^ I agree, especially with the fact that with energy-based turrets (Firebird, Freeze and Isida), you can shoot the opponent constantly and not stop when they activate their Repair Kit, because if you keep firing, they will only get 1000 HP and not more.

Guys, make sure you send this in my PM. Entries posted elsewhere will not count!

1. Update your graphic card drivers and make sure they're properly plugged into their slots. Sometimes through shipping, it might get loose. 2. When you first download the client, it takes a lot of time to enter a battle because the cache hasn't been fully stored into your computer yet. Play the game for two-three days and it will automatically get back to normal. (This also happens when you clear the cache.) 3. F5 was disabled for the client. However, quickly closing the client (not the battle) and opening it again might sometimes lead you back to your battle.

These are not opinions, neither facts. They're statements regarding this update, which itself is based on changes to the Repair Kit. So you're wrong here. The older Repair Kit did do that, please do some research before you present numbers. That scenario is presented in an ideal situation, where all teams are balanced and not like one team dominating the other. And "impossible" is not in the sense of "you can't do it, no matter what", but in the sense of "very hard". If you want to know what I mean, try a non-supply or a "drug war". They don't need comment because what explaining does "50/2 is 25" do? It's common sense that if 50 is reduced by 50%, it becomes 25. Also: Furthermore, this article is not an opinion piece; it may look like one to you, but it isn't.

Here's a complete analysis of the Repair Kit if you want to see how the newer Repair Kit has affected the game, what has it changed and what changes could be expected. Also, lovely VLOG. It is nice to hear the developers answering players' questions once and for all (also eliminating any rumors and so on). Sad to hear that XT skins aren't being done right now (though I completely understand the logic behind it). Looking forward to the matchmaking system though :)

Hello readers! Here is yet another special article coming hot off the rollers; and this time, I was reviewing the new Repair Kit mechanics recently implemented in the game. Hope you enjoy this one! (Don't forget to leave your opinions below!)

What are your thoughts on this Repair Kit update when it comes to tricks that require a line of mines?

Updated, thanks for sharing! And yes, I also agree that the term and terms affiliated with 'drugs' need to be substituted by other words, such as supplies/consumables. It's a slang term after all. Updated and rephrased where necessary, thanks for sharing! Corrected, thanks for pointing the mistake out.

Thunder protections are widely used, and Striker isn't that good in this map.

Thank you all for your lovely comments :)

Last Tank Standing: Maximum number of people get placed into a map, battle starts with a timer. It is a like a DM, the last person to not get killed is the winner.

