Guide [Issue 81] The Mid Ranker's Handbook: Essentials

[Hex 11,520]

 
It's almost been two years since another installment of "The Mid Ranker's Handbook" has been published - the last one, which talked about the changes the global balance did two years ago, being written in Issue 58. Needless to say, a lot of things have either been changed to altered in the game. It's so different, following the tactics used back then will get you nowhere even close to the top of the leaderboard. So, in this edition of the Handbook, we'll be talking all about essential tips and tactics you can use to excel in battles and pass all others in the field easily. Let's get it going!

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The Video:

 

In the video, we have visualized ten of the most important points of the whole article for ease of understanding - here they are:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viYfEyuJC0k&feature=youtu.be

Credits:-

Video - @MSI, @Jade

Commentary -

Visuals - @Stratosphere, @Modesty, @Mzay, @thunderousrailgunner, @SkIlL-PaVlIToS, @Past.

 

Thank you all!

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Note:

 

To make the article easier to read and go through, I've split it into a total of five different sections, each one containing a set of essential tips that correlate with each other. This way, you'll not only have quick access to a certain type of tip, but also understand it way better.

 

Do note that these tips are generally meant for the middle ranks, they might seem too hard below and too easy above such ranks. The tips have basically been compiled by observing and playing with middle ranked tankers, both free and paying users. Now then, let's start off the article. I hope you enjoy reading it and find the information handy and useful!

 

➢ Section I - Game Mechanics

➢ Section II - Game Components

➢ Section III - Primaries

➢ Section IV - Secondaries

➢ Section V - Tips From The Pros!

 

➢ Bonus Section VI - Contest
 

[Hex 11,520]

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Section I: Game Mechanics

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1. Taking Advantage of Game Mechanics

 

We're going to start off with the most important tip, taking advantage of game mechanics. Nope, I don't mean quick-peeking from behind a wall to take an enemy Striker by surprise - that's both, easy and not really an advantage you take out of the game. 

 

Let's start with the first one, shooting through walls. In some maps, you can actually do just that and literally take out a whole squad if you do it right. This is because of the fact that you'll be able to see them but they won't be able to see you back. In the current meta, this advantage is rarely known, so even if you're shooting through a certain wall, the enemy would think you're doing some sort of conjuring trick with quick, convulsive movements - and try to attack you by going around the sides. Do note that they can shoot you back from within the wall as well, but as aforementioned, not many people know this, but now you do.

 

Umm, my personal advice here would be do one little thing: be dynamic. Just keep moving in a sort of to and fro motion, here and there with every shot you take. We don't want everyone to learn this secret, right?

 

The top-down view of the very trick - note the two different angles of approach. Dotted line shows the incorrect

approach which would most probably make you collide with the wall and make you miss; whereas the solid line illustrates

the correct way of making the shot. Notice the huge deepened area? It represents your field of view.

 

This tip has it's own pros and cons, as seen in the video. Let's discuss them one by one: 

 

 

• It allows you to shoot the enemy while being invisible to them. That being said, you can bring any turret into action with this trick and it will work. You can even combine two game mechanics here, hiding and shooting with Ricochet's balls; which will be discussed below.
• Allows one to heal teammates without being targeted by the enemy. Same thing, just a different use. 

• Can make one vulnerable from other areas of the map, especially with the example shown above. However, the tunnel one, not so much.

 

 

Now, let's discuss another game mechanic, ricocheting plasma and pellets. This mechanic is directly related to the Newton's Third Law of Motion, that there is always an equal and opposite reaction to an action - which means... Basically if you shoot the wall, the wall will shoot you back.

 

Only two turrets in the game currently have such a mechanic; Ricochet and Hammer. Let's discuss Ricochet first. In case of this turret, the balls have a power loss value of just twenty hits with the alteration, and only about ten without - which means that on the twentieth hit to any prop, the plasma would stop bouncing and evaporate into thin air. Consider the illustration below, which explains both Hammer and Ricochet:

 

 

It is evident that since Ricochet's medium can bounce more often, you're at a bigger risk of inflicting self-damage as compared to Hammer, whose pellets have only one bounce. 

 

Now for the actual trick, kill-stealing. It may or may not work in larger maps; this discrepancy is caused by the fact that you need longer-ranged weapons in such maps and everyone has protection against those turrets. For example, generally, no one in Lost Temple is going have protection against Striker, or Isida, but they will have resistances against Railgun, Shaft and some other dominant weapon in their specific game. The idea is to target medium maps, and thanks to the matchmaking system, these are very abundant. From Red Alert to Polygon and Barda to Tribute, every small map you can think of is probably there (check out the full list of maps in the auto-rotation by clicking here!).

 

Once you have gotten your map, take Ricochet or Hammer, any medium to heavy hull and equip appropriate resistances for the battle. Then, simply use the walls, props and other features to redirect your shots onto the enemy tanks, especially those who are already under fire from someone else - as shown in the video. You'll steal the kill of the second person, and then try to finish them off too.

 

 

2. Effective Use of Turrets and Hulls

 

In this section, we shall quickly go over and discuss on how different turrets in the game can be put to effective use. This does not only include on how to make them more worth your while, but also explains what strategies and tricks suit these turrets best.

 

Moreover, you can use this section as a guideline when in battle. After all, everyone wants the upper hand, right?

