I have both of them and I love both of them, so it's hard to say. If you want to be an all-round player on the battlefield, pick Hunter, since it'll let you go for flags, attack, defend, and midfield. If you're not into flag capturing, Dictator fits the bill, since it'll let you attack, defend, and midfield very well.

The speed difference is quite significant in gameplay.

Not that weak. My (vanilla) M2 Isida can take out unprotected M2 Vikings in one clip, although it does take a while. The self healing usually makes up for that.

My Dictator is now nearly as strong as a M2 Titan pre-balance. Might be slightly OP :lol:

I use M2 Thunder mostly for Polygon CPs or Noise CTFs- there are a lot of bunched up enemies there, so the splash damage really comes in handy. For most other purposes, I prefer Vulcan, since there's fewer protection paints around against it and the DPS is somewhat higher. It's surprisingly good for camo-camping. While it's not that powerful at long range, it's easy to conceal (no laser sight or tracer) and is good for medium range harassment.

Even skilled Railgun players can have their aim knocked off by a Hammer or Smoky. Chances are, if you're at close range, and the Hammer/Smoky knows what he/she's doing, you are going to be in big trouble.

Most of your crystals should be earned from battles and not from rank up bonuses. If you play hard and buy items only on significant sales (ideally 50%), you shouldn't have a big problem with getting good equipment.

I wasn't talking about me (not a whole lot of experience with/against Wasp, after all). I've gotten sniped multiple many times in the Test Server while using a M4 Wasp on Nitro. Some people really are deadshots with Shaft.

You'd be surprised.

It is, but you need to spool the barrels up again after cooling down, which will add a second or two to the delay.

In all Metal Gear games, enemies will display a " ! " over their heads if they see you and a " ? " over their heads if they see something unusual or are confused. I think Hazel's suggesting something similar. I actually like this idea- it would help players of different languages play together. The only possible issue would be a lot of these little icons popping up around the screen, which could increase lag. If there was an option to turn it off, I don't think there would be any downsides.

It was his opinion. Also, Shaft isn't really a 1v1 weapon- I could probably destroy a Shaft with Isida on Monte Carlo in a 1v1 battle if I wanted to. Its potential is fully realized in team battles, where you can provide sniper support while your teammates keep an eye on your back.

Athena prowls the Shaft thread (and maybe stokes the flames of the great Shaft debate) once in a while. I'm sure she hasn't been hounding you personally. Also, I wouldn't recommend insulting other people by stating that their IQ is at an impossibly low level. I disagree with Athena on a lot of points regarding Shaft, but she's definitely of at least good intelligence and I respect her opinion.

Part 6 Remnant Worry. Fear. The sound of gunfire. Screams. Running. Hiding, hoping not to be found. Too late. Closing in. No way out... And then he woke up. "Gah....how long was I out?", Alex muttered while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He had been napping in a quiet forest glen after the previous night's events. A small, black snake slithered past him, flicking its tongue out while seemingly ignoring his presence. After getting up, he inspected his surroundings. Tall oak trees surrounded him, full of squirrels and birds. The ground was covered with grass, and bushes dotted the environment. "I'm actually kind of hungry now. I wonder if there's something to eat." He walked over to a large berry bush and ate the fruits. "I wonder how long it'll take for me to reach that base she was talking about. Wait, what direction did I have to go in? I think I'm supposed to enter the valley, but I'm not sure. Well, there's only one way to find out." The hike started easily enough, as the terrain was flat and full of plants. Alex traveled through both open meadows and thick hedges that seemed to last forever. "Who would bother building a base this far away from the nearest civilization? What was the lead designer thinking?" At last, he cut his way through one final bush, and a dramatic change in the landscape became visible. He was standing on the edge of a steep, rocky slope, the edge of the valley. A small waterfall was nearby, fed by a small river and pearly white with bubbles. On the other side of the valley, a huge structure became visible, separated by a flat grassland. It resembled a dome, but most of it was sunken into the ground. He could see windows, guard towers, and even an entrance to a garage. "I think that's where I'm supposed to be headed. I'm not sure if these people will buy my story, but she said there was someone waiting for me. Sigh, there's no other place to go, so let's make this quick." He crossed the plains and reached the entrance of the base after a fair bit of hiking. The large main door was closed, and there seemed to be no alternative way in. "Time to knock and hope for the best." Alex approached the door cautiously, but before he could reach it, he heard someone cocking their weapon. "Don't move", an unfamiliar voice said. "OK, OK, I won't." "What is your business here? How did you find us?" "A friend sent me. If you want the long version, I was escorted here by one of you guys, we were attacked and she stayed behind so I could run away." "I'll check with the boss. In the meantime, don't try anything funny. I've got a helper here too, and he doesn't like people who try funny things." The guard returned after a few minutes. "All right, your story checks out. Come in. I'll walk you over to the guy who wants to meet you." The door opened, and inside was a long hallway. The two walked in, made several confusing turns, and eventually ended up in a conference room. It was mostly empty, save for a table, a water cooler, and a man sitting at the end of the table. The man was in his early 20s, muscular, and had a grin on his face. Alex took a quick glance and knew who he was. "Well, hello. It's been a while since I last saw you, huh? I hope it wasn't too hard for you to get here. What do you think of this place?", Dimitri said. ".....you're alive? I thought you were dead!" "That's what I thought too. Had a bullet go right through my brain. Funny thing though, I managed to survive. Apparently it went through a non-vital part. The doctors here think that I might have some superhuman regenerative properties too, maybe a chance mutation from all the radiation around here. So, how is everyone doing back at home?" "Really? You step out of my life, our lives, for 4 years on purpose, and then you act like it's not a big deal? "Well, yeah, there's that, but...aren't you glad that I'm still around after all?" "You left me! Everybody around me had to go through so much suffering because you decided that it would be funny to run off and join some group of jerks?" "These guys aren't some 'group of jerks'! They're working for a cause. An important one." "Oh yeah? What kind of stupid cause is that?" "Alex, a nuclear winter is coming. All the fallout from the west is starting to come over to central Russia, right where we are. It's going to start in a few months. Once it's in full swing, it's going to be cold. Really cold. Most of the plant life here will die, and the people living in towns like we used to are probably going to die too! The scientists back here predicted this 4 years ago, and since then our group has been trying to build a bunker. We've gathered lots of people, and that bunker will protect everybody until the nuclear winter passes in a few years. After that, we can send everybody out to recolonize the area." "Are you insane?! Your little group has been killing people to get the materials for your bunker! They tried to kill you! I'm going to take a wild guess and say your hands aren't clean of blood anymore." "Hey! I've never harmed a living soul in my time here. I don't like them doing wrong to get that they need, but it's all for a greater cause!" "Is that cause so great that you can't notify us of your survival?" "They had a total silence policy about this project. If I told you that I was alive, people would start investigating what's going on, and they might have found our base. We're already at maximum capacity- the last thing we need is more people rushing here and trying to squeeze themselves in." "I still can't believe that you decided to do this. OK, you don't want to tell any outsiders about this! If I didn't meet that friend of yours yesterday, you'd have left us out to die! I don't know who I'm talking to. You're not my brother, you're a traitor." "Look RIGHT here! I tried to send for you because I wanted you to feel better, knowing that your brother was still out there. From that perspective, you should be happy! Congrats, you have a sibling again! That's better than thinking that I've been lost forever. You know what? You don't sound like the little brother I remember either." Alex turned around and started walking out of the room. Before he left, he turned around. "I wish you stayed dead." He slammed the door shut.