Hello there readers, and welcome to yet another special article based on the recent changes in the game. This time, I'll be going deep under the surface on the subject of Repair Kits and the alterations they have undergone. So without further ado, let's jump right into the article! ________________________________________________________________________________________ So what's changed? A lot; and believe me when I say 'a lot', I mean a LOT. What's more is that these changes have not only modeled previous strategies and unfolded them into new ones, they have completely changed the flow of battles, and probably even the main team strategies. Additionally, these changes also attacked some parkour tricks, making them highly difficult or even impossible to do now. So with that being said, let's take a look at the changes made to the Repair Kit: The General Concept/Working: Previously, when this tertiary supply was activated, it began restoring two hundred health points per second, while removing burning and freezing effects over a course of two seconds. But now, the Repair Kit instantly restores a thousand health points instantly and reduces burning and freezing effects, while restoring three thousand more over a course of three seconds. To make matters more interesting, if you get shot while applying the Repair Kit, it will stop working - that is, the process of healing will terminate, even if you see the indicator still flashing on your tank. However, if you do manage to fully heal yourself, the process will only terminate once you have achieved full health. Sounds intriguing? Well, this was all in the name of balance. Everything's cool when you're shooting other people and making them fail at using their Repair Kits- a.k.a all is fun until you become the victim. See the balance here? Changes to Active/Cooldown Times: Let's not forget here, the Repair Kit was also targeted by a balancing missile. In serious words, the developers have made the Repair Kit more balanced and have potentially eliminated the huge unrest of 'drugging' between buyers and non-buyers. If buyers have any real advantages now, they're from buying product kits at an early stage or things like Premium Account and so on. Here's what has changed: Active Time/Duration - As aforementioned, the Repair Kit now has an active time of three seconds. A thousand health points gets generated instantly as you activate the supply. The rest three thousand however, get generated in a time of three seconds. This is highly opposing as to the previous system of restoring two hundred health points per second. Cooldown - The cooldown time for the Repair Kit is now set at thirty seconds. This means that whenever you activate a Repair Kit, you'll not be able to use it again for thirty second (after the Repair Kit indicators stops flashing). Smart Cooldowns - The smart cooldowns regarding the Repair Kit have been decreased by 50%. This is pretty much self-explanatory. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Now, let's take a look at some of the major changes the changes to the Repair Kit have caused in the game; they're somewhat fascinating! The best turrets are not the best anymore. Yes, you heard that right - and no, I don't mean that those turrets have lost their power, damage or livability; well, you can say that they have, but only when you take this new Repair Kit into account. Remember the strongest turrets? Hammer? Thunder? Magnum, etc.? Good. The aforementioned turrets still do a lot of damage and can still take a lot of people out, but you'll see that most of those people would be non-supply users, or use little. In fact, facing a supply-spamming user is like facing one of Godmode's minions. Why? Let's see. The most drastically hit turret is probably Shaft. In the time it hits a person and reloads, that person he/she hit would've already used a Repair Kit and gotten most of their health back. Magnum is still okay, as its huge damage makes up for it. Turrets that weren't hit that hard are the likes of Smoky, Hammer, Ricochet and Striker - all of which, as you might have noticed, have very little delay time between a shot. This little delay time makes for the next shot as quickly as possible, stopping the repairing person in front you from healing any further. However, certain turrets have became highly over-powered thanks to this update - and these are Firebird, Freeze, Isida, Twins and Vulcan. Note the similarity in them? Yes, they fire forever, and you'll know how energy turrets can fire "forever" now. Firebird has the capability to deal damage in afterburn. Now, do you remember that any sort of damage inflicted to you terminates the healing action? Well, the afterburn also does that - meaning that once you're in the range of a Firebird, you're a goner. What about Freeze? Freeze has enough energetic ammunition to take you out while firing continuously, even if you repaired in the middle of all that chaos. To make matters even worse, by the time you repair yourself, the Freeze would already be drifting past you in circles. Lesson? Don't solo with a Freeze anymore. Moving on to Isida, a turret that can literally leech out all of the health in a tank in seconds (thanks to the buff it got previously). With this update, you'll be dead before you even know it. That isn't all though, as next up, we have two turrets that can practically fire continuously until their satisfaction hits it limits. Yes tanks and tankeresses, they're Twins and Vulcan. They will terminate your repairing action at the second you repair, and they will kill you... So, be ready. Similarly, the best modules aren't the best anymore. Now as you guys might now, when a certain turret isn't being used that much in a battle - or isn't present in it at all, you really don't have to equip a module with protections against it. This is the same case. Turrets that don't prove to be much effective regarding this Repair Kit update will die out, while the turrets that got more powerful will start to become more and more popular. Hence, it is necessary for one to buy new modules and safeguard the other ones, because who knows, some other update might make those turrets more powerful once again. If someone is looking for new modules to protect themselves, I'd highly suggest the following modules: 1. Badger T-F (Firebird, Freeze and Twins) 2. Badger T-H (Firebird, Isida and Freeze) 3. Shark T-D (Twins, Thunder and Vulcan) 4. Shark T-G (Ricochet, Striker and Thunder) 5. Kodiak T-G (Firebird, Twins and Railgun) 6. Kodiak T-F (Railgun, Thunder and Ricochet) Do note that you're not limited to these modules only. If there are different turrets being used in the battle, switch to other modules without any hesitation. Attacking strategies are now completely different. We all know the attacking strategy we have been practicing for years, or ever since the Repair Kit came out in Tanki Online. You know, the usual 'Go in, grab the flag, activate the Repair Kit and go out'. Well, it doesn't work like that anymore, because now, the defenders will know that the Repair Kit stops healing you if they inflict damage; and they will do just that. Because you see, the instant thousand health points is a full life for let's say, a Hornet M1. But for a supply-spamming Viking M4 rushing in your base to get the flag, it is barely anything. Combine these facts with the ones regarding turrets, and the defenders will become a group of mean, green killing machines. In other words, defenders will know how to use turrets like Firebird, Freeze, Isida, Twins and Vulcan to their full potential now, making it almost impossible to grab flags; which paves way to my next point: What's the biggest counter? Isida. Yes, you saw that right, Isida. This health-generating turret is now the biggest, and only counter to this Repair Kit update. Like, literally, if you want to do anything without getting your repairing action terminated, an Isida behind you is the only answer. Want to go on a multikill in a TDM? Take an Isida. Want to capture a flag in CTF? Take an Isida. Though CP mode will not be that grueling, it is still advisable to take an Isida with you. This counter also works a treat in parkour mode. So if you want to do a trick which requires a lot of mines or hits, you can actually feature an Isida in the group which will heal the jumper. In the worst case scenario, the jumper will have to spam his Repair Kits. Hence, Isida all the way. ________________________________________________________________________________________ So, there it is - a short review of the new Repair Kit changes previously implemented in the game through Patch Update #469. Well, time to share your opinions and comments down in the comments below. Do you like this change? Do you think it has successfully relieved the "drugging" problem once and for all? See you in the battle!

