Hey everyone! Block N Load has started picking up development again lately, and it's exciting to see where this game will be going! Looking back now, this guide is... painfully cheesier than I remember...

However, as I haven't been active on BnL in a very long time, I will most likely be unable to make any substantial further additions to this guide, especially regarding the game's current meta. You'd definitely be better off asking some of the smarter folks on the forums!

I will still try my best to keep up to date with things like numerical data and updates to Vander's kit, though, and I'll try to help out however I can with any questions. GLHF!

-v0x

• 21 Mar 2019 - New patch notes stated that Vander's Static Gloves "damage increased by 20%", and Ball Lightning "attack time reduced by 20%" (https://steamproxy.net/app/299360/discussions/0/1848072002753069584/). Unspecified changes were also made to several Perks' values, will check and make the appropriate updates soon.
  
  
• 19 Feb 2018 - Lightning Cage Active "reduced from 2 every 0.1 seconds, to 2 every 0.15 seconds" (https://www.blocknload.com/article/block-n-load-mini-patch/). Removed several awful electricity puns to save future v0x from dying every time they look back on this guide.
  
  
• 22 Dec 2017 - Removed Tesla Tough Hero Perk (more Tesla Coil Health/slower build time) and added Ball to the Wall (more Ball Lightning ammo pool/slower Ball Lightning reload speed). Currently testing the exact effects of new perk.

Quite the electric personality, Vander Graaf is a lightning-slinging dance machine.

On the battlefield, the Vander Man specializes in construction, utility, and slaying. He possesses shocking area-denial abilities with his lightning cages and tesla coils.

As a Brains Hero, he is capable of placing health stations and ammo crates to aid him and his teammates, and force gates and fire traps to hinder enemies.






Vander's official Hero video made by Jagex!

Just like the intricate machinery that channels his lightning, Vander Graaf is a rather complicated character. As he's considered by many to have the highest skill floor of all the current Heroes, getting used to this dynamo is a feat in itself. This guide has been compiled as to attempt to aid anyone interested in learning the in's and out's of our favorite static generator.

I can't claim to be the best Vander player myself, but I do hope that what I have to share will help you with your own experiences!

Use the sidebar on the right to quickly navigate sections of this guide.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. Vander's primary weapon is a groovy pair of electricity-conducting Static Gloves! It has a clip size of 50, a reserve size of 50 and takes 3 seconds to reload.




Left-clicking launches quick, medium-range bolts from Vander's gloves. Each shot consumes 5 ammo from the clip, meaning that a total of 10 regular bolts can be shot before needing to reload. This is the only attack that Vander can use to charge his Tesla Coils (more about coils later on).

• Bodyshot damage: 24
  
• Headshot damage: 36
  
• Tesla damage: 20
  
• Maximum range: 30 blocks

• Use this to snipe stationary enemy heroes and devices. Getting in several 36-damage headshots on an unsuspecting foe can lead to their quick demise.
  
  
• If attempting a particularly difficult shot, try to crouch. Crouching increases your aiming accuracy, where as jumping and/or sprinting decreases it.
  
  
• To know whether or not an enemy is within range of your bolts, your crosshairs should turn yellow when you hover over them.

Right-clicking channels a beam of lighting from Vander's face... helmet... thing. It has a charge up time akin to Cogwheel's Rotary Cannon, and deals higher damage in a shorter amount of time than bodyshots from Vander's regular attack, at the cost of having much shorter range. A full clip takes around 5 seconds to be consumed.

• Bodyshot DPS: 50
  
• Headshot DPS: 62.5
  
• Maximum range: 15 blocks

• Use this to fight enemies in close range (preferably ones that are relatively stationary, larger in size, or not focused on attacking you). As you move more slowly when using the Static Gloves' alt-fire, you become an easier target to hit.
  
  
• This attack is a good way to quickly fry enemies that are on your cube. Sandbagging your cubes can give you more time to finish off enemy Heroes before they reach the cube itself.
  
  
• To know whether or not an enemy is within range of your lightning beam, your crosshairs should turn red when you hover over them.

LET THERE BE LIGHTNING. Vander's secondary weapon enables the ability to lob sparky exploding spheres! It has a clip size of 5, a reserve size of 5, and takes 4 seconds to reload.




Left-clicking lobs a single ball in an arc. Upon making contact with a surface, the ball will explode and deal either direct or splash damage in a 3x3 cube radius.

• Bodyshot damage: 30
  
• Headshot damage: 30
  
• Splash damage: 20

• Use lightning balls to combat enemies that are difficult to hit or grouped together. As the projectile can travel a surprisingly large distance before disappearing (roughly 60 blocks), with enough practice, one could also use them to snipe distant foes.
  
  
• If your static shovel isn't big enough for the job, lightning balls can also be used to clear out patches of enemy traps, embers, goo, glue, and anything else you wouldn't want you, or your team to be stepping on.
  
