Editing Lock-on

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[[File:Baldy.longlegs.jpg|thumb|right|325px|Locking on to a [[Baldy Long Legs]] in the [[Tropical Forest]].]]
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'''Lock-on''' is a combat and exploration mechanic added in ''[[Pikmin 3]]''. This feature makes the [[camera]] lock on to and focus on a certain [[enemy]], [[obstacle]] or other object. This allows players to not lose its sight, making attacking easier, as well as obtaining its name and allowing the Pikmin army to charge.

To lock-on, the player must move the [[HUD#Cursor|cursor]] to an object. At that point, the cursor will change, and the player must then hold {{button|wiiu|zl|wii|z|wiiu|pczl}} for roughly half a second so that the scan's lock takes place. Unlike other Nintendo games that have lock-on functionality (e.g. ''[[metroidwiki:Metroid Prime (game)|Metroid Prime]]''), the player does not need to hold the button in order to keep it. Briefly tapping the same button again cancels the lock-on. Moving far enough away from the target will also cancel the lock-on automatically.

Once locked-on, the [[camera]] zooms in and focuses on the object, and rotates to follow it around. The manual camera controls will also not work. [[Dodge|Dodging]] will make the leader and Pikmin roll around the object, as opposed to rolling in a straight line left or right. With the GamePad or Wii U Pro Controller, holding the lock-on button will place the cursor on top of the target that started the lock-on, and keeping it held will keep the cursor there.

==Lockable targets==
{{stub|Complete the list.}}{{Todo|verify if and when Olimar/Louie are identified as Hocotatians, "???", or their actual names.}}
Only some objects can be locked-on to. These can be identified by the cursor changing appearance when on top of them. The cursor will not change &ndash; nor will the lock-on activate &ndash; if the [[leader]] is too far away from the target. It is also possible to lock-on if the cursor is close to, but not exactly on the target. Some targets allow the cursor to lock-on to a specific location, like a [[Red Bulborb]]'s eyes or back, or a section on the [[Armored Mawdad]].

Although hard, it is possible to lock-on to some objects that are normally too far away to allow a lock-on. This can be done with the [[Stellar Extrusion]] on the [[Tropical Wilds]]: by positioning the camera such that the fruit appears on one of the top corners, it is possible to put the cursor there, and lock-on. However, shortly after the lock takes place, it will be canceled automatically given the large distance.
The following is a list of objects that can be locked-on to:
{{clean|Complete the list and add missing icons.}}

