[GUIDE] Freeze

[Bowzie 64]

 

Hello Tankers, in this guide I will do my best to tell you a bit about Freeze gun history, some tips on how to use it, what hulls to use, what paints to use, and how to battle specific enemies.

 

 

History:

 

Freeze was released July 7, of 2010, along with Ricochet. These two guns added balance to the game, and became some of the most powerful guns at the time. When Freeze was released, the "freezing" effect was massive, and many players were unhappy, as if they met a Freeze they would have to wait a long time before they could move normally again, assuming they weren't killed first. 7 Days after the release, on July 10th, the freezing effect was reduced twofold. This brought Freeze to the level of most of the the other guns, satisfying many of the Tanki Players, but making those who had bought m3 Freeze upset that their weapon had lost one of its greatest assets. On July 29, the developers changed Freeze so the higher the modification, the faster the "freezing" took effect. Freeze was left this way for a long time, but on October 1st they changed the speed of the freezing to be faster again. This time, however, all Freeze crystals were refunded and players had the choice whether they would like to buy it again, considering all that had been changed. On the 18th of October, a revolutionary change was made to Freeze. It was made able to shoot through multiple tanks as once. This change meant that no longer could a Mammoth guard a small Hornet carrying the flag, as now they would both get frozen and destroyed. Freeze stayed this way for about 2 years, when on October 4th 2012 the texture of Freeze along with all the other guns was changed. This was the beginning of the new and current look of Tanki. Besides the texture change, however, Freeze did not have the specs changed at all until the rebalance. The rebalance was something that had been planned for awhile, and many players were excited about it. Now when it came out there were people who liked it and of course people who didn't like it. I am one of the people who liked it, but I will not try to convince you to think one way or another about it. I will mention, however, that after the rebalance all the guns now are usable on the playing field, so the variety of weaponry on the battlefield is much greater. Because of the rebalance, Freeze had competition from Firebird, and one may think Firebird is the better choice until one experiences the new freezing effect. The new was paralyzing, once you are hit by a small wisp of frozen particles you won't be going anywhere fast. A bug in the programming of Freeze's effect was discovered and corrected in update 163. The developers failed to note this change in the updates list, but was discovered by the players, and confirmed by Seymon Kirov. After this update, it took the Freeze effect a different amount of time to activate depending on the paint. For example: against a tank with no freeze protection, the effect activates in 1 second or less, but if the opponents has Inferno, it takes a fair bit of time to induce the Freeze effect. This way freeze keeps it's power, but it gives a fair amount of time to drive around a corner without being stopped dead in your tracks. Keep in mind, once the effect is activated, it still stays for a large amount of time. Anyways, this is the history of Freeze, now onto the fun stuff!

 

Hulls:

Freeze Wasp

 

Freeze and Wasp would have been laughed at pre-rebalance but now may be the best attacking combination. After the rebalance, Wasp was made the fastest hull, and was made so fast that it can sometimes be hard to control! This combination is not very popular among the low ranks, as m1 Wasp is not very good compared to other hulls purchasable, but as soon as it is possible to upgrade Wasp to m2 it becomes surprisingly more common on the battlefield. Yes, Wasp has a little less health, but the speed makes up for it. With the speed after the rebalance, Wasp can outrun anything while still having enough health to survive a shot from an m3 Railgun. Although for drug wars you may not want to use Wasp because of its low health, players should learn to respect that Wasp is just as powerful, if not more, than a Hornet. In no supplies battles, however, Wasp is undoubtedly the best attacker, maybe with a Hornet as a diversion. Another thing Wasp users can use to their advantage is the size. Wasp is small enough to fit in many of the thin passageways that interlace many maps. Wasp is a fun hull to use, and if used correctly, is a very formidable foe or ally.

Freeze Hunter

 

​This combination may be the successor of the notorious "Freeze Viking." Hunter is a speedy, compact hull, and has a considerable amount of HP. Just like Wasp and Hornet, Hunter has more speed, but Viking has more armor, making Hunter better for the offensive players. This is not to say that Hunter is bad at defense, though in my opinion it is a better midfield hull. This being said, how can a midfield hull be good for Freeze? Well, Freeze is a great weapon to make enemies stop dead in their tracks, and Hunter is a hull that will get you to where you need to be quickly, and will survive hits from the enemy long enough to eliminate the threat. Hunter is a very easy to maneuver, speedy hull, and will take the place of Viking for many top players.

