Editing Man-at-Legs

|pikmin2     = y

|pikmin4    = y

|image       = Pikmin Garden Man-at-Legs render.png

|size       = 270px

|name       = Pseudoarachnia navaronia

|family     = Arachnorb

|areas        = [[Hero's Hideaway]] ([[Olimar's Shipwreck Tale]])

|underground = [[Subterranean Complex]], [[Hole of Heroes]], [[Ultimate Testing Range]], [[Cavern for a King]]

|challenge   = [[Secret Testing Range]]

}}

The '''Man-at-Legs''' ({{j|ダマグモキャノン|Dama Gumo Kyanon|Cannon [[Beady Long Legs|Orb Spider]]}}) is a member of the [[Arachnorb family]], and first appeared as a [[boss]] in ''[[Pikmin 2]]'' and reappears in ''[[Pikmin 4]]''. It's one of two bio-mechanical creatures featured in either game, having a mostly mechanical torso sheathed in metal with four spindly legs – three of them are organic and spider-like, while the other one is mechanical; this makes attacking its feet impossible. Several exhaust pipes on its body continually emit steam. Unlike other Arachnorbs, it has no flat footpads to stomp [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] with, instead relying on its long-ranged attacks and speed, quickly skittering around the room to easily catch up to and outmaneuver its prey. When attacked, or sometimes randomly, it stops in place, the panels of its underbelly separate and a machine gun-like weapon extends out, tracking any nearby targets via a laser sight before rapidly firing a barrage of explosive rounds at whatever it finds to fire at. After firing a few dozen shots, with minimal breaks in-between, it sheathes its weapon before continuing to move about. While moving, it will occasionally stand still to rest, and in ''Pikmin 2'', makes strange mechanical noises while doing so, much like the roar-like noises made by its relatives in the same game.

Its interior appears to be filaments of biological matter that stretch to allow its gun to fold out. The creature is not without its flaws, though: it takes a few seconds to pull out its gun before it starts attacking, providing a clear signal of when retreating should be done, and it cannot lead its shots, meaning that if one circles the Man-at-Legs smoothly enough, preferably without any Pikmin, it'll be unable to land a single bullet. The Man-at-Legs' gun also has a maximum range to which it can target prey from, though due to how large its maximum range is, this limitation can only be seen with the Man-at-Legs in the Subterranean Complex.

In typical Arachnorb manner, it leaves no body behind upon dying. However, instead of slowly disintegrating like its two relatives, it freezes and releases lots of steam while shaking a bit, before exploding violently.

This boss is found buried in the ground, dormant, always in areas that have raised ground or some objects that can be used as shields against its rounds. As a side note, it cannot be [[ultra-bitter spray|petrified]] while it is dormant.

 

 

 

{{transcript|Having a body made up of living cells, a metabolism, and the ability to produce offspring might be considered necessary traits to determine if something is truly alive. But this rapid-fire cannon blows away conventional definitions! Is it a machine AND a creature?! What a fascinating possibility!|block=y}}

 

 

However, the Man-at-Legs itself is not in control of this weapon. Instead, the mechanical portions of its structure appear to automatically acquire and attack targets.

 

 

It is particularly difficult to understand why this species would develop such awesome offensive capabilities, leading to rumors among the scientific community that it was the machinery that approached the Arachnorb and proposed the symbiotic relationship.|block=y}}

 

===''Pikmin 2'' Nintendo Player's Guide===

 

 

 

 

A kind of Arachnorb that has been eaten away by machinery except for three legs and its internal organs. The fused biological parts have no will, and the autonomous mechanical parts control the body.

 

 

:It fires high-speed energy projectiles from a launcher in the lower part of its torso.

#When the creature has fully risen from the ground and starts aiming, the player should run for cover behind an object. Once it starts walking around, it should be chased. It is most easily attacked when it stands still and lowers its head. When it shakes the [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] attacking it off in a fury, the player should hide again, and repeat the cycle.

#A large mob of [[Purple Pikmin]] [[throw]]n at this enemy while it lies dormant in the ground should drop its [[health]] to a substantial fraction. Once it has risen fully, the first or third strategy should be used.

