Emperor Scorpion
Two claws in front, one very bad day behind.
Epic bugs unlock with XP you earn playing online, or with coins. The game shows how to get each one.
Passive: Venom Gland
Slows 20% weaker, stuns 10% shorter; the stinger never dulls.
A passive is always on: you never fire it and it never runs out. It is what the Emperor Scorpion does that no other bug does quite the same way.
Stats
Stats are multipliers on the standard bug, which is ×1.00 in everything (the game shows them as percentages: ×1.14 is 114%). Turn is Agility in the game. For Boost drain, lower is cheaper.
| Stat | Emperor Scorpion | Compared with the standard bug |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | ×0.96 | 4% slower |
| Turn | ×0.88 | turns 12% slower |
| Bulk | ×1.30 | 30% thicker |
| Growth | ×1.06 | 6% more from food |
| Boost | ×1.02 | boosts 2% faster |
| Boost drain | ×1.00 | the standard |
| Spawn mass | 26 | bigger than the standard 18 |
Power-ups
Every bug has 5 power-up slots. The Emperor Scorpion can carry 10 of the game's 18 power-ups: the 5 core ones every bug carries, and 5 more that its traits from the real animal allow. Its traits are stinger, armored, predator, ground and spiky.
Venom Trail
For 8s you leave lingering venom clouds behind you that squish any head entering them.
From its stinger and predator traits.
Burrow
Go underground for 5s: untargetable, invisible to bots, 40% slower, cannot eat.
From its ground trait.
Barbed Carapace
Body swells up to 30% and grows barbs: enemies that hit your body are repelled and stunned instead of dying.
From its armored and spiky traits.
Stinger Strike
Instant jab at the nearest enemy head in front of you (160u): stunned 1.4s, slowed 50% for 3s and pushed back. Never squishes.
From its stinger trait.
Horn Charge
Lower your horns for 2.5s: 1.5x speed, wider turns and hard to shove. A body you ram is knocked aside and stunned instead of squishing you (barbs still bounce you).
From its spiky trait.
Core power-ups: Nitro Wings, Molt Husks, Phase Shift, Pheromone Call, Shockwave.
How bots play it
Bots fill every seat no player is using. A bot playing the Emperor Scorpion plays it as an Ambusher. Settles on a mushroom patch and loiters around it; when a smaller bug passes within strike range it boosts across its path.
Other ambusher bugs: Praying Mantis, Black Widow, Tarantula, Deathstalker Scorpion.
Skins
The Emperor Scorpion has 7 skins. A skin changes only how it looks, never how it plays. See them in the full skin gallery.
Imperial Scorpion
Jet-black armour with a steel-blue sheen, as dark as a wild emperor scorpion.
Glacier Emperor Scorpion
Glacier-white armour with icy blue shading and deep navy trim.
Straw Scorpion
Pale straw-yellow desert scorpion with darker claws and a brown sting tip, after Leiurus.
Red Claw Scorpion
Wine-dark forest scorpion with blood-red pincers, after the Emperor's cousin Pandinus cavimanus.
Blacklight Scorpion
A scorpion seen under UV light, glowing aqua-green on ultraviolet legs, claws and sting.
Ectoplasm Scorpion
Oozes ectoplasm green with pale ghostly claws on black legs.
Black Tie Scorpion
A tuxedo-navy scorpion with silver claws and legs and gold shirt-stud spots down its back.
The real animal
The Emperor Scorpion in buggs.io is based on Pandinus imperator, and its traits come from what the real animal does. Read about it on Wikipedia.