[Issue 4] A Guide to Midfielding, part 2(TWG

[Quarks 2,255]

            ​

Throughout many articles in the newspaper the reporters have mentioned attacking, midfielder, and defending the flag, when I looked through the forum, I never saw a guide to doing any of those. While for many higher ranks this series may be redundant, there are many players, especially at the lower ranks, who do not understand what seem like simple concepts to us more experienced players.  

In this series, I will be looking at the basics of each and different strategies that can be used and applied in each. Hopefully this will help less experienced players moving up the ranks and maybe even reintegrate what higher ranks should be pros at. Higher ranks might even learn something, who knows. Let us take a look at the basic fundamentals and strategies of midfielding in CTF.  

 

I will be giving single rankings based on my opinion, this means you can have different opinions, so, without further ado, enjoy.

 

Midfielders: The most underrated players in tanki. Everybody in chat talks about were to attack, the need for more defenders, and the almost constant asking for a goldbox. Maybe the occasional get flag and one letter, F. No one ever focuses on the ¨behind the scenes¨ players, the midfielders and their important job of midfielding.

 

Midfielding: This style of playing is prevalent in two sections. Noob ranks and Captain/Major+. I know, Noob ranks can’t play, they don’t even turn their turrets. What they DO do is run around going for kills like they are in a constant DM. Yep, running around the field and killing is the lowest form of midfielding, and yes that is generalizing, but for all intents and purposes it effectively the first form of midfielding. They run around and kill each other, the beginning of midfielding. Now that we have covered that, we can go on to more advanced skills for the major+ group.

This mini series in the in the how to play CTF series is broken up as light hulls play very differently than medium hulls. This time we will be focusing on the medium hulls.

 

What hull Should I use?

 

1. Hunter: Finally, we get to a medium hull. The fastest of the Medium hulls, but also with the least amount of armor (saving m1 of course). It is faster than many, has a high profile, and has good armor to boot. It works with every turret to a certain degree, and can be used in pretty much any situation. However, the downside of this is its lack of specificity. It won’t be able to keep up with the light hulls, and hulls such as Dictator and Viking outclass it in armor. However, this is midfielding, and a jack of all trades is almost better here. Being able to almost keep pace with the light hulls that took you flag while taking the beating associated with having to enter an enemy's base. The combination of armor and speed allow most turrets to function well on this hull. From Firebirds Prometheus kit, Vulcan’s fujiyama, they all work, why because Hunter works with anything, and anywhere.

 

2.Viking: The most popular medium hull in the game, third overall, got to that position for just being such a good midfielder, and once again, usable with anything. Infact, besides the short ranged group of turrets, I would say that Viking plays better than Hunter. Thats right, unless at m1 stage (m1 Viking is terrible) Viking is a powerhouse. At m0, it has more health than Dictator, at m1, eh, at m2, is considered to be one of the best, if not the best m2 hull, it was also part of a very broken kit, but hey, that is a thing of the past. And as an early unlocking m3, and it’s lower entry cost than many others, makes it an ideal hull. Not only that, it has great armor, easily taking either a Railgun or Shaft, and still have plenty of health to go down kicking a screaming. Enough health to tangle with anything, and just enough speed to keep up when needed (especially with nitrous), Viking is a midfielders dream. Usable in any situation and succeed, works anywhere with anything.

 

Dictator: Last and certainly not least, the king of goldboxes, and everyone's favorite hull in polygon CPs, Dictator. The jury is out whether or not Dictator is a medium or heavy hull, it has massive armor, and slow speeds, however, it has less armor than the mammy and titan, with more speed. It is the medium hull between heavy and medium, if that makes any sense. Dictator is a pain to go up against with a light hull, especially if it has protection against your turret. Boar kit against my m2 hornet m1 rail usually results in death. 1v1 it is guaranteed, unless they are completely nub. If you can’t tell, Dictators aggravate me to some extent especially when they take my golds. However, with massive health, comes massive responsibility. Dictators seem to dominate the midfield area due to their enormous health reserves, not their speed. Dictators are best with midranges, allowing a large range to make up for it’s lack of speed, and enough damage to make Dictator a nuisance on the battlefield. As I said, Dictator does not have the speed to catch up to those light hulls, so it has two options, let the hulls come and get destroyed, or use longer ranged turrets to finish them off from afar. The best idea is to finish them off from afar, because the lack of speed does not lend itself to finishing light hull off up close, they will just speed by you.

