Vulxama Temple

The Vulxama Temple is a very destructive ESC 1 Halax magical weapon, capable of dealing both high single-target ETH damage and continuous area damage depending on which of its two different firing modes it is currently in. While these abilities make the Vulxama Temple good at locking down chokepoints, friendly forces must keep away when it emits this area damage, as it is just as lethal to allies as it is to enemies.

Story
An intrinsic benefit of the rites and rituals associated with the magical doctrine of Vulxama is their ability to generate ambient destructive energies that, if properly channeled and directed, can be turned into a fearsome short-range siege weapon. Vulxama magic forms the basis of many weapon technologies used in the Halax arsenal, but there are few weapons capable of harnessing this magic in its raw, unfiltered form, a form it only exists in during the communions of several Vulxama wizards. Although Vulxama Temples have always existed since the Halax came into being, the decision to militarize them in the Arena Conflict only emerged when Halax supreme wizards began to notice how Vulxama rituals occasionally caused nearby Halax infrastructure to sustain light damage due to the sheer volume of destructive energies being produced by the ritual. This led to the development of new magitechnological devices intended to collect and disperse these energies in a controlled manner, and the extreme destructiveness of the resulting beams emitted from the tops of the temples is what ultimately drove Halax grand wizards to incorporate Vulxama Temples as a part of the official Halax arsenal in the Arena Conflict. The Vulxama wizards that perform rituals in these battle-ready temples are not very different compared to those in normal temples, as all Vulxama wizards are known to be ruthless and hostile, regardless of location.

In terms of design, militarized Vulxama Temples are fairly similar to their non-militarized counterparts. They possess many of the same basic features and amenities, and share the same jagged triangular shape. However, what distinguishes these two different types of temples from each other is the presence of a powerful magitechnological condenser in the center of the temple, which automatically collects ambient Vulxama energy generated in the rituals conducted by the temple's wizards, and condenses it. This raw, extremely powerful energy can then either be dispersed from the temple in large pulses, damaging everything nearby regardless of affiliation, or fired in the form of a directed beam, capable of tearing through tough shields and enemy armor with ease. The chaotic nature of raw Vulxama energy makes the damage it inflicts difficult to repair, and while the threat of damaging friendly forces is always present, many Halax commanders choose to overlook this problem due to the Vulxama Temple's undeniable effectiveness against enemy installations.

Gameplay
Arguably the strongest magical weapon available to the Halax in the early game, the Vulxama Temple combines both high single-target damage and area-denial capabilities into a single weapon, making it quite versatile. Under normal circumstances, the Vulxama Temple can inflict a generous 50 ETH damage on a single target per shot, but Vulxama Temples can also shift into a special "Unfocused Destruction" mode, which causes them to automatically deal 30 ETH damage per turn to all Blocks, structures and weapons (friend and foe) in range. In this mode, Vulxama Temples become perfect for locking down specific parts of a map or barring enemy advances through chokepoints, as they can destroy nearby enemy emplacements in just a few turns. This, however, comes at the cost of preventing other friendly forces from entering this area due to how indiscriminate this area damage is. Of course, thanks to their teleportation magic, it is vastly easier for Halax forces to escape the range of a Vulxama Temple than it is for most other races. While their area damage can remain useful throughout a game, Vulxama Temples are particularly effective in the early game, as tight Block limits greatly reduce the chance of them damaging friendly forces, allowing Unfocused Destruction to be used freely.

If a Halax player is looking to extend the usefulness of their Vulxama Temples, the Focused Destruction upgrade can make them even stronger by increasing the damage of Unfocused Destruction while simultaneously rendering friendly forces immune to its effects. With this upgrade, Vulxama Temples become an even greater hazard for nearby enemies, and can effectively deter the advance of Transhuman Engines, as well. However, keep in mind that acquiring this upgrade will also cause Unfocused Destruction to consume 1 Mana per turn as long as it remains active. If you are fielding several Vulxama Temples and plan to use Unfocused Destruction considerably, it may be viable to also acquire Auxiliary Mana Production or reduce your usage of Mana in other ways. The Mana costs incurred by multiple Vulxama Temples can quickly add up, so be prepared!