Pest Control, Olympian edition

A new harbour and island#

Pest Control now sails from a Greek harbour: a marble quay, Poseidon's monument, and a trireme to wait on. Walk up the plank to board, climb down the ladder (or ::leavepc) to get off.

The island keeps the layout you know, rebuilt Greek: a walled camp, the Void Knight on top of a stepped marble ziggurat, and four portals in triumphal arches, each rift a different colour.

Sized to your team#

Portals used to be a flat 2,000 hp, which made a strong team's games last seconds and a new player's last forever. Now the island reads everyone's Player Power and sizes itself:

• A portal is about 15 seconds of the whole team's output.
• A pest is about 2 seconds of an average player's output.
• To be paid, you deal about 10 seconds of your own output - and pests count.

Power is read from the best gear you own, so it cannot be gamed by stripping off, and it is re-read during the game. When a player leaves, the portals and the Knight shrink to match.

Solo, or up to 25#

• 1 to 25 players. A game launches with just one player aboard.
• Solo, only 40% of the horde spawns and the Knight digs in at 2,500 hp. Each extra player adds 15%, and the full horde comes at five.
• The horde itself is 35% smaller than before.

New mechanics#

• Hex shields. Every portal starts under a see-through dome and takes no damage until it drops - the first after 9 seconds, then one every 15.
• Shockwaves. A falling portal kills every pest within 6 tiles and heals the Knight 10%.
• The last portal enrages - no shield, double spawns.
• God omens. Each game rolls one of six: Zeus' Thunderstorm, Athena's Aegis, Hermes' Swift Winds, Ares' Bloodlust (+25% points), Hades' Restless Dead (+15%) and Poseidon's Tidal Surge (+20%).
• MVP. The top damage dealer in a won team game gets +2 points, and the top three are announced.

Greek pests#

Points, the Squire's store and the Void set are all in the Pest Control guide.