SPARK Class Overview - A Guide to XCOM 2

An overview that explains my thoughts on the SPARK class, its abilities and some tips and tricks.
Muted version: • SPARK Class Overview -...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:50 Weapon Upgrades and Equipment
2:11 Shredder
2:30 Remote Hack
2:51 Mechanical Chassis
5:09 Overdrive
6:15 Bulwark
7:22 Adaptive Aim
8:20 Rainmaker
9:19 Strike
10:31 Intimidate
11:24 Wrecking Ball
12:11 Repair
12:51 Bombard
13:47 Channeling Field
14:46 Hunter Protocol
15:56 Sacrifice
17:47 Nova
18:33 Conclusion

[@GodNoodle_]

That Voice Sounds like a spark is teaching me how to best use him on the battlefield, thats some nice immersion right there.

[@daftendirekt9697]

@Koa Stefan very epic scam

[@kevinbonin6173]

Ai has us all. #deadinternet

[@johnmatteson2590]

this is honestly, without exaggeration, a perfect guide. Thank you so much, the flat simple description with no stumbling or tangents is such a breath of fresh air. I'm so sick of people yammering on about there opinion with no real substance in there words.

[@veegeeplz]

Technically there's plenty of "opinion" in there, particularly my preferred builds at the end of each video, but thank you for the kind words.

[@johnmatteson2590]

@@veegeeplz Right, but, you discussed the ins and outs of the perk firstly then discussed your thoughts separately, which helped make the video easy to follow. Very well informed too, would have never thought of half the things you talk about.

[@johnmatteson2590]

@@veegeeplz Thank you so much for the reply! It’s so cool!

[@evanwillett1635]

@@johnmatteson2590 I agree!

[@neshrajah4275]

I agree

[@sorinsilverheart3200]

Not gonna lie, my first SPARK carried me super hard. Especially with alien hunters bosses

[@heartoffire5902]

Same here. First time I played the game pre-WotC, SPARKs pretty much saved me in the early-mid game when I unlocked them. Key people kept dying or being injured, leaving rookies to try to do other hard missions constantly under threat from Rulers. But when I got two to three SPARKs going, the tides finally turned and they helped tank for us until the late game. I also just loved having huge robo buddies around. Felt like we'd built our own friends haha.

[@Teachermook]

Agreed. But considering what he represents.... knowing he is the turning point for so many is actually heartbreaking. A last gift from a fallen hero.

[@ghostypheus]

"however what this means is 'it's a robot'" is such an amusing line and i don't know why i really like your writing in all of these guides, thanks for making them!

[@LAZERAK47V2]

SPARKs get super slept on by the community imo. Their biggest issue (again, imo) is that they compete too hard for resources to be a decent unit. Scopes and Expanded Mags are highly valued by Snipers and Gunner Grenadiers, combined with the relative late join time of a SPARK means they'll likely get the leftover mods, if any. They're a huge resource sink too if you don't enable Shen's Last Gift campaign mission, not to mention that their weapons/armor upgrades are unit specific, which means more resources spent on a single unit (unlike Faction units, who have much cheaper weapon upgrades and combine their armor with the rest of the squad). SPARKs are an absolute beast of a unit when they get the attention they need, but their high resource requirement and late join times make them more of a luxury unit than a must-have. Kinda like early game Psi Troopers, there's just too much investment for when resources are scarce. That being said, they can be a fantastic unit if/when they get their promotions, their mods and are always ready for action.

[@niedude]

I know this comment is a month old, but I've recently gotten back to XCOM 2 (second playthrough on WOTC, first since getting Shen's Last Gift) and I didn't find Sparks to be a late game addition at all. I had them before unlocking Tier 2 armor for my units, even! I realize that my current playthrough is a bit of an exception as I got 5 engineers from missions before I was able to get a second Scientist, so I was building facilities at three times my usual rate and researching new tech three times slower, but even taking this into account I fail to see how they're "late game" additions. WOTC automatically turns of the DLC mission by default, so the only thing you need to build the Spark is a proving ground and the MEC autopsy research (might be a different tech but I'm fairly confident its this one). By those parameters you should be able to build a mec at around the same time you get your third Faction unit, if not before, no?