 

Features:

• Severe Damage - it's able to take out an enemy in no time due to the combined effects of damage and afterburn.
• Afterburn - if you fire at a group of enemies with no protections, chances are you will kill all of them without even draining all your energy. Let the temperature do the work! 
• Turret Speed - it has relatively fast rotational speed, which makes it great for circle-strafing an enemy.

Features:

• Damage - excellent value of damage over time, plus the freezing effect which completely immobilizes the enemy.
• Cone Angle - means that you can easily shoot people who are horizontally or vertically distant from you, making it great for close-range maps that are densely populated with props.
• Turret Speed - it has relatively fast rotational speed, which makes it great for circle-strafing an enemy.

Features:

• Extreme Damage - it's actually the toughest turret to outplay in the game. Unless you have protections and an Overdrive ready, chances are you'll die against an Isida, even then the odds are quite slim.
• Double Experience - earn experience through attacking or support, your choice!
• Health Regeneration - the most effective use of this turret is to obviously get your teammates back to full health. 

 

Features:

• Damage - ridiculously high damage per a full clip. Hammer can essentially take out any tank at any time.
• Collective Impact - due to its insane impact force, Hammer is a great weapon for disturbing enemy movements and dodging their shots.
• Collective Damage - can damage two tanks at one time due to pellet spread. Pellets are also able to bounce once, making it easier to hit an enemy behind cover.
• Low Reload - even with the alteration, it has a low reload time which can be put to great use while in combat.

Features:

• Cumulative Damage - has a high value of cumulative damage.
• Suppressing Enemies - easily pushes back enemies and suppresses them to a confined area. 
• Impact Force - has a commendable impact force than can annoy one in a matter of seconds. Use this to your advantage, take the help of a brick and shoot anyone you see!

Features:

• Impact Force - has a relatively high impact force per projectile, which can completely disrupt movement and can even flip light tanks.
• Bouncing Projectiles - provides a great opportunity to hit some of those enemies hiding behind buildings and other props.

Features:

• Firing Rate - impressive firing rate that can deal thousands of damage in no time.
• Impact Force - great impact force that somewhat immobilized light tanks. Smoky also has an alteration that buffs its impact force, use that it if you want a better punch!
• Critical Damage - a random shot that deals more damage compared to a normal shot. In certain situations, this shot itself is enough to take out a newly-spawned tank.

 

Features:

• Defensive/Supportive Weapon - great damage and ability to take out any type of tank makes it a good defensive and supportive weapon.
• Projectile Speed - projectiles speed increases over time, which causes enemies away from you to be hit harder.

 

 

Features:

• Firing Rate - insane firing rate which can kill an enemy in a matter of seconds!
• Reloading - no reload time, which makes it even more practical. However, do note the self-burn.
• Impact Force - Vulcan has the ability to completely disrupt light tanks and somewhat immobilize medium tanks, which makes them miss or drive awkwardly.
• Aim Knock-off - gyroscopic effect which makes it hard for enemies to knock off your aim.

Features:

• Damage - great damage over time that disrupts enemy movement.
• Splash Damage - also sports splash damage that makes it possible to kill more than one enemies in a single shot.

​​

Features:

• Damage - has the ability to take out any type of tank, including heavies.
• Penetrating Damage - has the ability to do penetrating damage, making it possible to kill two or more enemies in one shot.
• Impact Force - remarkable impact force, can flip or overturn people. 
• Unlimited Range - has unlimited range, can shoot the wall next to you or into the depths of the skybox.

 

Features:

• Damage - has an insane damage value that can kill essentially all types of armor.
• Splash Radius - biggest splash damage radius of any turret that makes it able to quick-frag multiple enemies at the same time.
• Shoot Anywhere - most effective feature of Magnum is that it can shoot literally anywhere, in any map while being safely behind cover.

Features:

• Highest Potential Damage - has the highest value of potential damage, and can take out even the toughest of armor on the field.
• Charge-shooting - ability to shoot with a desired charge value, with different sets of damage.
• Sniping Mode - to wear Needle and be a true sniper, that's all you have to do. 

 

3. Using Impact Force

 

Impact - the force that pushes your tank back when you fire a weapon. It is most clearly felt with weapons that have stronger recoil, along the likes of Hammer, Railgun and Thunder. Let's see what kind of uses recoil or impact force has in the game...

 

 

Deflecting Aim

 

Impact force of almost any turret can be used to deflect enemy's aim onto your or any of your teammates tanks. For example, if you're a Smoky, and you see another Railgun who's on the enemy team just about to shoot your or the Isida following behind you, you can save yourself a Repair Kit and precisely shoot the very corner of it's hull, which will cause a miss.

 

 

Flipping Enemies

 

Enemies who are in the air can easily be flipped with the impact force of high-damage weapons, like Railgun, Thunder and Magnum. You just need to shoot them at the right time, which is either:

• when they're just about to off from a platform or a ramp;
• just about to land.

Shooting enemies while they're in the middle of their launch will most likely cause them to do a barrel roll and land swiftly on their tracks.

 

Impact can also be used to flip enemies to are just about to shoot you, and this kind of magic is most easily done with Railgun or Hammer. When an enemy is at the verge of shooting you, "feel their shot coming" and hit them back at the best possible time, the two forces (their own recoil plus your impact) can cause them to flip.

 

 

4. Ramps and Walls

 

In this segment, we'll be taking a look at three of the most important uses of both, ramps and walls you can try in battles in order to execute your objectives with style. Let's begin with ramps:

 

There are ramps in almost every map in the game. You probably didn't notice, but the ramps are very important. Here you can find a few useful ways to use the ramps.

