Summary
InMechabellum, each match is divided into rounds, with Supply earned at the end of each round to buy units and upgrades. While adding more artillery seems like the obvious choice, upgrading your existing units is often the smarter play for endurance battles, especially with limited board space.
However, with 25 units in the game, each offering at least four different upgrades, choosing which ones you should get can be a bit overwhelming. After all, these upgrades costing a small fortune don’t encourage a carefree decision. Fortunately, though, in the heat of the moment, there are a few enhancements that you should absolutely purchase when the conditions are right.
You can unlock upgrades via Tech Points gained after increasing your Research Level through online matches.
10Barrier
As the name suggests, the Barrier upgrade creates a Shield Dome, protecting all allies within it, and a well-positioned Typhoon can make strong use of it. With each level, the Barrier’s durability increases by an additional 10,000 HP, but this upgrade is most effective when your Typhoons are strategically spread across the battlefield and making high-impact plays.
The Typhoon’s monstrous DPS means the longer it stays on the field, the better, and with a Shield Dome, you’re giving it a longer lifespan to fulfill that duty. While the upgrade is also available for Fortresses, the lower HP and cost make Typhoons a better investment for it. You can strategically place them in several different locations where they can offer an extra layer of defense to more mechs.
9Phoenix Production
The War Factory is known as the one-unit army for one obvious reason—it can produce mechs during combat. With Phoenix Production, the Factory can deploy one Phoenix every 13 seconds six times throughout the round. Although it’s the most expensive production-based upgrade, it covers the War Factory’s greatest weakness: lackluster airborne defense.
This upgrade is basically giving 1800 Supply worth of value by producing six Phoenixes, each worth 300 Supply. The War Factory’s high HP means it doesn’t require much protection, allowing the Phoenixes to patrol ahead, assist allies, and handle aerial threats as needed.
If the opponent doesn’t have significant airborne units, use the War Factory’s Sledgehammer Production upgrade instead.
8Energy Absorption
Once a group of Steel Balls gets deep into the opponent’s territory, their towers are done for. However, keeping them alive until then is the main problem, so using Energy Absorption to improve their durability is a solid strategy.
This enhancement grants a Lifesteal effect, turning 60 percent of the damage dealt by Steel Balls into HP, allowing them to recover a significant portion of their strength after a fight. To maximize this benefit, you should unlock Energy Absorption when your Steel Balls have strong support and a clear line of attack, which you think they can overcome with some reinforcement.
7Incendiary Bomb
Igniting enemies to apply a debuff can be extremely rewarding, and the Incendiary Bomb upgrade can add that ability to the close-range champion, Vulcan. It launches a barrage of Incendiary Bombs up to 180 meters away every 16 seconds, igniting the ground beneath the enemy.
A Vulcan hardly ever needs any extra resources to destroy chaff. Therefore, this upgrade is meant primarily to destroy any frustrating Melting Points and Stormcallers, which are significantly more troublesome for this unit.
Use the Vulcan’s Incendiary Bomb with EMP-based units and upgrades to ensure enemy mechs rarely escape the burning ground.
6Scanning Radar
Range can be a massive benefit for any unit, especially close-range units, and the Farseer’s Scanning Radar can give you that farsight. Once activated, it increases the range of all nearby allies within 100 meters by ten.
It may not seem like much, but getting a boost to range can differentiate between winning and losing a confrontation. It could give a Vulcan the edge it needs to contest another Vulcan, or a Fortress the ability to beat a Melting Point. The possibilities are endless, but they only apply when you want to support a specific chaff or Heavy unit.
5Anti-Air Barrage
While the Fortress is a beast of a unit and usually your last mech on the field, it’s highly vulnerable to airborne assault. This is where the Anti-Air Barrage comes in—an offensive upgrade that launches 16 missiles at aerial units every ten seconds.
Each missile deals 900 damage with a range of 170 meters, so it can usually activate before the Fortress gets into any aerial unit’s range. This can be a massive help when you stack up several Fortresses, providing them ample firepower when the opponent has too many Phoenixes, Overlords, and Wasps.
4Portable Shield
If you want to win swarm battles consistently, the Portable Shield is likely the most valuable upgrade you could get. Fangs are among the top-performing Light Bots in Mechabellum, but similar to other bots in this category, they’re extremely weak health-wise.
The Portable Shield can absorb damage equal to the unit’s HP and block at least one instance of damage, and this effect is applied to all 16 Fangs in the unit. As such, you’re almost doubling your mechs' endurance and giving them a better chance to compete against the enemy’s Medium, Heavy, and, most importantly, Light units.
3Efficient Maintenance
The War Factory’s 200 Upkeep is easily its biggest weakness, reducing your available Supply by 200 at the start of each round. This penalty stacks with each War Factory you purchase, so players usually only keep one and don’t buy it until the late-game phase.
However, you can lower that Upkeep by 150 with Efficient Maintenance, reducing it to just 50 per round. Unlike other War Factory upgrades, which depend on several board factors, this is the one upgrade you should always prioritize, especially when you’re looking to buy an extra instance of this powerful mech.
2Overlord Artillery
Nothing boils your blood more than watching your Overlord get distracted by a swarm of Light Bots or Steel Balls, which is why the Overlord Artillery upgrade is here to help. Although costing a hefty 350 Supply, it installs two ground-only cannons that shoot after three seconds, dealing 11,000 damage each time.
Furthermore, leveling your Overlord’s Rank increases the cannons' damage output by 11,000 per level. By simply adding a ton of extra firepower and slightly better range, this upgrade is an ideal choice in any situation, giving an Overlord the resources it needs to deal with major and minor threats.
1Replicate
A pack of Crawlers is arguably the strongest unit in Mechabellum, so it only makes sense that you would upgrade it first. Among the upgrades, it’s best to start with Replicate, which uses destroyed enemies to create more Crawlers. This essentially lets your Crawlers create zombies that do your bidding—a horrifying sight, indeed.
Replicate is a must-have upgrade if your Crawlers are either winning or almost winning every encounter against the opponent’s chaffs and Medium units. Since that suggests your Crawlers are shredding enough enemies to leave enough scrap behind, this enhancement ensures that scrap doesn’t go to waste.
