I have a guide I started and finished. It's too big to be a tip sheet, but I decided too small to be a guide. There was another fellow here a while back that said he was making one, and given he was "higher ranked", I just assumed leave it to this person and let them do it. My style of game play is such that I'm not generally in line with most players type of play and objectives. That said, I do understand the strengths and weaknesses of Shaft and as such, I can write quite a bit about it, and if you go back someshere in this forum, I did some detailed reviews during the engine tweaks to the turrets and what it all meant for Shafts. The problem as always is time and resources. To make a truly worthwhile peice would require me to really dig in and do numbers and stats and take it all apart and put it all back together again and then present that data in practical application, plus the strategic and tactical application of the turret on the field. If you'd like I'll post up here the initial guide I made, though I'll probably update it if I think it needs it first, but know that it's more like hanging out with someone and picking their brain than it is a true guide. (And no, I don't have pictures, I suck I remembering to screen cap stuff, plus I don't have any software installed to do it automatically either, I should get something for that one day).

So this highly detailed and thought provoking comment is the stuff of legends. I dare say this is the real issue with Tanki and Shafts, summarized beautifully, if not stupidly also, in this comment. This is why we have lasers, reduced rates of fire, and an overall dislike of us in Tanki. People say this, devs, listen, they too seem to dislike it, and viola, turret attacked. The obvious intelligent answer to this post is to politely inquire as to this player's grievances with shafts, but we all know that is useless, I can answer that for them. In fact I will. "I hate shafts because they're SO OP. They can shoot me from very far away and I don't even know they're shooting at me sometimes. When they shoot me they kill me in one shot sometimes too. I hate that. I hate being killed by someone when I can shoot them." etc etc, ad nasusem. They will then go on to say that it's also useless for game play because they hang back and don't run with the gang up to the flag or control point. Sigh. I mean, what do you say to this? If someone is so dense as to not understand the value of a shaft and it's strengths and weaknesses and just wants to play armored electronic football, with gangs of tanks running up to the flag and then away with it, being chased by another gang of tanks, well, it's pointless really. There should be a combined arms tutorial for tanki that explains how each unit should be used ideally and why each one excels in this role (because it's not PAINFULLY apparent already right?). Life is too short, I rant enough about this, and I have work to do, but really folks, the next time you want to come here and say something about shafts, do so with some real thought, shaft players are generally very intelligent, thoughtful, and capable of complex analysis, and we don't do well with "I hate shafters" as a impetus for additional discourse.

There isn't one. Gotta just push through it. There are some FAQs out there explaing it in English though.

So this is actually awesome. Love the idea. Now, that said, I'd like to see video of these. Went to star ladder and could none. Is there no place to watch the daily cup battles? It would be GREAT game video, all the platforms in tourney comp throwing down. If there is such a place to watch, where is it, if not, any chance of us getting this in the future?

You are right about the hull armor making things different for shafts, but facto f the matter is, ultimately, dmaage wasn't messed with, but ROF was, and that translates less rounds fired, thus perked is a lie. Don't go apologizing for the sorry devs that cave to whiners. There have been NO PERKS given to shafts except better arcade damage, but then the took away the ROF, thus it was a wash, nothing gained, and in sniping, something lost. We've been screwed OVER AND OVER, and still, we endure. Lose the smiley faces and the light hearted excuses. Shafters are hard core players, period, and we so far have made the best of a bad deal, that's all, and we still know that this turret has been maligned, but it's still mean if you play it right.

Well lets be real, Brest was practically made for Shafts. If one teams has shafts and the other doesn't on Brest, the one without will lose. I love Brest. Long range open spaces and targets running around that rat maze, SO EASY to kill, it's like fish in a barrel. Maybe some shafts hang around and just pick each other off, but let me tell you, I relish to moment where I can cap a flag runner down below, and I am up on high, SO HARD to get to. Detestible, frustrating, onry, crass, cruel, and loving every moment of it. Brest belongs to shafts period. Now, Sniper/Counter Sniper is the game there of course, so that's why you see epic sniper wars. You need three at least up top to make it work. One to snipe flag runners, and two more to cover fields of fire of enemy snipers trying to pick off you sniper trying to stop the flag runner. It gets complicated FAST up there. Even up there you're field of view is limited and a tanker from one side opposite your area of attention is gonna pick you off easily, you're always partly exposed at some angle up there. Stadium I always thoguht was a little dumb, but that said, it was okay without lasers. Shaft+laser+stadium = dumb and boring fool's errand. It can be fun for a little while, but it just becomes how many can you shot after spawning before you're picked off. There is little to no real cover to use.