  
• If bricks are difficult to come by, you can farm your surroundings by digging 2 blocks into a wall, flinging lightning balls into the hole until the blocks are just about to break, then digging out the surrounding blocks.

Make sure to pay attention to your surroundings! Don't wanna be caught without any ammo.

• Because of their splash damage, lightning balls can be used to hit enemies though certain block placements. Aiming at the bottom corner where two blocks meet will damage anyone directly behind them. Extremely useful for getting rid of someone that's blocked in on your cube!

Right-clicking flings 5 smaller balls directly in front of you, and deals splash damage in a larger radius (roughly 3x3). Each ball does 12 damage, and a full clip of 5 is needed in order to alt-fire.

• Bodyshot damage: 60 (if all balls hit)
  
• Headshot damage: 60 (if all balls hit)
  
• Maximum range: 3.5 blocks

• Alt-fire only if you're absolutely sure that the enemy is below 60 health. Unless you can quickly finish them off afterwards, you're better off flinging each lightning ball individually.
  
  
• Try to avoid using this in multiple-enemy encounters if they're all at high health. You'll be placing yourself in a dangerous spot if you run out of ammo in both your weapons with angry enemy Heroes on your tail.

SHUFFLING TO VICTORY. Vander's passive skill is his pair of stylish static boots! Sprinting quickly recharges the ammo reserves for both of his weapons, regardless of which one is currently equipped. In addition, Vander receives no self-damage from his ball lightning explosions.

Vander can still gain ammo from standing near ammo crates, but at an incredibly slow rate compared to other Heroes. Though this means that ammo crates are technically completely worthless to our electric Hero, do not leave it out of your loadout! Your teammates would definitely appreciate a few boxes here and there.

To know whether or not you're actually recharging ammo, look for this icon below your crosshairs.

• Jumping or being in the air at any time while sprinting will not recharge ammo. You need to keep your feet on the ground in order to trigger the recharge. Keep this in mind when you try to bunny hop away from enemies when you run out of power.
  
  
• Changes in movement speed caused by perks or environmental hazards do not seem to affect the rate at which ammo is recharged. For example, equipping the Fleet Footed perk will not cause you to gain ammo any faster than usual.
  
  
• Sprinting for 4 seconds is enough to completely refill the reserves for your weapons. Therefore, sprinting as soon as you begin reloading will usually guarantee you another full clip of lightning.
  
  
  

BOOM LIGHTNING CAGE. Vander's active ability creates a damaging sphere that's roughly 10 blocks wide and 10 blocks tall. The cage lies stationary wherever you created it for 10 seconds and takes 60 seconds to recharge.



Enemies that make contact with any side of the cage will take constant damage (2 per 0.15 second tick) until they move out of the its edge or die, but they cannot be damaged when inside the cage itself. Passing through the cage's edge deals an immediate 15 damage. Vander's teammates can safely pass through his cages. To prevent confusion, enemy Vanders create red lightning cages.

The range of the cage is marked by the bricks.

The cage can also pierce through walls and floors, useful for trapping enemies in tight spaces, discouraging tunnelers (or attacking Heroes above you if you're the tunneler!), and damaging enemies that have blocked themselves in on your cube. Since the cage deals damage through a debuff gained by making contact with its edges (indicated by the red lightning icon below your reticle), it cannot inflict damage on blocks or devices.

If this icon shows up, you are making contact with an enemy lightning cage. Get out of there quick!


Such a powerful area-denying skill makes Vander one of the best Heroes for locking down a BlockBuster. Creating a cage while enemies are clustered around a BlockBuster will almost certainly guarantee their demise (or at least push them off the boost long enough for you and your team to swoop in), especially if they have managed to wall themselves off or are stuck on a tiny platform.

In general, good times to activate Vander's ability are when:

• attacking an enemy cube
  
• multiple enemies are approaching your cube
  
• an enemy has blocked themself in on your cube
  
• attempting to secure a BlockBuster

TESLA COILS AND LIGHTNING ARE VERY VERY FRIGHTENING. Vander's hero block is a 2-block-high tesla coil that he can charge up to attack enemy heroes.

• Cost: 100 bricks (+100 bricks for each additional coil)
  
• Build time: 1 second
  
• Durability: 90
  
• Damage: 17
  
• Damage upon destruction: 25
  
• Maximum range: 10 blocks
  
• Time between attacks: 1.25 seconds

Maximum range of one tesla coil marked by glue (a 20-block diameter circle).

When shot at with your Static Gloves' primary attack, the tesla coil will become charged. When any enemies come within an unobstructed 10 block radius of it, the charge will be released, and deal 17 damage upon a successful hit. The coil will then need to be charged again. There is a space of 1 second between each charge release.

A charged coil (left) and an uncharged coil (right). The difference is very subtle, but charged coils will have a small electric aura around their bulb.

