Congrats @Venerable. Looking forward to your first Newspaper article, we haven't had a new reporter in ages. :)

Very much agree. This is rather a chore, for people with lots of time on their hands or really powerful equipment like HI and drones. The overdrives mission could be somehow okay, but Freeze and Firebird missions, thnx no thnx. This is exactly why I no longer touch Firebird or Freeze anymore. I've seen maybe half the enemies having Heat Immunities or Resistances along with high FIrebird protection modules. I think regular player will actually have more fun playing with the equipment they like and let's be honest, you will probably even earn more playing with favorite combos than you would earn by torturing yourself with Firebird for six (most of the time) ultra supplies containers and couple days of premium.

It happens when someone claims an existing nickname of another tanker. Basically, if you are inactive on your account for certain amount of time that is dependent on your rank, your name can be claimed by another person who wants that nickname. The new player gets the nickname and the old tanker's nickname is changed following the example you mentioned. Nicknames Database Update

BTW everyone, it seems today's reward is 3 Ultra Containers again :)

The mission appears at 9:00 UTC, so it should be up in around 30 minutes.

Very nice and detailed topic from Vik, as per usual. I always eagerly check what new visuals you come up with and use for your articles to further support and explain the points made in the paragraphs. ?

Yes, it was pretty quick to finish, which is actually fantastic considering today is also the TJG mission to accomplish. I love low-hanging fruits. Got myself a nice Ultra Thunder skin from the container as well, so that was pretty neat. ?

If you win, not only it will be Mk7 on your Legend account, it will be also fully MUed as well. (I hope I understood that clearly from the last sentence of the announcement)

Well Tanki is definitely selling more and more power to the point free user has trouble competing. Gauss is definitely OP with EMP salvo, even regular one is borderline broken because of the sheer versatility it has compared to other hindered long range and mid range turrets. Let's not even talk about the legalized speed and jump hack called Hooper because yeah capping all flags in under 1 minute with Crisis drone and Lightweight is balanced yk. Heat immunity is also quite op giving Vulcan basically no punishment for holding down spacebar doing both Vulcan shot damage and heat damage. I mean, I find it quite funny and hypocritical how Tanki posts announcement like 'Hey buy this equipment for cash and dominate the battles on your own' but then runs experiments because they want more strategy by doubling HP of hulls and number of players per battle. Like what? Something does not add up lol. You can't have both strategical gameplay and overpowered individuals who can basically turn almost every battle on their own.

Finally, the day of MU sales is here. #TeamBroke

Seeing a well-crafted Main Topic sure flashed back some memories. :)

Hiya all. Wishing everyone happy holidays and hopefully a better, safer, and productive New Year. ?

The players' numbers must be so low they will soon knock on hell's door. What's the point of matchmaking at this point anyway? This cannon fodder is not so far from being the same as having mults on the team. At least back in those days I could join battles fairly quickly and pick where I want to play. Saddening and frustrating to say the least.

Hey all. Just wanted to quickly drop in to confirm that admins DO indeed get incinerated. This barbaric practice takes place to eliminate any possibility of confidential and highly sensitive information ever seeing the sunlight of justice that desperately needs to be restored in the admin community. I was barely able to survive the ordeal because of my highly resistant robotic body as well as the fact I come from the long line of mythical Phoenix birds (please do not ask how a robot can be related to mighty Phoenix who's reborn in flames for the sake of narrative). Hexed on the other hand wasn't so lucky and perished in the flames of oppression. The current admin bearing his name is merely an imposter trying to convince the community that everything is just fine. Please do not fall prey to the lure of becoming a Tanki administrator.