[@peeradechsrisaowanan9819]

Also combat presence from skirmisher can use on SPARK ....more action point alway sweet*

[@madskills6387]

This is definitely the best xcom guide I've seen in like...... forever

[@Carrot_Darknesss]

I just wanna add some points to Bombard because it's one of my favorite SPARK abilities: 1- regardless of tech level, it deals the maximum environmental damage to all objects in its radius despite them not being highlighted in preview (unlike frags and rockets). 2- it is considered an explosion by the Chosen's Shell-shocked and Blast-shield, but it doesn't destroy loot when it finishes off an enemy. I haven't tested it, but it probably deals reduced damage to units with Blast Padding and no damage to units with Fortress. 3- in landed UFO mission, if you have to, you can sneak a concealed unit inside, then bombard the distress beacon to oblivion.

[@Zack-tx7oz]

These videos are amazing! The quality is top notch and the analysis is spot on, easy to understand and very useful! You definitely deserve more subs, my man!!

[@tony3003001]

In long war late game stage: Channeling protocol + sacrifice is op as hell. Since you got 8 - 10 enemy shooting at you anyways. if you critc, you might able to instant killed an sectorpod guaranteed

[@angeloestrada923]

Do you still think you'll make more content like this? Your guides are very straightforward, making use of every second and are fun size. I cant wait for your xcom 3 guides

[@veegeeplz]

Thanks. Appreciate the kind words. RE: Content - Not any time soon, I'd imagine. I'm not playing a lot of XCOM these days, and I don't have any new, meaningful content to cover. If Firaxis ever announces XCOM 3 though, I'll be one of the first people lined up to play it.

[@DarthSateus]

Thx for the guide bro I was hesitant to try to the Spark with all the negative talk about it until I saw your guide. Now it’s unironically one of my favorite classes

[@BlooJellyZ]

Thanks for the guides, I always return to your vid’s whenever I play xcom

[@christophervanoster]

I like those little tiny split second text popups in the background. Brings a hint of comedy to the video. Good video regardless

[@uruburus5203]

I love how people complain about something not being viable meanwhile : Oh hell yea my squad gets to have a robot just like the advent does

[@Gr3atSam1]

Thanks for the video! I've always found SPARKs to be the sort of glass cannon where if you fail to destroy the enemy POD in one turn, the likelyhood of losing your SPARK is way too high to consider investing my money into. Too often I just end up using the SPARK as a backline support unit sort of like specialists, which really reduces their damage potential outside of BIT abilities

[@bluegum6438]

They're outclassed by high level troops, but I think they're cute so I still use them

[@chaimrothberg5367]

Thanks for making this, I feel that sparks get a lot of unwarranted hate when I think it’s just people using sub optimal builds and tactics. I find that the ranged combat build stacked with weapon mods and high ground with liberal use of overdrive is the best way to utilize this unit. I totally agree with your spark promotion tree as well, it’s identical to the one I use. my only disagreement is with the heavy weapon. I find that the blaster bomb stacked with rainmaker is the best heavy weapon for the spark due to the absolutely massive blast radius, combine that with a claymore and a death from above or serial chain and you can wipe out two pods with just 2 or 3 units.

[@veegeeplz]

That's fair. I just like the Shredstorm for more damage.

[@MegaAmir46]

Amazing guide just downloaded all the dlc. Very well done

[@BrezelCeviche]

I use the same build. SPARKs rock!