 

 

Pull Shots

 

While hiding in a ramp, you have a big advanced. You can hit enemies while they can barely shot you. But you didn't think it's that easy did you? Make sure you are covered, it's super important! Second thing and probably the most importantly, try shooting opponents who don't notice you there. If an enemy spots you, the ramp will not help you.

 

 

Flipping

 

Here is the funniest thing you can do with ramps - Flip players. What's better than that? Here are a few ways to do it: Once a player crosses a ramp, shot him at the exact moment - when the player is in the air for a second. You should time it. The second way is to push players (touch the edges of the tank) when they cross the ramp.

 

 

Placing Mines

 

Sometimes, they only way to reach a place in the map is crossing through a map. Simply use mines and "block the way" The players will have to go through the mines in order to reach you. If they did, they are already on low HP!

 

 

Now for walls...

 

 

Hiding & Dodging

 

A great trick for everyone, especially for long-range turrets. If you are in a middle of a battle and you don't feel like you want to defend nor attack. You can play as a mid-player. What does it mean? You basically hide behind a wall and shot passing enemies. The main task is to get them on low HP before they reach your base. Or support your tea, when they pull out a flag out of the enemy base. This trick can also be useful for the defenders, all a defender has to do is to way behind a wall where he won't be seen and just wait for an attacker to come!

 

 

Bouncing Projectiles, Hiding Aim

 

Did you know you can use the walls to cancel the impact force of the turrets? For example, when a smoky shots you, you should stick to a wall and aim at him. This way, the smoky will not be able to make you miss! This works great with Railgun, Thunder, Hammer and so on!

[Hex 11,520]

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Section II: Game Components

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5. Getting Onto Other Tanks

 

Getting onto other tanks is a simple yet very handy trick you can use to gain an advantage in battles. Let's go over it quickly as there is nothing much to explain, perhaps what you actually need to do in a few steps:

1. Shoot; for example let's take Railgun.
2. As soon as the glow begins to disappear, change the direction of your movement in the forward/backward plane.
3. Then, either turn to the left or the right.
4. Get on to the tank!

There's many scenarios where this little trick can come in useful. For instance, you can steal drops for the enemy, reach new heights in parkour or event catch a quick Gold.

 

 

 

6. Timing Supplies

 

When supplies cannot be used in a battle, supplies drops are your key for the victory! It is necessary to know when, where and how often the supply drops land.

 

General Information

 

In total, there are four different kinds of supplies

 

Repair Kit: after activation repairs the tank. Any damage received during repairing process will stop the effect.

 

Double Armor: Supply item, after activation temporarily lowers all incoming damage by half.

 

Double Damage: Supply item, after activation temporarily increases the damage of the turret by two times.

 

Speed Boost: Supply item, after activation temporarily increases the speed of the tank and the rotation speed of its turret.

 

• Each supply drop falls about two minutes (or one hundred and four seconds to be exact)  after the moment it was taken.
• Also, the supply drops don't disappear from the ground if not taken.
• It is important to note that supply drops effect ceases after thirty seconds.

 

Timing The Drops

 

As mentioned before, when a supply drop is being taken another one will drop two minutes later. During a match, pay attention to the timer and the drops. Make sure you know when the drops were taken. For example, if Drop X was taken at 11:37, the next time it will drop is at 9:37.

 

There is no timer, what can I do?!

 

I have also experienced this problem, but I have found a solution. You can use a drop to know when the drops are about the fall. Feeling a little bit confused? Here's an example: You know that Drop X falls fifteen seconds before Drop Y, so when you see Drop X falling, that means Drop Y is about to drop as well.

 

There are also players who set a timer of their own, which can be downloaded through the internet. I don't believe it's that necessary, but it's still an option.

 

 

7. Gold Boxes

 

Ah... Gold Boxes, something that we all love to go after every once in a while. Sometimes, these pesky little creature of a boxes can give out a pulse of minor heart attacks and usually cause sweaty hands in return, but most of the time, they are dealt with spectacular skill and ease.

 

Let's talk about the five best tips that will help you grab one of these bad boys out on the battlefield!

 

 

Tip #1 - Don't self-destruct! With the timer between the announcement and the drop reduced to ten seconds, you won't have enough time to justify the health bar and still be left with enough time to look for the Gold Box. If you want to try your luck, sure, go ahead. 

 

Tip #2 - Use them angles! Using the Q or E keys will actually help you increase your chances of finding the Gold Box - to look farther decrease your camera angle, while to have a sort of birds-eye view, increase the angle.

 

Now that you have found the drop zone...

 

Tip #3 - Kill, reload, repeat! Basically, ignore the insufficient "no-kill" cries and kill as many people as you can from afar. The less the people, the more your odds of taking the Gold.

 

Tip #4 - Dictator it with style! If you really want to catch a Gold, simply rock Dictator. The additional height factor will increase your chances two-fold.

 

Tip #5 - Rock back, go up! Shoot, then in a quick movement, rock your hull onto an incoming tank and get on top of them; it will be like sitting on the shoulders of another person trying to catch a ball. Obviously, it will reach you first.

 

 

8. Mines

 

When it comes down to mines, consider them as your secondary drones in a battle. These little pests, while truly seeming insignificant in the heat of battle, can chunk off between 1200 to 2400 of your health in a second. It's sad to see mines are not used to their full potential in the low-level meta - most often they can be seen sitting in corners of the map, bored, unconditionally watching two tankers express their love for each other or being spammed in the whole by a fat Mammoth who was too big for his own ego. Nevertheless, let's go over some of the key points about mines and how to use them in battles.

