Crowntop Hill Fort

**XP Reward**:  ?
 **Block Bucks Reward**:  ?
 **Blocks Reward**:  ?

**Crowntop Hill Fort** is a unique Grade 3 mission assigned by Hawkeye.

This mission is added in version 1.3.3.

## Synopsis

Hawkeye has caught wind of a mysterious Tech only known as "The Spider King", who is responsible for multiple attacks on other techs. They need someone to investigate his lair in Crowntop Hill Fort. However, after arriving at the place, a damaged Hawkeye Operative, Groundhog, warns the imminent approach of Spider King's Minions, the Flies, as he lost his wheels when fighting them and was immobilized. Groundhog is then presumably extracted by Hawkeye shortly before the flies launch a surprise attack, which is then fought off. Spider King, upon noticing the intruder entering his lair, opens fire immediately and sends his flies after them. In the ensuing firefight, Spider King is defeated, and Groundhog, relieved at the victory of his temporary ally, rewards the player's hard work with a crate containing a few unique Blocks.

## Strategy

The Spider King is armed with Seeker Missile Pods, a few GSO STUD lasers, some Hawkeye Burst guns, and some Hawkeye Repeater rifles. He also has a Better Future Sky anchor, hover rings, solar panels, Hawkeye adjustment thrusters, a Hawkeye Havoc shield and Repair bubble. The charging point is armed with two Seeker Missile Pods and Better Future Solar panels, as well as GeoCorp Chargers. The flies are armed with GSO Lasers. Overall, the firepower is great considering the accumulation of flies, but not so much with sufficient shielding and battery capacity. Without range of weapons like Hawkeye Cruise Missiles, he can be hard to pick off, but he will not spawn flies beyond some distance so the missiles will not go off-course.

Spider King is initially anchored, so combat can be dangerous during the day, as he can be effectively reinforced by the charger and his own solar panels. Damaging the ground hook of the anchor enough will cause it to be retracted. Since AI techs do not deploy anchors manually under all circumstances, doing this can greatly ease the flight. Luring him away from the charger will also work as he can be effectively whittled down from there. While battery capacity becomes a concern when the flies are swarming the player, the weapons used against the king should be bullet weapons or explosive weapons, as they could either deplete his battery capacity quickly, or damage him through the shield. If you're using blocks for a hover/anti-gravity tech, it gets even easier as many of GeoCorp's melee weapons can tank long enough to cripple the Spider King. The king is the only target so the flies can be ignored. However, keep a GSO Power Gauge just in case.

Since Spider King remains neutral before the fight actually begins, and spawns with no charge in his batteries (17500 total), taking him on at night can be advantageous, as he will not be able to prepare his shields and therefore cannot block the player's attacks. At this point, most explosive weapons can destroy him in one shot, or a few if he can take anymore.

## Trivia

* True to his name, Spider King is built in the shape of an actual spider.
* After the 1.3.3.1 Update, this mission cannot be cancelled, as Spider King's lair is a static geological feature that cannot be removed once created.
	+ A promotional image of the 1.3.3 update depicted a tech fighting Spider King in the Deserts, but theoretically, there is no limit to where the lair could actually spawn.
* Prior to the 1.3.3 update, destroying Spider King did not cause his minions and the charging station to self-destruct,
* The crate will always contain some Hawkeye Spider Mandibles, Spider Eyes, and an entire set of the three-piece Groundhog armor.
* In real life, Spiders actually eat flies instead of commanding them. This could be a reference to how spiders catch flies with their webs, which is usually considered their nest.
* Although the Spider King is a Hawkeye Tech, his flies are Better Future Techs and will add XP to BF instead of HE.
	+ Additionally, since they drop a lot of Better Future Gyros one can exploit this by farming the flies intentionally for them, as Spider King could be blocked off by his own lair. However, a mobile SCU is required to loot them as static ones will not be able to absorb them due to taking constant damage from the enemies and they must be anchored to be used.
	+ Additionally, since the flies count as an enemy each, they can also be farmed to complete Sergeant Smash's BlackOP Missions. The player can leave and return anytime, as the mission will not fail.