Credits

Credits
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Pickup Type:	Credits

“

For reasons I can't comprehend or explain, the robots run on piles of money. Destroy them and whatever falls out is yours.

— Miss Pauling

”

Credits are piles of cash which drop when robots are destroyed in Mann vs. Machine mode. Regular robots will drop small piles of cash while giant robots and tanks drop larger piles of cash. The amount of credits dropped per sub-wave is fixed, usually a multiple of 50 or 100, and is distributed equally amongst all bots in that sub-wave. Support-only classes (Snipers, Spies, and Sentry Busters) do not drop credits. Other support classes drop credits up to a maximum amount at which point killing more of them will not drop any more, and if this maximum amount has not been reached by the end of a wave then all remaining robots of that support group will drop the remainder.

Credits can be used at Upgrade Stations to purchase weapon upgrades, abilities, and Power Up Canteen buffs. To date, all missions start players off with 400 credits, with the exception of Mech Mutilation, where players will start with 1000 credits, and Calignious Caper, where players start with 5000 credits.

Players who are in a respawn wave may also buy back into the game early (default key H) for 5 credits per second remaining (e.g. the cost is 25 credits to skip 5 seconds of respawn delay). The defending team is notified via a sound cue as well as a message in the chat box indicating how many credits were spent. Scouts respawn instantly and thus have no need for this mechanic.

If a player joins a game already in progress, they will receive the total amount of credits that have been collected so far in the previous and current rounds of the game, including the starting credits.

Collection

Any class can run over a pile to collect it, often triggering voice lines encouraging other players to join in. Scouts have an innate ability to vacuum up cash that is farther away and will also gain 50 health for doing so. All credits collected are shared equally amongst all players.

As the amount of credits dropped is dependent on the number of robots in the wave, the amount gained from a single pickup is not fixed and can vary between two otherwise identical piles. The total amount of all credit pickups active on the map is displayed underneath the player's current cash.

Credits have an expiration time and will start flashing to alert players when they are about to expire. When expired, the credits will disappear into a puff of flame. The number of credits collected in a wave is graded by the Administrator as a credit rating ranging from A to F. Collecting all credits dropped during a wave will result in a credit rating of A+ and a bonus of 100 credits to each player. The credit rating for an entire game is also tracked as the sum of all its rounds.