Steady Hands Sarsaparilla

{{#pageimage:Vending_Handling.png}}

Steady Hands Sarsaparilla

Type	Vending Machine
Family	Map Furniture (Interactive)
Brand	Catastropop™ (Endtimes Bottling Co.)
Product	Steady Hands Sarsaparilla™ (Vanilla Smash)
Tagline	“Because accuracy is sexy.”
Interact range	16 units
On-screen prompt	Press [E] to upgrade handling for {cost}
Interact time	Instant
Cooldown	None
Cost formula	1000 * (perks.handling + 1)
Rounding	round(cost / 25) * 25 (to nearest 25)
Scaling vars	Current Handling perk (same as uses)
Effect	Increases the Handling perk by +1 (reduces recoil, spread/drift, and screen shake)
Effect expression	perks.handling += 1
Limits	No explicit max set (practically capped by cost curve)
Stacks?	Yes (linear perk increments)
Sounds	sndBuy, sndPowerDrink
System hooks	Spawns drink entity (sDamageDrink); consumes Score
Appears on	All current maps
First appearance	DEAD (v1.0)
Notes	Applies globally to all weapons via the handling perk in firing math.

Steady Hands Sarsaparilla

“Because accuracy is sexy.”

Overview

Steady Hands Sarsaparilla buffs your Handling perk, smoothing out weapon behaviour across the board. Each purchase adds +1 Handling, which reduces recoil kick, tightens bullet drift/spread, and tones down camera shake — turning rowdy boomsticks into well-behaved lasers.

Mechanics

• Interact range: 16 units.
• Interaction: Instant; spawns a drink entity and applies the perk immediately.
• Scope: Handling perks affect all weapons, including Beast variants.
• Audio: sndBuy on purchase, sndPowerDrink on drink.

Cost

• Formula: `cost = 1000 * (perks.handling + 1)`
• Rounding: `cost = round(cost / 25) * 25` → price is a multiple of 25.
• Scaling: Linear with your current Handling level — pricier the steadier you get.

Effect

• Per purchase: `perks.handling += 1`
• In practice: Reduces weapon recoil, narrows drift/spread, and lowers camera shake via the game’s firing calculations.
• Global: Benefits every gun you pick up afterward.

Strategy

• Tames heavy hitters: Makes high-recoil weapons (LMGs, battle rifles, hand cannons) far more viable, especially at range.
• Point efficiency: Better accuracy = fewer wasted bullets → fewer shots per kill → higher point yield under your scoring rules.
• Order of operations: A couple ranks of Handling before big Beast upgrades can multiply their value (all that new power stays on target).
• Pair with: Kaboom Kola (damage) to convert steadiness into lethal TTKs; Fleet Feet Fizz (speed) for safer kiting while ADS.

Trivia

• The drink entity currently uses the sprite `sDamageDrink` — the handling and damage drink sprites were swapped in development because the art “fit better the other way around.” The internal names just never got renamed.
• Early names on the whiteboard included “Grip Juice,” “Laser Hands,” and “Calm-A-Cola.” Steady Hands Sarsaparilla won for maximum yee-haw energy.