Oh, this is so needed :lol: EDIT: Any news on this?

Hello and welcome to the contest theme you all love - describing pictures in a hundred words. Due to the popularity of the contest in the previous issue, we've decided to host it again. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction: This contest is all but like its original self - you need to describe a picture in one hundred words or less. Simple descriptions such as, 'the Mammoth got flipped' aren't going to cut it. There needs to be originality and creativity in your entry. For instances, you can check the past winners here: [issue 40] [Results] Describe This In 100 Words! (Fun Fact: I won this one!) [issue 48] [Results] Describe This In 100 Words! [issue 50] [Results] Describe This In 100 Words! [issue 53] [Results] Describe This In 100 Words! Rules: As always, contest has rules: Plagiarism is completely unacceptable - please do not do so or you might face the risk of a permanent ban from all future Newspaper contests. Any entries with 101 words or more will be automatically disqualified. All entries need to be send in the form link provided. Entries posted elsewhere will be ignored! Prizes: The prizes for each picture are as follows: 1st Place: 25 000 crystals 2nd Place: 20 000 crystals 3rd Place: 15 000 crystals Pictures: Your two pictures are: Picture 1: Picture 2: Status: OPEN Deadline: 27th September, 2017. Google Form: - _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Good luck to all the people that are participating!

I agree. But in a DM, all you are is in fight with someone.

If you press 1, and a person shoots you, the Repair Kit stops working. This is too imbalanced for certain turrets like Firebird, Freeze, Isida, Twins, Vulcan and even Smoky and Ricochet. Because they can keep shooting and your Repair Kit won't work against them. Isn't this too OP for the aforementioned turrets? Hazel Rah once said that he wants to make the game balanced by making sure every turret is being used. But now, people will start to use the aforementioned turrets more than the other turrets, making them obsolete. In the light of the statements above, what do you think? Should the Repair Kit changes be altered? Another thing is that once your Repair Kit stops healing you (when someone shot you in the middle of your healing), the green light and the Repair Kit indicator keep flashing. This is misleading and should be changed so that when the Repair Kit stops healing you, the indicator stops flashing. Can this be forwarded to the developers for their opinions? Thanks, Hexed.

