Spider Tank Showcase: Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider
Crank up that bass and join us as we spotlight a Hero Tank that brings some serious street cred to the arena.
Welcome back to the Spider Tanks Showcase, the series where every week we do a deep dive into some of the most destructive Tanks in the arena. Today’s showcase we’re looking at a really special Hero Tank that not only can blast through the competition, but do it in style!
Today we’re featuring Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider. This Tank was designed as a tribute to one of the greatest classical composers (often referred to as Dogg) of old Earth after several of his ancient works were only recently uncovered in an archeological dig. This Hero combo rolls around the battlefield literally destroying its opponents with the power of sick beats. It may not be the fastest and toughest around and could take some Pilots awhile to get used to, but once you get in the flow of Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider, it can pack huge power in battle.
The lowrider is a directional Tank, like Santa’s Slay or Nomad. This means it must move forward on its wheels rather than pivoting freely like legged or hovering Tanks. This may be tough for some Pilots to get used to, but once you can master it, it features a lot more speed than the other wheeled Tanks you’ll see in the arena.
Like other directional Tanks, Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider has a ton of Energy to use abilities. Compared to its Santa’s Slay and Nomad cousins, however, it has a lot more Speed at the expense of a bit of Armor. Since the Lowrider can get awkward when turning suddenly, Pilots that learn to leverage the Speed advantage will often keep moving continuously, making them a tough target to pin down.
The Snoop Bounce: Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider/Beat Blaster
As a Hero Tank, Snoop’s Bumpin Lowrider comes as a prebuilt combo right away. Though the Weapon and Body can be used separately from each other, they synergize incredibly well together.
The Beat Blaster shoots three blasts of high intensity jams at opponents, staggering them for a split second if it hits them at close range. It has a fairly average range– similar to that of Twin Guns or Cannon. If fired laterally while moving, each beat can spread out into a small buckshot, but it’s most dangerous when firing directly ahead or behind to slam enemies with all 3 beats in succession.
Like other Tanks on wheels, the directional movement of Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider can be tough for some Pilots to master. It can feel awkward to drive until you learn its tendencies. Many Pilots are commonly tripped up by its inability to stop abruptly and change direction without rolling forward before shifting to reverse. After some practice, most Pilots will realize that the way to circumvent this weakness is simply to not stop moving at all, and make any movement possible in smooth turns, circles, or figure 8 patterns.
Pump Up Those Beats
Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider will be tough for those unfamiliar with it to adapt to, but with a true master behind the wheel it can dominate the arena. The firing pattern of beat blaster can be utilized in a ton of ways once you get the hang of its tendencies.
Whereas with a lot of other bodies you’ll want to dart back and forth while firing to be hard to hit, the Lowrider is most adaptable when rolling around in circles. This prevents the delay that can come with changing directions and can confound many enemies… particularly those with linear weapons like Crossbow or Cannon.
With this signature movement pattern, timing your Beat Blaster shots is paramount to get them where you want them. While turning at a sharp angle, your beats will often spread out. While they are more likely to hit your target, hitting with all three can be far more destructive than just grazing an enemy Tank with one or two beats. When your movement is lined up with your enemy’s is when the most deadly shots will be possible.
The combination of the ability to slightly stun opponents and break out of your holding pattern in any direction come in handy when faced with hard hitting opponents with short range. If a Flamethrower or Shotgun is threatening you, some bass to the face will make their head spin for just a split second, but it may be long enough to put some distance between you and finish them off.
Don’t forget about the high Energy of the Lowrider. You can use a lot more abilities than most Tanks, which could provide you a serious edge in mobility, damage or support. Many Snoop Tanks will rely on an affordable Ability like Speed Booster alongside a more costly Ability like Reactive Plating or Repair Zone.
Customize Your Ride
Since you can use both Beat Blaster and Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider independently of each other, there are a ton of cool combos to be made using this Hero Tank. The high Energy and unique movement of the body can work really well with a bunch of different Weapons, while the Beat Blaster adds a totally one-of-a-kind utility to any Body.
If you get really good with the movement of a Lowrider, you can use your dodging skills alongside a more straightforward Weapon so that your offensive tactics don’t rely on your positioning as much as your defense. A single shot Weapon like Finisher or Crossbow takes away the chance of spreading out your beats when you fire on a turn, letting you totally concentrate on your opponents’ destruction as they struggle to hit you and your superior driving skills.
Likewise, Beat Blaster can be a huge asset when used on another Body. Putting it on a heavier Body like Titan could make you an absolutely immovable object. You can cut off bottlenecks and chokepoints effectively with your bulk, while also stunning anyone who comes close to you. Many Pilots, however, will opt to put Beat Blaster on a speedy body to take greater advantage of how damaging it can be for opponents when you land all three hits. A small, agile body like Flea can get positioning better to fire more effective blasts, but as you move faster the tendency for the blasts to spread out will be higher, making it more difficult to control. This will be very, very effective in the hands of Pilots who have fully mastered firing the Beat Blaster though.
Laid Back With the Lowrider
Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider may not be as straightforward as some other Tanks out there, but someone who learns its nuances and tendencies will be a force to be reckoned with in any battle. Just as with any Tank, the best for you is what you can make work. It may take more practice for some to get a winning strategy together with the Lowrider, but putting in that effort can be well worth it.
Unfortunately, there are no Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowriders available in the Spider Tanks Store currently, but they can still be found on the official Spider Tanks OpenSea collection!
That’s all for Snoop’s Bumpin’ Lowrider, but we’ll be back next week to talk about a 3-legged little speedster stalking throughout the arena– Scout!
If you have any strategies or builds for Scout you’d like to share, let us know on Discord or tweet at us with the hashtag #STShowcase and you may end up featured in next week’s Spider Tank Showcase!
