...after using it further on the test server, I now think that this thing isn't half bad. Mounted on a Hunter, you can provide lots of covering fire for your teammates from a distance while running away from enemies that you don't want to engage. The damage is a bit weaker than I think it should be, but I suppose a few micro-upgrades will fix that. I'll consider getting it on the next sale.

Ever heard of @SmexyGiraffe? She's a specialist with using Shaft that way. Does pretty well with it too.

I prefer the keyboard. I'm not used to mouse controls in general, so this will take some getting used to.

I saw a 1st Lieutenant with M0 Hornet, M1 Ricochet, and Carbon yesterday. He didn't turn his turret either. I'm not sure what to think of it.

Get M1 Hunter. You definitely won't regret it. It goes well with just about everything, especially your Smoky. Don't bother with M0 Hornet- it's probably the worst hull you can use at your rank, since it's not particularly fast and it's quite weak. Besides, a M1/M1 combo will always be better than a M1/M0 combo.

If there are Twins and Firebirds around, stick it on a Wasp, attack them when they're not looking, and run away. They won't be able to catch you, and you can finish them off from a safe distance.

The power parameter shows how much acceleration your tank has, i.e. the time it takes for it to reach top speed. Upgrading it will let you accelerate faster and push tanks better.

The long reload is there for balance reasons. It would be too powerful if it reloaded more quickly.

Probably not, unless you want camouflage. Digital blends in very well with grass and mud environments, while Tundra is better for winter maps. If you don't care about camouflage, Digital would probably not be a good purchase.

Alright. I'll shoot for Digital when the next sale comes. Lead is still my favorite camouflage paint for green maps, but let's face it, 18% Shaft protection isn't going to cut it at high ranks. :P I have no need for Spark since I already have Desert. They have about the same amount of Ricochet protection, and I find that the 10-15% protections that Spark offers are negligible.

M2 Freeze isn't that bad. Use it for defending flags or for running around with a light hull. I've seen plenty of players use it effectively, so while it might not be the best M2 around, it's still useable. M2 Hunter/Rail seems to be about as good as the M1 version, but keep in mind that M2 Hunter isn't quite on the same level as M2 Viking. Stick some micro-upgrades on the health and/or speed if you want to keep up with the later M2s.

Is M2 Hammer any good? It seems like a pretty good turret, but I've never used Hammer myself on the main servers. How about Digital paint? I already have plenty of Railgun protection with my other paints, but I want a solid paint that camouflages well with trees and grass.

Hazel said that the dev team is working on fixing that bug. He said it was probably caused by the engine updates, since it wasn't there during testing. It should be gone by next week. Hmph, I'm reconsidering M2 Vulcan now. While it initially seemed pretty strong, the DPS really isn't that impressive now that I think of it. If it doesn't get buffed, I'll probably buy something else.

Not that OP when you consider that druggers can wait until you have one shot left and use a health kit. If you can't run away, you're toast. The damage at range is pretty bad too when you factor in the rather slow rate of fire and long reload.

Quick announcement: plagiarism might be an issue here. If you see or suspect that somebody's been copying the work of others, send me a private message with the name of the person, a link to their post, and some proof if you can provide it. I'll go over your report and take action if necessary. For example, if ExampleUser copied the Siege Tank from Starcraft, you could send me a PM saying "ExampleUser copied his tank from somewhere else, here's his post [link], here's the tank he copied [link to a picture of the Siege Tank]". I would then review ExampleUser's submission and compare it to the Siege Tank. If there's blatant plagarism, I'd disqualify ExampleUser. If it's obvious but not quite blatant, I'd ask him to change his submission. I'm already patrolling this thread, but there's only so much one person can do, considering how many submissions there are. I'd really appreciate it if you could patrol for plagiarism if you have the time. Thanks!