Note: Nonparticipating entry Yeap, it seems doable, good luck everyone

*starts sharpening a pitchfork

Hey all. How’s life treating you? I pondered a bit on how to effectively spend my priceless time and I came to the conclusion that the quickly approaching end of a year is a great time to rewind and revisit some of the old names of the Newspaper’s past. These guys helped to write history and I am itching to excavate their skeletons from wobbly drawers and blow away some dust from old memories. Here’s the list of writers in no particular order that I assembled after hours of searching through the archives. sonofchrysalis3 Active: Issue 37 - Issue 50 Sonofchrysalis3, also known as Stratus or shortly soc3 during his time in Tanki, was undoubtedly one of the most intriguing and controversial characters to bless the ranks of the Newspaper Reporters. His early articles posted in the Off-Topic section, such as “How To Write Well, on Tanki and Elsewhere” and “Playing Poorly? Here’s Some Things To Check”, were instant hits largely thanks to Stratus’s bizarre, but nevertheless hilarious, humor and persona he adopted on the forums. In fact, his writing was so perfectly stylized, it even scored the praise of high caliber reporters like GoldRock or Remaine (I would've given my left kidney and right leg at one point for that!). Hence, it surprised nobody when soc3 joined the Newspaper team some time later. A scoop of soc3’s unmistakable sarcasm Here, he continued presenting the sheer quality of his writing in different types of articles that ranged from deep, thought-provoking stories, to complementary guides and polemic opinion pieces. He did receive quite a lot of criticism for daring to take a side of development in the latter. Regardless, both his stans and critics would agree he had an immense talent for writing. Personal Favorites: [Issue 38] Gold Please, Admin? [Issue 44] The Dumbest Anti-Supply Arguments of All-Time [Issue 46] Momma Waited ‘Til the End Fen-Harel Active: Issue 25 - Issue 57 Fen is the first reporter on this list who personifies the “Golden Generation” of the Newspaper; a generation of exceptional writers who published in the mid 20s to late 40s issues and are perhaps the best known faces to the hardcore devotees of the Newspaper. Now, when you track his work to the very beginning, you will see how it gradually evolved to perfection. Fen’s articles are characteristic of great amounts of research and depth that make them an example even for today’s writers. You can also see how greatly Fen mastered the formatting in his articles by focusing attention on the most focal points by simply adjusting the colors, fonts, and boldness of the text. To this day, you can find plenty of valuable information in his publications. Personal Favorites: [Issue 37] Top Ten Tanki: ThugLife [Issue 37] The Secrets of Tanki Unlocked [Issue 47] Dictator Academy Students (DAS) [Issue 47] What makes a Good Reporter Application Night-Sisters Active: Issue 43 - Issue 60 At one point, #BlameTheNS was as popular and established as the Newspaper itself. If that does not speak for itself, I don’t know what does. The NS is one of few Tanki ladies that joined the ranks of the Newspaper, and I have to say her impact is certainly huge. It’s hard to find someone as consistent and well-rounded in the art of blending the I3anter and penmanship as the ex-administrator herself. I don't even know how to properly describe the sheer quality of her articles; words would not do them justice. I stand by the opinion that the “Adventures of the Nublet” and “The Pathological …” series are some of the best articles collecting the dust in the archives. You can honor the impact of TheNS by equipping her favorite, and painfully modest, Blue color on your tank which the old gang often poke fun at. Magenta also interrogated TheNS after her departure in his interview, so you might want to revisit that one as well if you have been swayed by the content NS wrote. Personal Favorites: [Issue 43] The Pathological Drugger [Issue 48] Female Tankers: Myth vs Reality [Issue 48] A Guide to Monte Carlo [Issue 50] Adventures of A Nublet: A Comprehensive Guide to Ping Pong GoldRock Active: Issue 11 - 15 / Issue 24 - 29 / Issue 36 - 60 Ah, the GoldenBrick. I am repeating myself in saying we have another influential figure here who left and joined the Newspaper more times than the rest of reporters combined. Gold will definitely go down into the history books for accepting “yours truly” into the Newspaper team. Mad props for that. But, on a more serious note, Gold is essentially one of the best writers in the Newspaper who makes ten thousand words text walls of information look like an easy feat. His content is a golden standard of what an elaborate article and catchy humor should look like. I don’t even know how to pick a favorite article of his, because they are all so memorable and expressive I can easily copy-paste the whole list. Let's also not forget his contribution as an innovative admin who modernized many behind-the-scenes processes after the coup finally succeeded in overthrowing the ancient evil admin tyrant duo: Lham and conan. Personal Favorites: [Issue 11] Ten Commandments of Tanki [Issue 25] The Dictator - Tanki’s Finest News Source [Issue 52] 10 Reasons Why Tanki is Good for You [Issue 54] The Mid Ranker’s Handbook: Gameplay Hex (previously "Hexed") Active: Issue 58 - mid/late 2019?, srsly no idea Okay, another person on the list is none other than ex-administrator, DestroyerPdox himself. To this day, I am gutted that Antartica left the burden of training the new multish admin that kais undoubtedly is solely on my shoulders, and then came back to snatch the post of a head administrator without me. Oh, the treachery! But to be fair, I have to give him credit for his work in the Newspaper. Hexed actually appeared on the radar as a writer around the same time as I did, and I always saw a competitor in him as both a writer and participant in the Newspaper contests. His articles are neat, stellary presented and informative so admittedly the decision to take him in was a correct one. It’s also important to note that in 2018/2019, his productivity and consistency carried the group and salvaged the schedules on many occasions, so kudos to him for truly admirable work ethic. Personal Favorites: [Issue 65] Top Ten Tanki: Things You Didn’t Know [Issue 69] Noobs - The 101 Signs The All-New Rugby Mode Three Strategic’est