 

First of all, it's important to know the exact spot from where under your hull do mines spawn in on the map. Considering the illustration below...

 

 

It is clear that the drop point is at the very center of the hull with few minor exceptions. This means that once you have mastered the art of timing your mines and dropping them at the correct instant, you'll have no problems in doing "bomber runs" or "air drops" and even mine art! Bomber runs or air drops is the terminology used to indicate that you'll be dropping a mine onto someone that is below you in terms of elevation - it's relatively easy to pull off with lesser altitude, but as you gain height, becomes harder.

 

Mines can also be used to protect your base from enemy attackers and even guide the defenders on your team to their respective positions. It's highly advised to mine the following areas when playing an organized battle:

• Flag Podium - mining around the flag will greatly increase the defending quotient of your team. It adds a whole new layer of protection and eases defenders in their job. However, these mines can sometimes work in favor of the enemy, as they can use the impact force to their advantage, get on top of the heavy defending the flag and escape. To counter this issue, place these set of mines a bit farther away from the flag.
• Accesses - If there are more than three access points to your base, try to mine at least two of them. Doing this not only adds to the solution of defense, but also makes it less likely for enemies to escape with your flag.
• Ramp - If there is a ramp heading to your base, mine it. Place a Hammer or a strong turret and make it so that they try to flip every person that tries to go above the ramp. Noise, Silence and Madness are some of the best examples for this case. 

Another effective use of mines is to deploy them while attacking a base. This is easy to do, but requires at least some knowledge of predicting enemy movements and strategies, which only comes with experience and long-term stay in the game. Basically, you need to counter for the movement done by the enemy, predict their next move and plant a mine there so that the person who will begin to move their will either lose a major portion of their health of die. Watch the video above to get a full explanation of this use.

[Hex 11,520]

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Section III: Primaries

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9. Aiming

 

Before we begin, please note that this section comprised of facts and figures based on Railgun - the hardest weapon to master aim with. Other weapons, such as Ricochet, Thunder and Vulcan are pretty easy to manage and shouldn't be that big of a problem - you can always apply the solutions below to other weapons as well.

 

Aiming is already a tough subject to grasp, but those without considerable knowledge of game mechanics (for example, reload, turn ratio and speed) will not be able to cope up with some basic requirements for the following course of improving your aim. Let's begin!

 

 

XP vs. BP - The Ultimatum

 

The only hulls which can be used in the unforgiving format are Hornet and Wasp, but many ask the question: Which one of them is easier to use? The answer is quite simple - Hornet. The reason is quite straightforward too, Hornet is more stable than Wasp, which makes you feel steady while shooting. For newbies, I would say go for Hornet first and see how it feels. After some time, try Wasp. But do not jump to conclusions, Wasp has other advantages which make it equal to Hornet; I actually believe Wasp is better than Hornet when you learn how to master it.

 

 

Shooting At The Right Moment

 

Picked the right combination for yourself? Great! Let's move on to the next step. Of course, shooting at the right moment is not an exact science, but there is still a way to schedule your shot and land a shot at the exact moment. All you have to do is to pay attention to opponents' action and carefully realize what will happen next. Sounds a bit tough, ah? Don't worry, the groove will come with the experience. After a while, without even noticing, you will know what is the next step of your opponent. In short, you will "feel your enemy".

 

 

 

Shooting Training

 

The last sections may have helped you a bit, but it's evidently not enough. The top players almost never miss, and they are insanely accurate. Every movement has to be very fast, clean and direct. The next step is perhaps the most important one. Now, you need to practice on shooting little holes in different maps. I advise you to do the following steps:

1. Create a private map.
2. Pick a spot and start shooting through the hole from both sides.
3. Move on to the next spot only when you managed to shot through the hole five times in a row.

Here's an example:

 

 

Make sure you move while shooting, change your position and angle while training. You can do the same action on other maps as well, pick spots where it's difficult to land shots from and do this until you master the shots. Once you feel your aim has been improved, try it in a real battle and see how it goes! Be aware it takes time to improve it, so don't give up so easily.

 

If you don't like being a lone wolf, you can create a one vs. one against a friend and try skill shots on each other while playing. It's less effective, but more fun!

 

 

Positions

 

Pay attention to your opponent's position, there can be many situation where you will not be able to hit your enemy because of his location, in such case you have two options: To change your own location or make opponent move. You can find a few examples below:

 

A miss due to the opponents location...

 

But as I change my position...

 

If you reach a mid-game camp-off (the enemy doesn't move from their position, and so doesn't let you move as well), then try to reach them with your shot where they would least expect it. Practice, and you shall finish your sessions with an absolute banger quite like this:

 

 

 

Camera Angle

 

In XP/BP, it is crucial to use Q & E (a.k.a the camera angles). For professional players it sounds obvious, but for newbies who don't use camera angles during XP/BP battles it can be useful when trying to spot an enemy, or to take aim.

 

Moving it up will help you to see your enemies, and moving it down will help you to see further.

 

Here's a correct use of the camera angle: When I was looking further, I could not see the enemy, but once I changed the camera angle I was able to see him and even hit him.

