Fendersax wasps, also known as Needle wasps, are flying insectoid enemies in Rift Apart. They are large, invasive bugs with infestations around the galaxy. While they have venomous stingers, their primary method of attack is to vomit highly corrosive acid at their prey. It is said their Sirangian honey can be quite delicious.
History[]
Rift Apart[]
The wasps are found in many areas around Sargasso's acid swamps. They also appear on Blizar Prime, where many of them are found inside the Wasp Caverns and around an area known by the miners as Crystal Ridge. Beneath the caverns appears to be the site of the wasp's hive, where they make their honey. In the optional side mission "Find the Missing Chef", Chef Tulio asks Rivet to assist her with helping create a honey smorgasbord for the hungry miners. The Chef requires Rivet to protect her VAC-U-SUK while it harvests the Sirangian honey of the hive below from the defending Fendersax wasps. Upon being brought to the surface, the honey's tempting aroma attracts the attention of several other enemies who will attempt to destroy the VAC-U-SUK to get to it, which include Lava puffoids, Toxic crabs and even the Goons-4-Less. The wasps can also later be encountered on Torren IV. They are also seen at Zordoom Prison inside some of the cages.
At Zurkie's Battleplex, the wasps appear coming out of rifts in the Silver Cup challenge "Pest Control". They appear to have some degree of intelligence, as some can also be found outside of combat as patrons at Zurkie's Gastropub, where they are seen drinking beverages and other patrons conversing with them at tables.
Combat[]
The Wasps move erratically through the air and attack by shooting acid attacks that land on the ground, similar to the cluster bombs of the Nefarious Peacekeeper. When they are defeated, their abdomen will violently expand and explode. Since they have no red marker reticles on the ground, they can be tricky to keep track of however. These Wasps actually don't have much more health than other swarmers, meaning that the Lightning Rod is actually a rather viable weapon to use on them, especially with it's upgrade that chains lightning between enemies. The Burst Pistol is also good to accurately hit them in the air, while the Buzz Blades are good as they don't require as much accuracy and will repeatedly bounce back hitting them and any others close by. One of the best to use would be the Negatron Collider, as the continuous beam kills them fast and can be quickly redirected to other wasps in one sweeping motion. The acid balls they spit can also be caught using the Void Repulser and fired back at them.
Behind the scenes[]
Trivia[]
Concept art shows that the Fendersax wasp was originally named the Unicroid. It was also one of three wasp type creatures with the other two being the Sarcon Spitter and the Splode. These latter two were scrapped and did not make the cut.
Development art[]
