Scythid

Original Scythid design as they attacked a vehicle.

Scythids are large, hunched leech-like creatures that dig from the ground or emerge from burrows. They have fleshy appendages on their sides that allow them to jump and fly varying distances. They pose a danger when massed.

General Strategy

Scythids are fast, usually low to the ground, always attack in groups, and have no critical spot to exploit. With all that said, they are some of the least dangerous enemies Vault Hunters will encounter on Pandora. Provided a player knows their weaknesses.

Contrary to in-game information Scythids are vulnerable to neither Incendiary attacks, nor Grenade damage (except for Transfusion). Point of fact, they are resistant to elemental attacks and take minimal damage per second from triggered elemental effects. Scythids are also extremely resistant to area-of-effect or "splash" damage done against them from any source, be it from a Grenade or a Rocket Launcher.

Contrary to popular belief Scythids are not fragile with the exception of the Scythid Crawler, but even then the fragility is only perceived and not supported by actual amounts of health.

Scythid of all breeds and elemental stripe are highly vulnerable to non-elemental attacks, taking 1.5 to 2 times base damage depending on where they are being shot with the belly being their soft spot. This damage multiplier does not apply to the machineguns on Runners, but it does apply to melee attacks and will stack with "Bladed" or "Spiked" weapons or class mods and skills that give bonus melee damage.

Types of Scythids

Scythid Crawlers, Scythid Slugs, Scythid Creeps

Scythid Crawlers are very small, pale pink Scythids. Though sneaky, their attack style is limited. After approaching a target along a straight line, they will emit a high-pitched noise (akin to a loud "mee-yeep!") and leap at the player for a small, almost negligible amount of damage. Look for a small pause in their movement, this means they are about to pounce.

Close-ranged weapons with a spray effect such as Shotguns or Submachine Guns are effective for dealing with them up close, while an accurate burst from an assault rifle-type Combat Rifle can easily take them out at a distance. Melee attacks are also a great way of dealing with them as this saves ammo and they usually die in one hit.

Desert Scythids, Wasteland Scythids, Dune Scythids

Desert Scythids look like dark brown scarab beetles with their distinctive shiny backs. They are the fastest type of Scythids, easily able to overtake a player trying to dash or back away. In terms of attack behavior they are the most complex Scythids. In addition to the leaping attack, they will rush the player with a narrow zig-zag and when in range, rearing up and attempting a hard-hitting slash attack. Sometimes they will take to the air, frantically flapping their side appendages while extending their slashing spines, and will either try to fly behind the player while they are distracted with other Scythids, or they will just fly at the player's face and try for a critical slash attack.

It is easiest to kill them with a burst of automatic fire, a Shotgun blast, or a well-placed melee attack.

File:Desert Scythid 2.png

Bursting Scythids, Exploding Scythids, Kablooey Scythids

Bursting Scythids are big and Bloated Scythids that prefer to get close to the player and attack exactly like the Crawler. Relative to their size they have very little health but explode when killed, damaging the player if they are too close. This is a hazard when driving, since the death explosion will deal extra damage to a vehicle if they are run over.

Due to their ample target profile and vulnerability to regular guns, any weapon can kill them quickly. Avoid melee attacks, their dying blast can be nasty when the player is right at the center.

Giant Scythids, Mammoth Scythids, Colossal Scythids

Big, ugly, with blue-green coloring along the back with a dull orange underbelly, Giant Scythids are easy to spot. They are also tougher and harder hitting then the other breeds of regular Scythid, but fortunately these horrific behemoths are limited in their attack patterns. They will steadily approach a player, their heads raised, and swipe with a slashing attack, or the will leap at a player from close range, knocking them back.

The easiest ways to kill them is with any rapid fire weapon while backing up, or unloading repeated blasts from a Shotgun into their vulnerable (and conveniently exposed) underbelly. Due to their size and vulnerability to regular damage Sniper Rifles and accurate assault rifle-style Combat Rifles are effective at range.