Shots in XP/BP NOTE: greyat Active: Issue 37 - Issue 53 Yes, even a stray grey feline was once a member of the Newspaper team. You can see how all-inclusive reporters really are. I think greyat’s contribution is a bit overlooked and he probably isn’t the first name that comes to mind when speaking of the legendary Newspaper writers, but I personally deem his work to be excellent. It’s often very concise, minimalistic and straight to the point, but at the same time it still retains quality and originality. I would say his writing is a good example of material that is quick to read and easy to digest. Personal Favorites: [Issue 37] How to Avoid Dying [Issue 41] Journey of a Tanker [Issue 45] Building a Powerful Alt - A Practical Guide hogree Active: Issue 7 - Issue 42 Behold the legend Not mentioning skitee’s lil' brother hog (surprise-surprise) among the best writers of the Newspaper would be honestly a disgrace to the list. Hog was definitely one of the most well-rounded authors, a pioneer, a veteran, and a jack of all trades. You will find everything you ever hoped for in hog’s repertory; stories, interviews, guides and humor, original series he came up with, continuation of the works his bro started, and perhaps even a thirty thousand word series about the History of Tanki. You know, the usual stuff. Heck, we even have to thank hog for giving us the glorious guide to eating chicken, which to this day stays the most liked article ever posted in the Newspaper. Hog is simply a legend and there’s like three dozens of articles from his pen proving my point. Personal Favorites: [Issue 18] Mastering your Tanki Keyboard [Issue 27] The Life of a Reporter - Behind the Scenes [Issue 28] Miss Isida Interviews: hogree [Issue 31] The History of our Newspaper [Issue 34] Generalissimo's Handbook - Month 1 Kevred Active: Issue 28 - Issue 41 Correct me if wrong, but I believe kev actually still holds the record for youngest staff member and he certainly won’t be dethroned since the age requirement has been raised to 15 and up. Despite his age, kev showed a great promise as a writer. His articles are topped with endless amounts of sharp humor and even his stories behind the Tank colors have been praised to heavens by the likes of hog. Age certainly did not stop kev from becoming one of the best authors and disciples of the l3anter academy. Personal Favorites: [Issue 29] A Sniper’s Sniping Spots: Silence [Issue 33] Bad Combos: Myth or Reality [Issue 35] The Story behind Colors: Tiger [Issue 41] The Tanki Online Bucket List: 15 Things You’ve Gotta Have Done tweezers Active: Issue 54 - Issue 78 Before the Newspaper had an excellent story writer in Hippin, there was someone called tweezers. Tweemult joined the Newspaper team around the same time as me (approx. Issue 54), exactly at the point Newspaper was going through some radical changes under the newly-appointed admin, GoldRock. Some of you will remember how tweezers along with Blackdrakon30 quickly became the prominent figures behind the newly established Amateur Writing Club (AWC) which was a unique new program that promoted the cooperation between “amateur” writers and reporters with the aim of nurturing new talents and giving the writing community a place for realization. While the fact that the running of the Amateur Writing Section stood oftentimes exclusively on tweezer’s shoulders is commendable in itself, what he will forever be best known for are his touching stories. Not only are they masterfully crafted pieces that will hit you in the feels, they easily go down as some of the best short stories to ever appear under the Newspaper flag. Favorite Picks: [Issue 62] Crash [Issue 71] A Rose in the Darkness [Issue 74] Stargazer Kirby2008 Active: Issue 25 - Issue 36 Kirby is someone I was contemplating to add on this list for quite some time, a bit of a wild card actually. Nevertheless, I deem his work is definitely valuable. His comparison series served as go-to articles for people who struggled to choose between turrets of similar parameters. Kirby’s Garage Analysis is one of my favorite of this series Another great aspect of his writing is the attention he paid to popular topics trending in the community at the time, like the review of a new kick system proposal by AbsoluteZero or the effectiveness of voting that was questioned by many tankers. Kirby’s writing is very professional and revolves around guides and reviews that are stacked with plenty of relevant information. Personal Favorites: [Issue 28] Comparison: Railgun or Shaft [Issue 29] A New Kick System: AbsoluteZero [Issue 30] SwiftSmoky on ‘Parkour Fighting’ [Issue 31] Takeovers skitee Active: Issue 1 - Issue 10 Unfortunately, I haven’t ever had the pleasure of knowing skitee personally, so the only thing I am able to judge him on are his iconic articles. If you don’t know already, skitee was one of the reporters who has been in the Newspaper from the very beginning, witnessing the days when Tommy60’s jealousy of the Russian Newspaper initiated the idea of creating our own English version. Not only was skitee one of the founding fathers, his articles shaped the way our Newspaper took. His work was so influential, that many of his articles and ideas have been reused and revived by later reporters for the newer publications. If you’re interested, there is actually a very good article mapping skitee’s career in great scrutiny made by another great author, TrinitroToIuene. Personal Favorites: [Issue 7] R. I. P. Maps - Part Two [Issue 7] Predictions for 2013! - Part One So there you have it, the list of some of the best and most influential writers to carry the Newspaper legacy throughout the years. If you ain’t on it then; hah, get gud nug rekt, d3s ... jk jk, no kill pls, kthnxbai Seriously though, this list is by no means ultimate, and if I were to mention all the great authors of the Newspaper, it would be even more lengthy and hard to stomach than it already is. With that being said, I think it’s important to give at least a shout-out to guys like Shedinja, Viking4s, Remaine, Trinitrotoluene, V’tando, TKP, Ilia.Archangel, S.C.Y.T.H.E among the many others who contributed their time and efforts for our entertainment. Regardless of whether some reporter is or isn’t on this list, know that the archives preserve hundreds upon hundreds of amazing articles and the invaluable work of dozens of writers who helped to upkeep the amazing project known as the Tanki Online Newspaper.