 

 

 

Maps

 

It's quite obvious you won't stay all day long in a private map without anyone else. So, let's find out which maps are the best for improving aim! The best map with no doubt is Parma. Professional Parma players are ones with the most accurate aim. In case you do not like long matches, try out Zone or Station. These maps do not give you the same benefit as Parma, but they are still effective.

 

There's another option for a learning player, you guys can play in eSports maps such as Barda, Kunger, Bridges and so on. But it applies only to the XP defenders, it won't be effective to the attackers, as shown below:

 

 

Last but not meant, the number of players in each team - something which actually matters! There are a few options, let's review them:

 

Parma: For Parma, you have three options: 1vs1, 2vs2 and 6vs6. I believe that 1v1 will not help you to improve your aim but your techniques, so I would focus on 2vs2 and 6vs6.

 

Station: For Station, you can play 1vs1 and 2vs2. Once again, I would go for the 2vs2.

 

Zone: As for Zone, your options are: 1vs1 and 2vs2. Actually, go for the 1vs1 on Zone, the map is little enough so you'll have a lot of chances to execute your aim.

 

eSports Maps: For such maps, 6vs6 is the perfect option as the aforementioned maps are very big.

 

 

10. Surviving Different Turrets

 

In this section, we'll talk about what tricks and strategies you can use to outplay other turrets in the battle. We'll be considering an ideal situation at all times - both players have the same hull, zero protections and no supplies active. Obviously, you're not going to win as a Wasp-Isida against a Mammoth-Thunder.

 

 Firebird

• Stay out of the burn range;
• Deflect it's aim - try to hit as far out on the hull as possible.

 Freeze

• Don't sing Let It Go - keep away from the chilled freon winds;
• Circle-strafe counter the Freeze - instead of letting them circle you, circle them.

 Isida

• Stay out of its range;
• Deflect and disrupt its lock-on onto you.

 Hammer

• RUN *dun da da da dun da da dun dun* - if you see an Hammer coming towards you, increase the distance;
• Knock it off its trajectory as much as possible.

 Twins

• Avoid getting suppressed - keep away and try to finish it off from a distance.
• Disrupt its aim and try to dodge the incoming plasma balls.

 Ricochet

• Ricochet's damage is crazy over time - avert danger by trying to hide behind such covers that it can't possibly shoot you back via any sophisticated angle;
• Peek-shoot - shoot and get back in cover, then shoot and get back in cover...

 Smoky

• Peek-shoot;
• Deflect its aim;
• Try and flip it around - Smoky is usually on a light/medium hull.

 Striker

• Sidetrack - those four, Double Damage-inflicted rockets will finish you no matter what;
• Avoid getting locked-on - if you are, simply find a building or a structure to hide against.

 Vulcan

• Be calm and drive straight;
• Hide behind some building until the Vulcan is forced to stop shooting due to after burn.

 Thunder

• Divert to a completely different path, Thunder's damage can't be easily avoided due to splash;
• Kill it by peek-shooting.

 Railgun

• Deflect its aim - due to a long reload, they wont be able to cause any more damage once missed for an extended period of time;
• Seeing the glow appear first on the enemy means they shot first - hide or remain in cover. Let them shoot first!

 Magnum

• Ram into it - most likely you'll die but cause the Magnum to damage itself as well;
• Using Shaft? Do your team a favor and point at the long barrel thingy.

 Shaft

• Avoid the laser at all costs...
• ...even if someone offers you a free account with two M4s.

 

11. Energy Conservation

 

Here, I will reuse some text from a previous article I wrote on Pro's Advice with talked about Isida's angle of effect. It is the angle comprised of several horizontal degrees in which the turret you're using is able to shoot and damage an enemy right in front of you. The angle of effect - or 'cone angle' in official terminology for Isida is exactly 20°, and this value is true for both senses - damaging other tanks or healing teammates.

 

Isida's cone angle is similar to those of Firebird and Freeze, both of which are 20° as well. As you might already have seen, people playing with these three turrets have to constantly move their turrets when moving or circling around a target. This is the first set of skill you'll need to develop to effectively play with Isida. To successfully master this technique, you'll first off need to make sure that the keyboard you're using doesn't ghost at all, and even if it does, it can register at least four keys without crossing out any of them. This is because with Isida, you'll need a minimum of four keys to circle around someone: Up Arrow for moving forward, Left/Right Arrow to move around in the direction you want, Spacebar to shoot and lastly, Z/X to move your turret. Secondly, you'll need to master the skill of moving around without looking in your direction - and this can easily be done by memorizing the surface area of the map you're playing in as well as looking for special landmarks on the map itself, such as a unique wall structure, a ditch, a bridge or just about any house.

 

Now, since it's very important to constantly deal damage to your enemies while using energy-based turrets, it is imperative that you keep your enemy inside the cone angle of your Isida, which in simpler words, is about 10° on the either side of your turret. See the illustration below for more information.

 

 

The first image is an Isida firing at its opponent while aiming 0° from the center. Images on the second level on either sides are depicting an angle of 10° from the direct center, while images on the third level show Isida firing at around 15° from the center.

 

 

Essentially, your target should be inside 5° from the center, the so-called 'safe zone'. If you're successful in keeping the target inside this angle, you will take it out without facing even a single bit of energy loss - something that will be discussed at a later point in this article.