You people wrote quite some entries! I was quite taken aback by the number of PMs flooding up in my messenger, but nevertheless, here are the results of the contest. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ The Results: First Place - [35000 ]: @Snootera Entry will be posted a year later - in July, 2018. Second Place - [20000 ]: @colindestroyer77 Entry - Third Place - [10000 ]: Entry - Consolation Prize(s) - [5000 ]: @Magenta Entry - _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Congratulations to all the winners! Don't forget - the entry of the winner will be posted next year, in Issue 77.

Hello and welcome to the sixth installment of this map dissection series, in which everything ranging from the tiniest battle scenarios to camping points on the map are carefully tested and battle-readied for your pleasure. This time around, I'll be looking at Forest - a map so densely packed with trees, bushes and the like, it's actually impossible to have perfect accuracy throughout a game in it. Symmetry, wide variety of props and a distinct landscape make Forest the ultimate map to play in. Sounds good? Read on! __________________________________________________________________________________________ Like to read more articles from within the series? Take a look ~ Iran Polygon Kolhoz Bridges __________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction: Even though Forest is covered with trees, bushes and other sprites - as it's name suggests - it's design is actually quite simple, but only once you get the hang of it. A huge plateau sits right in the middle, with about five to seven meter cliffs around all sides. Around this plateau is nothing but straight and level land, loaded with houses, bushes and trees. The plateau itself also hosts quite a few bushes, but is harder to traverse because of the sudden rock formations in the middle, not to mention the dreaded pit in the middle. Talking about size, Forest holds a fairly decent span of 35 x 27 meters, with a total surface area of 945 square meters; or 37.8 square meters in prop length. It unlocks at the rank of Sergeant and can accommodate a total of 16 players. Forest is available for play in all four modes - DM, TDM, CTF and CP with a maximum team cap of 8 players. History: Like Bridges, Forest has apparently been in the game since its beginning, or at least the beginning era of the game. Forest has exceeded the expectations in every battle we played in - and that made its reputation sky-rocket so high, it was actually chosen as an eSports map back when the tournaments started to develop. If you're thinking what Forest used to look like back then, here's a glimpse of it in the spoiler below: Overview & Division: In this segment, I divide a map into some pieces or area depending upon the size of that map, which makes it so much easier to understand attacking and defending routes, escape plans and so on. Well, here's Forest's division: Forest can be divided into five major areas. These are as follows: 1. The Middle: This area includes the entire raised area - or the plateau - in the middle of the map. This area is dreaded after the many cliffs and difficult pathways it is home to, not to mention the deathly pit in the middle. Vegetation is abundant here, which further helps in hiding from oncoming enemies in order to land a hefty ambush in their faces. Two of Repair Kit, Double Power and Double Power drop zones are located here, as well as four small buildings on the opposite ends. A couple of ramps on all four sides lead up to this area. 2. Red Base: The Red base is home to the Red flag, the Red team's spawning zones (#duh), two buildings and a Speed Boost drop zone. It is located in the valley between in inner and the outer plateaus of the map. You'll find a huge amount of vegetation here, with a small forest right next to the flag itself. 3. Blue Base: The Blue base is home to the Blue flag, the Blue team's spawning zones (#duhhhhh), two buildings and a Speed Boost drop zone. This area is exactly the same as its Red counterpart, that is: it is located in the valley between in inner and the outer plateaus of the map. You'll find a huge amount of vegetation here, with a small forest right next to the flag itself. However, the only difference is that the outer plateau in this end of the map contains a lot of small-medium sized buildings. 