*{{icon|Red Bulborb|n|v=P3|n=All enemies|l=Enemy#In ''Pikmin 3''}}
*{{icon|Sunseed Berry|n|v=FF|n=All fruits|l=Fruit#List}}
*{{icon|Scorch Guard|l=Upgrade}} All suit upgrades:
**{{icon|Scorch Guard|y}}
**{{icon|Anti-Electrifier|y}}
**{{icon|Metal Suit Z|y}}
**{{icon|Dodge Whistle|y}}
*Plants and fungi:
**{{icon|Pellet Posy|y|v=P3}}
**{{icon|Crimson Candypop Bud|n|v=P3|n=Candypop Bud|l=Candypop family}}
**{{icon|Burgeoning Spiderwort|y|v=P3}}
**{{icon|Bloominous Stemple|y}}
**{{icon|Flukeweed|y}}
**{{icon|Spotcap|y}}
**{{icon|Kingcap|y}}
**{{icon|Bouncy Mushroom|y}}
*Obstacles:
**{{icon|Dirt wall|y}}
**{{icon|Reinforced wall|y|v=P3}}
**{{icon|Electric gate|y|v=P3}}
**{{icon|Crystal wall|y}}
**{{icon|Bamboo gate|y}}
**{{icon|Cardboard box|y}}
**{{icon|Tin box|y}}
**{{icon|Paper bag|y|v=P3}}
**{{icon|Iron ball|y}}
**{{icon|Seesaw blocks|n|v=P3|n=Seesaw block}}
**{{icon|Elevator platforms|n|n=Elevator platform}}
**{{icon|Fragment|n|n=Fragments}}
**{{icon|Hay|y}}
**{{icon|Clipboard|y}}
**{{icon|Small crystal|y}}
**{{icon|Large crystal|y}}
**{{icon|Climbing stick|y}}
**{{icon|Dirt mound|y}}
**{{icon|Tunnel|y}}
**{{icon|Dam|y}}
**{{icon|Conveyor switch|y}}
*Other:
**[[Olimar]] (only when unconscious in story mode)
**[[Louie]] (only when unconscious in story mode and [[Mission Mode]] and is identified as [[Hocotatian]])
**{{icon|Egg|y}}
**{{icon|Nectar|y}}
**{{icon|Ultra-spicy nectar|y}}
**{{icon|Data Glutton|y}}
**{{icon|Folded Data Glutton|y}}
**{{icon|Phosbat|n|n=Phosbat Pod|l=Phosbat Pod}}
**{{icon|Large crystal|n|n=Mireclops crystal|l=Mireclops crystal}}
**{{icon|Plasm Wraith|n|n=Elemental plasm|l=Plasm Wraith}}
**[[1 pellet]]
**[[5 pellet]]
**[[10 pellet]]
**[[Lucky Marble]]
**[[Victory Macaroon]]
**{{icon|Nugget|n|n=Nuggets}}
Notes:
*The following objects display "???" in story mode, before they are identified by the crew:
**{{icon|Sunseed Berry|v=FF|l=Fruit#List}} All fruits
**{{icon|Scorch Guard|l=Upgrade}} All suit upgrades
**{{icon|Data Glutton}} Data Glutton
**{{icon|Folded Data Glutton}} Folded Data Glutton
*Objects that Pikmin return to to get more of, usually in piles, can only be locked-onto in their original resting places. When they are, it focuses on the entire pile and is labeled in plural, even if only one object remains. This applies to:
**{{icon|Dusk Pustules}} Dusk Pustules
**{{icon|Dawn Pustules}} Dawn Pustules
**{{icon|Fragment}} Fragments
**{{icon|Hay}} Hay
**{{icon|Nugget}} Nuggets
*The [[Vehemoth Phosbat]] can not be locked-onto while it is invisible, even though the player can still point at its faint silhouette.
*Locking-onto a [[Scornet]] in the [[Scornet Maestro]] battle will instead lock-onto the actual boss. Similarly, locking-onto an independent group of Scornets will instead focus on the center of the swarm. It will also display "Scornets", in plural.
*Although the legs, feet, bottom, and head of the [[Quaggled Mireclops]] can be locked-on, its grassy top cannot. When it is dead, only its head can be locked-onto.

==Visuals==
When the cursor is on top of something that can be locked, it changes from being a simple circle with a dot projected on the terrain, to a circle with three triangles pointing inward, facing the screen. Once the player begins holding down the lock button, the cursor also changes aspect to indicate how much more the player needs to hold the button down for so that the lock takes place. This isn't very useful, since locking on takes a fraction of a second.

While scanning, the left and right portions of the screen darken, two curved lines appear near the darkened areas, and some textual information is shown on some corners of the screen. The bottom-right corner of the [[HUD]] shows the object's name surrounded by some [[Koppaite text]] that translates to "Space library lite" "Simple dictionary in the PIPAD" "Just has the names". The top-left corner displays an icon of the same button used to trigger lock-on, but with the string "Cancel Lock-On" afterwards: this indicates that the button can be pressed again to cancel. The bottom-right corner shows that issuing a [[dismiss]] in this state ({{button|wiiu|b|wii|nunchukshake|wiiu|pcb}}) makes the Pikmin party charge at it. With Stylus mode, the dismiss button on-screen also changes caption to read "Charge".