 

 

In the illustration above, you can see Isida's cone angle, which is the whole of the gray area. The light gray area is the safe zone, while the line in the middle is just there to dissect the whole plane into two sides or parts. As I aforementioned, it is safer and more effective to keep an target inside the safe zone, or between the 5° markers in the diagram. However, doing this is not compulsory, and should only be done in most situations where the target wants to circle around or maneuver about you. If you keep your target either slightly towards the right or the left, you'll have to deal with energy loss. 

 

But what is energy loss? Let's talk about a scenario. You are sitting on the flag with Isida and Mammoth surrounded by three teammates and a couple of mines. An attacker comes towards your base, but you haven't spotted 'em quite yet because let's say you were facing in the other direction, healing someone. Suddenly, you hear a mine pop, and you immediately know some enemy is there. The enemy, helped by the pop of the mine, gets jerked into the air, circles around you, spends a couple of seconds killing off other tanks, unites with an Isida and leaves the area. Simultaneously, you were trying to move your turret along in the direction he was moving, but failed to do so because of three main reasons - the most important one being that you suffered energy loss. See, you did notice the attacker after they popped a mine, but since you began firing when they were over you, you already started draining energy. Next, when he circled around you, you also circled your turret in their direction, but failed to align your turret with his hull, therefore draining more useful energy. Lastly, when the attacker united with the Isida, you simply didn't have enough energy to finish them off.

 

 

Now, let's move over to other energy-based turrets like Twins and Ricochet. These are the so-called plasma cannons, which shoot two and one balls of plasma respectively from each turret. For Twins, there is nothing much to talk about, except maybe the fact that you need to lead your shots if the distance between you and your enemy is too much. Twins also has a great use: it can act as a suppressor and prevent some light and medium hulls from getting shots on you or your enemy. Since it doesn't have a reload time, energy conservation holds no meaning for Twins.

 

However, Ricochet on the other hand is completely different. It's two alterations, Minus-field Stabilization and Unstable Plasma are both very good in certain conditions.

 

     

 

The first alteration comes into use in case of a large map or a small one with many buildings, so you can get those extra ten or so bounces off the walls and into the enemy. Similarly, the second alteration can also be remarkably used if the map you're playing in is small or medium-sized. With Ricochet, you'll start to face difficulty in keeping your energy par with the enemies. Follow these points in order to ensure a quick kill with Ricochet:

• Do not shoot randomly! In the middle stages, tankers can be seen randomly shooting at walls or here and there. This wastes the energy in your turret for immediate use - even that ten percent of it can hold the key to life or death. 
• Rotate your turret - simply said, if you're not rotating your turret while playing with Ricochet, you're using the wrong turret. Get Magnum; and get going.
• Use the bounce ability - look for new areas and points where you can bounce off your projectiles and hit the enemy. As an example, I recently found out that you can actually hit a person sitting on this platform via the wall, as I had always assumed the projectile would fly straight up instead of coming back.

 

 

12. Falling Down

 

Let's get this topic over with quickly and move onto the next section, since this is both very easy to understand and perform in a battle. Basically, there's three types of ways you can fall down from an elevated point in a battle.

 

Type I:

 

CCTV captures alarming footage of a Wasp flipping while the passer-by supposedly takes a selfie...

Should barriers be added in this map too? Vote here!

 

Type II:

 

Another way to fall down is to simply waltz off a bridge like there's an invisible platform ahead of you. Most of the time, this is not going to work, especially if you are too high. 

 

Type III:

 

The last way, as shown in the video, is to turn your hull in the direction of your fall as you're falling down. So if you're falling towards the left, turn to the left in mid-air, and the same goes for right. This will make your hull able to cope with the horizontal drag at the same times as gravity pulls you down, making for a safe landing.

[Hex 11,520]

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Section IV: Secondaries

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13. Predicting Enemy Movements

 

Here, you will be able to find a few ways to overcome your opponents by predicting their usual movements. In other words, most of the players do the same action in some situation. This is how you overcome these actions.

 

 

Avoiding Defenders

 

Usually, when you take enemy flag, the defenders will try to block you. You should avoid it, but how? First, before you even take the flag try to imagine the way you escape the base. Find a place where you'll be able to run before a defender gets in your way.

 

 

Successfully Penetrating a Defensive Enemy Base

 

You must have been in a situation where the enemy base was impenetrable. That's at least what you thought. First thing first, never attack alone. If you attack alone, you'll be taken down very quickly. Secondly, attack when opponents don't have drugs. Don't rush, be patient and wait for the right moment. Last but most importantly, make sure you have the right protection module!

 

 

The Lone Wolf - Defending

 

Facing professional attackers is a hard task, and in many cases, you may find yourself defending alone against two attackers or more. But don't worry, everything in life has a solution. The most important thing is to block the flag with your own tank, delay the attackers as much as you can and don't move from your spot. Make sure you shot them while blocking them, it's very important to damage them. Last but not least, call for help in the chat!

 

 

14. Situational Decisions

 

All of us have been in a situation where we didn't know what to do, what is right and what is wrong. I am here to help you out! In this part of the article, I'll be showing you how to deal with the different kinds of situations.

 

 

Being Spawn-killed - Ughh!

 

It happened to all of us, being surrounded by a group of tankers when you didn't even spawn yet. What is the right thing to do? First thing first, always activate the Double Armor supply. The main reason behind such action is to heel the opponents, you shouldn't let them get away with the flag or dominate your base. Of course, try calling your allies for help!

 

 

Hold the Space Key!