Dayyum. Polygon no less.

Shssshhhh, this is for us to know and them to always wonder.

Whiner noobs who could stand being one shotted. Druggers can't win when they can't find what they want to kill in the time their drugs are in effect. Even this way, we still make life hell, and yes, there is an army of morons that would love to see the shaft removed, but tough, we're here, and no matter what they have tried, we still manage to make life hell for ****** players that can't play in a REAL fight. Devs of course have NEVER been friends with shaft, so they are generally persona non-grata for Shaft players. We are constnatly under fire in updates and any decision that would favor a shaft or another platform, they always side with the other platform. In the last set of tank performance tweaks, they RAISED the reload time that has always been rough enough for shafts, and they did it to both Scoped and Arcade mode, and lets face it, in arcade mode, shafts can't afford ANYMORE delay between shots anymore. But whatever, we have still managed to over come, and in a strange twist of fate, I have noticed a trend lately that I HAD NEVER seen before. TEAMS of shafts, like 7, with maybe one or two other tanks, are popping up in games and THEY ARE WINNING. Now, to their credit, these guys really KNOW HOW to shaft, but it's been a week or two now where at least two games a game, I bump into these majority shaft teams. Maybe just once a day on occasion, but it's not rare anymore. They not easy wins for CTF teams because their capture count is generally lower than most games, BUT YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT taking theirs. These guys shut down anything, and I mean anything, that comes near their base. I managed to squeeze into a slot on one of these mostly shaft teams as an odd man out and it rocked. These guys really get the timing and nuances of running a shaft defense and flamers and freezes not with standing, overlapping fields of fire and some drugs unfortunately, and they were unstoppable. On that note, does anyone know who these people are?

I really wanted to argue this, but ultimately, I agree. Shafts shine best in support roles. Holding down the defense or clearing a path for the team offense is the best jobs for shafts. That said, I have taken lately to being a touch more proactive with my shaft during game play due to missions. HAVING to get the flag, having to play DMs, having to play on certain maps. Now, either you play on very small teams or you havea great team period, but medium sized battles are death for active map objective games, you're just dead meat. I finally broke down and bought a Thunder JUST to play on polygon because shaft play is okay (I'm good enough), but it was very slow going trying to complete those missions, so I just gave up on it. For the record, Thunder is okay, but it was clear to me that my decision to remain all shaft, all the time, was a good one, for any REAL game play, not mission accomplishment, and the support role still gets me second and third place, though since the last few sets of changes to shafts, that's harder to come by, I'm sporting about half and half 2nd/3rd, or 4th-6th in most games (drug battles don't count, I don't drug). The support role should have some sort of additional value placed upon in game play. I know, if I recall right, shooting and killing an enemy with the flag is worth more than just killing an enemy, but other than that, and I really don't know what one would have to do to quantify it, support roles just don't get as much money. Now, if you're a good shafters, the sheer kill count is enough to raise you up in game matches to the top 3, like I said, but still, not flag captures means that the top two get the lions share still, by a long shot. As an aside for support role shafts, try escorting flag carriers in to the base. If they die, you can grab the flag and nab a capture, that helps get you into 2nd and even first sometimes, if it's a low scoring game. Anyways, good advicei n the end, but don't discount the shaft too much, as long as you know what you're doing, you can do more than just pop baddies from a distance (though lets face it, that's why we love it, and it's always a pleasure to see that desperate turn and zig zag as we line up a shot, knowing they are desperately trying to not be killed by us for the 5th time in a row from across the map).

