Review [Issue 66] Battle Etiquette in Tanki Online

[St.Guardian 514]

 

 

Hello readers, Almulty here for a final article... for about six months. That's right! Soon, I will be going absent from the press counter for about half a year. Anyways, I chose to evaluate these aspects of gameplay due to their necessity to be recognised in Tanki (though they're also applicable in real life). Throughout the next few minutes, I may come across as condescending or even pretentious, but that's not my goal here and I do apologise if you feel like that. This is about helping tankers to be the best they can and personally speaking, I'm still working on each of these. Here goes nothing: let's do this!

 

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Patience 

 

First thing first, if you wish to play effectively in Tanki Online, you have to understand that like all things, Tanki flows with time. Not everything will be immediate: not your satisfaction, not your transition (like me of course) from a mult to a master, and certainly not victory in battle. Patience is all about being compatible with time.

 

 

Before I bore you with blather, let's add a touch of reality to this segment with a classic example. Remember the time that you, equipped with full drops, had the enemy flag and were about to leave the enemy base when you saw a horde of unfriendly Mammoths sweeping their base for you? You decided that you could best them without your teammates who were, by the way, rushing to assist you. So in a dash of surface bravery, you decided that you didn't need to stay behind that house under cover; you rushed past the enemies, got destroyed and that precious flag got returned just before your teammates could reach you. Inevitably, all of them got decimated by the enemy's defense who stuck together, because of your rash decision-making. One might say this circumstance connotes more greed than impatience but that is just it: greed itself or a 'lust for satisfaction' is one of the fuels of impatience. 

 

Here are some concrete examples in Tanki where engaging in patience would be beneficial:

• Purchase expensive and costly items on days of discounts or sales. This is important as it can save you a lot of stress and extra work to gain crystals in the long run. There are more than six major celebrations containing sales each year and trust me, you will regret it if you spend all those crystals (or even cash) on a day where you get the least possible reward for your input.
• When you are alone with the enemy flag, at least wait for an 'all clear' notification, such as a high number of enemy tanks destroyed (relayed by the kill record at the top-right of the screen), or wait until your opponents are distracted. Practicing this will not only help you to improve your attacking style, but it will also make your enemies recognize that you are a force to be reckoned with once they see you captured their flag without appearing to have traveled through the map.
• Tankers should try to be compatible with respawn periods on maps and reload times for turrets. From the time you equip a certain turret in your garage, you know whether it is going to have a lengthy reload time or not. Therefore, if during a battle, your Thunder M3 doesn't shoot in time to destroy that annoying Smoky, your raging isn't justified. Be patient; the turrets typically reload at a constant speed and does not change just to make you get destroyed, it is a parameter set by the developers who know what is best for game balance.
• If you use a weapon that can damage numerous enemies at once, you can maximize dealt damage simply by waiting for your opponents to crowd around an area.

 

"The Objective of the Circumstance"

 

Patience is actually more common in Tanki Online than most think, it is just that when the time comes to use it, most tankers can't see beyond the dilemma - they act based only on what is happening rather than what can happen. If you think about it though, there wouldn't be so many high leveled tankers (such as Legend 1+) if no one was patient; it took me more than two years of dedication to get to the rank that I am now. Upon evaluation of this strange fact, I realized that it is easy to be patient when one can see the good aspects of a seemingly inescapable condition. Take the example of XP/BP players who really wish to stay and perform in an enjoyable battle. They will wait fairly until both teams are full, without starting and ruining it.

 

Take a look at the chart I have provided below. It shows the distinct correlation between the level of patience one has to have and the corresponding predicted Destroy/Loss ratio. You would read the first point of data by gathering, "To get a D/L of 0.5, one has to have the level of patience required in timing how long it takes Flexoo to flip" et cetera.

 

 

"The Reality of the Circumstance"

 

When tankers engage in greed and let themselves get overwhelmed by a desire for instant contentment, regret spouts. I can't quantify the occurrences where I didn't wait for a sale or rushed through the map as proud as a peacock only to get destroyed. Also, I have noticed that recently, players may leave a battle if they re-spawn in an unsuitable location. I mean really, just because of a bad spot that would literally take 15 seconds maximum to get out of?

