Hover Pack
Hover Pack allows SOPHIA III and its successors/derivatives to essentially fly for a very limited time, as fuel is consumed quickly. The flight is not the most efficient, and a lot of fuel is necessary just to get SOPHIA III in the air. Once airborne, using short bursts for altitude control is advised to conserve fuel, though a full burn is necessary to reach some areas. Hover Pack can't be used underwater; the Dive Module was built for aquatic travel.
Obtaining Wall 1 and Wall 2 almost makes this item superfluous.
Appearances[]
Blaster Master[]
Hover is earned after destroying Photophage in Area 3. Jason can recover Hover energy by collecting 
Hover Capsules. All of the Hover energy he's collected to that point will be used to power the Hover function (which is otherwise initially out of power), so collecting Hover capsules before this point is a good idea.
Blaster Master 2[]
Hover is earned in Area 4. When turned on, it replaces Sophia 4th's jump, and allows it to quickly accelerate upwards. Like the previous iteration, it uses fuel. A similar power-up, the Jetpack, allows Jason to fly in a similar manner, although it is not as fast.
Blaster Master: Enemy Below[]
Functions identically to the first adventure. It is once again found in Area 3, but is now guarded by Poisonous Frog.
Blaster Master: Blasting Again[]
Elfie makes this upgrade available very late into this adventure. Using Hover quickly consumes the auxiliary battery when in use. This ability is far superior to the Climb ability that the vehicle gets earlier.
Blaster Master: Overdrive[]
Hover Kit is obtained after defeating the boss of the Caverns. Unlike past iterations, it can't propel S.O.P.H.I.A. upwards, only slow the vehicle's descent. The Hover Kit consumes the energy gauge, which will refill after a short while of non-activity.
Blaster Master Zero[]
| “ | Press and hold the Jump button in mid-air to ascend upward.” |
| — Hover Pack • Blaster Master Zero |
Hover Pack is found in the depths of Area 3 as a lure inside the boss room of Central Gear (which is next to the dungeon housing the alternate air Maneuver, Jump Booster). Apart from consuming SP instead of dedicated Hover energy, it behaves identically to the original and Enemy Below versions, adding upward momentum to SOPHIA over time without overriding current vertical momentum, and is instrumental in the boss fight itself for traversing ledges that phase in and out of the background. A full SP gauge containing 8 SP points (40 seconds' worth of passive SP regeneration) is sufficient to fuel ~3.5 seconds of continuous powered flight (2.5 SP/s cost, partially counteracted by 0.2 SP/s passive SP regeneration, produces a net SP cost during flight of 2.3 SP/s). While Hover Pack is actively engaged, SOPHIA III's wheels shoot green jets downward.
SOPHIA Zero can be equipped with an empowered version of Hover Pack which boasts half the energy cost of its normal version, allowing a full SP gauge to instead fuel ~7.6 seconds of continuous powered flight (1.25 SP/s cost, partially counteracted by 0.2 SP/s passive SP regeneration, produces a net SP cost during flight of 1.05 SP/s).
Maneuvers have no quick-switch functionality like Main weapons or Sub-weapons --- both variants of Hover Pack must be manually activated (or de-activated in favor of Jump Booster) from the Weapon Select screen if a sequence break causes Jump Booster to be acquired before Hover Pack (only relevant in EX Character Mode). As a result, Hover Pack is not available for use in game modes that disable Weapon Select screen access and do not have the Maneuver active by default:
- Boss Blaster Mode (and Co-op Boss Blaster Mode) has Hover Pack enabled by default on SOPHIA III.
- In Blaster Battle Mode, Hover Pack is enabled by default on the SOPHIA models used by Jason, Ekoro and Shantae during side-scrolling mode battles. (The SOPHIA models of other characters are instead equipped with Jump Booster.)
Blaster Master Zero 2[]
| “ | Press and hold the JUMP button in mid-air to ascend upward.” |
| — Hover Weapon Select Screen Description • Blaster Master Zero 2 |
Gaia-SOPHIA's Hover function, which allows it to take off from landing pads and navigate the Space Map, is initially broken at the start of Blaster Master Zero 2. The materials for its repair must be acquired by defeating Mockrantula, enabling liftoff from Planet Flosante and exploration of other planets and planetoids.
While in a side view area, Hover functions similarly to its immediate predecessor Hover Pack, propelling the Metal Attacker upward while rapidly draining SP at a rate of ~25% SP per second. Activating this Maneuver counteracts the Gaia System, which rewards falling from great heights with SP recharges, by causing all falls to generate only 10% SP (20% SP during a shutdown) until G-SOPHIA lands on a flat surface or sticks to a wall (requires Recoil Jump). SP gains from other sources (contact damage, SP Capsules, and shutdown regeneration) are not affected by Hover's SP throttling mechanic, and falls which would normally have their SP production reduced by Hover use will continue to charge Full Accel Burst at full effect.
Blaster Master Zero 3[]
Gaia-SOPHIA SV's Hover function, regained after Jason's encounter with Metal Attacker in the Sophia Force Base, now drains Sub SP while active but otherwise functions identically to its immediate predecessor. This maneuver remains accessible even while the Multi Leg transformation is active.
| Blaster Master | |
|---|---|
| Areas | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 |
| Upgrades | Capsule · Hyper · Crusher · Hover · Key · Dive · Wall 1 · Wall 2 |
| Subweapons | Gun · Grenade · Homing Missile · Multi Warhead Missile · Thunder Break |
| Bosses | Mother Brain · Crabullus · Photophage · Fred · Hard Shell · Frozen Crabullus · Enhanced Fred · Plutonium Boss · Underworld Lord |
| Other Topics | Pause Trick · Worlds of Power: Blaster Master · Blaster Master comic · Blaster Master: Destination Fred |
| Blaster Master: Enemy Below | |
|---|---|
| Areas | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 |
| Upgrades | Mobility/Defense: Capsule · Key · Hi-Jump · Engine Boost · Hover · Gun1 · Dive · Wall 1 · Wall 2 · Hybrid Armor
Offense: Gun/Gun2 · Grenade/Launcher · Multi Warhead Missile · Homing Missile · Thunder Break · Crusher · Shotgun |
| Characters | Jason Frudnick · Sophia 3rd |
| Bosses | Giant Cannibal Flower · Ground Snake · Poisonous Frog · Lobster · Shellfish · Dinosaur · Jellyfish · Amoeba |
| Blaster Master: Overdrive | |
|---|---|
| Areas | Ruins · Caverns · Subterranean Lake · Sky Tower · Lava Flow · Ice Caves · Badlands · Ruinous Depths |
| Upgrades | Anchor Kit · Hover Kit · Drill Kit · Dive Kit · Wall Kit · Super Tire Kit · Anchor Kit 2 |
| Weapons | Gun · Grenade · Homing Missile · Blast Bomb |
| Bosses | |