SAM Battle Tanks are tanks enemies which launch salvos of four high-speed guided missiles at the player's Plane. They are exclusive to Stage 10.
Appearance[]
SAM Battle Tanks share a similar design to Battle Tanks, only with a mostly red chassis and a different turret: a launcher with four short barrels along with a red protective armor plate up front, which is identical to a SAM Turret. The turret turns to aim at the player as it fires.
Behavior[]
General[]
SAM Battle Tanks can be either stationary or mobile. If it is the latter, they move at a slow speed, only stopping if either they reached a scripted destination or their cannon is destroyed.
As a tank enemy, to fully destroy a SAM Battle Tank, the player must destroy its cannon (which disarms the Tank) and then its chassis separately. Leaving the chassis intact resulting in a Chain Loss when flying past it.
SAM Battle Tanks cannot be collided with; the Plane simply flies past them.
SAM Battle Tanks rarely drop Health Restore items upon destruction.
Armament[]
SAM Battle Tanks target the player directly, launching a salvo of four high-speed homing missiles that have decent accuracy and deal heavy damage on contact with the Plane. The missiles are mostly black with some red colors, producing white thrusts and trails. SAM Battle Tanks have a moderate reload duration after each salvo, which shortens as the difficulty level increases, along with the Tanks' health and damage.
Similar to most enemies, SAM Battle Tanks and their missiles are distracted by the Holo Granny Technician by wasting time to target any active decoys instead of the Plane.
These missiles only damage the Plane (and phase through other enemies) and cannot be destroyed by its projectiles and Laser power-up. However, it can be absorbed by Energy Shields, destroyed by Mega Bombs and Iron Clad's Main Weapon Supercharge shockwaves, and slowed by Slo Mo Chan's ability.
Strategy[]
- Always prioritize these tanks whenever they appear and try to destroy them before they attack. Their relatively fast reload speed can be a nuisance, furthermore they only need two missiles or less to bring down all Planes unless it is Iron Clad.
- Memorize where they appear to not be caught off-guard by the missiles' high speed. In addition, their heavy damage can swiftly defeat any unexpected player.
Trivia[]
- SAM Battle Tanks use the same missile type as Red Helicopter Gunships, bearing the same appearance, damage and accuracy but with significantly more speed. These are also used by Missile Patrol Boats, which are exclusive to Stage 9.
- SAM Battle Tanks and Gatling Tanks not only share the same paint job but also are both exclusive to Stage 10.