#The creature is attacked until it has stood up all the way, and at that point it is [[ultra-bitter spray|petrified]]. As soon as the spray wears off, it should be petrified again. However, occasionally the Man-at-Legs will exit the stun and start shooting immediately, without the aiming laser.

#Before the creature opens fire, the player can [[dismiss]] their Pikmin away from the Man-at-Legs and run in tight circles around its legs. As long as a [[leader]] is closer to the creature than the Pikmin, he will be shot at, and with skill, unharmed. This strategy is easier to perform after obtaining the [[Rush Boots]].

 

Unfortunately, the player faces the Man-at-Legs in a watery area two out of three times, leaving the aforementioned strategy of [[Purple Pikmin]] useless. In such circumstances, it is best to attempt the "Hit and Run" technique of number one. The second strategy does not work in ''[[New Play Control! Pikmin 2]]'', as the creature is invincible while it is rising from the ground. The fourth method is effective, but hard to perform at times.

 

 

 

Using Oatchi, the player can simply throw Pikmin onto the beast, or charge the [[Winged Pikmin]] useful for the rest of the cave, then keep running in a circle around the beast making sure the player's entire squad is stored on Oatchi's back. The Man-At-Legs cannot fire ahead of the player, making this strategy flawless for a death-free defeat. This even works without [[Rush Boots]] or Doggy Paddle upgrades, although these upgrades are still advised because it is much easier for Oatchi to get shot with slower speed. The player must make sure to keep running and stay aware of their surroundings, however, as stopping even for a moment can lead to a massacre.

 

Without Oatchi, [[pot|Pots]] or [[Dirt Wall]]s serve as cover. The player must watch out as the health of these objects is limited; an in-tact dirt wall is only guarenteed to stop 1 round of bullets, and a damaged one will break just before the Arachnorb stops firing. It also takes around 3 pots to stop a round of bullets. This requires the player to pay attention to their positioning and switch cover when necessary. It should be noted the Man-At-Legs starts firing slower and less accurately, then picks up the pace as its magazine runs low in an attempt to kill Pikmin with its last few shots, this lets the player conserve health of their cover by wasting a few bullets before the Man-At-Legs goes into rapid fire. Make sure that you keep piling damage on the beast, since if all your cover breaks, you will be forced to use much less advantageous cover in the vacinity or you will be caught in fire. Like in {{p2}}, dismissing a squad of Pikmin and running around closer to the boss can distract it from the dismissed squad, but be careful not to dispand to close to the boss or collect dismissed Pikmin as the Man-at-Legs can choose to fire Pikmin instead of the player if close enough.

When fought in [[Olimar's Shipwreck Tale]] the [[Lineup Trumpet]] can be used, with enough skill, to help your squad avoid the bullets without Moss or cover, but this is quite difficult. It's recommended that a [[Lightning Shock]] is used, since there's 3 lighting shocks and 4 [[boss]]es, one of which is not requierd.

 

 

Although it may seem surprising, a similarly fast defeat is actually possible without items. There are two key strategies which use a combination of Pikmin's abilities to completely shut down the boss's attacks.

 

[[Ice Pikmin|Ice]] and [[Purple Pikmin|Purple]] Pikmin: A squad compisition of about 15 Ice and 35 Purple Pikmin is reccomended, do not use too many Ice Pikmin as you dont want to freeze the boss too fast. Simply coax the Man-At-Legs into waking up, dont worry about dealing too much damage here as the boss has a huge defense boost anyway. Once the boss is on its feet, begin to throw your Ice Pikmin, aiming to freeze the boss in the middle of its shake animation. If you manage to do this, you are in a prime position to chuck Purple Pikmin until the boss is defeated. The rest of your squad could be used for Winged Pikmin who are useful for the rest of the cave.

 

[[Winged Pikmin|Winged]] and [[Rock Pikmin|Rock]] Pikmin: A squad compisition of about 70 Winged and 30 Rock is reccomended, less rocks are needed as the same Rock can be thrown multiple times in a volley. Simply charge your Winged Pikmin at the Man-At-Legs, making sure to whistle them back before they are shaken off. Do not let the boss firing scare you, just make sure the Winged Pikmin stay on the beast as much as possible, their homing AI lets them target the creature themselves most of the time given they are close enough. At the same time, circle the boss and chuck your Rock Pikmin at it repeatedly, again, do not get scared by the boss firing, just keep chucking and circling the boss. With enough skill in execution, the boss will be met with so many targets it can no longer aim properly, defeating it as fast as at the beginning of its first round of bullets with few to no deaths.