If you have multiple coils out, a charge can chain through up to 4 coils until it detects a nearby enemy, at which point it will attempt to strike them.

Each time a bolt is released from a tesla coil (sent to another coil or an enemy), the coil will receive 10 damage. It takes exactly 9 hits from Vander's Static Gloves to destroy one tesla coil. Upon destruction, the tesla coil will explode, dealing 25 damage to all heroes (including you!) and blocks within a small radius.


As long as two coils are within 10 blocks of each other with no obstacles, they'll always connect.

• Keep the maximum range of the coils in mind (10 blocks). If you want to create a tesla field to cover a large area, make sure that you place each coil within radius of each other.
  
  
• As tesla coils deal damage to all Heroes upon destruction, be sure to keep your distance when activating or destroying tesla coils, especially with your digging tool!
  
  
• Keep several tesla coils charged if you're going to be away from your cube (say, to get a supply drop, prepare future cubes or BlockBuster sites, or deal with enemies or their respawns), but be sure to return when their charges have been consumed. Never leave your cube completely defenseless!
  
  
• Even if a charged coil is out of range of an enemy, it can still pass its charge onto coils that are near the enemy. You could potentially have numerous, out-of-sight tesla coils fueling one single coil!
  
  
• When engaging directly with enemies, duck and run around your tesla coil while you shoot at it. Your coil can end up catching most of your attacker's bullets and save your life.
  
  
• If playing offensively, use tesla coils to attack enemies from behind cover. A coil sneakily placed at the top of a flight of stairs or dropped through a ceiling can provide a shocking surprise for unaware defenders!

Perks are store-bought items used to alter Hero playstyles, abilities and stats; all Heroes have three perks specific to them. A smart perk combination can play an vital part in your game experience, so be sure to experiment around!

Lets Vander build structures 15% (level 1), 20% (level 2), or 30% (level 3) faster, but at cost of making everything more expensive by 10%.

• Probably the most optimal Hero Perk choice (of the three); use if speed and mobility are important to you, or if you often find yourself having to juggle cube prep and fighting off attackers.
  
  
• The build cost increase can become an issue; be sure that your team is getting supply drops.

Increases ammo regeneration from sprinting by 20% (level 1), 30% (level 2), or 40% (level 3), but increases his weapon switch time by 30%.

• Unless you are unable to be constantly sprinting, this perk is virtually useless (but possibly still a better pick than Ball to the Wall). Vander cannot interrupt his reload animation to make use of small amounts of recharged ammo; even without perks, you can regain all your ammo if you sprint as soon as you begin reloading, making any additional ammo regen unnecessary.
  
  
• Designer name-brand sparkly underwear won't save you, Vander.

Increases the ammo pool and clip size of Ball Lightning by 1 (level 1), 2 (level 2), or 3 (level 3), but increases reload time of Ball Lightning by 0.5 second (bringing it up to 4.5 seconds without any reload perks).

• Using this perk in combination with Quick Fingers can help offset both the reload penalty and the potentially lower ammo gained per reload, as it can provide a backup pool in the event that a single reload doesn't recharge all your missing ammo.
  
  
• Regardless of ammo clip size, only 5 balls are launched when alt-firing. Though no extra damage will be done with Ball to the Wall equipped, alt-firing from a clip with more than 5 ammo will leave you with left over shots, allowing you more leeway between reloads.

An effective Vander loadout and playstyle should revolve around team support and enemy suppression. Making it easier for you and your teammates to traverse your side of the map while making it more difficult for enemies to do so can assist in turning the match in your favor.

The following below are several perk loadouts I've tested, but by no means must you strictly adhere to them. Feel free to mix 'n match as you please!

• Fleet Footed: 7.5/10/15% faster movement speed, maximum health lowered by 5%
  
• Quick Fingers: 10/15/20% faster reloads, ammo pool lowered by 10%
  
• Lightning Builder: 15/20/30% faster build times, building costs increased by 10%

This set revolves moving, fighting, and building quickly. Fleet Footed lets you swiftly track down attackers, race for supply drops, and return to your cube in a flash; Quick Fingers ensures that you aren't floundering about for a reload when facing multiple foes. With Lightning Builder, you can set up cubes, prep a BlockBuster point, or patch up base damages with time to spare.

TIPS

• As Fleet Footed comes with a health penalty, try not to be too reckless with jumping off ledges or throwing yourself at a Cogwheel headfirst. To compensate for your fragility, place extra heal stations around points where you usually intercept attackers.
  
  
• With Quick Fingers you won't be able to use your ball lightning's alt-fire as much due to the ammo pool reduction. If you tend to use the alt-fire quite a bit, Ball to the Wall can help offset this.
  
  
• By using Lightning Builder, you might occasionally find yourself running low on bricks. Utilize your higher speed to run out in midfield to get those supply drops more often. If you have another defender with you and are able to fulfill a more Slayer-type role, Ball to the Wall can be a powerful second choice; an alt-fire+a normal shot can potentially nuke targets in a single clip, increasing Vander's lethality.

