Universal Remote

"Hacks the nearest defensive building and turns it against other defenses for a duration. Once the hacking effect expires, the building is stunned for a time. Cannot capture prototype weapons."

Summary

• Universal Remote is a Hero Ability that can be used by Cpt. Everspark in attacks.
• When the ability is used, the hero will approach a nearby defensive building (not a Prototype Defense, MMG 9000, or Super Mortar 3000) and take control of it.
  • The defense glows green when under the Universal Remote's control. It will begin firing at enemy buildings, and enemy defensive buildings (including Prototype Defenses, MMG 9000 and Super Mortar 3000) will begin targeting it.
  • While a defensive building is controlled by the Universal Remote, a damage bonus will be applied to the defensive building, meaning that it will do more damage under the influence of the Universal Remote than it would normally do. The building also loses its blind spot if it has one, and certain defenses gain an attack range bonus, such as the Flamethrower.
  • After the hero loses control of it again, the defense will be stunned for a short time before it begins firing at your troops again.
• Each use costs 7 more Energy than the previous one, with a starting cost of 8 Energy.
• Hacked defenses can be affected by Artillery, Barrages and Shock Bombs, just like any other Troop. However, a Smoke Screen will not hide them.

Offensive Strategy

• You can use the ability on a high-damage defense like the Boom Cannon so that it destroys other buildings quickly, and for the duration of the hack, your troops will be safe from that defense.
• A defense that is hacked by the ability can serve as an additional distraction for enemy defenses, and are similar to Critters in this respect. While the hacked defense numbers only one, it is likely that the defense has much higher health than the Critters do and can last much longer against area defenses like the Machine Gun or Flamethrower.
• This ability can be especially useful on long-range defenses like the Rocket Launcher that are not near other key defenses since it will be able to target and destroy them without being taken out too quickly.
• Try to use this ability on Shock Launchers. They can potentially be used to disable many enemy defenses and protect your troops.
• The ability can be very useful on higher-level Operations. As the building health is normally much higher than the defensive building damage, this means that a hacked defense will last decently long even if targeted by high-damage defenses like the Boom Cannon for a prolonged period of time.
• Grenadiers work well with this ability since the controlled defense can be destroyed even while it is under your control. This can be beneficiary if the defense would still be standing after the remote's effect is over.
  • Be cautious however, because if your Grenadiers are moving past the defense (close to it) while it is under your control, if the building is still standing when the effect wears off, the Grenadiers will start attacking it, which may result in many casualties.
• Try to avoid using the ability when near a defense that is being upgraded. It will still be targeted if it is close enough and it cannot attack because it is inactive. However, it will still serve as a distraction.
• Care should be taken that targeted defenses will be destroyed or that troops will move out of its range after the stun wears off. Troops do not target defenses affected by this ability and having it fire on them from behind when they are deep inside the base can prove troublesome.
  • When using Grenadiers, if the controlled defense is near other buildings, it may be destroyed prematurely or potentially at a beneficial time, e.g. when your troops would be moving up past it. Try to strategize so that the Grenadiers take the defense out at the right time.

Statistics

Capture Duration	Stun Duration
15.0s	4.0s

Level	Damage Bonus	Upgrade Cost	Upgrade Time	Instant (Time Only)	Hero Level Required
1	100%	N/A	N/A	N/A	3
2	125%	8	8h	119	6
3	150%	16	16h	202	9
4	175%	32	1d 8h	339	11
5	200%	64	2d 16h	572	13

Number of Shots	Energy Cost	Cumulative Energy Cost
1	8	8
2	15	23
3	22	45
4	29	74