==Charge==
[[File:ChargeDataFile.jpg|320px|thumb|The [[data file]] explaining how to charge.]]
By [[dismiss]]ing while locked-on, [[leader]]s can make their [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] '''charge''' at the object. This causes them to run in a hurry at the target and interact with it, much like they would if [[throw]]n at it. This effectively replaces the [[swarm]] mechanic from the previous games. After activating the charge, a horn is heard, the Pikmin jump up and perform a battle cry, and after a small delay, they run at the object. A charge can also sometimes be initiated in the small time window before a leader loses a lock-on due to distance, which can be useful for bypassing certain puzzles when combined with Winged Pikmin.

Nothing will happen if the player attempts to charge with no Pikmin or leader in their party. When charging, any leaders following the current leader will be [[dismiss]]ed, possibly to make it easier for the current leader to [[punch]] the target in unison with the Pikmin horde. Pikmin not suited for the task will move slightly towards the target, but will retreat shortly after and rejoin the leader. This happens for the following Pikmin:

*Flowered Pikmin directed towards [[nectar]].
*Non-[[Winged Pikmin]] directed towards [[bamboo gate]]s or [[Flukeweed]]s.
*[[Bomb rock]]-wielding Pikmin directed towards anything.
*Non-[[Blue Pikmin|Blue]] or non-[[Winged Pikmin]] directed towards submerged objects.
**This one acts a bit differently. When Pikmin are charging, they tend to walk in a line. If non-Blue or non-Winged Pikmin are charged at an underwater object, they will run towards it, but if the few at the beginning of the line jump into the water, the ones towards the back will give up charging.

Due to this, it is advised to stay well-aware of the Pikmin in the current leader's group, if one wishes to direct said leader to attack alongside them, otherwise a press of the [[punch]] button may end up tossing a bomb-armed [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] instead.

When charging, if they do not reach their destination in about one and a half seconds, they will sigh and give up. However, due to a glitch of sorts, there may be times when the Pikmin are told to charge at an object, but give up much quicker than usual, around a total of half a second. The cause for this is currently unknown.

In story mode, charging is only possible after [[Alph]] finds his [[KopPad]].

===''Pikmin 3 Deluxe''===
In ''Pikmin 3 Deluxe'', several changes were made to the charge mechanic. Instead of being activated by using the [[Dismiss]] command when locked-on, the charge was given a dedicated button ({{button|switch|x}} in most control schemes). The charge no longer requires the player to be locked-on, so Pikmin charge in the direction of the cursor. Finally, the command to charge is only issued to the currently selected Pikmin/leader group. If the leader group is selected and a charge issued, the current leader will go through the charge animation as normal, but the other leader(s) will do nothing.

==History==
In a much [[Pikmin 3 prerelease information|prerelease version]] of ''Pikmin 3'' the lock-on screen appeared much more different and simpler.

Prior to [[Update|version 2.0.0]], the pieces of text on the left corners of the screen didn't exist. They were added with the update, in order to make it easier for players to know how to cancel the lock-on and how to charge.

===Older appearance images===
;Prerelease
<gallery>
Pyroplasmic Slooch P3 early.png|The [[Pyroclasmic Slooch ]] locked-on.
Pikmin3 SkitterleafScan.png|The [[Skitter Leaf]] locked-on.
Pikmin3 Skutterchuck.png|The [[Skutterchuck]] locked-on.
Crystalized wall.png|A [[crystal wall]] locked-on.
</gallery>
;1.0.0
<gallery>
Shaggy Long Legs P3 analysis.png|The [[Shaggy Long Legs]] locked-on.
SeesawBlock.jpg|A [[seesaw block]] locked-on.
</gallery>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
LockOnHUD.jpg|The [[Whiptongue Bulborb]] locked-on in [[Tropical Wilds]].
Pikmin 3 lock-on.jpg|The [[Skeeterskate]] locked-on in [[Distant Tundra]].
Arctic Cannon Larva P3 fight.jpg|The [[Arctic Cannon Larva]] locked-on in Distant Tundra.
</gallery>

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[[Category:Gameplay]]