• Healthy: 5/10/15% maximum health, movement speed slower by 7.5%
  
• Fast Restock: 10/15/20% increased health/ammo regeneration, brick income reduced by 10%
  
• Lightning Builder: 15/20/30% faster build times, building costs increased by 10%

This set revolves around making Vander as tanky as possible, ideal if you are left to solo defend. Healthy ensures that you can take a rocket (Or two. Or twenty. Sarge and Kira-chan are out for your blood) to the face and still get back on your feet. Fast Restock makes visits to heal stations go by faster, and Lightning Builder, again, helps you set up and hold defenses faster.

TIPS

• Since Healthy slows you down, dodging may become a bit of an issue, especially when retreating to reload your weapons. But if you find Fleet Footed to be too fragile, you can opt for Killer Build (faster build speed for several seconds after killing an enemy, at the cost of fewer bricks gained per kill).
  
  
• If reload times are bothering you, switch over to Quick Fingers. Just be sure to place a few more health stations now that you regain HP at a slower rate.
  
  
• With the removal of Tesla Tough Guy, keeping your coils up might become an issue, especially if you have no other defenders with you. Lightning Builder still remains an optimal pick, but if brick management becomes a problem, feel free to go with Ball to the Wall.

• Healthy: 5/10/15% maximum health, movement speed slower by 7.5%
  
• Killer Shield: 30/40/50% shield for 5 seconds gained from kills, healing effects reduced by 10%
  
• Lightning Builder: 15/20/30% faster build times, building costs increased by 10%

This set is more for an attack-oriented Vander. Healthy will let you stay on an enemy cube longer while you whack at it from under the safety of a well-timed lightning cage, and with an activated Killer Shield, you can stay on for even longer. With Lightning Builder, you can construct bombs and dynamite at an alarming speed, and forward health/ammo stations allows you and your team to keep the pressure on enemy defenders.

TIPS

• As a slayer, Vander should be able to activate Killer Shield easily. Make weakened or isolated defenders priority targets.
  
  
• Lightning Builder allows you to sneak health/ammo stations onto vantage points behind enemy lines, preferably high up and/or difficult to reach. By littering paths around the stations with fire traps, you can essentially deny the opposing team access to areas of their own base.
  
  
• Ball to the Wall can help with long-ranged harassing by providing a larger pool and clip to fire from. As mentioned above, combining the normal and alt-fires can help you quickly burst down enemies.

• Keep moving! Vander's slow reload speed (even with the Quick Fingers perk) makes him incredibly vulnerable while reloading (which will happen often, due to his weapons' small clip sizes). Constantly sprinting will allow you to recharge ammo and make you a more difficult target to hit. Reminder that Vander cannot recharge ammo while jumping/airborne.
  
  
• If your headshot skills aren't exactly spectacular, one of the best ways to maximize Vander's DPS is by getting as close as possible to your foe. A few seconds of his lightning beam (followed by a Lightning Ball alt-fire if you run out of Static Gloves ammo) can make quick work of unaware enemies. Some Heroes, however, (such as Doc Eliza, Cogwheel, Kira-chan, or particularly bloodthirsty Sweet Sciences) may be too dangerous to engage in close-combat with. Try to eliminate such targets from a safe distance.
  
  
• Fire traps are your best friends. Stick them into shallow holes along paths that players frequent or around your cubes to soften up attackers. Be careful if you're being chased while in close proximity to one, as the explosion will also damage you.
  
  
• Keep your coils charged. They won't be able to do anything on their own if they're chargeless! Check back every now and then.
  
  
• Your lightning cage ability is an invaluable asset in manipulating enemy movement. Using it at key points (BlockBuster, rushing a cube) can change the tide of a game.

As a Brain, Vander's main utility comes from his ability to place heal stations and ammo crates for his team. It is important to know where and when to place them.






Consider the following when trying to determine proper placement for health/ammo:

• How often will my team come through here? How often will the enemy team come through here?
  
• Does my team have a height advantage in this particular spot?
  
• How much combat is done in this area?
  
• Can I safely retreat here, but still maintain awareness of my surroundings/enemy locations?

Some examples of health/ammo hiding places:

• underneath walls and structures
  
• in covered holes in the floor
  
• areas near your cube(s)
  
• around BlockBuster drop sites in midfield
  
• in unfrequented or radar-less areas in the enemy base that you can retreat to
  
• holes where enemies have hidden their radars (after you've broken the radars, of course)
  
• points that you or your team can use to spam attack enemy defenses

A particularly devious way to hide health and ammo is to find little half-corners and hide health and ammo underneath them...


Then place a block while facing the side of the corner (not the ground)...

You sneaky li'l Brains, you.

TIPS

• Try to make as many health/ammo hiding spots as you can. Perceptive enemies will eventually figure out their locations and take them out if you are constantly returning to the same hiding spot to recover.
  
