As a simple tier 1 weapon should be , you start with a flare that calls down a single lightning bolt to the area where it lands, dealing 30 damage in the process accompanied by the sound of thunder.
They say a lightning never strikes the same place twice, and they're right. It'll strike the same place thrice! This tier 2 upgrade makes your flare call 3 lightning strikes instead of one that deal 20 damage each strike with a total of 60 damage.
It is the end of the world and so are your enemies lives. This final tier not only shoots three bolts like the second tier but also leaves flames AND calls down asteroids from the sky, annihilating anything they strike upon. If all the bolts hit, and the flames hit the same target twice, and all the asteroids hit, you can do 126 damage.
Unlike most flare-type weapons, it is important that 2012 ends directly on the enemy tank. This way, all the flame projectiles will hit the tank.
The majority of the lightning animation cannot hit tanks. If you look closely at the bottom of the lightning, there is an animation played similarly to Static or an EMP Blast. The radius of this animation is the only part of the lightning bolt that can do damage.