SO . . . . . Last night . . . Snowy Serpuhov and me and my lonesome against three. First off, I'll be the first to admit, Shaft is not a weapon suited to front line engagement, it has a role, support, and specific targeting of problem enemies. Read my other posts sometime about it if you're inclined. I digress of course. The truth of the matter is simple, Shaft, by itself, against three is simply a rough fight, and I normally check out of fights like that, real fast, but, this time I decided I'd stay, maybe some folks would join the team, it had just restarted. I made a b-line for their flag, grabbed it, took it, bam, captured, went back, did it again. Apparently the other team was hanging out in the garage shopping or something. They finally begin to appear. First a wasp/firebird, then a hunter/rail, then a viking/shaft. For the next 8 minutes I kept them AT BAY, and mind you, I DON'T drug, I on occasion might throw up a shield and I will use my speed up when running flags, but I never saw speed or mines as drugs anyways. IF I pick something up along the way, well, that's different, it's chance. The other team was drugging. I eventually got some company in the last 5 or 6 minutes ofthe game, and mercifully, it was rough, BUT, I kept them from my flag for about 8 MINUTES ALONE. Yes, thank you, thank you, hold the applause, no, really, you're too kind. Seriously, why am I bragging? Well, sure, feels nice to let the world know their rail and firebirds can suck, AND DO, when facing a skilled shaft, but the point is HOW I DID IT. You see, up close, I would have been hamburger helper, useless, just target practice, my rate of fire and my damage would have ensured that anyone with a DA would have me for breakfast. I had to get smart and use the shafts power to my advantage. What are those powers? Well, that's easy, massive damage and long distance. I was lucky, no doubt, I was red team, I had the high ground. I drove right out onto the left edge of the raised buildings and started surveying the scenery below, position your turret just right and you can nearly see the entire map ahead of you, left and right. If you scan with left and right constantly, you can basically cover everything and never miss a movement. Everytime someone made a break to cross the map, I popped them. Sometimes they when up in fireball, sometimes they kept going. When they kept going I knew the point of ingress likely to be taken and I would move to cover and catch them on the way in. Sometimes they died, sometimes they didn't, but that meant if they didn't they were still on the clock for cool down, so I knew the flag was being run by a ragged and beat up unit. I let them run. I took up a spot always where I could see where they had to cross in the open, and just waited, and sure as heck, boom, they were dead and I was driving real fast to go get my flag back. Once they tried to double team me (which in retrospect would have been their best option, they were trying to pick me off from a distance while one runner bum rushed the base), but a mine or two and a lucky DP in the bushes in the red base meant that failed too. So the lesson here is, even one against many, if you take your shaft and force people to play to the strengths of it, you can hold off an enemy for quite a while. It was nerve wracking mind you, it's not an easy fight, and I play to have fun, not just win all the time, and I can safely say this was an exercise in concentration and tiny margins of error, and it wasn't fun, per say, but it can be done. Afterwards it was fun, I got to see the scorecard and I basically took the entire pool, small as it was mind you, but there was a great satisfaction in winning that fight. Shafts are far from helpless, and for all you shaft players out there, just remember, play up to the power of shaft, use it's advantages, and you'll be very plesantly surprised just how well you do, even all by yourself (though like I said, I wouldn't recommend this game play regularly, it's just too hard and the other team was getting wise to how to beat me and they would have figured it out, ie, all of them rush my base, and it would happen to you too). And as a sidenote, ironically, the shaft on the other team was the only unit that I couldn't get rid of easily, they were pretty decent about using cover and finding the right place to try to cover their flag runner, so kudos to whoever that was. Alright, story over, as you were.

Is there a reference guide to what the old impact ratings were for shaft? If so, you could compare what it was and what the full MU value is, then you'd know if you could. I also know that I recall them redoing the physics engine a little in genreal if I'm not mistaken to keep rails from flipping everyone all the time, so there is that too, not even turret related, but game environment related.

USA all the way. <spoiler> Seemed like the place for this </spoiler>

How would you even confirm a thing like that?

The idea of "better" shafters might be subjective, but if anything, folks in here might want to vote on who they think are the best shafters, and then you could pick from them. I consider my self an excellent shafter, but that said, that's my opinion, my scores generally reflect it I think, but maybe ther are thosethat score much higher consistently, I don't know. The point is, if you're going to get other people's opinion, get the opinions of those who are regarded as good ones.

Wait a minute. Spoiled by what? All we do is talk shaft in here.