Freeze Titan

 

This is definitely not my favorite combination, but I will try my best to give it a fair review. Titan is surprisingly more expensive than mammoth, and is fairly unpopular among many players for one main reason, it looks bad. Now I do not think it looks "bad" but I have talked to many players, and they said they do not like the way it looks, but they bought it simply because it had a lot of health, and was unlocked at a lower rank than Mammoth m3. It also has more speed than Mammoth, which is definitely a plus if you use supplies in battles and want lots of HP while attacking. Titan also does well in no supplies battles as it can get to its destination more quickly than mammoth while keeping lots of health. Probably the only other plus of this hull is that it is nearly impossible to flip over, given how long it is.

Freeze Hornet

 

Freeze Hornet is a very classic combo, but many players wonder, is it any good after the rebalance? I can assure you from personal experience it is just as good as before, and here is why. This hull is very comfortable to maneuver, especially when jumping of ledges to capture flags, or to escape from an enemy. It has just enough health to survive a Railgun shot, and when used in close quarters, can even dodge enemy fire! Hornet is the cheapest hull to get m3, and is also the first m3 hull to be unlocked. Wasp is arguably better than Hornet, but Hornet can still put up a fight. Hornet is a cheap, easy to use hull that I recommend.

Freeze Viking

 

Freeze Viking is also a classic hull, but many believe it has been replaced and outdated by Hunter. While Hunter is a great hull for attack and midfield, Viking is a great hull for defense. Viking has a load of health, which means any attacker is going to have quite a hard time beating you, and even if he does beat you he will be left battered, frozen, and an easy target for you when you respawn, or any of your teammates who are defending with you. Viking m3 is unlocked at a considerably low rank, and is pricy, but not as pricy or hard to obtain as Hunter or even Wasp are. Viking is still a great choice for all types of players.

 

 

Freeze Dictator

 

Dictator is an interesting hull, and definitely the tallest hull. Before the rebalance it was not one of the best hulls, but it was still useable, now after the rebalance it has been made faster, stronger, and because it is so tall it has many advantages. Dictator can cover a light tank going to capture a flag, it can shoot from behind teammates, and it can shoot over some enemies. Before the rebalance, I wasn't a huge fan of Dictator, but after the rebalance I have come to like and appreciate it much more.

Freeze Mammoth

 

​Mammoth is pretty much invincible. Yes it is slow, but it makes up for it in the whooping 380 HP when m3. If you use Mammoth and Freeze for defense, whoever attacks you for the flag won't be getting very far. Mammoth is not just good for supplies battles, but it can also be very effective if used correctly in a clan war or another tournament. Many think Mammoth cannot be used for anything other than defense in a clan war, but the truth is it can make a great midfield camping tank. It can cover the attackers and defend, but for Freeze it is best in defense.

 

Paints:

 

There are many paints that can be used with Freeze, but I am going to only list the top cheap, and the top expensive ones.

 

Cheap:

 

4.10% Firebird 23% Freeze 5% Thunder

3.32% Freeze 14% Shaft

 

2.20% Freeze 20% Rico 22% Smoky

 

1.10% Isida 20% Freeze 32% Thunder

 

Expensive:

 

3.42% Isida 20% Freeze 16% Ricochet

 

2.20% Thunder 25% Railgun 30% Shaft 20% Freeze

 

1.30% Firebird 40% Freeze 12% Twins

 

Tips and Tricks:

 

You will see many players on the battlefield with Freeze, and the only answer really is, it's an amazing gun! Freeze m3 is unlocked at a relatively low rank, major general, but that does not mean that it is weak. Freeze is a weapon of mass destruction as it can shoot through multiple tanks at once taking away 56 HP per second. The main attraction to the Freeze gun is the thought of being able to circle your enemy leaving them paralyzed, helpless, and at the mercy of your spacebar. Many players overlook, however, that circle an enemy can actually be relatively difficult depending on your enemy. To be able to circle effectively after the rebalance, you have to come from behind most of the time because the turn speed of many guns has increased, which is probably part of the reason why the Freeze effect was made more deadly. This next tip doesn't directly relate to Freeze, but it can be used with a good number of the hulls. As everyone knows, Freeze has no kickback, and this can make jumping off big ledges problematic. However, there is a neat little move you can do with your tank that ensures you land upright every time you jump off a big ledge. When you are driving off the ledge, if you press the up and right (or left) keys, your tank will do a sort of "helicopter" maneuver, which keeps your tank flat while flying through the air. This trick takes a little while to master, but when mastered gives you a huge upper hand on the enemy in big maps!

