If you assume a one-shot-kill at any rank over WO1 you are usually in trouble with Railgun. Nice when it happens but you have to assume - and plan for - at least two shots; or as you say end up scavenging off the wounded, which is not much fun. Just happily won a couple of CTF games in Abyss where I was lowest rank (by 3-4 levels) with a Railgun - lots of kill-happy Shafts and Thunders. Biggest threat was a Field Marshal with an M3 Smokey.

Really - not noticed that at all - knew it was the case with Thunder but thought Railgun was unlimited...

I play both - I find Railgun is more fun, but that's me.

Smokey and Railgun are pretty even on a light hull; its generally who ever has the tactical/terrain advantage that matters. Head-to-head on open ground I'd say a good Smokey player has a slight edge at long and mid ranges, and close up its down to manoeuvring.

Um - did you actually answers the OPs question in there? :-) There's a lot more to balance than damage delivered per shot (or per minute) - like how many shots you can get on target before the enemy blows you up, and range limitations. M3 Twins take out an M1 Railgun at long range on a map with plenty of cover - I'd say 0% chance. M3 Smokey take out M3 Thunder at medium range - the maths I did suggested a 30% chance at best of a Smokey victory (on M3 Viking hulls)

How would that be fair on all of those who have worked long and hard to build up crystals to earn their right to M1/M2/M3 kit?

Ah - on a light hull, that is, and not when sniping. When you come out from behind cover, having scouted (with turret or page-up/down to verify a target, then yes! If you pop out, then aim, press space, wait on target for the gun to fire you are toast. If you rotate your turret to the general direction, press space, pop-out-and-correct-aim-and-fire then retreat, you are not. Stadium is a good example of where this works well. Its also effective at close range (again, mounted on a light hull), where you are getting a second shot in as a "drive by" against a larger hull or another railgun. The turret is usually still rotating to the side when I press fire, and completes the rotation to the target as the railgun discharges.

What hull do you prefer (or have at a high level)? I'd go Thunder for a medium hull, Railgun if you prefer light. With Thunder, you'll find people tend to race to get close so that the splash damage hits you as well - light hull means you suicide a lot. With Railgun, you need "pop-up" tactics because of the recharge time - medium hull means you are a target for longer.

Good "jack of all trades" weapon - you can use it at long, medium and short ranges as long as you are smart. Takes some practice though - the delay allows you to adopt a "fire-then-aim" approach which is a little weird to get used to...

If you live in the US, then I'd like to say "hello" from all of us already in tomorrow!

I used to see it a fair bit at my rank(!) and it could be good fun to play (for Railgun!) - that is until everyone would turn up with Freeze and play defensively. With the Freeze nerfing that might have panned out... I miss Gallery more, though - the sheer variation on attack routes combined with their length made it feel like a sport, and the little "tip up" ramps to help you shoot down snipers were a nice feature.

As other people have commented, that's a refund, not a rebalance. I think that a "no penalty" refund wouldn't work - as within 6 months you'd have another crop of players who have made bad choices and want the same. I am growing more attached to the idea of "selling back" items with a 30-40% mark-down on what you paid for it, however. That said - both have been raised many, many times and so I suspect it will never happen.

Sounds a good idea - but in practice you'd see the hackers change tactics; they'd set up loads of low-level accounts to hack with and then have their friend's report them to gain points...

I liked them both - but Crash felt a bit uneven in CTF.

In 8 seconds of shooting: - M2 Smokey gets off 4 rounds getting a 25% chance of at least one critical - M3 Smokey gets off 5 rounds getting a 35% chance of at least one critical So - from a one-in-four chance to a better than a one-in-three, which should be very noticeable.

It's not just about turrets - it's about a turret-hull-pain combination that suits both the map and your playing style. The "charge-down-Thunder-to-make-it-suicide" tactic is countered by (say) a paint with Thunder protection, and maps that are better for mid-range combat.

Is it more important that you get all of your purchases refunded, or more important to you to change the hulls, turrets and paints? Personally I like the fact we no longer have Tier1/2 hulls and turrets, and each weapon has a strong specialisation. It increased the challenge and variation of game play significantly. The changing "trends" in hulls/turrets as people find good combinations is particularly cool.

Always good to keep an open mind on these things - but as they saying goes, not so open that your brains fall out entirely.

They are probably just kids, by which I mean 6-10 years old or less. They are usually pretty good at 2D games or those with automated opposition but struggle more with 3D stuff, real opponents and of course strategic/tactical thinking. Unless they are Ender Wiggin.

I would have through more votes for Thunder and Shaft based on what I see at the moment. Weird.

1990 VW Golf Mk2 1.8CL. Still miss it. And that's probably why I prefer a Hornet hull too - its a bit like my old Golf.

I got all excited by the topic title then realised you meant "Self Destruct Button in Tanki for Mac Users"; shame - had a great mental picture of a someone hitting a key combination and having their Mac explode. Or themselves. :D

If you really think that all Muslims are Arabs (they are not) or all Arabs are Muslim (also not true) then perhaps you should take your own advice and read a little more widely.

If you have a real issue then you should post it on complaints or contact a moderator directly via PM. If you are just posting to cause trouble or to score points, then please stop.

First time in months I have had an issue and suddenly its pretty horrible on a lot of servers...