Not that I would be a regular player at this point, but I played a couple of battles, so I guess I'll put my two cents on this particular experiment. I have to admit that I am definitely more fond of this experiment than the last one. In spite of the fact that lot of battles can be still quite chaotic, and you can definitely get the feeling of being stuck in an ant colony where you have hardly any space to move or breathe, I actually like the increased number of players per battle. I finally feel like the maps are no longer deserted and empty and that there always is a target to lock on. But, with that said, some negatives are also quite easy to point out. The FPS drop and lag is noticeable. I am blessed to have a decent internet connection, but the lag is definitely there and can bite in the butt quite a lot with so many players in one place. The rank brackets are a bit of a yikes, you can be in battles with like Lieutenants or whateva, and although they can sometimes sport a fairly similar equipment in power, the difference in skill and equipment is still there. Waiting times seemed to increase, but honestly, I am not really that frustrated by it. I personally did not find those 15 - 20 seconds as awful as I expected. By the way, I am loving the older maps. Would love to see more maps back in the roster. In fact, I would love all sorts of maps back in the roster. Quite frankly, I hate the uniformity of matchmaking. I would love to be thrown in to a battle of 4v4 Hill or Deck9 and then something absolutely different like 8v8 or 12v12 on DeathTrack or Novel (that's just the nostalgia within me) The battle objectives could have been adjusted far better for the experiment, to be honest. In CTF, I did not find it so bad, but my fav TDM is a bit of a bore when you aren't spawned right from the start. You join somewhere in the middle, get two kills and the game is literally over, so you do not get any buzz from the heat of the battle.

Oh, the memories are rushing back again. Sniff, will never forget those many fun battles Flash provided me with on my pitiful old computer back in the day. Rest in Peace Fella ?

It's rather saddening to see the broken lightweight construction on this hull that makes it cover the distance of whole map in mere couple of seconds bordering the speed hack limits. It's basically impossible to effectively counter it in Rugby, Assault and CTF battles. Seems to me that balance have left the building and the attention is only being focused on spitting out even more updates without actually paying attention to how they will effect the gameplay. Example: Met this Yarik guy in two battles of CTF. Basically impossible to stop him in anyway since he can capture flag in like 4 seconds with Hooper. You cannot even block him because he will simply hover over you even if you stand directly on the flag and shots hardly ever connect with him because it's impossible to follow his extremely fast hull. Utter joke.

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. ? It was great to explore my feelings and thoughts through writing again.