File:Giant Scythid.png

Badass Fire Crawlers, BadMutha Blazing Slugs, Superbad Scorching Creeps

Fire Scythid Crawlers are similar in color to the Bursting Scythids but slightly bigger, and significantly tougher. Slow for a Scythid, this Badass enemy will move into range and begin bombarding the player with a torrent of of 6-10 fireballs with a limited splash radius. This attack pattern can be deadly, as once it starts, it will not stop until finished and if a player tries to out-range the bombardment, the Burning Crawler will just arc them farther.

The best way to dispatch them is with automatic gunfire or repeated Shotgun blasts. Due to the lethality of their ranged attack, large target profile, and vulnerability to gunfire they should be considered priority targets.

File:Badass Fire Crawler.png

Badass Shock Scythid, BadMutha Lightning Scythid, Superbad Galvanizing Scythid

These creatures look exactly like Giant Scythids except for their total blue color and the electrical sparks running across their surface. Like the Burning Scythid, this Badass enemy will quickly assume range and then release an arcing electric projectile that has a limited splash and extreme damage to shields. In addition, they also have the slashing attack of Giant Scythids, but with the added danger of shock elemental effect. Fortunately, they won't employ the slashing attack that often, preferring to bombard the player while other Scythids act as interference.

Like with Burning Scythids, this breed is quickly taken down with heavy automatic fire from a machine gun-style Combat Rifle or multiple blasts from a Shotgun. Shock Scythids will explode with an electric nova when they die, so melee attacks shouldn't be attempted. Because the projectile attack from this enemy can almost instantly strip away shields, and because they are vulnerable to regular bullets, prioritize this enemy when encountered.

Badass Poison Scythid, BadMutha Venomous Scythid, Superbad Noxious Scythid

This Badass creature is as big as the Giant Scythid while attacking with all the complexity and blinding speed of the desert scythid. In addition to a moderately damaging acid-based spray of projectiles it can leap, fly, zig-zag, and slash. Like all elemental Scythid, this one explodes when it dies, usually triggering a corrosive elemental effect.

Pretty much like all Scythid heavy automatic fire from Combat Rifles can be used to great effect. It should be noted that Poison Scythids have the most damaging death explosion, capable of crippling a player even at effective Shotgun range, so avoid getting close and try to kill this enemy when you see it instead of concentrating on smaller Scythids first.

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Notes

• Like other creatures, Scythids and bandits will attack each other when in the same vicinity.
• The Badass Poison Scythid can allegedly fire shock balls of the Badass Shock Scythid, but this has yet to be confirmed.
• They will often attack vehicles, regardless of danger or numbers. These slugs are really pretty dumb.
• As pictured at the top of this article, Scythid were not always the meeping, crawly, sluggy bug-a-boos they are now. In the original build, Scythid were quadru- or sexti-pedal and functioned like a coordinated group, like the Pandoran equivalent of a hyena pack, as opposed to senseless pouncing and fluttering. They preferred to waylay targets, often going after lone targets and sometimes even vehicles that passed nearby their nests, or attacking them on open plains, as pictured.

• The original Scythids came in several varieties, but lacked elemental dispositions. They were, from the smallest to the greatest, the dog-like Sprinters and Runners, as seen in the initial image above, which preferred to ram and gore targets, often tipping over Outrunners and Salt Racers; semi-serpentine Reavers, which tended to attack from cliffsides and use tusk and blade-like arm appendages to maul prey; the huge and mammoth-like Ravagers, which burst from the ground and attempted to grieve or pince opponents with their massive, scythe-like tusks; and the gargantuan and fearsome Ruiners, which were much to the effect of a Ravager, but thrice its size, four-tusked, and capable of vomiting caustic bile as well as performing a fierce, area-effect ground slam. In the end, Gearbox discarded these beautific beasts in favor of slugs, claiming they were "too much like Zerg" in both form and function.
• The monolithic skeletons that litter the wastelands and deserts, such as the one in Skag Gully, are likely the bones of ancient, truly mammoth Scythid Ruiners, suggesting that such beasts could grow to truly dominating proportions.

• The possible existence of Scythid larvae and a Queen or broodmother were discussed, but ultimately sandbagged along with the others. It's possible, though unlikely, that the present incarnations are based upon the Larva design.
• Scythid emit a high-pitched squel when attacking.

See Also

• Slither
• Bleeder