There’s a storm rolling in today as we dive into the strategy behind the force of nature that is the Hurricane Body.

Welcome back to the Spider Tanks Showcase! Today we’re featuring a Body that’s bursting with Energy and can adapt to most any challenge in the arena. Hovering over the battlefield, this well rounded Tank can employ a wide range of Weapons and strategies.

Today is all about Hurricane. This medium Body has fairly balanced Armor and Speed, but its Energy is through the roof for a Tank of its size. Able to compete effectively in nearly every situation, middle of the road on Armor and Speed certainly isn’t a drawback with this Body.

Hurricane’s Energy isn't quite as high as some of the heavier Bodies like Nomad or the massive Titan, but it’s more than you’ll find on any of the quicker Tanks in the arena. It’s average Speed and Armor let you stay agile while also not too breakable. Its quick Energy regeneration really makes it stand out from the other medium Bodies in the arena, and you’ll be able to crank out Abilities nearly as often as the heavies!

Gale Force: Hurricane/Shotgun

For this first build recommendation, we’ll be rushing headlong into the storm. Slap a Shotgun on that Hurricane and make it rain on the opposition. Your well-rounded mobility and durability combine with a high Ability output to pose as much a danger at mid-range as you do up close.

One of the biggest strengths of the Shotgun is how it can exploit the occasions where you’re closing the gap between you and your enemy. Shotgun blasts cover a lot of area, but start from a central point and spread out. This means too far away and not all of your shot will hit. Too close and it’s all or nothing.

The exception is for moving targets. If someone is moving towards you, they will be moving into your more concentrated blast range as it approaches them, thus getting hit with more shots. Your shot pattern is like a funnel, and if they’re moving down the funnel they’re going to get seriously hurt.

With a Hurricane the balanced stats allow you to either run from opposing Tanks or take a few shots to stay in the fray. Use that agility to fire at opponents coming towards you for maximum damage. When someone’s chasing you, you’ll have the Energy you need to pop a Repair Drone or Speed Booster so you can keep laying down fire.

Hailstorm: Hurricane/Brambler

This next build uses the Brambler Weapon from the JACKED O’ Lantern Hero Tank to annoy and harass opponents while staying mobile and tough enough to take a few blows to the face.

The Brambler fires an artillery projectile, which does damage and releases a patch of thorns that slow enemies and apply a DoT while in the radius. The persistent zone of damage can make it difficult for teams to focus on objectives, not to mention the slow effect makes it difficult for them to escape from. While Brambler does a pretty significant amount of damage with its main shot, often it will more or less annoy large groups of enemy Tanks to death, and few Bodies facilitate that better than Hurricane.

Since your Brambler’s thorns continue to do damage even while you’re not shooting, you can really take advantage of Hurricane’s mobility. While it’s slower than the Pumpkin standard for the Brambler, it also doesn’t feel like it’s made of glass… or easily smashable fruit material.

Hurricane also has much higher Energy than a Pumpkin, meaning you can take more advantage of support and repair Abilities. Need to crank up the Speed to run circles around Tanks as they crawl through your briar patch? Unlike a little zippy Tank, Hurricane can support nearly full time usage of cheaper Abilities like Speed Boost for maximum flexibility.

The Microburst: Hurricane/Railgun

For this last build with the Hurricane, we’re going to get a little ahead of ourselves. In the recent community vote on the first Generation 2 Tank to be offered, The Shaman won by a wide margin. This will be a little different from The Shaman build as presented, as we’re subbing the medium-sized, extra tough Crab Body out for its high-energy cousin Hurricane.

The Railgun deals devastating single blasts that can be charged up to excessive power levels for even more damage. While charging, however, the Weapon slows you down to a crawl. This is where Hurricane can be really helpful– not only beating out Crab for the Speed you can get out the gate after a shot, but also letting you use more Abilities more often.

Since you’re nearly frozen in place while shooting, Abilities like Repair Drone or Repair Zone can be very useful. Even usually very niche Abilities like Shield Projector and Smoke Canister can give you a few extra seconds to line up that perfect one shot kill. Cloak Drone is also especially useful, since it makes it very hard for enemies to see you when you’re not moving.

Hurricane’s Energy lets you play with a Railgun in lots of different ways instead of always being relegated to sniping from the rear. While the traditional Crab-powered Shaman may have a toughness advantage, sheer adaptability goes to the Hurricane.

Hurricane Away

We hope our examples here have given you some new ideas about how to have some fun in the driver’s seat of a Hurricane. This Body’s main appeal is its adaptability, so there are far more ways to play with a Hurricane than we could possibly list here. What’s your favorite Hurricane build?

That’s all for us today, but we’d bet a bolt or two that we’ll see you in the next generation for more of the Spider Tanks Showcase.

For now, get out there and find your own perfect Tank builds. Refine your strategy, dominate the arena… and then give us all some pointers! Shout your favorite combos to play on Discord or shoot us a tweet @spider_tanks!