Powerups 
By Dave470003
What are powerups?
Powerups are special bonuses that drop from shattered bricks. Powerups are only dropped from regular bricks, they are not dropped by mineral bricks, ferrous congolmerates, steel bricks etc. When caught, they can help (or hinder) your gameplay in various ways. Powerups are very common in each level, and although they all have different effects, there are only 5 out of 25 powerups that really hinder you.
Powerups either effect the bricks, the ball or the envelope, and it is important to know which ones affect what, as many powerups tend to cancel each other out. For instance, a [Y] powerup would take the place of a [V] powerup, as they both affect the ball, so you would not end up getting an electrifying ball getting faster towards the top of the screen. But an [A] powerup and a [Y] powerup could take place together, as the [A] powerup affects the envelope, whilst the [Y] powerup affects the ball.
Types of powerups
There are 25 different types of powerup, each of them beginning with a different letter of the alphabet (except U):
Note: The % chance of getting a powerup per level is estimated
Attraction
Helpful powerup
Fairly commonly found (10% chance per level [10% c/l])
Affects Envelope
To use: hold down left mouse button (or Ctrl key)
Effect: When activated, the ball is attracted to the envelope. This is negated as soon as the player stops holding the button, or when the envelope runs out of charge.
Useful Situations: If the ball is at the top of the screen, you can hold down the button, and the ball will power through the bricks to get to the envelope. You can also use it to move the ball at sharper angles.
Beware of: The ball does not change direction instantaneously; it swerves around quickly and then goes for the bat. This means that it may not always hit the bricks you want it to. Also, if held down for too long, the ball can lose control when it is repeatedly hitting the bat, and may swerve off and fall off the bottom of the screen.
Boost
Unhelpful powerup
Rarely found (5% c/l)
Affects Bricks
To use: Automatic use
Effect: Increases the armour of the bricks and conglomerates by 1. This means, in effect, that it takes 1 extra hit to break each brick.
Useful Situations: In the case that you want to give your drone(s) more time to convert sentinels and/or collect minerals.
Beware of: This!
Control
Helpful powerup
Commonly found (50% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Automatically collects the ball; left-click to shoot. [Holding down the mouse button essentially prevents the ball from sticking to the bat]
Effect: Lets the ball stick to the envelope for a short amount of time, so that the player has more power to decide where to aim it at. Unlike other powerups which affect bats, this effect does not have to be recharged.
Useful Situations: Tricky aiming can be simplified by this powerup. Also, more control can be excecuted on fast-moving balls, as these can be easily 'controlled'. The delay before the ball is automatically launched is useful for charging your auto-javelin, or for giving your drones time to dismantle sentinels. You can also use this powerup as insurance if you have two active drilling balls. If you catch them on separate parts of your paddle, and launch one by moving it off of the screen, the other will stay on for a full hold cycle (until it would normally be launched on its own). If you catch and launch the first one again in the same manner, it will reset the cycle, essentially allowing you to hold on to one of the balls until you're no longer able to catch the first one.
Beware of: The ball is launched if you try to push it off the screen while stuck to the envelope, and the ball will eventually get launched without you clicking. Also, a 'halo' ball (obtained by the [H] powerup) never gets stuck to the bat.
Diminuation
Unhelpful powerup
Fairly commonly found (33% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Automatic use
Effect: Very simple: shrinks the bat.
Useful Situations: When there are many bricks that can destroy your envelope in addition to being able to handle its smaller size.
Beware of: Getting this power-up when you would prefer a larger envelope.
Extension
Helpful powerup
Commonly found (60% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Automatic use
Effect: Basically, the opposite of [D]; this enlarges the bat.
Useful Situations: Pretty much any situation can be enriched by the help of an [E] powerup.
Beware of: This bigger bat can make it much more difficult to dodge sentinels, nuts, or anything that shoots at you. Also, note that there is a maximum length the bat can be, so after about 3-4 [E] powerups, there is no need to acquire more of them.
