Spike's health was decreased to 600 (from 700).Popping Pincushion can also serve as a fourth attack or during defense since Spike reloads slowly. If Spike is positioned correctly or is at point-blank range of the safe in Heist, he can deal devastatingly high damage to it with his Popping Pincushion Gadget along with his high-damaging attack and his Super’s high damage, which justifies using him in Heist.These mechanics are also useful in Showdown when facing high-damaging enemies or in self-defense, especially in Showdown when being ambushed or pinched. The extra healing his Life Plant provides when it’s destroyed makes it even better for supporting Spike and teammates. If you or teammates are low on health and your Super isn’t charged up, you can spawn your Life Plant Gadget down, hide behind it, and heal up. If you find yourself charging your Super too often, don’t hesitate to use it on yourself to heal you fully while you keep attacking enemies. Spike's Fertilize Star Power and Life Plant Gadget are useful for healing if your team lacks healers.If the enemy team is fleeing with Gems in Gem Grab or attempting to score a goal in Brawl Ball, you can hamper them from doing so with your Super. When defending a critical objective or controlling an area, Spike’s Super and his Fertilize Star Power are useful for area denial, slowing and damaging enemies while healing himself.Because of this, having the cactus explode near a target is vital because this increases the chances of multiple spikes hitting the same target. You can use this to know where the spikes will land, making it easier to hit enemies around corners and obstacles or to check bushes. The 6 spikes that fly out from his attack always spread out in the same pattern (60-degree angles) no matter your position or rotation.His Super’s area damage can also spell trouble for grouped-up enemies since they can’t easily escape from Spike’s attack or Popping Pincushion Gadget due to the slow.
Spike is capable of dealing extremely high damage to grouped-up enemies due to the multiple spikes shot out from his attack on impact.This makes him an excellent counter against close-ranged Brawlers like El Primo and Mortis who need to get close to Spike to damage him. One way to deal that maximum damage is at point-blank range of the enemy where his attack and Popping Pincushion Gadget work best at that range. Spike’s attack can deal devastating damage.However, his devastatingly high damage output compensates for his low health and allows him to defeat enemies easily. Because of this, it's best to practice shooting around obstacles, predicting his shot pattern, and predicting the enemy’s movement to prevent opportunities for the enemies to damage you. Spike has low health and a slow reload speed.This Star Power also effectively increases the range of the spikes. The spikes shot from his main attack now move in a curving clockwise motion instead of straight out, allowing Spike's attack to cover a larger area and ultimately hit more targets with his attack.