 

Any of these hulls can be used effectively in combat, however, I will put into use the inverse hull DM law, created by Shedninja: “The Inverse DM Hull Size Law states that the armor of a hull and the size of the map have inverse effectiveness. For example, a Wasp is more likely to succeed in Berlin than a Mammoth, whereas that same Mammoth would have an easier time in a Ping Pong than the previous Wasp.” In essence, user Hunter on a larger map, and Dictator on a smaller map. Beyond that, pick your hull, and wreck.

 

What Turret should I use?

Similar to last article, each turret is given a grade due to it’s effectiveness with each hull in a midfielding role.

 

Firebird: A turret with an immense amount of damage, and the extremely annoying afterburn effect, makes this turret truly a nightmare to incoming and outgoing attackers that cross this turret.

 

Hunter:

A formidable opponent, usable in any situation, enough speed and armor to make this a well oiled machine of destruction. Another factor is that it has two very expensive, but high valued kits at m2 and m3, firewall and Prometheus.

 

Viking:

A strong midfielder, Viking has the minimum speed for Firebird, as any slower (Dictator) and those nimble little wasps will shot right by you, however, in maps with tighter corridors, this combination can wreck.

 

Dictator:

Ever played in a polygon CP? Off course you have. Have you ever not seen a Dictator fire, not including format battles, probably not, I sure haven’t. This combination has slowly been gaining a lot of popularity, for some strange reason.  This combination might have the armor, but the speed is non existent, I get bored quickly using Dictator on my alt. and just go back to Viking, or Hunter. While in single point CP’s, this might be successful, it has limited use elsewhere.

 

Ratings:

Hunter: 9/10

Viking: 7.5/10

Dictator:5/10

 

Freeze:

A turret that seems to get better the further away it goes from the front lines, this turret works with almost everything

 

Hunter:

This combination works, nuf said. This is infact hard to fail with, unless you are a nug darren, is that you?. Also, there is the fact that one of the best tier 1 kits, siberian, has m1 Hunter and m2 Freeze, it absolutely destroys all.

 

Viking:

Another well known combination, this one kit comes in the refrigerator kit, having this combination and Hive. While hive might not be the best, this combination might be one of the best.

 

Dictator:

Better than Dictator fire, as you are able to keep an opponent right next to you, instead of having to rely on Dictator’s ¨speed”.

 

Ratings.

Hunter: 8.5/10

Viking: 8/10

Dictator: 6/10

 

Isida: A turrets who can do a lot, but is best of healing one’s teammates. However, while best on light hulls, it is not as bad as it could be.

 

Hunter:

If you do not have a light hull, Hunter would be your best pick in a medium map and larger. With just barely enough speed, this combination is immortalized in the Osaka kit, m2 isida, m1 Hunter, and sakura. I still see these things causing problems against lt. colonels.

 

Viking:

About the same as Hunter, however, it is better in smaller and medium maps, such as polygon and smaller. And once again, it is immortalized in the much wanted, and hated, medic kit.

 

Dictator:

All speed necessary for isida and other close rangers has effectively been lossed by now. While not the worst, it is not as good, as one does not really need the extra health due to isida’s self heal ability.

 

Ratings

Hunter:  7.5/10

VIking: 7/10

Dictator: 4/10

 

Hammer: A turret that has brought fear into the hearts of many light hulls, the scourge of Tanki before protective paints were introduced, this turret has been nurfed so much, and it still is a real pain to deal with, due to it having great close range damage, and high impact force. I would hate for my clan, which is all XP/ BP to go against a herd of these things.

 

Hunter:

I hate pitbull kit. It is too good for a third lieutenant to have in their garage, and this thing can allow you to fight warrant officers. An m2 combination that effectively wrecks anything in its path versus a bunch of warrant officers who only have a few m1s. This combination I think is one of the best, if not the best (only challenged by Viking, but more latter) combinations for Hammer in Tanki, has enough armor to survive a while, and fast enough to catch many enemies without losing too much damage due to Hammers sad range.