Flame
Helpful powerup
Fairly commonly found (33% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic use
Effect: This adds '1' to the strength of the ball, allowing the ball to drill through conglomerates and boosted bricks quicker. When used with the Asphalt Ball, it also adds 1 to the number of bricks the ball can hit before beginning to recoil again. Also, some players have notice that the speed of the ball is slightly decreased (this effect is most pronounced on slower computers, as this ball appears to be more processor intensive to display than other balls).
Useful situations: There are many situations when this could be helpful. When you accidentally acquire a [B] powerup, a [F] powerup (in effect) negates the effect. When there are lots of conglomerates to destroy, this can be a valuable time-saver. Also, the effect of the 'boosting' molecule is lessened by this powerup.
Beware of: Acquiring this power-up if your drilling balls are already imbued with another property that is preferred.
Additional Notes: A Flame Capsule can be bought from Merchants.
Glacial
Helpful powerup (usually)
Fairly uncommon (25% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic use
Effect: A [G] powerup has the unusual effect of destroying any bricks, but it takes two shots to do so. Any bricks destroyed with this powerup in play will not get their effects.
Useful Situations: Comes in handy when many sentinels, nuts, conglomerates, etc. are around. Also can be quite useful to destroy 'steel' bricks.
Beware of: Destroys minerals, extra-life bricks, mission objects, and other helpful objects without collecting them. Also, these can be very time consuming, annoying, and even unhelpful if you just have a level filled with normal bricks.
Additional Notes: A Glacial Capsule can be bought from Merchants.
If you freeze a molecule brick, the molecule will still be released upon the brick being broken.
Also a common misconception is that regular bricks destroyed by a glacial ball won't drop their power-ups however, that is not true.
Halo
Helpful powerup
Fairly uncommon (20% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic use
Effect: This powerup allows your ball to travel through any brick when hit with your envelope. However, the ball becomes 'solid' again once it touches the top.
Useful Situations: Can be very useful when there are lots of bricks, as the ball has to work its way down through the bricks to the envelope. It can also be used to avoid sentinels that may be lurking at the bottom of the level.
Beware of: This ball can become a hinderance at the end of a level, as when you are aiming the ball to get that last brick, you will find that the ball just passes straight through it. It is often easier just losing a life to get these few bricks. Also, the Halo ball does not stick to a Control'd envelope. According to this page, this is intentional.
Additional Notes: Your ball can easily be trapped. For instance, if there are three steel bricks blocking off a top corner off of a level, your Halo ball could become trapped, with no way of getting out, or even dying. (If the Halo ball gets trapped, you may want to wait for auto-javelins to easily complete the level, one column at a time.) Also remember that Halo ball can act strange sometimes, like mixing powers with another powerup.
Indigestion
Unhelpful powerup
Uncommon (10% c/l)
Affects Bricks
To use: Automatic use
Effect: Creates an extra brick in all empty spaces adjacent to every single brick remaining on the level.
Useful Situations: Early in the level, you may trap the ball at the top of the screen, (if you made a narrow path to the top, and the ball is already there as you catch the [I],) making it destroy many bricks before you need to catch it again. You may also get a useful powerup where the new bricks appear (not likely, though).
Javelin
Helpful powerup
Fairly common (40% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Move with mouse, click mouse button to activate (after a few seconds, if it has not been manually used, it will automatically fire)
Effect: A [J] powerup temporarily enables your envelope to shoot a powerful laser beam once. This beam is sure to destroy everything in its path, however, it will only affect one column of bricks at a time. Therefore, this means that any other Envelope powerup will be kept.
Useful Situations: It destroys everything, so therefore you should aim it at molecules, ferrous conglomerates, sentinels, etc. It will also conviniently provide a small channel for the ball to reach the top of the screen with. Also, whilst it destroys minerals, they are actually added to your overall mineral count.
Beware of: It will go off by itself, if not manually used, so aim it carefully.