Agreed. The mothballing of players time, effort, and crystals (ESPECIALLY the purchased ones, I can be chunked, I have spent about 20 bucks, but there are those that have spent inordinate amounts), AND THEIR GEAR. No, that's just TOO MUCH. And Star Ladder, they are not going to get a warm welcome from the MLG folks when the platform changes so much that the next year will be a mess without clans and organized veteran player (they won't stick around if they get their hard earn garages trashed, be certain of that). Bunch of not so grreat game play will be somethnig to not wish upopn the viewing community. I have no problem with them changing it up, keeping the game play new and fresh according to a new platfrom, but it was clear the Flash platform was going to be concurrent and the assets not pushed out the 3rd fl window. You take people stuff and there will be hell to pay. Now, ifthe dynamic is such the equipment is so different that until people play they won't know what to get, credit them some how so they can purchase something after playing M0's for a while and pick something they like. Makes sense, I can see the dilemma. They give you the same equipment in a new environment, it doesn't work the way it used to, they raise hell, I get it. But they definitely need to give ranked players with equipment something to work with in the new Tanki world. This will bea a mes and TAnki is going to ultimately suffer from this. Players will leave, and then it's over. All the efforts for the Unity environment will be for nothing. I sure hope someone is paying attention in accounting and marketing, because while there are plenty of gluttons for punishment out there and sheeple, the moment you start messing with peoples MONEY spent, then you're gonna havea real dilemma. All the buyer druggers that have amassed a wealth of crystals drugging to purchase better quipment, they don't play for the love of the game, they are PUNKS, every last one, and they will be angry that they lost all their stuff, and they SPEND money. Now what? Yeah, I think Someone needs to really sit down and have a come to Jesus/Allah/Buddah/whatever "ah" with the devs and really rethink this, or Flash and Unity will all go away in one fell swoop. Good luck to Tanki and to the players, looks like EVERYONE has got something to lose now.

I want your shaft footage! No, I'm not making a naugthy movie, I want video from shaft players, game play, trying my hand a ta montage. It's a bear on my little machine to do, almost impossible. Gave up for now, but I figured if people could send stuff, that would be enough to put something together. If there are any takers please let me know.

So after few weeks of not saying much and just playing (not nearly as much lately though, just no time), thoughts. First, relod adjustment on shaft is killing us as shafters. D/L is really dropped, and our ability to really impact defense has been extremely diminished, and maybe it's just my perceptions, but it seems like the arcade shot has also taken a larger toll on the overall charge bar now, thus snipe and arcade shot are further and farther between now. I will say that the increased arcade damage CAN be useful, if your opponent isn't some 'roided out Christmas tree, which seems to be less and less the case. New camera is okay, I haven't seen much change in my game play per say, no complaints there. There is one thing though, the new camera view seems to take more frames per second, and I don't always have the best fps, so it can get choppy sometimes, dunno, it seems like it, that since the elease of the update my game gets a hit once in a while. Rico's increased range is ridiculous and they sweep for Shafts all the time now, you see it everywhere now, ricos on hunters, drving around, spawn camping and shaft killing, and at ranges that are simply too much for that turret. I can still pull off 4 or 5th, but 1 through 3 is very rare now, in terms of match rank. Earnings are really dropping and it's hard to keep up. Drugs, as always, are a death kneel to this game. Ruins everything, but that's a dead horse already. STUPID bug is still happening, needs fixing. In other news, DDSwift is a Sab and piece of ****. Chomchim too btw. That is all, as you were.

Agreed, I just work and have a lot going on too often. It's my hope that maybe we might makea Texas based clan, but not not the little kind of "just the number of players" type of Clan, but rather a clan that would have several sub teams, divide them up like real military might. Light units, med, heavy, and then maybe get teams to train in specializations and then take the best from each sub team and make a playable team later that "represents" for the entire Texas clan. Also it would have been nice to see this place maybe get more Texans playing together, but this place is simply not conducive to making real time checking for other players viable. I havea place, but it's rather low key, a work in prgress, but IT DOES work in the mean time, maybe we can get players from her to keep a tab open in it and they can check to see who is there and who isn't, player together, against, whatever. Here: http://fogofwarxxx.wix.com/fogofwar#!forum/c1r14 No need for an account or any thing like that, pick a name, log in. If poeple go in there and use it, then there would be people around maybe. You won't me there much since I really don't have too much time to play lately. Either way, I'll add the folks above and I suppose we can brainstorm of Texas sized ideas for this section.

Yeah, people just don't get it, period. Shaft is another beast entirely. You'd think in the higher ranks people would actually respect it more and be more clear on what the role of shaft is. You nailed it. Stopping those flag runners, parking at the enemy base entrance and popping the interceptor that is always killing the flag runner, just to then get attacked yourself by three others. Eh, who cares? Know what, we win games, whether people admit it or not, stopping flag captures is just as important as getting flags, and keeps the other team from getting comfortable and all hiding out in their base and defending, forces them to keep coming out. Still, those people suck, I hear you.