Viking:

I have yet to see a JackHammer kit destroy a battle, yet. I consider myself lucky. I mean honestly, why would someone not want to buy this. Viking has just enough speed, and plenty of health to tank whatever comes it’s way, I am surprised that I do not see to many of these roaming around.

 

Dictator:

Remember all of those good grades given to Hunter and Viking? Me neither, as I started to think about this combination. Sure, it is very useful for parkour, but midfielding? You will not chase after those nitroed light hulls, as even on nitro you are still going about half of their speed. And Hammers lack of range won’t be helping you either. Sure, I might be good for hitting the turret, and in small maps, it can work, but in small maps, there is no such thing as midfielding, honestly, have you ever seen a midfielder in Ping Pong?

 

Ratings:

Hunter: 8/10

Viking: 7.5/10

Dictator: 3/10

 

Twins: Very good at a close range, but after 40 meters at m4, they are useless. However, who cares about range when you can put a brick on the space bar?

 

Hunter: Just enough health, and enough speed to get to most enemies, this can be a real pain in the rear end, however, both of the turrets have a high starting cost after m0 stages, so while good, very expensive.

 

Viking:

This combination is extremely effective, I mean, at my rank, when have you NOT seen a minotaur kit roaming around pwning everybody who decides to get in it’s range. This combination has the possibility to, and has, turned the tide of a battle.

 

Dictator:

Is this combination good? Yes. It has enough speed to roam around and cause plenty of damage, as range is not as much of a factor. Even if they do get away, or they kill you, you just did a ton of damage. Still not as good as Viking and Hunter though.

 

Ratings:

Hunter:8/10

Viking: 9/10

Dictator: 7/10

 

Ricochet: Plenty of range and the ability to bounce shots make this a fantastic midfielding weapon.

 

Hunter:

A strong choice for this turret, with plenty of speed and armor, and a useful high profile, this is one great combination for use. However, learning to use Richochet well is a pain, but it is worth it, from what I have seen.

 

Viking:

Same as Hunter, but a lower profile makes some shots easier, but others harder, depending on the height. Lower shots are easier, while higher ones can be harder.

 

Dictator:

The Dictator will finally get a high grade. With Dictators spectacular height, many shots are now possible, and Boar kit is also good. That too.

 

Ratings:

Hunter:8/10

Viking: 7.5/10

Dictator: 8/10

 

Smoky: A turret with decent damage, and very good impact force, this is a challenge to come up against. Smoky is also the base weapon every recruit is given. Once past the m1 stage, Smoky dominates many battles, and critical hits are evil.

 

Hunter:

One of the reasons that we get this combination as a starter is that it is just so balanced. You can do anything with it, attack, midfield, and sort of defend. But this is on midfielding, so feast your eyes, you can destroy anything stupid enough to get in you way.

 

Viking:

Same as Hunter, but this combination comes in kits, so it becomes a cheaper way to buy. And without the same need for speed, the armor advantage is truly great.

 

Dictator:

Same as the other medium hulls, but it’s high profile gives it more shot opportunities, and allows it to have great views of the surroundings. A solidly robust combination.

 

Ratings:

Hunter: 9/10

Viking: 9.25

Dictator: 9.10

 

Thunder: The turret with a great ability known as… wait for it… splash damage. The ability for one turret to do damage to multiple turrets is invaluable. It is hard to find battles without multiple Thunders running around causing damage. AKA buy emerald or mu your progidi. Or buy rustle.

 

Hunter:

A formidable combination to face in battle, with good speed and health, this combination does have a tendency to be very good, however, due to lack of popularity, that should make this combination obsolete, But is IT? No, it is good.

 

Viking:

A product of the infamous Medium M2 Kit that was in the game, which I am feeling effects from.  I have seen a major run around with progidi and emerald, and I hate it. A lot. Especially since I use rail, and sometimes Smoky and Thunder. These guys also tend to attack, and I am usually stuck retrieving the flag which sucks. Anyways, this is still a good combination, and is very common to see at high warrant officers and higher m2 ranks.

 

Dictator:

I have yet to see a Polygon Cp without one of these running around in a while. Quite effective and common, I feel helpless when one of these has Emerald, which has happened to me, and they destroy everybody. It is not fun. I promise you that.