 

In many cases, you are about to spawn and someone is near to you. You may not know it, but you can take advantage of it! This is very effective for Thunder, Smoky, Ricochet, Hammer and pro Railgun players. When you spawn and there's someone nearby, hold the space key. This way, you'll land a shot at him first and you'll have a big advantage. More than that, you can make your opponents Jaws from the track by aiming to the corner of the tank.

 

 

Avoid "Respawn Kills"

 

Respawn kill is when you are getting killed right after spawning, mostly related to XP/BP. Most of the players do it wrong, they try to get away from all players and end up getting killed very quickly. The secret is to get away only from the strongest player, and then focus on the weaker player of them. In the end you will get killed, but at least you will fight back!

 

 

Hammers: Reload the clip!

 

Hammer is a very powerful turret, but you can make it even more powerful with the next tip. As you know, Hammer has three rounds per clip (five with alteration), in case you finished a clip you have to wait in order to get another one. Let's say you just had a tough fight, you managed to survive but you have only 1 ammo left. Don't save it, use it as soon as possible! The main point is to have the maximum number of shots before the next fight, otherwise you'll fight with only one round.

 

 

Self-destruct - GO BOOM

 

Did you know self destruction is useful even when you are not flipped? I will show certain ways to use this feature. You should use the self-destruction feature in order to come back with full health, sort of a "new start". For example, when you are out of drugs and you got to wait, self-destruct. May be useful for gold boxes too.

 

 

Dealing With Close-Rangers

 

The biggest advantage of close-range turrets is they are extremely powerful. But as you know, nothing is perfect. The biggest disadvantage is they can't reach a long distance. This is how you should deal with a situation where you fight close range turrets. In case you use a long-range turret and you face a player with a short-range turret, make sure you are far enough from him and then start shooting the player.

 

 

Being a Trickster

 

Are you in a middle of a successful attack and someone is behind you? Make him stuck on a wall! In order to prevent opponents to follow you, shot at the tank's corner in order to make them lose balance. While doing so, place mines on the ground. The opponents will have to stop for a minute or go on the mine.

 

 

Paying Attention to the Protection Modules

 

Here's another useful way to win your battles: Pay attention to the opponents' protection modules and change your turret in case you feel ineffective. More importantly, always make sure your wear the right protection modules. In case you are an attacker, use protections against the defenders. If you defend your base, take protection from the attackers.

 

 

15. Knowing The Map

 

There are many maps in the game, some of them look similar and the others - completely different. But we all can agree on one thing: knowing the map will help you to win. The main point of this article is to teach you about knowing the map, the information in this segment applies for every map in the game. We shall not take a specific map into account.

 

 

 

How to get to know the map better?

 

The main tip, and the most enjoyable one is to just play in the map you want to get to know, the more you play the better you get to know the map. Try learning new ways to bring the enemy's flag, new ways to land shots on your opponents and so on. It’s highly recommended to look at the image of the map you want to get to know better from above, all images of all maps can be found in this useful topic: Map Views.

 

How does it benefit me?

 

Once you learn all the hidden ways, spots and roads in the map, you’ll be able to overcome your opponents. It will be easier for you to get into the enemy’s base and get out of there with the flag. You’ll also be able to hide perfectly and land shots without being discovered!

 

Combinations - What do I take?!

 

As mentioned before, the more you play the better you know the map. While playing, pay attention to the combos players use. It is a very important parameter, even if you know the secrets of the map you have to use the right combination for the map. Otherwise, it’s useless.

[Hex 11,520]

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 Section V: Tips From The Pros

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Do you want to hear from the professionals? We contacted some of the top players in the game and asked them the following questions...

 

 

How would you describe the current gameplay at the mid-ranked level?

 

@Spy: I think most of the mid-ranking players try to play like the players they admire, who are mostly YouTubers, which is why most of them do not have a high level of skills.

 

@Credit: I would describe the current gameplay at mid-rank levels pretty balanced. I have played on my mult account, which is a First Lieutenant, and while playing in the match-making battles, I have seen that all teams were balanced and were pretty equal.

 

 

What are, in your opinion, the best tips for a mid-ranking player?

 

@Spy: The best tip I can come up with is to always try new things such as tactics, techniques, new shots and creative ways to trick the enemies. I mentioned before, non-experienced players are basically copying someone's else gameplay style, this way they'll never improve.

 

@Credit: In my opinion, the best tips for a mid-ranking player would be playing CTF or TDM battles in battles that have a lot of players. If you like to play with long-range turrets such as Thunder, Tailgun, Ricochet or Smoky, then use a medium hull with that and go to enemy's base and attack them while camping behind from a house, or some shelter that protects you from being hit. An advice for people who like to use low-range guns such as Freeze, Firebird, Hammer, or isida, use a low hp hull such as Hornet, or Wasp and go and try to capture some flags.

 

 

Do you have any specific or general advice for mid-ranked players looking to elevate their gameplay?

 

@Spy: Gameplay is something personal after all, you need to find your own ways to deal with complicated situations in-game.

 

@Credit: A general advice for mid-ranked players would be to use supplies effectively which would be going on full drugs to take a flag and capture it, instead of going with no drugs at all and being killed right away. If you have no drugs, you can pick them up and go ahead and attack! Try to camp beside a house or something that will help you survive, while attacking most of the team, if you are left on low hp.

 

Another advice would be to save up on kits instead of buying guns separately which will cost you more. If you are micro-upgrading a turret, don't waste crystals by speeding up the micro-upgrade since it will cost you double the value of a gun when you have the rank to buy it. 

