move very slowly but are still capable of damaging your units if you let them. Seriously, go try and pet them and see what happens. Chariot Bugs usually indicate the presence of a Brain Bug as their primary role is to carry those immobile monstrosities. All other Bugs are uncommon or dangerous enough that you will be warned of their appearance by an icon in the top right of the HUD.

Bug Species

Hopper Bugs are a winged variety of Arachnid capable of flight. They are lightly armored but more than make up for it with their speed. When approached, they will circle your units before making a dive attack and skewering whoever was unlucky enough to get in the way.

Spitter Bugs are unarmored and more fragile than other subspecies of Bugs but are very dangerous if left alone, as they spit a highly suppressive caustic stream at a medium distance. Their projectile stream splashes upon impact and is able to hit many units at once. It also drastically reduces the movement speed and rate of fire of any unit for a short time. Make sure to shoot them before they spit on you.

Tiger Bugs behave like Warrior Bugs, but they are easily distinguished by the orange and black stripes on their exoskeleton and their giant fang-like claws that can slice through body armor with ease. Tiger Bugs are larger, more durable and have thicker armor than their Warrior Bugs but move a little more slowly as a result. They also ignore explosions that would stun or slow down other Bugs.

Royal Guard Bugs exist to protect Hive Queens from being captured at all costs. Even if that means killing them. If you encounter them out in the open, it’s a sure sign that the Bugs are getting desperate. Royal Guard Bugs are the toughest “small” Bugs you will encounter. Military Intelligence is currently unsure whether to classify them as having medium or heavy armor, but field reports from front line troops say that small arms fire has nearly no effect. After they have taken a significant amount of damage, they will become enraged.

An enraged Royal Guard will partially regenerate its health and continue to attack your units until you either destroy it or it eventually collapses from exhaustion. Enraged Royal Guards have reduced movement speed so it’s often prudent to enact a tactical withdrawal and wait it out.

Besides the typically stationary Plasma Bugs, Tanker Bugs are the largest and most heavily armored Bug you will encounter. Their black chitinous armor is nearly impervious to small arms fire and somewhat resistant to grenades and other light explosives.

Tanker Bugs spew a stream of flammable corrosive liquid from a spout on top of their heads, which must charge up before it can be fired. The target of the blast can be predicted and agile units are able to move out of the way if they react quickly enough. Units that don’t move out of the way will be incinerated and the ground will be set alight for a short duration.

Any units that move through the fire will be heavily damaged. When a Tanker Bug is finally defeated, it will collapse leaving behind a pool of fire that will melt any units that walk onto it.

Scorpion Bugs bear a slight resemblance to their Terran cousins. The major difference being that instead of stinging their prey, they shoot a long range beam of superheated plasma out of their tail. While their rate of fire is slow, the beam is not and is near impossible to dodge. It can puncture even the thickest armor and poses a major threat to slow moving Marauders. Scorpion Bugs are highly durable, coming in at a close second to Tanker Bugs. They prefer to stay behind the main swarm and provide covering fire making them difficult to destroy without long range weapons.

Plasma Bugs serve as living artillery pieces and anti-air defense for the Arachnids. They are easily spotted thanks to their enormous abdomen full of bright blue plasma. Plasma Bugs are able to launch a plasma burst across the entire Battlefield that will devastate anything that it hits. Plasma bursts are so destructive that you will be alerted when one takes place and the target location will be indicated on the map and minimap by a large purple biohazard symbol. They are heavily armored and almost as durable as a Tanker Bug. When a Plasma Bug is killed, it will collapse and leave behind a puddle of burning plasma which will kill any soldiers that walk into it.

Plasma Grenadiers are a smaller more mobile subspecies of Plasma Bugs. That’s not saying much as almost everything is smaller than a Plasma Bug. Plasma Grenadiers launch bursts of plasma into the air that explode upon impact, damaging units in a medium radius. Their bursts appear on the Battlefield as small purple circles alerting you to move out of the way. They are much slower than other Bugs of similar size and are only lightly armored, but they make up for this weakness with their incredibly long range.

Bombardier Bugs are so small and so fast you’ll barely notice that they’re there until they explode right in your face. These little critters scuttle along hidden within swarms of other Bugs and self-destruct when they make it to your front lines. They’re about as resilient as a cockroach, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Standard procedure is to bombard the other Bugs in a wave with explosives and hope the Bombardier Bugs experience premature detonation.

Information regarding Brain Bugs is classified.

Starship Troopers: Terran Command – Battle Tiers

Falagar

He is the founder and editor of Magic Game World. He loved gaming from the moment he got a PlayStation 1 with Gran Turismo on his 7th birthday.
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