4. Western & Eastern Passageways: These two Passageways provide links to either bases on the eastern and western sides of the map. They are generally exactly the same, and host some terrifying encounters you'll face in the battle. Alteration Advice: High Pressure Pump: This alteration makes your Firebird's flame reach ever farther. Could be very useful in CTF and CP mode in Forest, where in certain situations you have to escape and keep firing no matter what. Compact Tanks: Everyone knows this alteration is quite overpowered, as it makes your tank heat up so quickly, even a slightly off-timed Repair Kit can't counter the damage. Useful for all modes, especially DM. High Pressure Pump: Exactly like Firebird's alteration. Though you won't be able to shoot people at different levels of elevation, you will be able to shoot farther, which is a good thing. Corrosive Mix: This alteration removes the freezing effect, which can be a good thing in certain situations. All I'm going to say is that this alteration depends on your playing style. If you like to go in and finish the enemy in all costs, feel free to use it. However, if you plan on making them suffer, do otherwise. Broadband Emitters: A decrease in range is always bad -- not recommended. Support Nanobots: Isida's healing rate is very good, or rather perfect without using this alteration. Why suffer a decrease in damage when you're healing just fine? Though the new Repair Kit might allow this alteration to actually work, I still wouldn't suffer a decrease a damage. Slugger: If you like shooting at enemies from far away, this alteration's for you. If no, then simply don't use it. Do note the huge decrease in turret rotation speed! High-Capacity Drum: This alteration is so good, you can collect a huge number of kills in as little as a minute! The fact that it adds two more shots to your drum without taking too much reload time means that you can actually double your damage output. Plasma Core Accelerators: Now look, this alteration is only useful in big maps where a normal Twins can't make it. In Forest however, close-quarters are abundant. Besides, why lose half the damage output anyway? Stable Plasma: If there is any alteration that really makes a turret powerful, it's this one. First of all, as I said, you'll have a lot of close-quarter situations, situations where without this alterations, you'd suffer lot of self-damage. Secondly, you can use the old Twins tactics and ram other tanks. Minus-Field Stabilization: This alteration is extremely useful. Besides the fact it decreases your damage output, it heavily increases the distance of your shots, which is a very good thing. Unstable Plasma: I have personally seen many people use this alteration, and combined with the second one, Ricochet can actually dominate in a close-quarter map. That being said, I'd suggest using this alteration. Assault Ammunition: A straightforward no! Having less impact force with a chance of critical hits is way better than having more impact force with no chance of critical hits. Precision Targeting System: This one is quite debatable, especially in Forest. It just depends on how you like to play the game; if you're an attacker, having less reload time is advisable (not using the alteration). Faster Horizontal Tracking: Do not equip this alteration if you don't want to damage yourself. All this makes is your turret turn faster at the expense of vertical aiming, and this makes Vulcan... terrible. Suppose you're standing on the highest bridge in Highways facing a person standing on either bridge to your side with this alteration equipped. The heavy downfall in vertical aiming won't allow you shoot that person if you don't start rocking your hull, something which is quite impractical with Vulcan. Modified Firing Rate: This is one of those alterations which you use based on how do you want to play in that battle. If you use Vulcan by holding your ground and firing continuously, this alteration is for you. If you want to stay safe and don't want to inflict self-damage, simply refrain from using this. Armor-Piercing Ammo: To be honest, I don't see the use in this alteration, unless for parkour of course. Why remove Thunder's key ability of splash damage when you can just use Smoky instead? Besides, Forest is the perfect map to practice that splash damage! Lightweight Ordinance Auto-loader: Another one of those alterations which are used depending on how you play. If you love to attack, this alteration is for you since you'll be able to mess up your opponents' aims quickly with the lesser reload time. The damage decreases, but that's completely up to you. Faster Horizontal Tracking: This alteration is the same as Vulcan, but will definitely be good for a Railgun user in Bridges. In this map, you need to be constantly on the move, spinning your turret as you go. This will make your turret turn faster while decreasing vertical auto-aiming, which is not a big problem with Railgun as you can always rock your hull. Shell Stabilization: This alteration is just pointless, don't use it. Rather, use the one I will explain below. High-Caliber Ammo: Using this alteration is as simple as it gets. If you like to camp, defend or mid-field with Railgun, this alteration is tailored specifically for you. It works with attacking too, but do take care of the longer reload time (which isn't quite long to be honest). Assault Emitters: This alteration's description says it all; use it if you like to survive longer in close-quarter combat situations. Heavy Capacitors: Good, but has no use in Forest. The slower charging rate and the decrease in horizontal aiming speed while sniping will not have any good effects on your output. Though it could still be effectively used in camping, I'd rather use the previous one and damage as many enemies as I can quickly before they reach my base. Grabbing 'em Golds: Love to grab Gold Boxes but miss 'em by millimeters? Here's all what you need to know about Gold Boxes in <Map Name>: 'Forest' Zones: There is a good chance you wont even spot this zone once the notification alarm goes off - simply because zones in this region are impossible to see due to the thick vegetation surrounding them. The only way to take them is through pushing other tanks away if you have a bigger hull, or try jumping from the inner plateau onto other tanks if you have lighter tanks. 