Part 5 Remnant Alex and the stranger traversed the unforgiving landscape. He still had no idea where he was going. "She said it was some base...are they military? No, wait, that's impossible, the military was destroyed. So who are these people?", he thought. "I don't think any of the other families would be behind this...who else have I seen around here?" He stopped in his tracks. "Maybe some other group of people that we haven't met yet?" "Go on, move", said the stranger. "What, did you step on a snail? We don't have all day. Or night, as the case might be." Alex started walking again. "Gah, no use thinking about that." They walked down a rocky slope and into a grove of bushes. The area was illuminated with moonlight. A few old apple trees still stood, the leaves withered and small, but still growing. "This looks like the old orchard I used to go to as a kid", Alex thought. "I'm surprised that the trees are still here." He spotted a small apple on the tip of a gnarled branch, and paused his march to pick it. After wiping away the dust, it was a shiny dark red. He took a bite, and it was sweet and crisp. It reminded him of long summer days spent roaming the orchard and the surrounding forests, playing among the bushes, stealing apples from the trees, and lying on the green grass. He smelled the scent of wildflowers, felt sunlight dancing on his face, and the cool breeze from the mountains. But most of all, he remembered his brother. Then reality sank back down on him. His brother was gone, the summers were no longer warm, and the orchard was derelict. He went back to hiking and ate the rest of the apple in silence. Before they exited the orchards, Alex picked another apple. He again wiped the dust off and took a bite. It was sour. The two travelers continued hiking for a few more hours. They made their way to a small river, where they refilled their canteens. Alex glanced at his surroundings before asking "How much more is there left to go?" "A few miles. We're almost there." "Ugh, I need to take a nap... could we take a break? What time is it, anyway?" "It's about 3:00 AM, and no, you can't take a nap. It's not safe here. Wait until we get to the base." "Fine....if you say so." Alex got up and went to a quiet patch of bushes to do his business. The air was still, and he could hear the sounds of the creek and the birds. There was also a faint low growl. "Must be hearing things. I've never been so tired..." He returned to the spot where he had rested, but the stranger was not there. "That's odd... I wonder where she is. Maybe-" His thought was cut off. Invisible hands grabbed him from behind, and he was pulled into a bush. "Don't. move. There's a group of bandits on the other side of the river", the stranger whispered. "Don't you have a gun?" "I only have a bullet or two left. Do you really think I can take on a whole group with that?" "Just a thought." "Be quiet. Let's hope they don't see or hear us." Bandits were a common sight out in the wilderness. They roamed in large groups, scavenging anything that they came across and often attacking travelers to steal their possessions. This particular group was wearing ragged clothes and using only axes and other melee weapons, but both Alex and the stranger knew better than to fight all of them at once. From the hiding place, Alex's view was obscured, but he could see through a small gap in the brush. The bandits conversed in an unfamiliar tongue. One of them seemed to be the leader- he was using better equipment than the others and seemed to be giving orders. He motioned vaguely towards the bush where Alex and the stranger were hiding, and at one point looked at Alex almost in the eye. They seemed to come into agreement on what to do, and the whole group started slowly crossing the river. "Shoot! They know where we are!", the stranger whispered. "What do we do now?" "Here, take my gun. Make your way through this valley until you reach a clearing. The base is there. Tell them that I sent you." "I never did get your name." "You're right. I don't go by any real name- it's a long story. Tell them...a friend sent you, hm?" "Alright. What about you, though? Aren't you coming too?" "No. You're more important than I am." "What?! You can't fight all of them yourself!" "I can. Whether I win or not is a different matter. There's no time. Now, go!" He was shoved from the bush. The bandits saw the commotion and rushed at the stranger, yelling a battle cry. "Go, go! Run while there's still time! I'll give these bandits a heck of a fight!" She took out a knife and engaged them in combat. Alex now found himself at a crossroads of decisions. He could run home, but he didn't know the way and would likely not make it back. He could help the stranger fight, but he would probably lose, and the bandits would have two people to loot rather than one. The last option was to run to the base- one that he was hesitant to act on. After all, he didn't know what would happen there. He stood in his tracks for what seemed like an eternity. A final "Run! Run! Don't miss your chance!" from the stranger pierced his thoughts like a bullet. His legs started moving forward almost unconsciously. Alex was unaware of his fatigue, and ran faster than he had ever ran before. His mind was empty, and did not respond to either sight or sound. The sounds of the battle faded as he exited the area. Finally, he stopped. The lack of sleep and the tiredness of his muscles finally got to him. His body felt worn and broken, and he collapsed on the ground, falling swiftly into deep sleep.

I think so. It was probably meant to put down lots of suppressive fire from a distance, to keep enemies in cover and destroy those who are caught in the open, something a machine gun would do in real life as well. M0 Vulcan deals close to no damage against my M2 Dictator, so I laugh a little when I see someone try to shoot me with that. Especially from a distance. M2 Vulcan, on the other hand, is something to watch out for as you get closer. It eats away your health pretty quickly, although the somewhat low impact force means your aim won't be messed up much.

After fighting against a few Vulcans in combat (mostly M1/M0, a few M2 ones here and there), I can say the following: It's hilarious to pop back and forth from cover and see Vulcan users struggle to even get a shot off at you. Railguns will have a field day with this. Freezes, Thunders, and Smokies too. M2 Vulcan can cut things down pretty quickly at close range. Even my M2 Dictator takes quite a bit of damage from it. Damage at range is pretty bad, so it's best used at medium range. With the temperature update, overheating is a pretty serious concern now. I've seen several Vulcan users burn out from constant firing. Regardless, I'm still planning on getting it on the next sale for prolonged combat. Ricochet will run out of ammunition (and has limited range), and M2 Smoky is still pretty far away, so M2 Vulcan is probably the best option for storming bases through the front door. When you're doing that, you definitely want plenty of ammo and lots of damage. Hmph, I'm wondering if I still want M2 Thunder at this point. Thunder does have several advantages over Vulcan (peek-a-boo players will have a harder time, splash damage), but for prolonged combat they basically do the same thing.

Since the unlock rank for M2 Vulcan has been changed to 2nd Lieutenant, I could buy M2 Vulcan this very second! Well, that's probably not an efficient use of crystals, so I'll wait until Valentines Day, where there will hopefully be a sale on turrets and hulls. For now, I'll see if I can handle Vulcans with my (buffed) Ricochet. Shouldn't be awfully hard if I don't stay out of cover for too long.

That's not your picture. It's the Scoprion tank from Halo. Since this counts as plagarism, you have been Disqualified.

That's the Scorpion tank from the Halo series. While it's OK for you to take a little bit of inspiration from it, don't try to copy it, or you will be disqualified.

I used M3 Viking for a little bit on the test server. I still don't really like it; while the health and speed are good, it's not very easy to drive, and it's lighter than Hunter. I did alright with it, but it's far from my favorite medium hull.

Vulcan's probably a bit harder to program and/or balance. With Hammer, you only need to implement and tweak damage and impact force, mostly. With Vulcan, you need to tweak the spin up time, overheating time, cooldown time, impact force, damage, etc. It's a much more complex gun.

It's not required, but you can do that if you want.