Mastering the Steel Ball: Mechabellum’s High-Impact Brawler

Deployment & Core Value

• Anti-Tank Specialist: Obliterate slow, high-HP units like Melting Points, Typhoons, or Fortresses with sustained beam damage.

• Reactionary Tank: Deploy mid- to late-game to counter enemy giants, shielding backline DPS (Marksmen, Stormcallers).

• Scaling Threat: Leveled Steel Balls with items (e.g., Photon Coils) become unstoppable. Pair with Photon Emission Overlords for shields and damage boosts.

• Weaknesses: Useless vs air units and easily bogged down by chaff (Crawlers, Fangs).
  

Strategic Timing & Matchups

• Early Game:

  • Avoid starting—vulnerable to free Scorpion drops.

  • Use reactively if enemy commits to giants (e.g., Round 3+ Melting Point).

• Mid-Game:

  • Deploy 1-2 packs behind chaff to counter enemy tanks.

  • Tech Beam Amplifiers for faster target deletion.

• Late Game:

  • Overlord Synergy: Shield with Photon Emission or boost with Damage Uplink.

  • Replace if countered by air or Scorpion spam.
    

Countering Steel Balls: Disrupt & Outpace

• Early Counters:

  • Scorpion Drops: Deploy early to stall Steel Ball leveling.

  • Sentry Missiles: Place near your tower to snipe low-level Balls before they scale.

• Mid-Game Counters:

  • Wraiths: Use Degenerate Beam to slow Balls while clearing their chaff.

  • Stormcaller Traps: Lure Balls into clustered Fangs, then bombard with 2+ Stormcaller packs.

• Late Counters:

  • Phoenix Swarms: Dive backline Balls with charged shots (requires chaff clear).

  • Vulcans: Match level/tech to burn through Balls (prioritize Incendiary Bomb + Melting Point).

Pro Tip: If Balls are paired with Wraiths (anti-chaff), counter with Fortress summons or Rhino flanks to bypass frontline.

Steel Ball Builds: Synergy & Scaling

1. Giant Slayer:

   • Tech: Beam Amplifiers + Photon Coils.

   • Role: Delete enemy Melting Points/Fortresses.

   • Synergy: Shield with Overlords or Hackers.

2. Overlord-Ball Deathball:

   • Tech: Photon Emission (Overlord) + Reinforced Plating (Balls).

   • Role: Unkillable frontline with shields + AoE support.

3. Backline Breaker:

   • Positioning: Flank deploy with Mobile Beacons to bypass chaff.

   • Risk: Exposes Balls to air units—pair with SAMs.

Key Philosophy

The Steel Ball is a scalpel for giants—deploy reactively, never greedily. Protect them early, scale them mid-game, and dominate late. Always pair with units that handle their counters (chaff/air), and abandon them if the enemy overinvests in Scorpions or interceptors.

Mobility - Ground
Giant - No
Cost - 200
Unlock cost - 0
Units - 4
HP - 4571
Attack - 2 - 2605
Target - Ground Only
Attack Interval - 0.2s
Splash Damage - No
Burst Damage - Minimal
Max DPS - 52100
Range - 45m
Speed - 16m/s

Tech Upgrades

Armor Enhancement (350)
HP is increased by 35% and 60 damage is blocked when attacked. The damage blocking effect increases by 60 with each level

Damage Sharing (250)
Chains adjacent steel balls together, increasing HP by 120% and sharing damage received equally between them

Energy Absorption (250)
Increases HP by 40% and converts damage dealt to HP

Fortified Target Lock (200)
When it switches the target, lock-on priority is given to the unit with the highest HP in range.

Mechanical Division (350)
Destroyed Steel Balls create 5 level 1 Crawlers to continue fighting

Range Enhancement (300)
Increases attack range by 40m