Additional Notes: An automatic javelin powerup (called 'auto-javelin') will be obtained when the ball has gone a long time without destroying any normal bricks. The time it takes for the auto-javelin to start to build up (you can see this happening buy the little circle where your cursor is) depends on how many normal bricks you have left in the level. (The smaller the number of bricks, the quicker it starts to build up.) The auto-javelin behaves just like a normal javelin.
Kamikaze
Helpful powerup
Extremely rare (.5% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic use
Effect: This powerup is considered by many players to be the most useful powerup in the game. The ball is automatically aimed at any normal bricks, destroying them without requiring any effort from the player.
Useful Situations: When there are lots of normal bricks, or when you have very few lives left, a [K] powerup can come in handy as it destroys the bricks with minimum risk.
Beware of: As the ball is only aimed at normal bricks, it can get trapped if there is a wall of steel bricks. Also, as the ball is slightly out of control, it is possible that it could go off the screen when destroying bricks near the bottom of the level.
Additional Notes: Levels with this powerup are marked on maps.
Laser
Helpful Powerup
Rare (15% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Click the mouse button
Effect: Shoots a laser from each end of the envelope, destroying a brick above it. Cannot destroy steel bricks, deals regular damage to others, e.g. ferrous conglomerates. Needs to charge up and so you cannot fire constantly.
Useful Situations: Whenever the level is not blocked off by many steel bricks.
Beware of: Laser beams will set off sentinels without destroying them. Sometimes it's easy to get distracted by lasering a huge area and consequently forget to catch the ball!
Multiball
Helpful powerup
Very Common (50% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: This powerup will split all balls on the playing area into two.
Useful Situations: Anything really if you want to get rid of bricks fast.
Beware of: Can be difficult if many balls going very very fast. Also basically useless if collected while the ball is on the way down, as you're bound to lose one in the split. Becomes more helpful the more [E] powerups you have collected. It may also force you to be more aware of other harmful bricks such as sentinels.
New Ball
Helpful powerup
Common (40% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: This powerup creates one new ball on the envelope, ready for you to use.
Useful Situations: When you have a ball that is going very quickly. It's essentially as good as a safety because the new ball is similar to acquiring a new life.
Beware of: When there are too many balls in addition to bricks such as Kashuats that can harm you.
Opening
Helpful powerup
Rare (15% c/l)
Affects Bricks
To use: Automatic
Effect: This powerup "opens" a gap in the middle of the playing field (effectively pushing the furthest three columns of bricks on the left and right sides of the screen out of play)
Useful Situations: It is usually beneficial to remove up to 6 columns from the level in one powerup, generally reducing the number of bricks left. It's also sometimes possible to trap your ball with this and then use the time to charge up loads of javelins and end the level that way.
Beware of: Any Mineral & '?' bricks/etc that may get pushed off the screen with this, as you will lose them. (Any '?' bricks will only be lost this way will only be gone for the remainder of that play)
Provision
Helpful powerup
Very Rare (1.2% c/l [This is an exact number extracted from the Minemap])
Affects Envelope
To use: Automatic
Effect: Completely refills your missile capacity
Useful Situations: When you're low on missiles. Levels with this powerup are marked on maps for if you are far from a merchant but in need of a missile refill.
Beware of: Not catching the ball if you're too concentrated on the [P] powerup, you may fail the level and not even catch [P]. But if you see it falling and you have lots of missiles, you may as well try and use a few before getting it.
Quasar
Helpful powerup
Rare (15% c/l)
Affects Bricks
To use: Automatic
Effect: This powerup creates a black hole (or a quasar, whatever you want to call it) in the middle of the screen and will "suck" the surrounding bricks into it, destroying them.
Useful Situations: When you have lots of bricks!
Beware of: Do NOT let ? Bricks or Minerals get sucked in, because you will not get the benefits.
Additional Notes: A Quasar Capsule can be bought from Merchants.
Regeneration
Helpful powerup
Rare (10% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Click the mouse button
Effect: This powerup causes your envelope to generate a new ball each time the red bar goes across the envelope. Basically, a permanent [N] powerup as long as you don't lose all of your balls.