'Ground' Zones: Gold Boxes dropping in these areas - these zones refer to the zones in the valley, between the two plateaus - are very easy to take. First of all, you can use the rocking technique to get on top of other tanks, while on the other hand, using Dictators in-built hacks prove to be effective if you are considering using medium to heavy hulls. 'Middle' Zones: Gold Boxes dropping in zones located in the middle of the map are sometimes really hard to get, with one of the reasons being the new Repair Kit statistics. There will be a lot of Firebirds and Freezes there, and even Magnums, Thunders and so on. All these turrets will terminate your repairing action as soon as it starts, leaving you vulnerable. My suggestion is to wait till most of the people die when the Gold is dropping, and then push others to the Gold. - CTF - Battle Scenarios - Counters and Strategies: In this section of the article, I'll be describing some scenarios that could possibly arise during the battle. I'll explain them whilst providing a solution for effectively ending or finishing that scenario. So, without further ado... Scenario 1 - Two enemies are hot on your tail right after you took their flag. Mix up your escape plan. For example, if you took the Blue flag and two people from the enemy team are on your tail, traverse a ramp into the Middle, then jump down again from anywhere else and then continue your way to your base zig-zagging between buildings and other tanks if you can. Scenario 2 - You have no choice but to go through the enemy base. Consider a scenario where you just took the enemy flag, but while escaping from the Passageway near it, two attackers spot you and are coming back to return their flag. Your only choice here is to go through the enemy base. If this happens, don't panic. Try to make a short cut through the Middle if you can, or try to dodge the enemies by circling the small building next to the flag and then making your way to your base. Scenario 3 - You plan on going through the Middle instead of the outskirts of the map. Doing this is the fastest way you can capture a flag in Forest. But, stay aware of the immediate cliffs popping up from every direction, and in all costs, please stay away from the pit. There's a good chance the enemy team will shoot you and send you towards it while you'll be unbalanced and trembling. Besides, the rush in the Middle of the map is also another reason to avoid it. Scenario 4 - You think that the Valleys are more suitable for escape than the Middle. This is the safest way you can escape with the flag, mainly because there are some buildings present in the way here you can hide behind and rest for a second or two. Remember to switch up escape routes if the enemy team is on your tail. Scenario 5 - You accidentally fall into the pit with the flag. <insert "you literally had one job" meme here> Supply Drops: Attacking: Since Forest is well, almost perfectly symmetrical, it makes sense for there to be an even number of supply drop zones present in the map. Both the teams have an equal chance of getting any type of supply box, as long as one team isn't completely dominating the other of course. The trio of Repair Kit, Double Armor and Double Power is located in the Middle, being two of each. However, Speed Boost drop zones are located in all four sides of the valley, being four in total. If an attacker wants to go and get the flag, I'd suggest picking up the Speed Boost drop zone in their base, moving forward to the Middle and picking up the Double Armor. Then, they should traverse through the Middle and get the Double Armor drop zone, pick up the flag and then escape. The supply drop zones in this map are: 2x Repair Kits 4x Speed Boosts 2x Double Powers 2x Double Armors Feel free to jumble or alter these routes up, but the illustration below explains the most famous attacking routes used by either teams' attackers ~ Forest - Attacking Routes Defending: Defensive capabilities of either team in this map rely heavily on the defenders quota of supply usage, or the amount of supplies he/she has. This is because this map is a bit small, so a defender will have absolutely no time to go up the Middle, grab a Double Power and then come back to the flag. This is simply because doing this will provide attackers on the other team a golden chance to come and get the