  
• Prioritize heal stations more than ammo crates. A few extra heal stations scattered around your base can mean the difference between life or death for your defenders.
  
  
• Most importantly, keep communicating with your teammates. Knowing where they are and what they need can help with an offensive push or maintain a tight hold on your defenses.
  
  
  
  

The BlockBuster boost is a game-changing drop that increases the block damage of the team that grabs it.

Dropping at the 15, 25, 35, and 40 minute marks and then every 5 minutes after for the duration of the match, each boost progressively rewards more block-breaking power, even granting a shield from the 25-minute boost and onward.

Such power makes cracking otherwise impenetrable defenses possible; therefore, it is often vital for your team to secure the boost, either to aid your attack on the enemy cube or prevent them from destroying yours.

Vander is currently one of the best Heroes for securing a BlockBuster; his ability to place life-saving health stations and create crowd-controlling lightning cages can be a huge boon to your team when a match gets to the point where only a BlockBuster can get through enemy defenses.

When the times for BlockBuster drops draw near (before the 15, 25, 35, 40 minute marks and onwards), you must begin to prepare it for your team.

Sixty seconds before the boost drops, a notification will appear at the top of your screen, and the location of the drop site will be shown on your minimap. The sites are usually located in midfield, but if you're uncertain of the exact places on a particular map, feel free to ask your teammates.

As Vander, use this time to hide heal stations and ammo crates, scatter glue, or build walls and fire traps at any of the potential BlockBuster drop sites (located in the midfield); with Lightning Builder you can prep even faster.

You could even build a bridge from your base directly above where the boost will drop so that your team can "catch" the BlockBuster, keeping it out of reach of the enemy.


Once the BlockBuster drops, it's Go Time! Keep communicating with your team to get the upper hand.

• Lightning cage. If enemies immediately begin to rush for the boost and ignore your team, throw yourself at them and activate your ability.
  
  
• Survive. If, instead, the enemy decides to take out your team before grabbing the boost, prioritize staying alive and attacking them from a distance. Dying and being forced to wait 30 seconds to respawn is the worst thing that can happen at this point in the match, especially if you're defense.
  
  
• Go for it. Once the other team's numbers start dwindling, go for the Blockbuster with your remaining teammates and pop a lightning cage if anyone else comes near (if not, save your cage until you actually begin to attack the enemy cube).
  
  
• Don't be afraid to retreat. If you got the BlockBuster, but enemies are beginning to respawn and you think that they might attempt to attack your cube, return back to base. Don't worry about "wasting" the boost, as the shield from later boosts will help you handle attackers, and you can use the extra block damage to farm nearby blocks for bonus bricks.
  
  
• Rinse and repeat. If you failed to secure the BlockBuster, try your best to eliminate the remaining enemies before they destroy your cubes. If you grabbed the boost, but were unable to completely destroy all of the enemy's cubes, return back to base and begin the process of preparation again.

Vander Graaf, Tony Turretto, and Doc Eliza are vital Heroes to have on a team's defense. All three of them can place heal stations, ammo crates, force gates, and fire traps to protect the base from enemy attackers.

Tony's turrets allow him to deal with multiple attackers and let him leave the cube unattended at times; Doc's wall-piercing gas, tiny hitbox, and ability to heal on the spot can let her survive for long periods of time. Unfortunately, as Vander has none of these and requires a bit more skill to operate, he lacks the survivability needed to hold a defense by himself.

Due to this, Vander functions best as a support defender. As he can simply regain ammo while sprinting and can leave charged tesla coils to defend the cube against attackers, Vander is less prone to being as stationary as his fellow Brains defenders. While his other defending teammate spends most of their time around the cube, Vander can:

• Hunt down enemy attackers approaching your cube or trying to sneak a respawn pad in your base
  
• Locate enemy respawns while your teammate guards the cube from attackers that slip past you
  
• Venture out to prepare BlockBuster drop points by hiding health, ammo, fire traps, and/or glue

Adjust your block loadout according to what your fellow defender has in theirs. Depending on the map, one of you may need to bring glue for covering wider spaces, or bricks instead of crates for sturdier walls. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your defender buddy is an important step in guarding your base!

Below are several tried-and-true teammates for a defensive Vander.

The Thundercloud approaches! A Vander/Doc duo makes for an absolutely explosive combo in matches where victory is ultimately determined by which team grabs the BlockBusters. Vander has been constantly compared to Eliza, as they both:

• are Brains Heroes
  
• have crowd control capabilities
  
• are superb for BlockBuster lockdowns
  
• function well as both defenders and attackers

Unfortunately, because of the disadvantages mentioned in the previous section, Vander is considered by some to be an inferior Eliza whose only redeeming qualities are his lightning cage and sick dancing skills. However, Vander does boast several advantages over his shorter counterpart:

• higher damage-per-second
  
• no self-damage
  
• a longer-lasting active ability that deals more damage
  
• a longer-ranged Hero Block
  
• quicker building speed
  
• infinite ammo
  
• the aforementioned sick dancing skills

With their strengths and weaknesses in mind, let's move onto:

As Brains defenders, it's up to Vander and Doc to place health and ammo, prepare cubes, and seek out attackers before they reach your cube.