Useful Situations: Whenever you could use multiple balls.
A good way to make the most of it, is to only click once, once the red bar is complete. This way the ball stays on the envelope and leaves it automatically when the bar is red again, which is your sign to click again for a new ball. This way you always have a ball attached to the envelope in case you miss the moving one, thus making the R-powerup a perfect life insurance.
Beware of: The extra balls hitting any sentinels and/or guardians, which will make the level harder.
Safety
Helpful powerup
Rare (15% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Simply grab it.
Effect: Adds an extra life.
Useful Situations: If you don't have many extra lives or have lost almost all of yours on a level, this can help you avoid losing. If the ball is moving exceptionally fast, it may be worth choosing to grab this powerup and let the ball fall if you are in a situation where you have to choose one or the other.
Beware of: If you have many useful powerups in play (Extensions, ball powerups, etc) It is best to stay on the envelope you're on and don't waste your current life on trying to get the Safety. Otherwise you will lose your powerups.
Transformation
Helpful powerup
Rare (15% c/l)
Affects Envelope
To use: Hold down the mouse button. Only works if there are special bricks on the level.
Effect: Transforms abnormal bricks into regular bricks (Such as conglomerates, metal bricks, etc). Also collects any minerals on the stage, rather than transforming them into regular bricks. (Faded minerals are not 'collected'; rather, they are also transformed into regular bricks)
Useful Situations: If the level you are on has many conglomerates or metal bricks that are a pain, this will take care of them for you.
Beware of: When using transformation, huge beams come out of your envelope and hit the brick. This will block your sight of the ball, so be careful when using it. Do not use on ? bricks either as you will lose the item inside.
U Powerup
Currently nonexistent.
Volt
Helpful powerup
Uncommon (25% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: Your ball becomes yellow and has sparks surrounding it. After the ball has spent enough time near a brick, the brick will be destroyed.
Useful Situations: When you have a lot of sentinels in a level, because a ball imbued with the power of Volt cannot activate sentinels.
Beware of: When there's a death brick (
) in the level, the ball will be destroyed as soon as the sparks touch the death brick. (The death brick also won't be destroyed!)
Additional Notes: A Volt Capsule can be bought from Merchants. A volt ball will not set off sentinels or other special effect bricks, such as Jumpers. The Jumpers' "health" will be reduced and the triangles will turn red, but the jump effect will not be triggered. A Volt Ball can pass backwards through the one-way bricks and can instantly destroy a regenerator brick - passing straight through it (provided it has been fully electricuted before).
Whisky
Unhelpful powerup
Rare (10% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: Your ball becomes yellow-ish and leaves trails of bubbles. Your ball's path wiggles and curves as if it was drunk.
Useful Situations: When you feel like making things more random and possibly fun. Can also be useful if you're able to grab this powerup when the drilling ball has only a narrow (or no) path back to the paddle, as the unpredictable course of the ball can make it less likely to find its way down without breaking a large number of bricks. It is, of course, unpredictable, so results are no guaranteed.
Beware of: Unusual turns.
Xanax
Helpful powerup
Somewhat rare (20% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: Your ball is slowed down.
Useful Situations: When you want the ball to slow down.
Beware of: The change in speed between the drilling balls and any offensive bricks, such as Guardians or Kashuats.
Yoyo
Unhelpful Powerup
Rare (10% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: When your ball(s) are near the paddle, they slow down, and the farther away from the paddle they get, the faster they go.
Useful Situations: With a super-fast ball, use [Y] and then if you use a ball-changing capsule or collect a ball-changing power-up when the ball is near your paddle, and then the drilling ball will become slow.
Beware of: Using a pre-bought capsule when the ball is far from your paddle, the ball will become very fast.
Zeal
Unhelpful powerup
Somewhat rare (20% c/l)
Affects Ball
To use: Automatic
Effect: Your ball is sped up.
Useful Situations: When the ball is going infurinatingly slow.
Beware of: Getting this powerup, if the ball is already moving quickly for you, as it will get even faster.