Exploring the Cactus Brawler Spike's Skins, Gears, Gadgets, and Star Powers in Brawl Stars

Hello, Brawl Stars fans! Today, we are going to take a closer look at Spike, the cactus brawler from Brawl Stars. Spike has been part of the game since the beta version, and in the June 2019 major update, his walking animation was changed from a wobbly motion to a more steady, plodding walk. Currently, Spike and Lillie are the only brawlers without voice lines. Despite his cute appearance as Colt and Shelly's adorable assistant from Ranger Ranch, it's hard to guess the darkness within Spike.

Spike's primary attack involves throwing a small cactus that bursts into six spikes, dealing significant damage. If both the cactus and the spikes hit an enemy, it can deal up to 7560 damage. Hitting enemies head-on results in more spikes hitting, causing even greater damage. Spike's super attack creates a damaging and slowing area on the ground, inflicting continuous damage and slowing down enemies. When used strategically, it can cause considerable disruption to enemies, especially in crucial areas like Brawl Ball or Gem Grab.

Let's dive into Spike's unique features and abilities, and learn how to make the most out of playing this brawler in the game.

SKIN

SPIKE

Spike jumps and flutters with his left arm raised when he wins, and makes a questioning gesture when he loses. Although he has no facial expressions in-game, he shows various facial expressions in animations and advertisements and is portrayed as cute.

SAKURA SPIKE

Spike's first skin changes him to a pink tone, adds two flowers on top of his head, and puts him on shoes. A normal attack throws a cherry blossom, and a special attack throws a heart-shaped flower. After being renewed in January 2019, it now has a cute and charming appearance and attack effects, and is very popular, and there is even an advertising video. Previously it was named 'Spike Pinky', and there was no change in the attack effect.

ROBO SPIKE

Another skin for Spike, where his normal attack throws a mine with a chain attached to it, and his special attack changes to a mine with a skull on it. After activation, the thorns change into steel thorns, and when attacking, the sound of water or metal hitting is heard. Because the skin itself is based on the concept of a piece of metal, normal and special attacks have an overall heavy feel, and unlike the light and sharp feel of the basic skin, it has a heavy and dull feel.

MASK SPIKE

This is a skin with only the mask added to the basic skin. It has the characteristic of randomly changing into one of eight masks every time you update it in the selection window or respawn in the game. There are favorable reviews that it is fun because the masks change randomly, but there are also criticisms that the changes are small and the masks are not visible.

DARK LORD SPIKE

This skin was released as the 2021 Luna Brawl skin, and appears to be based on Andolf or Wolf O'Donnell. The normal attack changes to a thorn with an eye, and the ultimate attack changes to Tara's black hole form. When it wins, it throws up a thorn with an eye and laughs, and when it loses, it holds the thorn in its right hand and clenches it. There are favorable reviews that it has captured the villain concept well, but there are also criticisms that it is frivolous and frivolous. It is often associated with the same Lunar New Year skin, Virus 8-Bit, and Dark Lord Spike's exclusive pin is the only one with dialogue.

PYRO SPIKE

The motif is kickass. Throws a fireball with a normal attack, and throws a burning cactus with a special attack, creating a fiery thorn blanket. When you walk, you leave fire marks instead of footprints. On victory, the Flame Spike Grenade explodes, appearing in flames, and the flames overhead disappear to see the Spike Grenade. When defeated, it throws a flaming spike grenade upwards to catch it, but gets hit on the head and its entire body becomes completely black.

TOON SPIKE

This is a Startoon-themed legendary skin with a 2D texture inspired by the Powerpuff Girls. It has a 2.5D feel in-game, and the silhouette also has a unique border. The attack effect changes to look like a colorful sticker, a beeping sound is heard when making a normal attack, and a speech bubble shouting "AHHH" appears when an enemy is defeated. When he wins, he jumps out of the cartoon box and shows off martial arts moves, and when he loses, he lowers his head and looks sullen. The appearance and effects received rave reviews, but some said it was too childish. In the animation, he appears as a piece of paper, unintentionally getting caught up in the chase between Kit, Nita, Colt, and Pink Cat Colette.

POOP SPIKE

This April Fool's Day commemorative skin has the appearance of a poop wearing a diaper. When making a normal attack, it throws flying poop with a rainbow on it, and when it lands, it splits into more poop with a farting sound. During a special attack, it throws a toilet overflowing with feces, creating a rainbow-colored shimmering poop floor. When he wins, Spike spews out a small poop from his head and raises his arms, and a rainbow appears. When he loses, he farts and squirms as if he needs to poop. It is a skin that shocked users immediately after its release and has mixed opinions.

GADGET

POPPING PINCUSHION

Spike's first gadget can be used 3 times per turn, and fires 1080 damage spikes 3 times in 10 directions, for a total of 30. In theory, the total damage amount is 32400, but the brawler's hitbox is small, so it is difficult to hit all of them in practice. It is mainly useful when attacking large objects in Heist and Siege Factory modes, and can deal up to 97200 damage if you use the gadget all three times. In Showdown, Spike's ability to hit is enhanced to provide powerful performance, but due to Spike's low health, it is difficult to hit all the spikes.

LIFE PLANT

Spike's second gadget places a huge cactus where he is standing and restores 1440 health to himself and nearby allies when it is destroyed. The recovery effect is not high, but it is useful for Spike and allies. If you try to approach when your health is low, you may be attacked at the same time, so it is mainly used as a meat shield. Before the September 2021 patch, its health was 3500, but it was later nerfed to 2400, making it an acceptable gadget.

STAR POWER

FERTILIZE

Spike's special attack heals 1200 health per second while in range, up to a maximum of 6000. This allows Spike to fight and defend more powerfully, and is especially effective when used in conjunction with the Nature's Arc gadget. However, because it is a continuous recovery source, it can be vulnerable to explosive brawlers.

CURVEBALL

Released in July 2019, Star Power allows the spikes that come out of the spike grenade to be fired by bending 75 degrees clockwise. This increases the trajectory of the spikes, making it easier to hit the opponent, and is advantageous for bush checks and increasing the range of regular attacks in Showdown. The downside is that in maps with many walls, the spikes can bend and get blocked by walls. This star power becomes powerful through nerfs and buffs.

GEAR

STICKY SPIKES

The slow effect of special attacks is strengthened by 30%, slowing down enemies to the point where they can barely move. Regardless of the throwing time, if you hit a special attack, you are guaranteed dot damage and a normal hit free deal.

HyperCharge

BLOOMING SEASON

Spike has low self-survivability, so the increased mobility and reduced damage options are very useful, and the increased range of special attacks makes it easier to hit and improves area control. The combination with 'Sticky Thorn' is very powerful as the special attack can attack enemies almost without stopping. Spike is evaluated as a meta brawler, and there is some controversy about fairness when compared to other brawlers that have benefited from Hypercharge, but this is likely to be applied to other brawlers in the future and it seems to be only a matter of time.

CONCLUSION

Spike is the main dealer who boasts powerful burst damage at short to medium range, and due to his short range, appropriate movement and positioning are essential. Although it has low survivability in Gem Grab, it plays the role of defending the gem base well and is active in team fights with a skill slow effect. In Showdown, you can quickly eliminate enemies like Colt or Vali through quick farming and maintaining distance, but you are weak in close combat and can be awkward when moving to another lane.

You too, try using the special advantages of these spikes to win the game!!!