Hail

Hail is a long-range artillery turret that fires small shells which arc and land on the ground, dealing area damage where they impact. It is designed to strike ground targets at great distances and excels at picking off bulky or evasive single targets that stay within its range. Hail appears in standard sandbox and PvP modes and is commonly used in offensive base setups as well as defensive rings where long reach and focused damage are valuable.

Hail has a high range (around 29.37 blocks after later updates) and a moderate build time; its base fire rate is approximately 1 shot per second. The turret consumes coolant for significant fire-rate bonuses: it uses 6 coolant/sec, with water increasing fire rate to 140% and cryofluid increasing it to 190% when applied. Its shells travel over blocks and strike the ground, so flying units that remain airborne or use flares to block ground impacts are immune to direct hits.

Hail accepts three primary ammo types with distinct behaviors and trade-offs:

• Graphite: 33 area damage, radius ~2.3 tiles, 2 ammo per item, 0.8 knockback. Graphite is cheap and easy to produce (Graphite Press requires no power) but provides the lowest DPS and no special effects.
• Silicon: 33 area damage, radius ~2.3 tiles, 3 ammo per item, grants +20% fire rate when used, and the shells home. The fire-rate bonus raises effective DPS (about 39.6 DPS relative to Graphite), and homing improves accuracy against fast targets; however, Silicon production may interfere with silicon usage elsewhere in a base.
• Pyratite: 45 area damage, radius ~2.3 tiles, 4 ammo per item, 0.8 knockback, and applies burning for roughly 12 seconds. Pyratite yields the highest damage per ammo and adds sustained incendiary damage, making it particularly effective against clusters and in maps or waves where oil synergy exists.

Practical notes and strategies:

• Use Hails to counter large, evasive ground units that other short-range turrets struggle to hit. Their long reach also makes them suitable for sniping strategic structures or softening enemy bases before an assault.
• Because shells land on the ground, Hails are ineffective versus units that avoid ground hits (for example, flares). Place supporting anti-air or point-defense turrets to handle units that would bypass Hail fire.
• Coolant dramatically improves Hail performance; prioritize a steady coolant supply (water or cryofluid) to take advantage of the fire-rate multipliers in prolonged engagements.
• Choose ammo to fit the situation: Graphite for cheap, steady defense; Silicon when accuracy and a higher firing cadence are more important; Pyratite when maximum single-shot and sustained burning damage are desired.
• In offensive maps where enemy bases guard high-tier resources (e.g., Titanium), Hails can act like mobile long-range siege guns similar to Ripple turrets for constant damage application, provided the enemy lacks counter-Hail defenses.
• Hails are vulnerable to enemy artillery or specialized long-range units that can outrange or soak their shells; pairing Hails with area-damage turrets or interceptors can prevent enemy artillery from safely dismantling them.

Hail’s mechanics—ground-impact shells, ammo-specific bonuses, and strong coolant scaling—make it a flexible long-range option that rewards logistical support (ammo and coolant supply) and correct target pairing.