 

Before I close, just remember that like anything, patience should be engaged in with moderation and logic. I am not encouraging you to delude yourself and go to full passivity and 'wait for the bad things to pass', sometimes you have to act. I have learned that sometimes, you need to take the initiative in order to get the best out of a situation. This pairs nicely with the discipline in self-control, the integrity of gallantry and the skill in...

 

 

Practicality

 

There is a simple premise upon which I build my points here: that with patience, comes practicality. This is because it certainly does take time and mental effort to understand that our actions sometimes aren't fitted to a circumstance, and that we should always be aspiring to have the maximum effect, especially in a game such as Tanki Online. Practicality, or as I like to call it, "Battle Sensibility", helps tankers to do just this and it is both a concept that has to be acknowledged and a skill to build, though one can train themselves to think critically during a battle.

 

Camouflage? Check. Blocking the ramp from attackers behind me? Double check.

 

An effective 'in the moment' technique of doing this is reviewing the choices you have in your head, looking at their impacts on a circumstance and progressing with the most powerful action. It sounds like a lot, but if you practice this daily it becomes a five second process in battle, trust me. For instance, suppose that you are using a Freeze/Hornet and have sneaked into the enemy team's base. You see that your teammates are about to make a move on the opponents' flag, and you want to help them, but a deadly Mammoth/Twins has just re-spawned in the enemy base near its flag. So, what course of action should you take? Well, assuming that your teammates can take the flag on their own, the best feat you could do would be freezing the Mammoth/Twins until your teammates are out of range, then moving to freeze any opponents pursuing your team's flag-carrier.

 

Here are some solid examples of practicality and its conveniences in Tanki Online:

• When your opponents are camping, spawn-killing and wreaking havoc in your base, sacrifice a few deaths and clear your base. A lot of players choose to ignore enemy campers or even worse, blame their teammates for not doing anything.
• When friendly fire is activated in a battle, try not to shoot locations where your fellow battle colleagues are grouped, especially if you have a splash damage turret.
• Let your battle role correspond to where your team needs it- be adaptable if you see a deficiency in your 'line-up'.
• Choose a suitable battle role that corresponds nicely with your choice of equipment.
• It is best if your choice of paint 'blends in' with the map terrain. Not many players see this as significant but if you wonder why the enemy keeps targeting you, a factor is probably that they can see you a lot of the time. Additionally, modules should always be chosen carefully as they can be a huge asset in staying alive for a few extra seconds in an unfriendly encounter.
• To all the heavy hulls out there, please, be sensible and don't block exits/pathways/ramps for other tankers who wish to pass by.
• Drops should be shared fairly among teams: Speed Boosts are best left for attackers and Double Damage is most efficiently used by defensive players with long range/splash damage turrets.
• During a standoff, the flag should be given to the player with the best chance of surviving an attack by multiple enemies, which is usually a heavy hull.

​

 

"It's All About Entertainment"

 

Alright I'll admit, a lot of this may seem superfluous and even superficial, as most of us play Tanki for sheer enjoyment. I get that, I am just stating that since you get enjoyment from 'good battles' (for a lack of better words), it is only rational that you should try to make as many battles enjoyable - for as many players as possible - as you can. Indeed, very often when we seek fun, we may not acknowledge that another person isn't having the same entertainment we are, and in fact we may be the direct cause of their lack of fun. This is of course, all referring to your teammates in-battle, as it is nearly impossible to make opponents have fun without looking like a complete mult.

 

"Never Let Evaluation Conquer Exploration"

 

Again, there is such a thing as too much. It has recently come across to me quite harshly that you can't simply evaluate everything, sometimes you have to feel the moment of excitement or joy without evaluating it too much. So you might ask... what does this mean? Well, all of the aforementioned aspects of practicality still apply, just remember that it shouldn't take priority over actually taking the time to be content with success for once.