I am guilty of the Hornet thing. I love my my Hornet. It's fast, will take a full hit from some shafts, and it SKIDS AWESOME. It's really NOT A GOOD THING, but that said, damn I look good when I "drift" and arcade shot around a corner and kill someone. I'm all like BOO YAH! I' da MAN! Punk ash bitzs! (that's analogy for a rude and profane saying, in case you don't undersatnd that) Funny story. Two days ago I was playing, some rail in a wasp decided they wanted to sword fight with me, blue team, serpuhov. Serpuhov is MY MAP. I play that most. Decided they were gonna play ring around the foggy. It amazing to watch rails lose ie their cool when a shaft can arcade shot corners on tanks and knock aim off. Lots of going round in circles and feigning and 5 shots later and guess who was dead? Yep. I wqs loving that. They started going back to the sneak up behind me thing. They had been taunting with the standard "shafts are for noobsbs" and "shafts suck". Wasps should not engage shafts, EVER. They can be sporting DP'd Thunders, one shot, one kill. Heck I've killed sheilded Wasps in one shot, just a TOUCH of softening up by my teammates was all it took. I think we should start a thread of "owned nay sayers". Yo uloud mouth morons that come around and tell you all through the game how bad you are. Post up the end of game stats after. One guy had the nuts to say "See, you suck, your team lost." His DL was like 1.89 or 1.85 or something like that that. I had a 12 or something ridiculous like that. Someone should really do that, keep track of reality of games.

A four shaft plus defense, with one mobile short range defender is really a bear. When shafts know how to over lap fields of fire, aggresors are the ones thrown into chaos as they don't know which shaft to shoot first. Isidia in the base and it's damn near impossible to dislodge them without shafts on your team, like you did. I was playing last night and tey had two mammoths, one shaft, another rico, and then two other shafts on vikings, talk about hell to pay. They won, not by much, but yeah, it's all we could do to keep the score respectable. Shaft defenses are hated for a reason. I'm happy with that too, like earning my points.

My gripe here is that people think that shafts magically just put the cross hairs on something and boom, dead. You should well know, targets aren't sitting around waiting to be shot. Very often we're stuck having to time shots as we wait for that precious moment when we see them passing behind something and popping out the other side. Now add the rotational acceleration of ones turret, terminal rotation speed, FRAME RATE glitches, and now you have a real task on your hands. Everyone at the ranks I'm at are VERY clear on the fact that if there is a shaft in the game, driving out in the open is likely a death sentence, so I'm forced to find targets sneaking around corners of buildings and running in trains, and then my team gangs up on them and one takes the flag, and I have to try to squeeze my sights in some crumby sliver of space to cap the one who just healed up and is gonna make a break for it, all the while explosions, teams, and other opponents block my shot. It's not an easy task, and one more thing. Faster hulls. I am finding the higher I go in tanki, learning the rotational turret speed is nearly most of my time practicing. The speed by which most tanks appear now in my field of vision is maddening. Hornets, and Hunters, forget wasps, I need lead on those nearly all the time, and distance so I can take advantage of the angular difference to keep up, just zoom by and if you're not explicitly trying to get them and actively trying to time them, they're very often gone before you can aim and loose a shot. Not saying the timing of Rails is insignificant, but the timing can be done while moving (Lord knows, they love doing the peek a boo alternative where they zoom back and forth between buildings and time the shot middle the space and usually nail me). I think that yes, learning to aim with shaft takes 5 minutes, being able to hit something later in the higher ranks is a frustrating and unholy endeavor that requires a lot of practice and and lots of patience, not to mention some luck. The lack of mobility makes taking those shots much more calculated. Shafts put down FAR LESS volume than any other platform, thus every shot has to count. I have been missing shots lately where before I never did. The speed of these tanks is mind boggling sometimes.You You say used to play shaft. Hit a game if you haven't lately with a Shaft, and try at your rank to rack up the kills you used to, you'll see what I mean, it hurts just trying to get the simple kills sometimes, forget about trying to get the important one to stop a flag rush or something of that nature in some of those games where the other team is mostly wasps running in for the flag. Drugs and Wasps make life nearly impossible. Not complaining, I love the challenge, but yeah, I'm still not convinced that learning to aim a shaft is easier game play than rails you learn to time. The other thing too, rails in M2 and above config can one shot me very often it seems. Guessing a lot of that is drugs, but still. So yeah, fine, not saying it's no skill, but the overall game play experience is difficult, and I won't make claims more than what I see, I don't play anything else, but it seems like shaft game play is far more complex than meets the eye and most miss that.

Update: Added new Member to the Texas Tanki List.