Dragon Monster

## Overview

The Dragon Monster is a monster truck released in the Chinese New Year update, and is generally accepted as the best car in the game. It was formerly unlocked in a Chinese New Year themed Battle Arena, and currently it can be unlocked every January through various events. It quickly gained popularity for its meta relevance after its release. This car has passed the test of time, remaining accepted as one of the 5 best cars despite new abilities being made to try and counter it.

## Dragon Monster

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A monster truck. The top resembles a dragon or serpent. The top of the monster truck has exhaust pipes on the back.

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Meta: Generally accepted as the best car in the game

## Advantages

* **Roughly the same dimensions and mobility as a Monster Truck.** This makes it hard for cars to reach or rush Dragon Monster.
* **Thrusters:** This is Dragon Monster's primary advantage. Its thruster ability is one of the strongest in the game to account for its weight, allowing it to reliably perform the following:
	+ **Climbing Other Cars:** Dragon Monster can drive on top of other cars that have otherwise excellent front protection. This notably includes Planet Explorer and other Monster Trucks.
	+ **Rushing:** Dragon Monster's incredible speed and above-average weight allow it to rush almost any car in the game. It is nearly impossible to stop a Dragon Monster rush without the use of certain abilities, or another Dragon Monster.
* **Protection:** Dragon Monster's horn and back give it above average protection for a Monster Truck, allowing it to survive more impacts than average.

## Disadvantages/Weaknesses

* **Hard to obtain:** While Dragon Monster is powerful, this comes with the downside of being difficult to obtain. It can only be unlocked through January events or in-app purchases which usually exceed $30.
* **Well-known matchup:** Ironically, Dragon Monster's notoriety is one of its biggest weaknesses. It is a commonly used car in Battle Arena, allowing anyone to learn how to counter a computer-controlled Dragon Monster. This means that it takes more skill to defeat most human players with Dragon Monster.

## Strategy

* **Don't mindlessly rush.** While it is tempting to mindlessly hold down forward with Dragon Monster, having an involved strategy is much better in the long run. Doing this will serve you especially well when global online multiplayer is introduced.
* **Don't overuse Dragon Monster.** You know a car is good when overusing it makes you worse at other cars that cannot mimic its playstyle. Remember to use other cars frequently so that you don't become overly dependent of Dragon Monster.
* **Wheelie against weaker rushers.** When your opponent's car has a weaker or equally strong rush as Dragon Monster, wheelies offer a huge advantage by making your helmet difficult to reach and making it easier to climb up large opponents.

## Trivia

* DoDream's community manager, Martinez, has said that Dragon Monster is his favorite car.
* No widely-agreed counters to Dragon Monster have been found since the car's release. That being said, its least favorable matchups are against Ghost Dragon, Space Interceptor, Compensator, and Dracula Carriage, all which have even matchups.