 

 

Self-Control

 

Effectively, self control is the brother to patience, in that they both appear to be the same but have very different essences and purposes, as self control is more to do with restraint or discipline rather than tolerance. It is said that to be proficient at anything, one must have self control, recognize boundaries that can and can not be crossed, and build this self control, every single day. Simple methods of doing so include practicing restraint from desire both in real life in game, by things such as not eating that cookie you crave so much or not joining that battle - that looks tempting - on a laggy day.

 

I want to join that battle so badly... but my PING was just 999

 

The trick here is to recognize why you might omit such an activity. In the instance with the cookie, you might decide that well, you already had two for the day, or it would increase your sugar intake to beyond necessary thus declaring your diet bad. And why join that battle? You might convince yourself that you 'wouldn't lag' this time and hover over the button longingly. As if! That is your urge to engage in fun speaking, not your rational side. If you join that battle and lag out, your whole team will be at a disadvantage for about 5 minutes and the battle might even stop or end by everyone leaving (in an XP/BP battle). Is it really worth the risk? What I have noticed is that if you feel very potent emotions in a circumstance, slow down and pretend to be an onlooker, just to see things in an unbiased way. That way, your actions will not be influenced solely by your interests or desire, and you will make a reasonable decision. This is the key to self-control.

 

Here are some core examples of self control:

• Avoid splurging with earned crystals and especially credit cards. I mean seriously, there are more efficient and dignified ways of spending currency. Plus, 'binge-purchasing' can lead to a bad habit of changing your boundaries to suit your actions rather than vice versa.
• Restrain from leading 'personal vendettas' against other players or a clan. I am certainly one for a healthy feud that brings about the spark of battle in players' eyes, just not to the point where said players' eyes are red hot in anger. Forming a permanent bias against a certain player is never good, and this becomes worse if that player is on your team in a battle.
• Restrain from challenging everyone who upsets you (it may or may not be for a 1v1). Don't run around spamming the chat with "Noob? 1v1?" because these exchanges only end with players calling each other hackers or worse.
• Avoid becoming antagonized by mults, insulters and even saboteurs. If you get annoyed too easily with them, you will only be helping them reach their goal. Instead, channel your energy into stopping or nullifying their negative actions: practicality helps here.
• Control your emotions when in an oppressing situation, such as if your opponents are winning by a massive margin. Rage quitting is an incorrect battle etiquette. Also, it is thoroughly unjustified and actually counterproductive to bash your teammate for making a petty mistake that you yourself could have made.

 

"See Beyond Your Mask of Anger"

 

I have to admit though that feelings are inevitable. No matter how stone faced you might act, you are still going to have emotions for a circumstance or even a person. What matters is how you deal with your feelings. Do you engage in them without giving it any thought? Do you use your feelings as a 'fuel' for a situation? It is all about nullifying your negative emotions - disgust, envy and anger - with better ones that emerge, such as satisfaction and empathetic joy. A self-controlled person is humble and therefore accepts reality and they do not let the flaws in others bring out flaws in themselves.

 

As before, never take an idea too far. Don't just stay put in every situation; if anyone ever goes to far - including a friend - correct them and stand for justice. Whether it is a petty insult or a fault in battle, you should always correct someone when they are committing an injustice, just make sure you do it in the right manner. After all that is what self-control is about, doing the right thing in the right manner.

 

 

Gallantry

 

Probably the most broad aspect of Battle Etiquette, gallantry, is a modern form of chivalry and is as equally important in Tanki as all the other sections aforementioned. That's right, just like knights 'n the old days. By the simple mention of this name, many important and true connotations come to mind: generosity, kindness of heart, fortitude, dignity and many others. The truth is that knowing and displaying gallantry in Tanki builds a tighter and more pleasant community to be around, and it is essentially linked to 'Practicality' as well as 'Self-Control' in ways less obvious than you might think, though it can be regarded in its own section.

 

A main way that gallantry could be linked to something such as practicality is in an instance where you want to protect another valuable player to your team in a battle by taking a hit for them. By covering them, you both (1) engage in nobility and (2) help your teammate to pull off a successful feat.