 

Unlike in ''Pikmin 2'', it is possible to fight the boss while it is firing. Distracting the bullets by trying to catch the boss's attention can let Winged Pikmin keep wailing on the boss even as it shoots at you, Rock Pikmin are also pretty effective at this. Commanding Oatchi to attack the boss will make him automatically run around to catch the boss's attention, making these strategies less risky.

 

 

{{enemy other info

 

|internal  = Internally, the boss is called <code>houdai</code>. {{j|ほうだい|houdai}} means "artillery battery", once more referring to the creature's firepower. In ''Pikmin 4'' its internal name is <code>DAMAGUMOCANNON</code>.

 

Man-at-Legs E-Card.jpg|The Man-at-Legs' [[e-card]], #32 (10^th blue card).

*The overall appearance of the Man-at-Legs is likely based on the {{w|Martian (The War of the Worlds)|Martians}} from the novel ''{{w|The War of the Worlds}}''. Both have a combination of mechanical and organic aspects (the Man-at-Legs is part machine, part organic, while the Martians are life-forms piloting robots). They both initially only have their head visible, but eventually raise it by lifting their legs out of the ground, which are disproportionately thin and tower over the humanoid characters. They also both attack the humanoid characters with a gun, and the Man-at-Legs releases steam while the Martians release smoke.

*The Man-at-Legs also shares numerous similarities with the [[wikia:starwars:OG-9 homing spider droid|OG-9 homing spider droid]], being quadrupedal spider-like walkers with abdominal laser cannons. Both were released relatively close to each other, the Spider Droid preceding the Man-at-Legs by 2 years in {{w|Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones|Attack of the Clones}}. [[File:P2 Man-at-Legs Walking on Air.png|thumb|285px|The Secret Testing Range Man-at-Legs standing on air.]]

*In {{p2}}, the Man-at-Legs can be lured to stand outside the boundaries of its [[Secret Testing Range]] arena, causing it to walk on air.

*In ''Pikmin 2'', like the Raging Long Legs, the Man-at-Legs uses Beady Long Legs' "roar" at a different pitch. There are no adjustments to make it sound more mechanical.

*In ''Pikmin 2'', spider web patterns are seen on the floor of its [[Subterranean Complex]] arena, similar to the shadows of webs in the Beady Long Legs and [[Raging Long Legs]] arenas and the web that the [[Groovy Long Legs]] hangs from.

**Additionally, the metal that makes up the web pattern and that appears under the Man-at-Legs' resting place in all its arenas looks very similar to the Man-at-legs, and its texture is named <code>houdaimetal</code> in the game's files, implying the two may be related.

*In ''Pikmin 2'', the holes in the Man-at-Legs' main body's metal plating reveal an appearance almost identical to to the [[Beady Long Legs]]' waxy shell underneath. This detail is not kept in ''Pikmin 4'', where it is visually implied to simply be more of the creature's flesh.

*An unused cave in ''Pikmin 2'''s files reveals that two Man-at-Legs were to be fought in the same sublevel.{{source needed}}

*It is unknown how Louie knows how to cook this beast, as it explodes upon death.

*This is the only member of the [[arachnorb family]] that is not stated to be inedible or otherwise nearly unpalatable and unpleasant to consume according to [[Louie]]'s notes on it, since he calls the oil a "mouthwatering gravy" and never mentions any unfortunate side effects of consuming the oil.

*This member of the [[Arachnorb family]] is very different from its other relatives; it is the only one that doesn't [[crush]] Pikmin nor fall from the sky (instead it comes out of the ground) and it is also the smallest known member.

*Only in ''Pikmin 2'', when its health reaches approximately 1/3rd, its mechanical leg's joints will start smoking.

*Pikmin standing directly against certain walls of the arena may be invulnerable to the bullets it shoots due to a glitch with their hitboxes.{{Source needed}}

 

[[Category:Burrowing enemies]]

[[Category:Explosion enemies]]

[[Category:Enemy-harming enemies]]

[[Category:Olimar's Shipwreck Tale]]

[[Category:Pikmin 4 bosses]]