[@niedude]

I find it interesting that I never see anyone use the Spark as a Dodge-Tank. There's just so much you can do with it! With Overdrive and Wrecking Ball, you can move across the map to flank your enemies while you also tear down cover and create holes in walls that can even create entrances into buildings and let everyone else in your team also flank enemies too, and you get to multi-attack after this! Combine this with Aid Protocol and Threat Protocol from a Sentinel, and maybe a smoke bomb for good measure if you really don't want to be hit, and you have a tanky destroyer that shreds enemies, regularly gets crits from flank boosts, and can set up Overwatch to use in the next turn without sacrificing an attack for it. You can also move the Spark out in the open and give it said Threat Protocol, go into overwatch, and set the rest of your squad on overwatch as well before you trigger an enemy pod. That'll make your enemy trigger 2 overwatch shots (with shredder) from the Spark + 1 per the rest of the squad (not even factoring in Guardian) PLUS a 33% chance for an extra hit on EACH triggered enemy with Hunter's Protocol. Bonus points for the Spark not triggering Will loss or "squadmate hit" panic attack chances, which have ruined too many missions for me not to take into account. This combo is INSANE. It's risky, but Sparks are naturally tanky, have plenty of health and armor, and can repair themselves if they do manage to get hit. It won't work against every enemy type, but against most enemies this will completely them off and allow for an easy cleaning without endangering your weaker, squishier, and less disposable human units. Even if you don't want to go the high risk, high reward dodge-tank route, the simple fact that you can rely on the Spark operating at full (offensive) power at any point is enough to make it one of the most indispensable units in the game. I get that we like to focus on the big numbers because they're fun and the Spark doesn't come close to being top 3 DPS units, but this is incredibly shortsighted. Viewing Xcom as a whole, or any of its individual units specifically, only by their competence in a single encounter makes absolutely no sense. Xcom is a tactical game. the biggest challenge is the war of attrition against you. Not the Avatar doomsday clock, not the alien rulers, not the Chosen. ESPECIALLY on WOTC where you can finish a mission with a Flawless rating and not be hit by an enemy once, but you still end up loosing Will, increasing soldier Fatigue, and risking unavoidable Panic chances and permanent negative debuffs to your units, and even just one trigger of these is enough to risk your missions for weeks. Being able to count on a unit that not only is fully immune to that entire mechanic, but can also be deployed with no negative debuffs to its performance in any and all missions is a game changer. Even if your spark is at 1 HP, it will add so much to a mission, and it is a game changer (literally) to be able to slot in even a 1 HP Spark when you get a surprise high difficulty mission after you just finished a different mission where you maybe took a single hit or two, but that was enough to trigger a wave of panic attacks that left your units shaken and unable to be deployed for an emergency. We've all been there when an unexpected mission pops up at precisely the wrong time, and even a new recruit with no abilities made a difference thanks to just being there and taking a shot or two. Hope someone appreciated my rant!

[@F0wlPlay]

I like how Sparks can be mobile tall cover. Never know when you'll need a wall made of guns.

[@Rakshael]

the detail here is impressive. Also the little sassy messages that pop up for half a second really add a lot of personality to the vids- moar i say!

[@jakith7444]

Old video but the first source after 45m of googling that had the charge amount and if it restocks on the bomb volleyball/repair buddy skills. TY for that!!!

[@thathomieyouknowme1884]

Thanks for the video. Just got the game and I love the spark unit.

[@akshaydabhadkarofficial5104]

I had to sacrifice my SPARK to let my soldiers escape. Felt bad that day.

[@siddislikesgoogle]

Sounds like the bulwark would work well with a grenadier w/blast padding moving together in small bounds in open ground, sort of like a tower defence with a very long reach that if stationary, can spit 3x grenades/heavy weapons and fire a heavy rifle 2x against enemies that won't have cover after catching nades. That's a lot of potential death. If anyone does get close enough to nade, that team is the only pair that can take the hit, in fact being a nade magnet is the defensive strategy here, because other team members are spared from eating that same grenade, which would hurt them much more. Also, said grenade wouldn't destroy the grenadiers cover, unless the MEC dies. Its a real moving fortress. Oh and a downside to MECs is if they die and you gave them modded weapons on a mission that requires extraction, you can't carry them out, meaning you'll lose the upgrades and heavy weapon you may have given it. Learned that one the hard way lol.