Valentine’s Day, 2016. It’s a rather ordinary day for us before mom’s deafening scream starts filling the walls. I am running to your room to see her whole body shaking with pure fear as she tells me you fell down on the floor and aren’t moving. I can see she’s been completely consumed by the panic while I am desperately trying to attend to you. She was never really good at handling stressful situations, so I push her to the side. I can feel the weight of the moment on my shoulders. I kneel by your now motionless body and the only thing that crosses my mind is to perform the CPR. But, I know very well about my limits. I am not in any way qualified to help you. Mom has finally collected herself a bit to call 911. They are on the way but won’t be able to arrive for couple of minutes. You do not have those crucial few minutes, so the dispatcher instructs me what to do before the ambulance is here. I am trying to follow her words of advice to the best of my abilities, but the emotional distress is so unbearably strong, I can barely hear her voice at times. It goes on for what seems like ten minutes. At this point, I fear I am doing more harm than good. My shaking hands cannot bring you back. You are not responding. I connect with your half-open, dim eyes and see the glance of fleeting life in them. That look in your eyes is so peaceful. It’s almost as if you are telling me: “It’s okay, just let me go.” The ambulance arrives shortly and I am basically forced to leave your side and escort mom who’s unwilling to leave you, her lifelong love, alone with emergency workers. She’s crying. I am crying. We are sad, frustrated, distressed, and broken. But, these words are just that, a mere words. They don’t even come close to describing how we are feeling right now. I am squeezing mom and rubbing her back. I somehow must be strong for both of us. She is in so much pain and on the verge of absolute physical and emotional collapse. I am trying to calm her down and comfort her while listening to the voices of emergency workers hustling to save your life and sounds of equipment they use. I discern the arm pressure cuff, something resembling a defibrillator, the tearing sound of someone opening the protective packaging of some sorts. With every passing second, they are running out of options until around thirty painful minutes later, it is all over. You have left your earthly shell to venture to the great beyond. * * * It’s been four years since our roads parted ways. Actually, in a couple of months it will be five. It weirds me out how the time flies. Sometimes, it feels like yesterday when we were watching together our favorite football team and irrationally stressing about the match result. And then, I come to the sudden realisation that a whole eternity has already passed since then. I won’t lie to you. Nowadays, most days are good. I am slowly learning how to live without you. I smile, I laugh, I explore, I am trying to live my life because I am hoping that’s what you would want me to do. With that being said though, I feel a guilt behind those words. At times, I feel I shouldn’t be happy, I feel I am not paying enough attention to your memento, I feel your legacy is getting bleaker with every passing minute. There are days when I genuinely am upbeat about things before a shadow of uneasiness creeps into my mind and I remember I haven’t thought of you for quite some time. Nothing really helps to resolve this guilt. There are so many of your stories I lost in the haste of everyday life. I found them to be so boring when you were still alive, and it pains me I only realised their true value when you aren’t here anymore. I wish I could tell you I am grateful now you shared them with me in the first place. And I wish I could tell you those simple, yet powerful words: “Thank you for everything, I love you.” It must be one of my greatest regrets that I did not say these words to you more often. We have been so alike, and yet there was some strange wall of silent awkwardness that prevented us from getting closer. I think it’s because we saw each other as some strong, masculine individuals. We were both men, and men are different. Men are not softies, men do not share their feelings. What an awful presumption we have believed! I should have been more bold and say what a wonderful human being you are. As I am standing over the cold gravestone, the last physical reminder of you walking the surface of this Earth, I know I threw away my chance. But, I promise you this father. One day when my time comes, and I will cross that line between life and death, I will find you and those feelings and words will no longer be unsaid. ~Thomas Horak / GeeitsTom/AnxiousTo Tell Blog

Dicta is okay. Generally, it's a hull that can sink you in the battle or save you depending on what turret you choose and how you play it. Its height has both advantages and disadvantages. It can be impossible to hit a target with it, but you can also often reach targets that are on different height level than you are and that are completely untouchable by Hornet or Viking, for example. I agree, it is a hull that is on the more annoying spectrum in combination with certain turrets, but it kind of makes it unique in its own way. If you learn how to use specific turrets with it (Isida can be really hard to handle with it) or use turrets that go decently good with it (I like Railgun with it or Smoky) it can be quite fun and easy time with very team-focused OD.

Here are my impressions. I do not like Capture the Point much, and the Siege pretty much just reminds me of a painfully slow Capture the point mode. Literally the only difference is that the point takes eternity to capture, that it is reset very easily and that it appears randomly on three different places (correct me if there are more or less of them on some map. Dunno, for me personally, it just feels like an annoying form of CP that I already do not like much. And as always, right now 80% of players do not even bother capturing it at all, but that does not surprise me since a lot of players treat every mode as TDM.

Snivel.? Farewell Dox. I am a bit tired of writing goodbye messages, so I will just wish you a good luck at Uni and all the best in your future endeavors.