The rest of the year hasn't passed yet.

I love Shaft, but it is in no way the best gun, nor is it superior to Railgun. It heavily reduces your situational awareness and prevents you from moving while in scope mode. Railgun's better for more mobile players, has much higher impact force, is more suited for close range combat, and it lets you take better use of cover.

Glad to see this thread is still going strong after 5 months. :lol:

I haven't seen you using Shaft before, so unfortunately I can't call you that :c You'd probably be a good Shafter if you tried, though.

You shouldn't rely on only paints and boxes to win. If someone uses a weapon that you're not protected against and uses supplies to counteract the ones you have active, you will be in big trouble. There's a reason why high rank XP battles use few protection paints and often have drop boxes disabled; by breaking down the gameplay to just maneuvering your hull and using your turret, it's much easier to see who's skilled and who's not. If you're not skilled, you'll learn more quickly. I also must note that Monte Carlo is one of the campiest maps in the game, next to Lost Temple. One person with Shaft on the lower bridge can lock down all the traffic there. Sure, it's easy to get kills there (especially if you use supplies), but you're basically shooting at targets that can't fight back effectively. I don't regard Monte Carlo as a good map to judge how skilled someone is with Shaft- a less campy map like Kungur or even a tiny map like Ping-Pong provides a much more challenging experience, and you get to see how they act under pressure. Oh, and by the way, if Loackie can win in a battle with no paints and no boxes, it's possible for you to do that too. Try using them less in normal combat. You'll encounter situations where you won't be able to cop out by using supplies or paints, and it is in these where you learn how to fight the most. IMO, the aim stabilization doesn't outweigh the lessened stealth potential. I'd much rather revert to the old Shaft were I give the choice. Hmm, maybe the devs should make a custom version of Shaft similar to the old one as an XT weapon (maybe with a few downsides here and there).

It was implemented late last year. It's made Shaft less powerful, but you can learn to hide it and retain a lot of your element of surprise.

Could be said for any turret. I often see good Smokies send Railgunners running for the hills. :P

Most of the Vulcans I see (including me) take breaks while firing to cool off and analyze the situation. These coffee breaks only last for a second or two, though- after the cooling's done, we go right back to shooting. As such, overheating usually isn't a big issue, and Railguns generally won't be able to take down Vulcans in one shot. Situational awareness does tend to be a problem while using it. When you're in an exposed position, trying to lay waste to the enemy team, you do tend to get complacent. Once in a while, you get sniped by a Shaft or blown up by a Freeze because you weren't checking your surroundings. It's far from the worst gun- my slightly micro-upgraded M2 Vulcan can fight and win against early M3s.

Which is why I chose 1 million. :ph34r:

You can say that about any turret. I wouldn't be so confident. The players on the best Star Series teams (like those on Arcade) are extremely skilled with Railgun. They've been using Railgun for longer than you've probably been playing on Tanki. Would you be able to match then in a 1v1? I don't think so. I'm not sure if you can even match against some of the people on this very forum (I have several friends who are very good at XP). I use Railgun quite a bit (with good success too), but I'm definitely not a master with it. You're not high-ranked enough to play in XP battles yet, so I don't think you can call yourself a "master" with Railgun given your current experience. Oh, and I know some friends with M2 Smoky who would be happy to show you why a theoretical Railgun "hater" could still be able to defeat you badly. ;)

You're going to want to kick that habit as soon as possible. You will be in serious trouble as you go up the rank ladder if you don't make turning your turret second nature. Especially with a turret like Twins, since you have to lead your shots at longer ranges. People are often surprised by how powerful M2 Vulcan is. It can tear enemies apart on open maps like Berlin, Madrigal, and Massacre. Especially Madrigal- if you can stay on top of the bridge, you can fire on a huge portion of the map.