 

Ratings

Hunter:8.5/10

Viking: 8.75/10

Dictator: 8/10

 

Railgun: A great midfielder and attacker and defender and, wait, nevermind, I already went through the key main positions. An effective combination with light hulls and most medium hulls. With high damage that can one shot almost anything with double damage, this is truly a good midfielder.

 

Hunter:

A strong midfielder, with plenty of maneuverability and armor, this combination is rarely seen, even though it has it's own m3 kit, nomad. If you do not have a light hull, this might be one of the better choice. 8/10

 

Viking:

Same as Hunter, except it does not have it's own kit.

 

Dictator:

This used to be a professional's combination. Unlocked at the very end, this was the desired combination, it even had it's own format, AP(close enough to Russian spelling). Then came rebalance. Dictator lost the speed and maneuverability that made it so popular. Can you still use, sort of, but there are other, cheaper, and earlier unlocking options for you.

 

Ratings

Hunter: 8/10

Viking: 8/10

Dictator: 4/10

 

Shaft: For all of you Shaft users who have been waiting for this moment, I will finally begin to discus Shaft. But for you Shaft users, you dominate the midfielding and defensive scene. With double damage, you can effectively tell anyone who gets near to screw off or suffer consequences.

 

Hunter:

This is a nice combination, Hunters lack of stability can be a problem, but Shafts don't tend to be bombarded by plasma that often. And with plenty of health to… tank… a hit, this is an effective combination.

 

Viking:

The same as Hunter, however, with a little extra health and stability that becomes invaluable. Speed isn't that much a problem, providing you know of a few good spots within a quick drive.

 

Dictator:

You certainly will not have trouble seeing tanks to destroy. However, almost every other tank can see you. No hiding to reload in most cases, and the fact that Shafts turret has such a large hit box, means that you will take a lot of turret shots. However, you have more that enough armor to survive.

 

Ratings

Hunter: 8.5/10

Viking: 8.5/10

Dictator: 7.25/10

 

Vulcan: Last and certainly not least, comes the newest turret in the game. With an infinite firing duration, so long as you have a friendly isida. Basically a long ranged version of Twins, make sure you have a nice fire protection paint, like Zeus.

 

Hunter:

Another strong Hunter combination, this has the ability to go anywhere, and do anything. This combination was made popular due to the introduction of the Fujiyama kit, which had both this combination m1 and sacura. With speed and health, the combination is to be feared. 8/10

 

Viking:

Another great combination that has gained a lot of popularity due to the Vesuvius kit, which has this m2, and blacksmith. Sometimes Vikings low profile has caused it to be climbed upon or jumped on. However, this is negated, as Vulcan has such a wide angle of impact that I have literally jumped on top of this combination, and still gotten killed, because just enough of my hornet was in the angle I died. Anyways, you will rarely have to worry missing, but you will have to worry about enemies getting to close. 8/10

 

Dictator:  

A reliable combination. The height of Dictator makes no shot impossible, and with the excess health, you can cause a lot of damage for a long period of time. A robust combination. 8.5/10

 

Ratings

Hunter: 8/10

Viking: 8/10

Dictator: 8.5/10

 

Strategies for Midfielding:

1.  Pick the correct threat: They key to midfielding is that you damage or destroy the person with your flag or heading to your flag. For example, if a Viking isida is being tied up with two or three of your teammates, and you see Wasp sneaking along the side of the map, who should you shot? The wasp, it is the bigger threat, as it is faster, and probably has more health. In essence, pick your targets carefully, look for who is sneaking around.

2.  Use Double Damages:   Attackers need nitros and double armors, defenders need double armor and double damage, the midfielder just needs double damage, especially if you have a long ranged turret. This allows you to deal massive damage over a long range. Especially since many attackers have a double armor equipped, it is a necessity to deal at least normal damage. Remember, a midfielder is useless if they can not stop the attack before or after it happens.

3.  Know the map:   A midfielder should know his way around a map and know the attack and retreat routes. To go into a map blind is almost useless. Because if you can not find the person with the flag, much less the team’s flags, you are almost worthless.

4.  Know what your style is:  This is a lot simpler than it sounds. If you like speed, use a lighter hull on a larger map, you will be more successful on maps such as kungur. If you like using heavier hulls, try and play on smaller maps, such as boombox. Playing the right map for your combination is critical, as using a Dictator Firebird in Berlin will not work out well, just like using wasp in ping pong is dead.

