View source for Steel Ball

{{UnitInfobox
  | image = SteelBall.png
  | type = High-speed anti-unit bot
  | igdesc = A high-speed and high HP unit that attacks enemies at close range with a laser beam that gradually grows in size. The bane of all high HP units
}}
==Summary==

Steel balls are a fast-moving, short ranged unit whose beam attack is designed to rapidly shred high HP units. They excel against high HP units with either low range or low fire rate, and are weak to chaff units and all air units, as they target ground units only. 

Steel balls have very good synergy with [[Mustangs]] as they share the same movement speed and cover each other's weaknesses - Mustangs can effectively defeat both flying units and chaff that would otherwise draw the Steel Balls' fire, which allows the Steel balls to destroy the high-HP units Mustangs struggle to deal with. 

Steel balls can be recruited fairly early in the same, but they are also potent threats when levelled and can rapidly snowball a game out of control. If you have a strong, aggressive start, they alone can win you the game. As a reactionary unit, they shine vs [[Rhino]]s and shields/deployable barriers, especially if they're deployed near your base. 


Most of the Steel Balls' upgrades center on increasing its utility rather than on direct damage output, with the exception of [[Heavy target]]. Damage Sharing and Mechanical Division make Steel Balls much more resilient to high burst units, while Energy Absorption and Armor Enhancement allow Steel Balls to stay alive against units that deal damage over time (e.g. massed [[Fang|Fangs]], [[Crawlers]]).
==Tech Upgrades==
{| class="table table-dark table-bordered table-block-last-lg" style="width:auto"
|+Steel Ball Tech Upgrades
!Icon
!Name
!Cost
!Description
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=EnergyAbsorption.png}}
|Energy Absorption
|300
|Increases HP by 40% and converts damage dealt to HP
<div class="note">HP {{#expr: {{#var:hp}} * 1.4 round 0}}</div>
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=DamageSharing.png}}
|Damage Sharing
|250
|Chains adjacent steel balls together, increasing HP by 120% and sharing damage received equally between them
<div class="note">HP {{#expr: {{#var:hp}} * 2.2 round 0}}, total HP {{#expr: {{#var:hp}} * 2.2 * 4 round 0}}</div>
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=RangeEnhancement.png}}
|Range Enhancement
|300
|Increases attack range by 40m
<div class="note">Range {{#expr: {{#var:range}} + 40}}m</div>
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=MechanicalDivision.png}}
|Mechanical Division
|350
|Destroyed Steel Balls create 5 level 1 [[Crawler|Crawlers]] to continue fighting
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=ArmorEnhancement.png}}
|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
<div class="note">HP {{#expr: {{#var:hp}} * 1.35 round 0}}</div>
|-
|{{Icon|type=Tech|file=HeavyTarget.png}}
|Heavy Target
|200
|Decrease range by 10m, when switching target, lock-on priority is given to the unit with the highest HP in range.
<div class="note">Range {{#expr: {{#var:range}} - 10}}m</div>
|}

==Melting Damage==
The damage of the Steel Ball need time to build up. A full unit need about 26s to deal a total of 1,000,000 damage that is about 5s longer then the max DPS. That shows the the build up to max DSP need more then 5s. As rule of thumb; it takes about 4 seconds for the first max DPS and 2 seconds for the next, after that the max DPS is applied.

==Update Notes==
{{Collapsed|
;0.7.40:
* The HP bonus of Tech <del>[Armor Strengthening]</del><ins>[Armor Enhancement]</ins> has been increased from 20% to 35%.

;0.7.31:
* ATK increased by 5%.

;0.7.25:
* The HP bonus provided by [Energy Absorption] is adjusted from 60% to 40%.

;0.7.13:
* Tech [Armor Enhancement] adds an additional 20% HP, and the price is adjusted from 300 to 350.

;0.7.12:
* The EXP required for leveling up has been adjusted from 750 to 780.
* Reinforcement card [Subsidized Steel Ball] adjusted from level 1 to level 2.
* The cost of [Mechanical Division] adjusted from 300 to 350, and the number of crawler generated adjusted from 7 to 5.

;0.7.6:
* Attack increased by 10%
* New Technology [Heavy Target]: Decrease range by 10, when switching target, lock-on priority is given to the unit with the highest HP in range.
* The effect of the [Improved Steel Ball] card is adjusted to: Steel Ball's attack increased by 50%, HP increased by 30%, and movement speed increased by 3, but the recruitment cost increased by 50.
* [Extended range Steel Ball] is removed from the game.

;0.7.0:
* Adjusted speed from 15m/s to 16m/s 

;0.6.175:
* Page created
}}

[[Category:Units]]