[@KirosanaPerkele]

Very nice!

[@yari4046]

reject monke, embrace robo

[@baddragonite]

Good video

[@orangesoda4535]

I would probably love the SPARK class if they at least had a cool mellee attack like in EW.

[@primusstar5995]

use iridar's spark arsenal as it has the ksm which allows it to punch stuff with custom animatinons

[@thepimpsprayer6374]

The waypoint thing is possible on console just hold down the move button and I should appear

[@tomaka121]

nice guide, just like the rest

[@destroyercreater98]

Also fun little thing I noticed about the mecha punch ability. It ain’t like a skirmisher’s slash where it’s a single action. What it does is have you use as many actions as it takes to run up to something and punch it. Meaning it’s it’s in the blue zone during overdrive? One action. If it’s pass the blue line but not too far? Two actions. And if it’s at the very edge after using overdrive? Well consider yourself done with your spark for that turn, cause it uses all 3 actions just to punch someone in the face.

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

Superior stock is also a great upgrade early on

[@edwinvillegas5965]

11:30 you can still do it on console just gotta HOLD "CONFIRM BUTTON" A/X sad game dont tell u that

[@Fable_7]

I love Sparks

[@alastorrd7653]

Channelling field plus specialist tier 3 aid protocol make that enemy miss the spark it also help when your spark is the target to get shot by literally everyone. Because of that if it your turn you can practically one shot some late game enemy

[@KaoticReach1999]

Loving my Spark! Always send it in my squad

[@Mestari1Gaming]

Man, i as well love war bots! They are so cool!

[@shawnwilt7196]

What's the mod that is referred to about letting sparks benefit from canon breakthroughs?

[@veegeeplz]

DLC Breakthroughs Support steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1133948306

[@AmonHa01]

Ahh Sparks. I also like those mechanical buddies. You mentioned about using a mod in the Spark to have benefits of Cannon breakthroughs. What is the name of the mod? Or mods you use? Speaking of which, what mods you would recommend to download? Not only for sparks, but to use in general for battle, utility of items, etc.

[@veegeeplz]

steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1133948306 Google: "xcom spark breakthrough"

[@Krevet_The2]

I never knew spark existed, until now, beated game two times

[@cobrazax]

i REALLY wish we could add extra skills for it like other classes on the training center

[@baddragonite]

I notice the game doesn't give me an option to upgrade their weapons. Is that a mod that lets you do it or am I missing something?

[@veegeeplz]

This functionality was added in War of the Chosen.

[@baddragonite]

@@veegeeplz that's what I was thinking but wasn't sure. Thanks!

[@soulripper3836]

have you tried just sparks its really good. buy just sparks I mean that in the later stages of the game you have 6 and also i would think you'd use blaster bombs instead of shredder cannon but you do you (even if blaster bombs are better) and yes getting 6 is possible and good. if you rush them like you should you can get 6 at about the time you get magnetic and prediter and 6 hunter proticalls is awesome

[@iceydicey77]

I have the dlc disabled can I still earn the sparks somehow?

[@WickerSecurityCaptain5404]

How do I use this after I have the DLC?

[@user-cy7ki7ms1q]

What is the theme/second song adtef tbe intro that was playing at the start of the video?

[@veegeeplz]

Probably something from the Tactical Legacy Pack.

[@user-cy7ki7ms1q]

@@veegeeplz thank you!

