Sparky

File:Sparky.png
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.

## Attacks

### 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 from a fully charged orb deals damage equal to 90% of Sparky's Attack stat. A strike from the arcs of a passing fully charged orb does around 15-30% of Sparky's Attack stat, depending on how close the target is to the orb.

### 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 made or damage taken and when they begin.

## Strategy

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

Pay close attention to how Sparky reacts to movement and recoil: time it's shots so the orbs pass as close as possible to as many tanks as possible.

Sparky's special can be a double-edged sword for its 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 its special to stay alive. Taking short pauses between shots to recover health can make Sparky surprisingly resilient, but it is still vulnerable to large amounts of damage dealt in a short amount of time and to damage-over-time effects that prevent it from regenerating, such as Scorpion's primary attack and the fire left behind from Phoenix's special.

Sparky needs some time at the beginning of a match to build its 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.

Upgrades that increase Sparky's speed may end up feeling like overkill when the tank's special is activated.

### Targeting

With Targeting turned on, Sparky's Primary can be aimed up or down. It only fires when the Attack button is released.

Targeting is strongly recommended for this tank. Without Targeting, the only way to aim is to twitch back and forth, and even then, aiming at the extremes (down over hills or up from valleys) is very difficult.

## Skins

Neat (50 gems)

Mecha (150 gems)

Viking (season 10 reward)