Shrink Ray
From Duke Nukem Wiki
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The Shrink Ray (also know as the Shrinker) is a weapon capable of shrinking an enemy, making it possible to stomp it. It doesn't discriminate by hit points (although bosses are immune) and often is a weapon to use against strong foes.
The Shrinker is first picked up in the Lunar Apocalypse level Spaceport.
The Atomic Edition expansion later included a counter-part of the Shrinker, the Microwave Expander.
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[edit] Description
The primary and only function of the Shrink Ray is to shrink enemies. Even though it inflicts no damage whatsoever, it's arguably one of the most devastating weapon in the entire franchise. The player should come closer and stomp the shrunk enemy, otherwise the enemy will turn back to normal after 11 seconds.
The Shrink Ray has a surprisingly fast firing rate and can emit a large quantity of projectiles in a short period of time.
The Protector Drone is capable of using a Shrink Ray as the ammo used by the Shrinker seems to be actually a mineral (crystal). It doesn't drop a Shrink Ray or ammo for it, however, and it is immune to the Shrinker.
A Mini Battlelord usually needs more accuracy to be hit.
[edit] Tips and Tricks
- A weapon of choice against enemies with lots of health such as Assault Commanders, Pig Cops, Assault Enforcers and even Mini Battlelords due to the fact that only one shot is required to shrink them.
- Since it is not a hitscan weapon, it should be only used at small distances.
- The projectiles can be deflected off mirrors; this can be used to your advantage to bounce them around a corner for an example.
- It is possible to shrink yourself by bouncing the projectile off a mirror and having it hit Duke. See Effects of being shrunk, below.
- It doesn't have any effect whatsoever on bosses, Protector Drones, or mechanical enemies such as Turrets or Sentry Drones.
[edit] Notes
- Several bugs related to the Shrinker are present in the game.
- If an enemy (with exception of the Assault Enforcer) is hit while in shrunk state, he will act as a normal enemy despite being shrunk, and will not turn back to normal size.
- If a Mini Battlelord is returned back to normal after being shrunk, it will just run around without firing until it is hit.
- If a babe is shrunk, they become slightly larger when they return to "normal". This is more noticeable with cocooned babes.
- In general, enemies that recover from being shrunk will be stretched slightly differently compared to their original size.
- The Shrinker actually has a blast radius, and as a result large enemies will be hard to be hit with accuracy (this is the case with the Mini Battlelord). This basically results in the projectile hitting the "outside enemy" but the explosion doesn't have enough radius to hit the "inside enemy" resulting in a null hit.
[edit] Effects of being shrunk
If the player is shrunk by the Shrink Ray or by the Protector Drone's attack, the following effects will manifest:
- The viewpoint will change to be close to the floor.
- The player will be unable to use any weapons (even kick enemies). Instead, two hands will display, to represent Duke moving them up and down while running.
- It will be possible to enter small spaces (although Duke will die if the shrink effect wears off while he is inside).
- Shrunken Duke will drop down to lower floor instantly. That is, when going off an edge of a cliff, Duke will appear at the bottom instantly instead of falling.
- Other players in a multiplayer game can kill Duke instantly by stomping him. Enemies will not attack or stomp Duke while he is shrunk, although if the player return to it's normal size close to an enemy he will be smashed.
- It's still possible to use the Jetpack while being shrunk (which can make it harder to stomp on the player).
- The Steroids grant immunity from a shrink blast. A shrunk player that uses steroids will automatically returns to it's normal size.
[edit] Data
| Shrinker data | |
|---|---|
| Weapon key | 7 |
| Included ammo | 10 |
| Ammo amount | 5 (Shrinker crystal) |
| Max ammo | 50 |
| Type | Projectile |
| Damage | 0 |
| Blast radius | 650 map units 680 map units (version 1.4+) |
| Rate | |
| Speed | 768 |
| Tile number | 2556/SHRINKER 1646/SHRINKSPARK (projectile) 1656/SHRINKEREXPLOSION (impact) |
| Sound | ? thud.voc (impact) shrink.voc (hit) |
