Drillerdroid

The Driller Droid is a character that appears in Sonic Mania. It is an updated Tunnelbot that operated in Lava Reef Zone until it crossed Sonic and his crew.

Appearance
The Driller Droid is essentially identical to the regular Tunnelbot. An orange and gray robot, it has a central component with a pair of long piston drills on each side. Unlike the regular Tunnelbots however, the Driller Droid's central component has spikes on the top and two vertical lights up front instead of just one. Also, the Driller Droid is covered almost entirely in thick metal armor.

History
When Sonic, Tails and Knuckles got into the depths of Lava Reef Zone, the Driller Droid ambushed them and tried to take them down. However, Sonic and co. tricked the robot into burning off its own armor with lava, allowing them to take it down and proceed deeper into the Zone.

Powers and abilities
The Driller Droid possesses powerful drills that can tunnel through rock with ease, and the armor it wears makes it virtually impervious to harm. Additionally, its internal components are incredibly heat resistant, allowing them to withstand splashes of lava without suffering more than a little incandescence.

Weakness
While the Driller Droid's internal components are heat-proof, its armor is not, meaning it cannot withstand the lava-leveled temperatures its innards can resist without taking damage. Repeated exposure will eventually cause the armor to fall off.

Battle
The Driller Droid is the mini-boss of Lava Reef Zone and the nineteenth overall boss of Sonic Mania. It is fought with Sonic, Tails or Knuckles at the end of Lava Reef Zone Act 1.

Boss guide
The battle starts off with the player being targeted by an auto-reticle within a certain section, signaling the Driller Droid is targeting them. After setting its target (which gives the player about a second to get away), the Driller Droid will then drop down from above and start using its drills on the ground. If the ground below the Driller Droid is pure rock, its drilling will cause rocks that will damage the playable character upon touch to fall from the ceiling. If there is a magma pocket below it on the other hand, the Driller Droid will instead cause a giant spiked ball to fall from the ceiling and roll across the arena. Both of these hazards can be dodged if the player is agile and fast enough. After doing its attack, the Driller Droid will then jump into the air and repeat its attack pattern.

While the Driller Droid is covered in armor, the player's attacks will have no effect on it. As such, the armor must be removed before it can get harmed. To do so, the player must make it drill into the rock arenas on the floor; this will cause a magma pocket to unveiled, which in turn will release a plume of molten on it and damage its armor. After getting hit by three magma plumes, its armor will fall off. However, while the Driller Droid cools off from its magma shower, the player will take damage if they touch it. While the Driller Droid is vulnerable and cool however, the player can easy attack it. Land six hits on it, and this boss will be defeated. The player can proceed to the next Act in the Zone.

Trivia

 * The Driller Droid is based on the Tunnelbot from Lava Reef Zone in Sonic & Knuckles.