As Vander, prioritize going out and grabbing supply drops and destroying devices enemies have set up in your base (health/ammo, respawn pads, etc.). Leave several charged tesla coils around your cube's perimeter, and be sure to check back on them once in a while.

Your Doc will be needed more around the cube, as they are the only one with constant access to block-piercing attacks (you can switch up roles, if Doc decides to hide miasma mines around your cube before they run off on a globe-gunning massacre).

Thinly sandbagging your cube is generally a good defensive habit; with Doc, however, multiple layers of sandbags becomes a viable option, as the gas created by her Miasma Mines, chem grenades, and Miracle Cure is capable of damaging enemies through blocks. As long as she stays alive and nearby, your cube is virtually untouchable.

I recommend that you both bring sandbags in your block loadout. If you end up being the one around the cube more often, Lightning Builder is an incredible help in quickly replacing destroyed bags.


A typical sandbag covering. Note how it isn't a complete cube shape, so as to prevent attackers from easily blocking themselves in.


But with a few radars and attentive Doc at your side, feel free to sandbag your cube to your heart's content!

If an enemy does begin to burrow into your sandbag mound, use your static gloves' alt-fire to rip off as much health as you can while Doc gasses the area. If the enemy's blocked themself off, you can aim your lightning cage at their location (the rim of your cage is always 5 blocks away from you). Once they are dealt with, replace any destroyed or damaged sandbags and/or traps.

Roofs of any material can protect your precious sandbag pyramid from cannonball, saucer, and rocket spam, in addition to obscuring enemy vision of your base and slowing their assaults.

Doc's long-ranged weapons benefit most from a point where they have visibility of both your cube and midfield. When you run out to grab a supply drop or prep BlockBuster drop sites, ask them to keep an eye on you; if an enemy catches you out in midfield, Doc can cover you with chem grenades lobbed from your base.

Now comes the time where a Vander/Doc combo really shines. Hopefully, you've had enough time to rig BlockBuster drop sites with health, ammo, and nasty traps! Once the notification for the boost appears, immediately go to the site shown on the minimap.

• As usual, if enemies instantly begin to rush for the boost, throw yourself at them and activate your ability.
  
  
• Your Doc can either rush with you and Miracle Cure the area, or support you with chem grenades from base; either way, your lightning cage combined with their chemical clouds should make quick work of the enemy team.
  
  
• If there are still stragglers, finish them off before they can get back to their base and recover.
  
  
• If you manage to get the boost and most of the enemy team is waiting to respawn, rush together with your team and try your best to take out the enemies' cubes. If you or Doc still have your active abilities, now would be the time to use them.
  
  
• If you feel that you shouldn't rush, return back to base and use the boost to fight off respawning attackers or farm blocks for bricks.

Sooner or later, with enough science and BlockBuster-fueled pushes, victory will fall into your rubber-gloved hands. Coordination and planning are key!

BETTER. FASTER. STRONGER. If you feel that your attackers are competent enough to win the match without depending upon BlockBusters, or if total base defense matters to you, a Vander/Tony defensive duo is the way to go.

Vander and Tony are quite similar in playstyle; however, Vander is more combat-oriented, and Tony is built more for base sustainability. Tony actually has a much higher DPS than Vander in very close combat, but usually, the only situation in which that occurs is when the enemy is already punching in your cube.

Both Tony and Vander's Hero blocks (turrets and tesla coils, respectively) have the ability to autonomously attack enemies. There are a few differences between the two, though.

• Tony's turrets are better for defending an area over a long period of time from multiple attackers, due to their higher durability, bottomless magazine, and Tony's ability to repair them.
  
  
• Vander's tesla coils are better for quickly setting up to stop lone enemies. Their single-use burst damage makes them a cheap yet fragile way to defend the base when you're not around.

In a Tony/Vander situation, tesla coils should be used as a buffer to quickly burst down attackers going for the turrets. Try not to place them to close to the turrets, however, as the coils' explosion upon destruction will damage the turrets.

Due to their strength, turrets have a high building cost and escalating price, and placing a decent number of them drains Tony of his resources (resources that can be used for placing health and ammo!). Instead, Vander can dedicate his bricks to heal stations, ammo, and the occasional fire trap so that Tony can have a larger brick reserve for turrets.


Keep the area around your cube as open and flat as possible to maximize the range of Tony's turrets. Walls and ceilings will help protect your cube and devices from ranged explosives.