 

 

Finally, sum up your main advice for the mid-ranked players in one sentence!

 

@Spy: Aspire to be better, and yourself.

 

@Credit: Save up for big sales, play with friends, and have fun! Good luck to you all!

 

 

Thank you all for participating in the interview!

[Hex 11,520]

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 Bonus Section VI: Mini Contest

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Tankers! I hope that you learned something new and handy from the article. In order to end your experience with something cool and challenging, we decided to make a mini-contest related to the article - consider it a cherry on the top.

 

Do you have any tips or tricks for the middle-ranked played of your own? Then share one of them with us down below in the article for a chance to win some crystals!

 

Requirements:

• Entrants must be ranked between Warrant Officer 1 and Brigadier.
• Entries must be posted in this topic.
• The contest will close on November 20th, 2018 - after this deadline, no more entries will be accepted.

Entries will be judged by the quality of the tip, its uniqueness and use in battles. You may attach an image or any other media with your entry to properly convey its meaning.

 

Prizes:

 

1st Place - 25 000 

2nd Place - 15 000 
3rd Place - 10 000 

Consolation prizes of 5 000  may be awarded to deserving entries.

 

Good luck!

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Coming up!

 

We will explore the new worlds of Overdrives, drones and alterations in the next few installments of the series - and we promise, we wont procrastinate this time! These will be important articles as the topics they'll explore will be relatively new to the game and the meta. We hope you stick around!

 

I'll end with what GoldRock said in the end of the first article...

 

Don't forget the importance of being aware of how to approach general gameplay. Hopefully, this article provided some useful advice and background about this for you to take away and apply in your own battles. If you play smart, you'll be successful even without lots of supplies or the best equipment!

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Thank you for reading, we hope you enjoyed this article! If you have any suggestions or opinions about this article, please do post below. We'll be reading and evaluating!

 

See you in the next one!

 

Oh, thank you Spy for helping out with some of the many segments in the article.

 

[Mustard 531]

Just finished giving this one a read.Nice and lengthy article you came up with. Happy to see you bringing an old series back to life, this level of detail will greatly help mid-rankers in the game struggling in battles and what to buy.

 

I thank everyone who has contributed to this article too.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Mustard

[Jade 1,420]

Definitely enjoyed reading this! It's amazing that you've been able to target such a broad audience this time, the newest and least experienced tankers will definitely benefit from this, but at the same time, even the most experienced tankers will love reading it! Everything was broken down so accurately, with so much information you managed to stay very organized, I love the sections!

 

The level of detail in this guide is absolutely stunning, reading through it was great and I felt like I was still learning things even after playing this game for so long but I've always been a mult anyway :x

 

Great to see this series is back <3

Edited November 3, 2018 by Jade

[MSI 1,926]

Good job Hexed. The presentation on this is God level, and yes, I was surprised by this. This guide will definitely help all the mid rankers who are stuck and need some help out there.  :wub:

[GrandExecutioner 1,403]

Amazing detail!

[Metacom3 13]

2 Tips for contest: 

 

1. Don't be greedy with the supplies. If a teammate has more health than you, then let them take the buff. Or if they have lower health than you, let them have the repair kit. 

 

Another note, you should always let the Isida's on your team take the repair kits. They cannot heal themselves, but they can heal you. Be nice to them, 

 

2. My best tip. If you have the flag/ball, low health, and you're being chased by enemies, drop the flag, then back up towards the enemies. You will die because of this, but your "dead" tank will slow the enemies down. All the while a teammate who was in front of you has grabbed the flag and made a getaway. 

 

 

Nice article by the way :)

Edited November 6, 2018 by Metacom3

[Person_Random 4,991]

Be yourself, don't try to emulate an esports player and try xp/bp or some format because first, if you aren't good at it, people will just laugh as they blow you over easily and also, it makes you feel bad about yourself and get discouraged.  And also, teams get more and more rigged as you go higher up.

 

For hornet users: Don't have a slow computer when using hornet because you could get stopped by Godmode for a DUI.  (He's really desperate to ban people so he doesn't have to drop as many black boxes this friday)

[C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R 3,845]

Oof. Memories

Edited November 19, 2018 by C.O.N.Q.U.E.R.O.R

[Rocket_Raccoon_XXX 1,507]

:wub:

[Dayfly 22]

My best tip? If I see an Isida on my team taking shots from a long or mid-range attacker then I try get between them as fast as possible. Usually I'm equipped with Smoky/Titan so it's not always such a bad strategy and I like Isida players (on my team).

 

Another tip: I always try to remember that acts of kindness will be repaid. Maybe not in the current battle or the next but in time, every act of goodwill and good sportsmanship will benefit the whole community.

 

My last tip: sometimes I act bad. I shouldn't.

Edited November 20, 2018 by Dayfly

[Best_of_thunder_2015 1,354]

My best tip ?

 

When you are sure about not getting gold, just take it as advantage and wait for the tanks to pile up. At right moment, give a shot and take the kills. Works well with magnum.

[Person_Random 4,991]

Found some typos... feels bad.

[Guest]

The last time a Mid Ranker's Handbook came out was... when I was a Mid Ranker 

[thethiefofvictory 339]

The last time a Mid Ranker's Handbook came out was... when I was a Mid Ranker 

Same here too :lol:

 

It does feel nice to see three different old series revived in the same issue, too...

[3dL 454]

cool

:wub: