I should start playing with Titan instead of Wasp...

Gold before server update: Minotaur on alt: Hammer on main:

^Nice, I'm getting Hammer M3 :)

Easy gold, was in a 1v1 against some random M1 Wasp. I killed him when the gold fell, would feel bad but he was trying to scam me before. Was against a M3 Hammer-Viking for most of the game, but they left. That makes 2/5 for mission. Then decent fund (Wasp left after gold):

That makes one...

Well...

My little trombone growing up <3 Congratulations!

Thoughts on which is better at vanilla M3 - Hammer or Twins?

The alternative is to skip Rock, and buy Roger, Rico, and Hammer :D

Not bad for 15 minutes

Ranked on alt, lost picture though. Should I wait for Minotaur kit or buy Vesuvius? _____________________________________________________________________________ And on main should I get Hammer, Ricochet, or Twins? Going to buy Rock as well, but if Twins might not be able to afford Rock. I note that Hammers have a large advantage during golds.

Ranking alt up, ~10k exp today. 6k left. Got a gold:

Construct a simple lean-to out of animal hide, sticks and mud.

My congratulations to Ms. @Night-Sisters.

I promise you, you will be in for one of the most boring matches you will have ever experienced.

Excellent article, I expect to see great things from both of you.

Possibly because they were winners of a prior contest, and were *supposed* to have been published in the Dictator, but unfortunately a certain lustrous mineral perished before that.

I confirm.

The holidays this time of the year have always been time of festivities, both inside and outside of Tanki. This year promises to be no different – a time full of opportunity and celebrations awaits us all. There are many things to do during the holidays, and here listed are just a few of the plethora of holiday activities. So, as the quote goes: Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your (lives) holidays extraordinary. Participate in contests In 2011, one of the first contests for the holiday season was revealed – 20 Seconds to the New Year contest. It triggered a now long lasting tradition of many contests during the holiday season (many thanks to Bruce Lunga). Come 2012, the annual 20 Seconds to the New Year contest appeared again. (It is now known as 15 Seconds of Fame) By the end of 2013, a variety of contests had unfolded – a simple Twitter contest, “Where have I see that?”, offering 20,000 crystals for performing some basic tasks, and a new contest – Decorate A Christmas Tree, for which you had to purchase seven ornaments of 100 crystals each, yielding a decent reward based on your rank, and of course, the traditional 15 Seconds of Fame contest. In addition, a contest known as THE GAME started; advanced sleuthing skills recommended. It has since reoccurred during many other major events, such as Tanki’s birthday and Tanker’s day. In 2014, a few contests were offered – a Rank Up contest, where one had to rank up in a novel way; a Postcard contest – prizes awarded for those aesthetically pleasing, and finally, THE GAME. This year, some contests have already made a return – the traditional 15 Seconds to the New Year, as well as the Postcard contest from last year – on Instagram this time. Think yourself a worthy contender? Hop over and take a look. You might just be one of the lucky winners! I'd encourage you to look at our press contests, too. http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=297030 http://tankionline.com/en/2015/12/contest-on-instagram/ Play extensively During the holidays and New Year season, which approaches even as you read on, Tanki has always provided tankers with myriad reasons to play the game more. First and foremost, gold boxes with increased values have been a stable of the holidays. During the end of 2012, gold box values were doubled from 100 to 200 crystals. For 2013 (which happens to be the first Christmas event I was party to), there were two separate gold box size increases. In early December, gold box values were increased to 2014 crystals, as part of the “From Christmas to Christmas” event, where catching a gold box and posting a picture of it onto a special thread would allow you to receive an additional 2014 crystals. Later, gold box values were tripled to 3000 crystals. Most infuriatingly, I successfully managed to miss every single one of the many gold boxes I saw. Yep, that’s me. A defective gold magnet. The year after, 2014, gold box values saw a slightly lower boost, being increased to 2015 crystals, a rather fitting number. Holiday themed gold boxes fell throughout the entire event, but increased gold box values were only on three days. Surprisingly, I managed to snag a few of them. Secondly, increased funds also offer temptation for tankers. The values for battle funds are usually increased significantly for a period of time during the celebrations. In 2013, battle funds were increased by 60% for a period two weeks. Ah, those were good times – just my newly acquired M1 XP combo and I, prowling the battlefield, receiving miniscule rewards and thinking them huge, getting absolutely mowed over by druggers and M2s. Fun times. Last year, battle funds were doubled – but with a catch. The doubled funds lasted only three days, as opposed to two weeks. Still enjoyable and worth going into the game for, however. During the holidays, Tanki has also offered temporary maps. Come 2012 holiday season, the New Year map was changed from previous years, which had been a slightly modified version of Sandbox, to a ‘climb the hill’ affair, the hill boasting a Christmas tree on the top. In 2013 and 2014, a map that remains with us today in the form of Aleksandrovsk was introduced, as well as a racing map in 2014. Remember that holiday paint? Well, each holiday season, it makes the promised metamorphosis from dull checkerboard to a different, stunning design. When it changes design this year, be sure to check it out! Purchase many items Tanki has historically offered significant sales during these holidays. At the end of 2010, the first ever discount was offered: 25% off all garage items. Large scale spending sprees were provoked by this unprecedented act, although many now consider a discount of that size too low and not worth spending on. Another 25% sale was present at the end of 2011, and was received warmly by the players. An unprecedentedly large sale, 30%, occurred at the end of 2012, a gesture of reconciliation with some players disgruntled by rebalance of 17 December that year. The year after that, Tanki increased the size of the sale even more: 50% off all garage items! This was the first sale I was able to take advantage of, where I purchased the M1 equipment I had set my sights on, as well as a few paints. The holiday season of 2014, Tanki handed out another sale of 50%. In addition to that, an enormous sale on MUs was announced: not just 50% off the MUs themselves, but also 80% off speedups. I took advantage of that to bump up the statistics of many of my newly purchased items. This year, however, Tanki has announced that there will likely not be large scale sales like the past, on the order of 50%. While that has led to discontent among many, remember the old standard of the sales: 25% was considered large. I would be content with such a sale; whether you are or aren’t, is not my business. Spend time with family Lastly, and most importantly, the holidays are a time for the loved ones in our lives. This year, perhaps forgo Tanki. Travel with your family. Have a reunion. Be happy. What I do Alternatively, you can emulate me. Every time the holiday season swings around, I simply dig a deep hole in the snow, and cover it with twigs, leaves, and snow. When the danger has passed (i.e. festivities are over), I return to the surface. It’s an excellent way to pass the holidays, and should my prior suggestions prove to be not helpful, I’d recommend that you check this option out. It works for me, and might just work for you.

This alt won't be named... for a while at least.

I'm slightly confused - did they make it so that if you already have an item in an kit, that component's price goes to zero, reducing the price of the kit?

As far as I'm concerned, there is no significant difference.

As I understand, many of you out there are avid players of Tanki, operating not just your main account but perhaps a few alternative accounts as well. Through these alts, you can make more informed decisions; avoid mistakes that you had committed on your main… as well as a slew of other reasons. Perhaps you take sadistic pleasure in slaughtering helpless newbie tankers. Perhaps you are trying to break a cumulative D/L record. Whatever the reason, I am pleased to report that I do not have a single iota of interest in it at all. So do what you will with this guide – it may well help you, or it might not provide any benefit at all. The first and foremost item to keep in mind when making an alt – buy product kits! They allow you to access items multiple ranks ahead of time, immediately giving you an enormous advantage over your peers. For example, the Bulldozer kit, unlocking at Lieutenant Colonel, gives Thunder M3 and Emerald at a rank when many are still playing with M2 and M1 equipment. But how, you may ask, am I going to save up enough crystals to purchase not one, but many kits? Now we introduce the concept of a crystal-to-experience ratio. We wish to keep this as high as possible; how does one do so? There are multiple ways of doing so – we will illustrate a few in this guide. I. Pick your battles - literally Only join battles that you know you can win; losing results in a hideously low crystal-to-experience ratio for that battle, which is highly undesirable, second only to leaving in the midst of a battle. At lower ranks, choose long (60 minutes) battles; many of your compatriots will leave before the time is up, especially if the enemy team quits, leaving a large portion of the fund to you. At higher ranks, longer battles run the risk of suffering a raid, so I personally prefer shorter battles. As for maps, any map is good, but I’d suggest Polygon (CP), where the fund-to-score ratio is relatively high, or a large map – in particular, Madness or Dusseldorf. In Dusseldorf, the presence of 40 players means that over the course of a round, many players will be coming and going, making kills, raising the fund, and leaving without claiming their share of the fund. This increases the average fund-to-score ratio, allowing you to receive more crystals for your score. On Madness, players self destruct very frequently, lowering their score by 5 each time. This way, if you’re able to maintain a high score and not self destruct, at the end of the battle you will receive a larger portion of the fund relative to your score. On a similar subject, let us now discuss takeovers. When there is a team with low scores lagging behind a team with high scores, joining the losing team may prove to your advantage – especially if teams are small, and you have excellent equipment. The ideal maps for this are Hill, Island, and Ping Pong. An Island CP can be relatively easily turned around by a Twins-Mammoth, especially if the opposing team has inferior equipment/supply usage. Takeovers allow you to acquire much of the fund for less work; you don’t have to play an entire battle to get the same reward. Be warned, however, that they may consume many supplies, and when failed, yield a minute reward. You will also need superior equipment to commence a takeover, and preferably an empty team, or one with low scores. A takeover: We’ve been discussing team battles thus far. Now, let us move on to DMs. Deathmatches have a very unusual fund distribution system, significantly differing from team battles, in which fund awards are directly proportional to score. Consider the following battle: As you can see, the player “Mihail2365” scored over half the amount of kills as . In a team battle, one would expect the former to be rewarded roughly three-fifths the reward of – around 5,500 crystals. However, in reality, “Mihail2365” received only 4,255 crystals, significantly less than what directly proportional rewarding gives. Hence, it is reasonable to conclude that DMs reward far more than average for doing disproportionately well, and less than average for scoring lower. So, should you wish to receive a large reward in DM, make sure that your score is by far the highest! My final piece of advice on achieving a high fund-to-score ratio: play with high ranks. The fund rises significantly faster in higher ranked battles (which also leads to more gold boxes), quite clearly shown with these next two examples. The two players receive nearly identical rewards, but the Warrant Officer 3 scores nearly twice as much as the Commander, leading to a significantly lower crystals-to-experience ratio. If you play with higher ranks and win, this can happen: A fund-to-score ratio of over 1; relatively impressive for Lieutenants. Note that I have purchased a kit – Firewall, allowing effective competition with Brigadiers and above. This brings us into our next topic, II. II. Choosing a kit You’ve saved up enough crystals to buy a kit. Now what? As with any equipment purchase, it all depends on your playing style. If you enjoy long-ranged domination, the Centaur or Legend kit will suit you perfectly. Small map CTF? Jackhammer will be ideal. Take over an Island CP or CTF with drugs? Cardinal will prove to be excellent. In general, the attributes of the kit depends heavily on the turret they contain. As I’m sure you’re all relatively familiar with what the turrets are and what their attributes are, I’ll just proceed without going into that. The hull is not as important; for example, Hunter-Firebird offers relatively similar gameplay to Viking-Firebird. As I’ve highlighted a few maps previously in this guide, I’ll go over a few kits that do relatively well on those maps. Dusseldorf Although a large map, there are many corners due to the large amount of buildings, allowing short-to-mid range turrets to flourish. Around the sides, bushes offer sanctuaries for longer range turrets, which can shoot all the way across the corridors that cross the whole map. Turrets with damage fall-off (reduction in damage over distance) tend to fare less well. In addition, light to medium hulls tend to do better, as the scale of the map requires that agility be part of a tank’s attributes. Madness Another very large map, but with wide distances separating spawn points and little to no ambush opportunities. Damage fall-off again proves detrimental to certain turrets. Many sniping positions, bottom segment of map provides some medium range combat opportunities. Mobility is key for shorter ranged turrets and for some game modes, as Control Points and flags are separated by large distances. Polygon A variety of gameplay can take place here, ranging from long range camping to close range brawls. Practically any kit, used with skill, is appropriate here. I’m not going to point out any in particular, but I will warn you against using Shaft, which reduces to an inferior, less mobile version of Railgun on this map. The Very Small Maps (Island, Ping Pong, Hill) Close-to-medium range weapons dominate here; there are few obstacles to hide behind. Consequently, long range weapons tend to suffer. Note that these selections are by no means comprehensive; there are plenty of combinations not listed that work excellently on the given maps. III. A few final notes You may be wondering about micro-upgrades. For me, after the recent update, they don’t demonstrate an appreciable increase in power for the price, so I would avoid them in preference for saving for another kit. If you have an exceedingly large amount of spare crystals, go ahead and purchase some. And that concludes this guide. Play on that alt, and rule the battlefield!

I believe that 'fewer' is the preferred term, yes. However, 'less' is being used in that context more and more often in recent times.

A Definitive and Comparative Guide to Slugs Well folks, in the due process of exchanging insults via Skype chat, it came to the attention of myself (Night-Sisters) and GreyCat that we were both working independently on articles of the same topic. Namely, a comparison of Titan and Mammoth. Neither one of us was particularly willing to give up on the idea, so a violent duel to the death for copyright tenure was arranged. Thankfully, (for the sake of the planet Earth) before open warfare began, a certain Sith-affiliated reporter suggested the idea of a collaboratory effort. This proposition was agreed upon, and a temporary truce established long enough to write the following article. ** Mammoth and Titan. The two "fat guys" of the game rightly posses the reputation of being slug-like fortresses on tank treads. Going up against these chunks of flubber could easily be compared to an open assault on Fort Knox; neither situation has much hope of ending well. Thanks to their relatively comparable stats, it is fair to say that the styles of gameplay offered are similar – but not identical. This begs the question: are Mammoth and Titan interchangeable? Should you purchase both? If not, is one better than the other? Answering the above has extremely practical implications for the thrifty tanker ($$$) so without further ado: Statistics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mammoth: Titan: Pricing: If you purchase every "M" straight out, not considering the cost of M3+ MUs, Mammoth would set you back 324,500 crystals. Titan costs 340,500, a good sixteen thousand crystals more than Mammoth. However, price is only half the story, so lets move on to a blow-by-blow comparison of the stats. Mammoth possesses the distinction of being the most-heavily-armored hull in the game. However, Titan does not lag far behind in the hitpoint field. At M1 and M2, they differ by about 5 hp; in-game, this difference equates to the damage dealt by a single M0 Twins plasma ball. At M3 Mammoth pulls ahead more significantly, armor-wise. It has a good 43 hitpoints more than Titan, relatable in-game to the difference of a single M3 Smoky shot. Comparing Mammoth's speed to that of a slug is, frankly, a bit generous. If the two were to race, a slug would be the more likely to emerge victorious. Titan is slightly more nimble (if nimble is even the word to describe these hulls) – it tops out at one entire unit of speed faster. Though still slow, this added boost to speed may be well worth the deficit to health. It’s far easier to move out of the way of enemies, and you can catch up (or at least stay in range) when you are pursuing some of the heavier medium hulls. Mammoth is a good deal slower than Titan, so it stands to reason that it will have more lethargic rotational abilities. Holding down the left (or right) arrow key, it will take Mammoth approximately 5 seconds to spin 360 degrees. Titan requires four seconds to come full circle, which makes it a tad more maneuverable and thus easier to drive. This is one parameter where Mammy most definitely takes the cake. Flub-flub here is chubbier, chunkier, and clunkier than Titan, meaning that the enviable title of most-stable hull in-game resides with Mammoth. Of course, Titan is also an incredibly steady hull, and it is difficult in the extreme to flip either tank. Let's face it; if you're using one of 'the slugs' in a team game, the most sensible use of your bulk is to function as a pathological camper. (Hehe.) If you take a look at Titan's acceleration stat, you will find that it significantly higher than Mammoth's. Hence, when it comes to pushing, generally a Titan will win. This could be very useful in battles such as Island CP, where a Titan can push an enemy Mammoth off the point and capture it, or in CTFs where some fat Mammoth has decided to create a nest on the flag. As some of you may have learned in school or elsewhere, force equals mass times acceleration. Although Mammoth’s mass is higher, it is not high enough to offset its significantly lower acceleration, so this is one aspect in which Titan is clearly superior. In action ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Armor As a heavy hull, you’ll be one of the few hulls on the battlefield that can take a shot outright from a Railgun on double power. Given the proper paint, you might even survive a shot from a Shaft on double power. Think of it this way – a Shaft with sufficient MUs can one-shot a Hunter or Viking without a double power. This generous pool of HP doesn’t mean you can squander it. As a heavy hull with a large profile, you’re likely to be the target of every enemy in sight. You’d be surprised how fast a Titan goes from healthy to dead. The key to working with heavy hulls may be counter-intuitive – it is hiding – staying out of sight until the enemy cannot flee. More on that later. It also means that you’re well suited for many tasks that require HP and not speed – for example, sitting on a control point or the flag. No one’s going to get their objective without having to remove you, and that’s the hard part – you’re likely to win any duels against lighter hulls. Armament There are eleven turrets in the garage. However, not all of them form the perfect match with Mammoth or Titan. In general, thanks to their hefty amount of health, the heavy hulls are best paired with turrets that can fire continuously, such as Twins, Smoky, Thunder, and Vulcan. Turrets with ‘charge’, such as Isida, Firebird, Freeze, and Ricochet work less well with heavy hulls as they are likely to run out of charge frequently, drastically decreasing damage per second (DPS). However, there are some specialized cases with heavy hulls. For example, in small maps, putting a close-range turret on a heavy hull will yield disproportionately good results. Twins will also work well in small maps. We wouldn’t usually recommend Mammoth-Railgun (in our eyes, it is the most hideous combo in existence), but there are situations where it might be useful – for example, camping on large maps such as Monte Carlo. (Incidentally, Monte Carlo also names a method of statistical analysis whereby a random sampling is taken many times in order to gain a numerical result, for example the value of Pi. Not related, I just thought it was interesting.) Shaft used with a heavy hull can also be useful – it can lock down an entire sector of a map, especially large ones, and also win duels against lighter hulls at long range. Beware, however, that you also form a huge target – even at a distance. Ricochet and Hammer also have their uses on heavy hulls – in no-supplies battles, for example, where you might die before running out of charge, or simply in situations where the paints make them ideal. Mobility Suppose you’re using Titan-Twins on a larger map, perhaps Kungur. Do you sit on the flag to guard it? Do you charge out into the open, guns blazing? Sure, if you have a death wish. Shafts, Railguns, and Thunders will rain down shells on you without receiving a single point of damage in return. What you should do is to hide. On Blue team, there are a couple of houses that may come into use. Whatever; just choose somewhere that’s out of sight. Then, when an enemy gets close enough, slide out of cover, and unleash a barrage against them. There’s a good chance that they’ll be so surprised that they won’t even be able to respond. Return to cover, repeat. I know, it’s a boring existence. But that’s what you chose when you decided to play Titan-Twins on Kungur. Or Titan-Firebird. Or Titan-Freeze. Or Titan-Isida. Of course, there are some turrets with which you don’t need to, or shouldn’t hide. For example, there’s no point in darting in and out of cover with Mammoth-Vulcan while you still have charge; all you’ll be doing is decreasing your damage. But in the end, hiding will dramatically increase your lifespan. If they don’t know where you are, they can’t hit you. The same goes with any hull, but heavy hulls in particular; a Wasp can easily evade charges from Twins, whereas a Titan is going to be struck by just about every single shot. From the Community ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ a.) Which hull is better, Mammoth or Titan? b.) Why? @eragon33: a.) Mammoth. b.) Very slim difference in my opinion. Mammoth looks better, so I choose it. I don't really care about the microscopic differences in each other. @Yisroel.Rabin: a.) Titan. b.) "Why?", you ask? Well, simply because of it's better statistics. Although Mammoth is officially "the heavier hull", which makes it move slower, Titan is better at pushing tanks, which is better for golds. Also, Titan is longer, which can make it good for ramps/platforms in parkour. (Although Dictator would be the better choice, but that's a different story.) But get this, Titan M3 is 2,700 crystals cheaper than Mammoth M3. :o You can save so many crystals. @KillerGnat: a.) Titan. b.) Back in my nuggish days, when I drove aimlessly around with no thought for my own safety, I avoided one hull in my garage: the Titan. To me, who never looked at the statistics of any turret or hull, it seemed like a slightly faster, less-armored version of Mammoth. I held that view for months until some of my friends irl began playing Tanki. They had enough common sense to compare each hull and turret with its counterpart. Soon, they had both ditched the Mammoth for the Titan. Then, when I actually started doing research, I began agreeing with them. At M0, the Mammy is better, imo. But the M1's of both unlock so early that you don't really need to think about the M0s. When you look at the m1 modification, you'll see that Titan blasts the Mammoth out of the water in almost all comparisons. My personal favorite is teh Titan's superb pushing power. The trolling potential for it is immense. In addition to that, it's faster and has almost the same protection. At this point, all you've got going for Mammoth is its singular similarity to a potato, which, if nothing else, will hopefully do something to appease the gods of Tanki who seem to look so favorably on that vegetable. @yk88: a.) Titan. b.) It seems underrated by players of my rank, but I recently discovered that the speed of the Titan compared to the Mammoth is actually more noticeable than I had first expected, and contributes to the concept of simultaneous attack. Conclusion: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In the end, the question of the better heavy hull is for you to decide. Both have advantages, both have disadvantages - it is up to you to weigh these qualities according to your preferences. It just so happens that we like speed and maneuverability, thus preferring Titan over Mammoth. However, there is difference in cost to be taken into account; the varying ranks at which the hulls are available to be purchased at. We can only help you make an informed, decisive purchase because at the end of the day, it's your call. @greyat and @Night-Sisters