[@TucoBenedicto]

Here's how to build a SPARK in terms of skills: - spend these XCOM points you keep hoarding and unlock EVERYTHING. It's points well spent, making it incredibly durable and flexible in action. Plus as the video points SPARK units have no downtime between missions (even if damaged) so it's a reliable fighter that will be available at will as much as you want

[@benjaminbillstein]

Thank you 4 the guide! Its amazing. I Play on Xbox Series x and Cant use mods :( Sparks are my Favorite class! I lost my First Paladin spark in C/I By Hit By an andremodron :( that Hurts

[@UCannotDefeatMyShmeat]

Stock plus repeater every single day

[@ItsMinoAgain]

Hey, you need to do one for Psi Operatives

[@vasilelaurentiucosma2812]

Should I take rainmaker or strike? Both seem really good, I can't make up my mind

[@veegeeplz]

Only you can answer that question. Watch the relevant sections of the video, and if you still can't decide then just make a save and try them out.

[@DjslayerGaming]

The mech in EW were alot cooler to me wish they made a comback but xcom 2 lore they wernt made yet

[@chrismeyers5963]

Man, imagine a squad of nothing but these things, talk about massive beast mode haha

[@quaternarytetrad4039]

The Drifters Broadcast did an entire campaign with nothing but SPARKS at Commander Difficulty

[@teabox3308]

which perfect information mods are you using?

[@veegeeplz]

Perfect Information and Gotcha Again, mostly likely.

[@dylanram4653]

what is proc, when talking about the hair triggers

[@veegeeplz]

When an effect activates or triggers. You can Google it for more information.

[@dylanram4653]

@@veegeeplz i see, like overwatch

[@gaelofariandel6747]

I mod the sh*t out of SPARKS & soldiers then double enemy pod sizes.

[@InzerPriseChannel]

It's strange. Why hasn't anyone mentioned that Hunter Protocol will break team concealment itself when SPARK sees an enemy and shoots it? Can fix with mod [WOTC] SPARK No Wreck Stealth

[@Barredbob]

I don’t think it’s a bug, it’s not meant for stealth, it’s meant for either loud missions or fighting multiple pods

[@JABofLEGENDS]

9:30 Ay Yo, who gave the robot One for All? Why Chappie yelled Dragon Fist and yeeted that nigga? Who sent Bastion from Overwatch into the fucking Jojo Bizarre Adventure universe?

[@santy33143]

Thanks, very Professional.

[@trololoev]

why we can make Spark our ally and have ability to have more robots but can't make viper king our ally and have ability to have more vipers?

[@jaspergregorio9774]

I wish sparks were integrated better into wotc

[@xyiux]

Sacrifice should be changed so that when it dies it just powers off and isnt useable for the rest of the match not making it kia

[@ags8507]

sparks get spanked hard by high lvl psionic enemies tho, since they lack will, they always get dealt max damage from psi abilities, i wouldnt bring sparks in late game missions with psionic enemies like gatekeepers or avatars in case of final mission

[@frostfire5208]

It isn't that Sparks are not viable - it is that they take extra time and resources to get them up to par with your regular squad. Such that you probably won the game already by the time you fully tech them up. Also - a downside of using one is that they cannot bond. That means the other soldier won't earn bond exp. Best to use sparks in pairs so you're not wasting that if possible.

[@batman_2004]

Sparks are useless. Easily killed by enemy.

[@schuhsuppe7228]

You typically dont aim your run around getting killed

[@ismathem]

Informative video but not a fan of the voice

[@veegeeplz]

That's fair. I didn't have a lot of choices with TTS voices when making these videos. There's a version with the voiceover muted if you prefer.

[@ismathem]

@@veegeeplz Oh no worries. I think people tend to prefer a real voice over TTS 👍🏾 Good video though.

[@veegeeplz]

@@ismathem I know what you mean. I didn't want to record my own voice and didn't want to get someone to read my boring script though, so... TTS it was. Thanks for your kind words.

[@2020_Visi0n]

@@veegeeplz why don't you want to record your own voice?

[@veegeeplz]

@@2020_Visi0n I'm actually a sentient toaster and I don't want that fact advertised.