Sandbagging your cube remains a good strategy, just don't lay down too many layers. Tony's turrets will have their bullets and line of sight blocked, and without a Doc constantly present, reaching enemies that have buried themselves deep is incredibly difficult, if not nearly impossible.

Burying your tesla coils one block deep can help keep the turrets' line of sight open; however, avoid placing glue directly around buried coils, as bolts fired from them will usually hit the glue instead of enemies.

As mentioned earlier, Vander should be responsible for a large majority of the team's health and ammo if Tony is present. The more bricks that the Italian construction worker has for auto-aiming, bullet-spitting death machines, the better!

Tony can repair blocks and devices with his caulk gun. This means that your fragile, slowly dying teslas can now survive much longer! Be sure to ask your Tony to keep an eye on them and heal them when necessary.

As Vander, you have a range advantage Tony doesn't have; try to eliminate or soften enemies before they reach your cube area. Try to hold the high ground on maps with a lot of high-up structures; build staircases up to areas where enemies will attack from.

On multiple-cube maps, if you've managed to push enemies back to their second of last cube, you can more safely bunker down in midfield to kill attackers before they even step foot in your base.

Previously mentioned BlockBuster strategies still apply. However, since turrets can leave Tony free for other things, Vander is usually capable of holding down the fort while Tony goes out to prepare drop sites.

As you're the one with longer range this time around, keep an eye on Tony and chuck lightning balls at opponents trying to interrupt your team's setup.

As usual, using your lightning cage on clustered enemies and clearing out stragglers from a range helps, but by manipulating enemy movement, you can create an opening for your Tony to sneakily set up a turret at the drop site to mow down unsuspecting foes.

Tony can be easily ganged-up on, however, and a BlockBuster attempt can quickly turn sour if he ends up the last Hero remaining.

Defense can become a bit of a chore.

It usually starts off as "sit near cube, see enemy, kill enemy, repeat".

By the 15-minute mark, it's probably become "fix up the gigantic bomb-made crater in your base, go on a scavenger hunt for all 50 enemy respawns, all while fighting off 3 attackers and juggling flaming axes with one hand".

Below are a few attackers that you will often find yourself facing off against, and suggested ways of quickly dealing with them.


With their high mobility and even higher tankiness, Sweet Science and Roly Poly can become nightmares for Vander.

You'll probably end up hearing Sweet Science before you even see him. With his Blitz Stance, he can avoid obstacles and be on your cube in a matter of seconds. However, his lack of effective ranged weaponry means that taking out defenses from a distance is impossible without his teammates. Take advantage of this weakness by covering areas with glue and fire traps (and ice, if you have a friendly Yury). Primarily use your static gloves rather than ball lightning so that your glue and traps don't accidentally get destroyed, and watch out for his punches and gravity pulls if you decide to engage in close-combat.

Unlike Sweet, Roly has long-ranged explosive weapons. Her access to two health-boosting perks and shield gained from her Emplacement Mode can make her maximum health points reach absurd levels. As she is relatively large and somewhat slow with multiple health perks, try to take her out from a distance. If she reaches your cube and activates Emplacement Mode, it'll be incredibly difficult to remove her.

With their ability to essentially fly around the map, finding enemy respawns as a defender can be difficult. If you have another teammate defending with you (Which you should. Shame on your team for ditching you), one of you should stay near the cube while the other goes hunting for respawns (listen for enemy voices to locate where they are).



Cogwheel, Sarge, Kira-chan, and Astarella are completely capable of leveling your entire base with their long-range destructive weapons if given the chance.

Sarge's speed and health regeneration make him an issue for less-mobile defenders. To counteract this, place glue in areas where he tends to attack from. When directly fighting him, get up close and personal so that he will be forced to either attack you with his weaker M60 or damage himself with his rockets.

Kira is similar to Sarge in that she, too, is both quick and destructive, so glue and fire traps remain as useful as ever. Engaging in close-combat is a death sentence, however, as direct hits from her SMGs' alt-fire can kill you in under 2 seconds. Stay out of her range and opt to attack her with your ball lightning or teslas.

What Cogwheel lacks in speed, he makes up for with a high health and ammo pool. Similar to Roly, his slow movement and large hitbox can make landing headshots with your static gloves easier. Avoid close combat and take him out before he gets a chance to pepper your base with mortars.

Astarella, though not exactly as dangerous in combat as the others, excels at base damage. Her speed and jumping make her a difficult target, and her saucers and orbital beacons can deal incredible damage from a distance in a short period of time. She can easily jump over your glue and fire traps, and her ability to boost the speed of her teammates will let them do the same. She's still fragile, though, so using tesla coils and lightning cages to hit her is probably your best bet.

The most effective way of dealing with spam, besides actually dealing with the attackers, is by building walls and ceilings around your cube.

Just because Vander is geared toward defending doesn't mean that he's unable to be a decent attacker!