 

The Do Nots of Midfielding

1.  Take the nitros from the attackers:   Every attacker has experienced this, they are going into attack, and some medium or heavy hull decides that they need to pick up that speed boost, and chug along, forcing the attacker to either find another nitro, or use a supply. Do not do this, they need it more than you.

2.  Attacking with a medium hull:   Medium hulls are not meant to attack. If you are equipped as a midfielder, play as a midfielder. If you are going to attack, then equip a light hull. Every played in a map like Dusseldorf, and a Dictator takes the flag. Yeah, it is not fun.

3.  Killing the flag carrier and not returning the flag:   If you die, fine, that is understandable that you do not return, dueling, sure, you have to fulfill all roles and you should not return the flag if it is still in your base. In a massive battle, no. Return that flag. Nothing is a worse feeling than seeing the words “SoandSo has lost our flag”, followed by a long wait before either having the flag returned because a midfielder spammed the chat, or decided to troll. For all attackers reading this, you have the right to rage at the midfielder if this happens to you.

In conclusion, to sum up two separate articles, and over seven thousand words, the whole point of midfielding is to cause as much damage to the attackers. Forcing them to in a regular battle to use their repair kit either before the take the flag or shortly after, thus eliminating their ace in hole of a repair while they are running. Or in a no supply battle to force an early demise. In a drug war, well, I hope you have a lot of supplies.

 

To see the other articles in this series, check the spoiler

Guide to attacking

Guide to midfielding part 1

 

Big thanks to for making the picture up top and editing this.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Quarks

[r_L-E-O-P-A-R-D-2003 657]

Thank You For The Guide of hunter :P

[Penguin40 1,714]

Reeally nice :)

[Quarks 2,255]

How on Earth do you guys read this so quickly?

[r_L-E-O-P-A-R-D-2003 657]

[Penguin40 1,714]

How on Earth do you guys read this so quickly?

lel I was reading this since before Leopard posted and btw I can write just as fast, in fact Supremacy Finale took me just over 5 minutes :P

[r_L-E-O-P-A-R-D-2003 657]

lel I was reading this since before Leopard posted and btw I can write just as fast, in fact Supremacy Finale took me just over 5 minutes :P

i just read the guide of railgun and hunter :P

[r_GaIaxy2 8,611]

Nice, Keep it up Bry :)

[dilsharox 2,395]

Nice but it's too long

[Quarks 2,255]

Nice but it's too long

meh, I do not care about length.

[Darren4Turbo 4,913]

I don't even know how you guys create such long guides.

 

Nice guide, Big :)

 

Nice but it's too long

'Lengths doesn't matter, skills matter.'

[Quarks 2,255]

I don't even know how you guys create such long guides.

 

Nice guide, Big :)

 

'Lengths doesn't matter, skills matter.'

 

I don't even know how you guys create such long guides.

 

Nice guide, Big :)

 

'Lengths doesn't matter, skills matter.'

I create such long guides because I chose probably the worst topic to start off with. Covering the basics of the game seems fairly easy, but think about it, for each topic, I have to deal with 20-30 combo's each time. And then there are strategies, and goodness, the next one I rarely defend, so that one might be shorter. plus heavy hulls and light hulls don't mesh well, so the accusations of nug combo's might be prevalent.

[Ambitious 2,084]

You're definitely one of the few guys that have the capabilities of being a reporter!

Good job as always.

 

 

[Quarks 2,255]

You're definitely one of the few guys that have the capabilities of being a reporter! Good job as always.

Gee, thanks Supra, just don't start crying about it.

[Ambitious 2,084]

 just don't start crying about it.

what do you mean :ph34r:

[Quarks 2,255]

what do you mean :ph34r:

you know exactly what I mean B)

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Good, but one thing. It might be different at high ranks, but at lower ones, Viking has more armor and less speed than Dictator. In this guide, it seems like you're saying the Dictator has more armor.

[Quarks 2,255]

Good, but one thing. It might be different at high ranks, but at lower ones, Viking has more armor and less speed than Dictator. In this guide, it seems like you're saying the Dictator has more armor.

This is focused on higher ranks, but m0 viking is fantastic. And every rank besides m0, viking is faster but has weaker armor, so yes it is a valid point, but incorrect for 75% of the time.