Canned Dread is the Boss of Stage 3.
Appearance[]
"My daddy had a tank. Remember?"
Canned Dread takes the form of a large track-tank, mounted with various weapon modules, including gun turrets and a visible six-barrel missile launcher array. It can be easily drawn when looking at a streamlined front correction tape with two long erasers with narrow breadths on its sides. On the front of the vehicle a plate can be seen, which displays "S1 SCRLT".
Armaments[]
1st Phase[]
1st Phase Attack
2x Gatling Turrets
- A variant of Mantis Cannon Turrets, these turrets track your Plane's movement and shoot in very long bursts, however, their projectile speed is quite slow. After firing for a long while, the turrets cease and take time to reload.
Multiple Launch Rocket System
- This MLRS launcher fires up to four volleys of high speed but inaccurate missiles, before it ceases to reload. The weapon also comes with a (surprisingly generous) warning system that has both a visual bar indicator as well as escalating beeps to signal the next impending missile barrage.
- This weapon faces forward by default, firing side to side as the volleys go. However, if you destroy both gatling gun turrets first, the Missile Array will now track your position completely and fire directly at you.
2nd Phase[]
"You don't like rockets? Not a problem."
- This weapon replaces the Missile Array once it is destroyed, using a rotation device to fire spiraling streams of concentrated laser bursts. After firing for some time, the weapon will change its spinning direction.
2nd Phase Attack
2x Rear Turrets
- These weapons are at rest, and only engage once the Laser Array is deployed. They track and fire short streams of six large bullets towards your Plane. Fire five times before stopping to reload.
Combat Routine[]
Canned Dread slowly treads in from the bottom right path. Upon entry, both the gun turrets and missile array can be damaged. Once it goes parallel, and steadies its distance, the turrets will begin to fire, followed by the missile array engaging itself. While shooting at the weapons, keep an eye on the missile array for its audio cue and turret direction. If you feel overwhelmed by the gunfire, circle around the tank to the other side and wait for the barrage to end. Repeat until the weapons are destroyed. If the Missile Array is the last weapon standing, beware of its change in behavior as mentioned in the Armaments section.
Two helicopters replace the Canned Dread rockets with laser cannon.
Once the 1st set of weapons are destroyed, 2 helicopters will airlift in a turret unit to replace the destroyed Missile Array. You can fly right into the helicopters and they do not cause collision damage. Destroying them also earns you 5000 points each, but they are invulnerable until the turret is attached. Upon setting the turret, the helicopters swoop away and the turret can be attacked. The Rear Turrets will come into place and begin attacking. In order to effectively avoid the hail of projectiles coming your way, it is actually easier to attack the rear turrets first. In that position, it can be easier to weave in and out of the incoming fire. No matter which turrets you destroy first, the method of attack from Canned Dread does not change any further.
After all these weapons stripped off, you can obliterate the Canned Dread tank.
Canned Dread Trophies
Difficulty[]
In tougher difficulties, it will be normally impossible to destroy any of the turrets before they engage, bar the use of special weapons. You will have to face off with the combined firepower of the 1st phase weapons. With faster fire rate, the rocket launcher will launch rockets continuously until it take time to reload, which will fill the screen with its spread rockets. In the 2nd phase of weapons, the gunfire can get very dense and tricky to avoid due to the spiraling laser fire. Positioning and leading the tracking gunfire can save you space for evasion.
Trivia[]
- This boss is the first one to feature multiple phases.
- The two helicopters carrying the Spinning Laser Array can actually be shot down, they're invulnerable until the Laser Array is connected, and have ridiculously high amounts of health.
- During the fight, some barrel clusters can be found on the sides of the screen, which give 15 points for each one you destroy.
- Its long entrance may buy you enough time to destroy one of its defenses.
- Canned Dread is actually a modified Mantis Heavy Tank from Sky Force Anniversary. Only that it is more lightweight, smaller and weaker.
- The rear turrets in phase 2 is similar to the weapon of the Heavy Tank, found on Stage 8 of Sky Force Anniversary. The tank can also be found on Stage 10 of Reloaded.
- The canned dread's license plate says [S1 SCRLT], a reference to Scarlett Mantis's name.
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