Understand Helminth Charger
Useful when…
- Pulling a target from up to 30 meters with Proboscis.
- Charging into enemies with Trample and gaining temporary benefits for each enemy hit.
- Using maggot-related Strain mods when building around the Charger’s maggots.
Pull and charge effects
Proboscis pulls an enemy within range toward the Charger and deals damage: at maximum rank, it reaches 30 meters and deals 100 damage; at rank 0, it reaches 15 meters and deals 25. Trample rushes an enemy and damages all enemies in its path. Its damage is 160 at maximum rank and 35 at rank 0. For five seconds, it gains 10% melee damage, maximum health, and armor for every enemy hit. Each is a compatible precept, so equip the relevant mod to use the effect.
Maggot-focused mods
The listed Strain mods support different parts of a maggot build. At maximum rank, Strain Eruption makes maggots explode on death, dealing Corrosive damage equal to 4% of an enemy’s current health to enemies within 8 meters; at rank 0, that is 1% within 2 meters. Strain Fever adds 40% damage per cyst at maximum rank or 10% per cyst at rank 0. These are mod effects, not unconditional base abilities. The Charger’s description identifies maggots as part of its Infested combat theme, but the listed bonuses should not be treated as final damage totals.
Base profile and comparisons
The Charger has 710 health, 330 shields, and 300 armor, with Penjaga, Madurai, and Penjaga polarities. Adarza Kavat is described as offering increased critical chance and punishing attackers; Chesa Kubrow is described as relieving enemies of weapons and loot caches. Those pets have different described roles, so their comparison does not establish that they reproduce the Charger’s pull, charge, or maggot effects.
Limitations and tradeoffs
- Proboscis and Trample are separate equipped precepts.
- Trample’s temporary bonuses depend on how many enemies it hits and last five seconds.
- Strain Eruption requires maggots to die; Strain Fever scales per cyst.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the precept effects are innate without equipping them.
- Treating Strain Eruption’s percentage of current health as a percentage of maximum health.
- Ignoring that Trample’s stat gains depend on enemies hit and last five seconds.