As demonstrated in the "Perks" section above, an offensive Vander should focus on setting up areas that your team can launch attacks from with adequate heal stations and ammo crates. Areas down in midfield at the enemy's gates or high up in sneaky places work best, and literally keeping the heat on enemies with fire traps galore can keep your stations undiscovered.

With his destructive ball lightning, Vander can tear open holes in opponents' defenses and clear out pesky traps and hazards for your team. As he can infinitely recharge his weapons, the only way to stop a Vander from spamming is to kill them or pray that their attention is diverted elsewhere.

Once an enemy's cube is open, Vander can then proceed to destroy it. By activating his lightning cage, defenders will be forced to keep their distance, and even if they do manage to get rid of him, the lingering effect of the cage can keep a cube open long enough for Vander's teammates to swoop in and finish up the job.




If you manage to get on the roof above an enemy cube, a way that's both creative and effective to clear out defenders is tesla coil dropping.

To do this, simply place 1 to 2 coils on the roof above the cube (or wherever defenders are currently clustered). If there is no roof, make your own!

Break the blocks underneath the tesla coils, or whichever block is supporting the structure.

Now go to town on your teslas.

Enemy defenders will either try to break your teslas, or run away from them.

If they rush your coils to destroy them, they're as good as dead. If you managed to hit them enough, the explosion damage from the destroyed tesla should be enough to finish enemies off.

Even if they try to move away from your coils, chances are, the room you dropped the coils into is too small for them to escape.

Either way, surprise barbequed defenders!

GIF courtesy of official BNL streams.

Destroying the other team's cube is what wins matches. Therefore, knowing which Heroes to choose to create a powerful offensive presence is vital to your team's victory. Below are several Heroes that work well with an offensive Vander.

With enough practice and coordination, any combination of Heroes can work!


Cogwheel, Sarge, and Yury all have long-ranged weaponry. If you think that the enemy is going to have an impenetrable fortress of a defense with turrets and traps lining every corner, going for Brawns with Big Guns may be a good idea.

Their main downside is that, despite their tankiness, their large hitboxes will often result in low health after bombarding the enemy. As an offensive Vander, it's your job to keep them constantly supplied with health stations and sweet, sweet ammo for when they run low.


Roly Poly, Sweet Science, and Dream Genie all have abilities that, while not as explosive or as long ranged at the previously mention heroes, can save time by quickly creating holes in enemy defenses so that they can sit on a cube for obscene amounts of time.

Sweet and Genie both are capable of disabling enemy devices, giving teammates enough time to destroy them completely or eliminate defenders. Sweet and Roly's tankiness and natural shielding can let them survive for quite a while, but with your lightning cage to keep enemy defenders away, they might as well just call that cube "home" and live in it for the rest of the match.

With these Heroes, coordination is essential; if you're separated when you attack, not much will get done when you're being picked off one by one.

When attacking, try to find out what kind of defense the other team has. Knowing what kind of walls or ceilings they've built, how many traps and devices, or where they run off to when they're low on health can help you map out an attack route.

Try to figure out the playstyle of the enemy team depending on both their Hero choices and the layout of the map.



Ah, yes. Your old defender buddies. Except now they're out to kill you.

On his own, Tony isn't much of a threat. Though his nail gun packs a punch (outdamaging Vander in very close range), he becomes a real issue once he's surrounded by his turrets and numerous hidden heal stations. Try to draw him out or snipe his turrets from a distance.

Doc Eliza is a different case. As she outranges Vander, you may have no choice but to engage her in close combat, where you can maximize your damage. Once you're up in her face, you can use the self-damage from her globe gun against her; just be wary of her gas-spewing miracle cure and chem grenades that she may drop if things start getting hairy.


In larger maps, these two can become the bane of your existence. They both inflict heavy damage on a headshot, and your big, beautiful, lightning-conducting head certainly doesn't help with that.

If you can get close enough to Nigel, you can probably inflict lethal burst damage. Just be sure to watch out for any tikis he may have surrounded his sniping position with.

Yury is most likely going to be buried neck-deep in health and ammo-regenerating snow. Similar to Tony, your only hope of killing him is to draw him out of his ice fortress and into the open.

If you made it this far, congratulations! I admire your willingness to learn about Sparkypants McGee here. There's a lot of content not on here I've discussed in the comments section below, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'll try my best to give adequate answers.

I couldn't have made this guide without the help of:

• WarderiiK, who helped me with a lot of material and let me power through this thing (what a champ),
  
  
• Gianfranco Stercoforti, whose endless knowledge of Vander Man helped me write many of the mentioned strategies,
  
  
• B1G TO4STY, the coolest brother and angriest Doc Eliza player I have ever had the pleasure of defending with,
  
  
• players like Joshmesh and JPN-Hadoman, who showed me that it's possible to play well with a difficult character like Vander, and
  
  
• you, for surviving through my ramblings. Good job!

Learning a character can be a struggle, and there can be players that will say discouraging things, but always be willing to learn and improve more (and of course, have fun!)