Sparky



Sparky is a Common tank in Hills of Steel 2.

It is a small blue tank with four separate tracks, many points of articulation and an electric ray-gun.

Primary
Sparky fires a slow-moving orb of electricity that travels in a mid- to long-range line and dissipates. Electricity arcs from the orb, striking targets in all directions around it, dealing a small amount of damage over time. The orb dissipates when it strikes the terrain or a target, causing a large amount of damage.

Sparky's ammo bar is depleted entirely after one shot, and begins reloading immediately after firing. The primary attack can be used before the ammo bar is completely full, resulting in a smaller orb that deals less damage.

A direct hit does 90% of Sparky's Attack stat. A strike from a passing orb sometimes does about 30% of the attack stat and sometimes about 15%; it may depend on how close the target is, or how many targets are being struck at once.

Special
Sparky energizes itself and any nearby allies. Energized tanks are surrounded by small blue arrows and their ammo and health bars glow blue. Energized tanks enjoy a small damage boost (roughly 10%), a large speed boost and massive bonuses to reload times and regeneration, both the rate at which they occur and the delay between the last attack/damage and when they begin.

Strategy
Sparky can be an incredibly powerful tank, able to win matches nearly on it's own, but relies more on its special than any other in the game.

Pay close attention to how Sparky reacts to movement and recoil: timing it's shots so they have the most devastating trajectory is absolutely essential to using this tank effectively.

Sparky's special can be a double-edged sword for it's teammates, as the movement speed can make tanks unexpectedly difficult to control.

Tied with Tower for the lowest health, Sparky is a fragile tank that needs the improved health regeneration of it's special to stay alive. Taking short pauses between shots to recover health can make Sparky surprisingly tough over time, but still vulnerable to high-damage attacks.

Sparky needs some time at the beginning of a match to build it's special, and is especially vulnerable at this time.

Upgrades
Sparky is dependent on the right upgrades more than any other tank. At least one or two upgrades that boosts special gain (including upgrades that increase damage) is basically a must. Ammo Crates and Amplifiers are also useful for Sparky's (only effective) playstyle.

Skins
Neat (50 gems)

Mecha (150 gems)

Viking (season 10 reward)