Empires of the Undergrowth: All New Features in Fire Ant Update

Empires of the Undergrowth, by Slug Disco, is a unique RTS game where you take heed of an ant colony to grow, expand, fight, and dominate the undergrowth. The next major update for the game introduces a new setting, the swamps in North Carolina, USA, to house the notorious fire ants! Here is everything that you need to know about the tier-four Fire Ant Update in Empires of the Undergrowth.

All New Features in Fire Ant Update

New critters, creatures, and… frogs?

The Fire Ant update includes a whole load of new creatures to the game – the most that have ever been added to the game in a single update. A whopping eighteen creatures, with three new plants and two new enemy ant colonies, are a part of the update. The ants may be small, but the update is massive.

The update includes a new titan class that is a force to be reckoned with. Take the American Bullfrog for instance. It’s so large that your ants can climb it and take it down. Let’s break the list down into confirmed insects and confirmed amphibians.

Insects and Arachnids Joining Empires of the Undergrowth List

Here are a list of all the beetles and critters joining the game through the Fire Ant update.

• Caterpillars
• Velvet Worm
• Cow Killer (Red Velvet Ant)
• Bombardier Beetle
• False Bombardier Beetle, and its larva variant
• Checkered Beetle, and its larva variant
• Six-Spotted Tiger Beetle
• Blue Skimmer Dragonfly
• Wasp Mantidfly
• Green Lynx Spider
• Magnolia Green Jumping Spider
• Six-Spotted Fishing Spider

Amphibians Joining Empires of the Undergrowth List

Next is a list of all the revealed amphibians that’ll be making a meal of your colony:

• American Bullfrog
• Dwarf Salamander
• Eastern Newt
• Narrow-Mouthed Toad
• Pine Woods Tree Frog

Most of these amphibians will be splashing in the waters above, but some may very well be underground waiting for you!

Famished Fauna and Nightmare Neighbors

Not only are frogs and spiders joining the game, but Empires of the Undergrowth will now have new carnivorous plants and two new enemy ant colonies.

Here is the intense new plant life ready to eat up your ants:

• Venus FLytrap
• Pitcher Plant
• Dwarf Sundew
• Sweetbay Magnolias
• Milkweed

Sure, not every plant on that list is out to eat your fiery friends, but for your own safety, just assume everything is out to eat them. Now you’ve heard about the perilous inhabitants, you need to know your direct competition: other ant colonies. With this update, Empires of the Undergrowth will be hosting the little black ants (Monomorium minimum) to go head-to-head with your fire ants.

Not much has been released at all about the little black ants, but we have been teased about a new ability that the little black ants will be using generously: gaster flagging. Gaster flagging will disorientate your ants, as if a huge stun attack targets a lot of your ants at once.

Related: What Consoles Is Empires of the Undergrowth On?

Quite humorously, one caste of the little black ants will be their supersoldiers, the big-headed ants. These powerful giants have heads bigger than their bodies, so although they bite hard, they are clumsy and will fall on their faces from time to time.

Everything to Know About Fire Ants in Empires of the Undergrowth

Here is what you are really looking for – what cool new features arrive with the fire ants? The other ant colonies in Empires of the Undergrowth have been relatively simple, aside from the Leafcutter Ants in the previous tier three update. Slug Disco has decided to kick up the complexity to deliver an authentic fire ant experience.

What we do know is somewhat limited, but it’s enough to get us excited. The two class options for the fire ants focus on being aggressive, as is akin to their nature. You will choose between a pervasive colony, or a vigorous colony, each with their own benefits.

The pervasive ability will allow new ants to be born from their nursery tile for free after a certain amount of time, to allow for a faster-growing colony in their multitudes. The vigorous ability will grant recently-hatched ants numerous buffs for a short while, to give the colony an offensive edge in critical times or during nest invasions.

Alongside the aggressive abilities, the structure of the colony will be somewhat similar to the Leafcutter ants, with different castes and smaller and bigger ants for a dynamic experience. However, uniquely, the fire ants will be spawning two ants from each nursery tile to emulate the huge swarms seen in the real world.

One of the most amazing things that fire ants can do in the real world is create bridges and rafts to escape flash floods and cross rivers or streams. This insane feat has been incorporated into the game; the fire ants will be able to traverse bodies of water, so we can expect very wet level layouts.

A sneak peek into the levels

Slug Disco have graced us with a look into level 4.1 Cold Blood. Here is the video showing off how it’ll look.

As we can see, the swamp environment has been spotted with vibrant – and deadly – plants and flowers that contrast the murky, moist and muddy flooring. These harrowed lands will be the setting for a microscopic battle of supremacy.

Level 4.2, a bridge too far, will be all about growing your colony, and the great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly will be making an appearance in this level, so you’d better be ready.

We have been given so much to look forward to for the Empires of the Undergrowth fire ant update, and yet there is still so much more waiting for us! You can check their Twitter to stay up to date on everything Empires of the Undergrowth. Fire Ant Update Release Date: July 27, 2022