 

Below I have written some further occurrences of gallantry and how it manifests itself in some actions:

• Corpse-Blocking - Sometimes, you have to do the dirty work yourself to achieve the common goal whether it is a protect a point or to secure a flag. This may involve giving up your tank to prevent the enemy from reaching somewhere that, if they did reach, would be terrible for you and your teammates. Take a fall for the team.
• A quite similar situation would be where your teammate is escaping with the enemy flag and they need cover to progress through the map. Solution: you provide that cover. It could be either be by physically blocking shots from Smokys, Thunders, plasma/melee turrets or knocking an enemy Shaft, Striker, Railgun or Magnum off of their aim. You could even use an 'auto-aim steal' tactic in which you go into a position where vertical auto-aim makes an opponent shoot you instead of a teammate.
• If a group of friends or even a clan wish to play together, give a spot to those players. Really, this is one of the most important unspoken rules in the game. You are not obliged to, but it really is not the most kind thing to make a whole group of friends shift to a separate battle (though they do not have the right to force themselves into an almost full battle, or even against a player who was in said battle for a long time).
• When either you or your friend is wrong and you acknowledge this, point it out. Do not be afraid of getting deleted off of a person's friends list because if this happens, (1) the person will regret/rethink it and add you back, or (2) the person clearly will prove themselves not to be a friend. Another rule of etiquette is that a good friend can see another point of view.
• Though not mandatory, attending a friend's rankup is a true way to display kindness and selflessness. Try it, it means more to a tanker than you think. 
• Once you notice that a tanker is in need, help them. If they have queries or are seeking guidance or even help with missions, it can't hurt anyone too much to give a little of their time. Wouldn't you ask someone for help when you need guidance on a topic that you aren't very experienced with?

"Make The Community A Better Place"

 

That is really what this is about, improving the community (kill the cliches mult) you live in by acting as a beacon for others to follow. You might respond, "Only a few people will do it, so why should I?". Well that is just it. You can't blame the community when you are a component of it; helping another person in effect helps the community to advance both in mindset and in actions. Improvement to a link of persons quite obviously starts with one person.

 

Probably shouldn't have been adoring my M4 tank

 

"Know The Community Doesn't Revolve Around You"

 

That being said, no one should be up on their high horses and form a condescending point of view. This act of gallantry is not for show, but rather simple assistance in 'bringing others up'. Each one of these topics I have evaluated are equally as important as the others, and there are many more specific ones that I omitted. Why do good? Simple: the world is full of causes and effects and when you act, you direct a cause somewhere. Wouldn't you want your actions to have the best effects for everyone else?

 

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These four compose what I like to think of as 'four mindset pillars' that work as the foundation of a good tanker. I hope you learned something just now, or if you already possessed knowledge, I hope it was strengthened within you. Do you know of any other important aspects of 'Battle Etiquette'? Feel free to post your opinions below!

 

[Skills.n.Girls 767]

:lol:

[colindestroyer77 45]

Really awesome article. ;)  I know a lot of people who could use this :lol:

[rockstar3984 50]

One of the best and maturely written article. loved reading it all the way through. Good job!!  :)

[anuclearbomb 220]

Great article, love the last part.

[freddead11 1]

Umm.. Why Wait When You Have M3 With Drugs ??? :D

[CuT_TheRe_HeaRTs_OuT 640]

Tanki online has taught me a very important concept about online team games, i used to play ctf and cp

The most on another account, but i was upset 80% of the time , player x didn't take the flag when his friend

Got destroyed in-front of him , player y leaves base why the whole enemy team is attacking the flag and he just

See's them and leave the base to play on another side of the map and etc etc....

 

So what i learned is the notion that getting 2 random groups of 8 players and let them try

To work together to do an organized task is the dumbest idea in the history of mankind.

Playing with random people will only make you rage hard at ur screen.

 

 

However Dm solves this problem.

[CuT_TheRe_HeaRTs_OuT 640]

who is Flexoo? and does he flip more often or less ?

[Truthteller 4,204]

Nice

[fury987 604]

Cool and very nice