One of my personal favorite tricks with Freeze is the spread effect of the snow. Most players don't realize this, but Freeze is actually capable of shooting up onto a ledge, hitting enemies from the bottom. Shooting up at a target works something like this:

It is also possible to hit enemies coming up or down a ramp. You have to be careful not to try this on too steep of a ledge or when they are too far down the ramp or you will just be wasting charge. The spread of Freeze shooting down is something like this:

 

Now, some quick Pros and Cons:

+

Freeze effect initiates almost instantly

You can hit enemies up on ledges

You can hit enemies below you

You can outrange Isida leaving it helpless

Moderate Turret turning speed

Has a giant charge

Reloads fairly quickly

-

No Kickback

Freeze effect can be countered by Firebird

 

Strategy:

 

Vs. Smoky:

 

When facing a Smoky straight on in battle, it's more of a "luck" battle because of the completely unpredictable critical hit. If you want to be completely safe while battling a Smoky you will need to get behind it. To do this there are a few strategies. You can wait for him to drive past your position and start freezing him from behind, but you will need to be very careful that he doesn't see you while he is moving past your position. If you know for certain he didn't see you go to your current hiding spot, you shouldn't worry about him seeing you as he drives by. A bit of a more reliable strategy is to go to him. This strategy can be trickier if the Smoky is backed up against a wall, so first make sure there is a clear path around to the enemy, and then go for the kill making sure you aren't seen.

 

Vs. Firebird:

 

When battling Firebird, you have to be very careful about the burn effect, because if it activates fully Firebird m3 will be doing a whopping 70 DPS without any double power! The easy solution is to have a Freeze or Isida follow you around, but I can guarantee you, you won't always have an Isida following you around. So, if you don't have any way to get rid of the burn effect, and nobody is going to heal you, what do you do? Well, it's a tricky question, as freezing a Firebird is very difficult with it's massive turret turning speed. As you probably won't be winning any head on battles, or at least you will both probably die, the best strategy is probably to attack the Firebird once he has run out of charge, because Firebird has 4 seconds of charge and it's the slowest reloading gun in the game.

 

Vs. Freeze:

Battling another Freeze takes skill and cunning tactics if he has a protective paint and a stronger hull/modification. You have to know what you can take out with a fill charge and what you can't. Freeze m3 can take out any hull with a full charge if the hull doesn't have a protective paint or if it's drugging, but many of the players who use Freeze don't have it m3. Personally, I only have experience with m3 Freeze, but if you have m2, I can tell you you can do 264 damage with a full charge. This is enough to take out many of the hulls that you will see in your rank battles. No matter what upgrade you have, you will have a major upper hand if you start the battle. When I say this I mean you shoot the first seconds. This not only means you have a headstart damagewise, but it also means your enemy will be frozen and he will react in "slo-mo" enabling you to react quickly.

 

Vs. Isida:

 

Battling Isida is very simple and straightforward, as pretty much all you have to do is get out of the range 15 meters, and start freezing. The only things you have to be careful of, are the stretch effect on Isida (goes to 20m), and other enemies. The first challenge can be overcome simply by not going into the 15m range in the first place, or by going a little past 20m and coming back into your area of effect. The second challenge can be overcome by making sure you are not near any spawn points, and if you are, make sure they are in your area of effect.

 

Vs. Twins:

 

Battling Twins is a challenge considering it has unlimited ammo and a huge knockback on your tank, but for some reason, winning isn't as hard as it may seem, unless of course you are directly in front of the barrels. My preferred strategy is to Freeze the Twins from behind and let the high DPS of Freeze do the rest, but sometimes you may need to improvise depending on the scenario. A fairly easy technique is to wait behind a wall and as soon as you see his tank peek out start shooting. This works because the Twins isn't able to shoot you until a large portion of it's tank has passed, unless it has Mammoth in which case the first strategy works much better.

 

Vs. Railgun:

 

Battling Railgun is tricky, but if you do it right you can make the Railgun miss. To do this you are most of all going to need a fast hull, firstly to get close, and secondly to fake out the Railgun into shooting, but you still circle him while the Freeze effect is in place. This wastes his shots and gives you a long time to kill him.

 

Vs. Thunder:

 

The easiest way to battle Thunder is to use HIS splash damage to YOUR advantage. This can be done by simply pressing up against his tank so that he hurts himself as well as you. Another strategy is to just circle him. Doing this with Thunder is fairly easy, as the turn speed is not great. The biggest problem when battle Thunder, or any long range gun is getting close to him, however. This can be easily done with patience, camouflage, and good cover.

 

Vs. Shaft:

 

Circling Shaft is the most recommended and easy ways to take it down. Once you have it frozen, the turret will barely turn, and even if you have Mammoth m0 (maybe not) you will be able to circle him. Once again, the only problem is getting close, and there are a few ways to do that. The first way I talked about above, patience, camouflage, and good cover, here is how this works with Shaft. If you can get to any cover spot without him seeing you you are probably going to defeat him. Once you are at the cover, wait until you know he is in scope mode aiming in an area where you aren't, then charge on his blind spot. Once you are behind him there is nothing he can do.

 

Vs. Rico:

 

Rico has been nerfed after the rebalance, yes, but it can still be trouble because of it's ability to bounce plasma off walls. The easiest way to take care of a Rico is to sneak up on him in an area you know he won't be able to bounce plasma into you. These places include irregularly shaped map objects, and open areas.

 

~ Blackoutwarrior

 

I have some things to add to this guide, and they will be added as soon as possible, but I know there are a few people who have been waiting for this guide so I decided to post it as soon as possible! I hope you enjoyed the read, and feel free to comment on what you think I should add, and I will update this later today.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Bowzie

[ThisDictator 23]

Nice! Looks like you spent some time on it :D

[Bowzie 64]

Thanks! Took me about 2 days to actually write, it would have been posted awhile ago if I hadn't been in Crete (Greece) :P

[Guest]

Great job, really a good and detailed guide :)

[MusicJam19 737]

Nice, even though I have a personal hate with freeze

[RicoPalm 6]

Epic guide BoW, you better use it for IC in the wars :P

[Bowzie 64]

@ BarbaFenner89

 

Thanks! And I used your images for paints by the way, I hope you don't mind haha.

 

@MusicJam19

 

Why not get it then? :P

 

@ Lank?

 

I will

Edited May 12, 2013 by Bowzie

[splitterpoint 10,986]

Fantastic guide, to bad it's made for freeze.

I hate those annoying vacuum cleaners.

[already.dead 360]

what about zeus? it should be in the top 3 expensive :P

[I3loodShot 3,119]

Excellent guide, looks like you spent a lot of time on it. :)

[Beerme 106]

Great guide!

[rampagerhino 67]

Wow this is a great guide. :o :P

[Bowzie 64]

what about zeus? it should be in the top 3 expensive :P

Zeus isn't that great :/

[splitterpoint 10,986]

Zeus should definitely be in it, it protects from both the short range guns.

You will encounter those pretty much if you're a vacuum cleaner.

Edited May 12, 2013 by splitterpoint

[GoldRock 6,165]

This is an excellent guide, I can see you've spent a lot of time on this... With some proofreading, I'd say this would be newspaper-worthy if you were a reporter. It's great example material if you ever wish to apply to be one when there are positions, though ^_^

[Playep 355]

Will you make a isida guide?or anybody?

[Meliora 1,652]

Very long, but nice.

[whizclips 232]

Amazing guide! Never seen a better one before.

[Bowzie 64]

This is an excellent guide, I can see you've spent a lot of time on this... With some proofreading, I'd say this would be newspaper-worthy if you were a reporter. It's great example material if you ever wish to apply to be one when there are positions, though ^_^

I intend to proofread it tommorow or later today, I just came back from a long trip so my proofreading would probably make it worse haha

[Scientist 4,224]

Great job! I think this will be helpful even for high-tanked players :)

[Bowzie 64]

Great job! I think this will be helpful even for high-tanked players :)

It is supposed to be that way ;)

[Kyoko_Kirigiri 1,061]

Wow BoW, nice work ^_^

Edited May 12, 2013 by Pyrrhic

[Pohyeetoh 10]

Nice guide bro

[Inlove556 0]

Firebird guide! Nice read :)

[JonathanBernatowicz 119]

For protection against Freeze, when people have Inferno paint, does it protect just against the damage, or both the damage and Freeze effect? I'm a proud Freeze user and would like to know about that