flag. However, if two or more people are defending, then feel free to do this. Besides, the mines you'll place around the flag will help in defending - but still, I'd highly suggest keeping a few of your own supplies ready in case a large number of enemies come and try to take your flag. Another point is to use the relatively new feature, so called 'Overdrive'. Tell your team that your Overdrive is ready to be activated, then stand around the flag and activate it. This will not only activate all of the defenders and maybe even the whole teams' supplies but will also lay tons of mines around the flag, keeping it safe from enemies. Escape: Escaping with the flag in Forest is all but too easy - if you know how to that is. There's just a grand total of... two points to keep in note while doing so: Always switch up your routes. If you came from the Middle, go through the Passageways and then climb up to the Middle again to confuse the chasing enemies. Have an Isida waiting for you somewhere in the Middle or preferably hiding behind the buildings in the Passageways. Or, you could just spot an Isida while attacking and make way to it in case you get shot and have low health. Stalemate Situations: If such situation arises where both teams have the opposite team's flag, follow these steps to safely return your flag. Do a recon of the map - locate your flag first. This is the most important step! Send the first wave of tanks to flank your flag. The best way to end a stalemate is to surround your flag from all sides. This way, no person has to deal with all the defenders. Send the second wave (if needed) immediately after the first one. Go through the Lower Grounds or edges of the map, since you need to stay undercover as long as possible. Surround your flag from all sides and focus fire on the flag bearer. Once you kill him/her, don't hesitate to go after the dropped flag. If you do so, there is a good chance someone else will pick it up. Return the flag! Optimal Mining Positions: In a CTF battle, it is very important to make sure your flag is safe from incoming attackers. Though defenders do the job, they tend to be easily distracted; often missing an attacker heading for their flag. The solution? Using mines. Since this map is generally symmetrical, here are three of the best mining positions for either team ~ Red/Blue Base: Position 1 This position is the front line of defense in case an attacker comes in to steal your teams' flag. These mines will make sure that nobody leaves with your flag while your defenders are distracted by someone else on the enemy team. Position 2 This position is also the front line of defense except that it faces towards the enemy base. Many people jump from the top from this direction in order to get the flag. Most of the times, they make a successful escape, but with these mines hanging around, nobody will be able to touch your flag. Position 3 Many players try to be sneaky and come from the Passageways. Then, they sneak in behind this building and try to get the flag by surprise. Well, ain't nobody messing with you when these mines will be planted here. Sniping Positions: Picked up, here are some of the major sniping spots in Bridges. Note: These spots may or may not protect you from all four sides nor from the top, but give a wide view of the whole map. Forest - Sniping Positions All of these sniping positions work incredibly well with all turrets that can snipe, which include the likes of Shaft, Railgun, Magnum, Striker etc. Remember, since this map is symmetrical, you can copy these positions over to the other side. The illustration below shows four of the best camping or sniping spots for either team (courtesy of @Torben_BoS for posing here) ~ Effective Combinations: Now, obviously there are some combinations which suit a certain map really well. Though not entirely perfect, they do tend to be far greatly efficient and useful than others in certain situations. Here are three of the best combinations for Forest CTF: 1. Hunter-Isida - This combination is a must for any Forest CTF game, with one of the major reasons why is because you need an Isida in your team no matter what. Though some people might argue that Viking could be a better pair with Isida rather than Hunter, I disagree. Even though Hunter has lower speed, it has more turning speed and acceleration than Viking, which makes it perfect for an Isida; which then will be able to reach people in lesser time. 2. Viking-Smoky - A high damaging turret paired up with Viking is a pugnacious addition to the team, and what better turret to use then Smoky? First of all, Smoky is very versatile - it can kill quickly without making much of a noise and then swiftly change targets without them even knowing. 3. Titan-Vulcan - This combination is the ultimate defender you'll have on your team. Titan can move faster than Mammoth while having similar health points. It is also steadfast and can push people away, like when they come to get your flag. Vulcan - thanks to the Repair kit changes - is now a non-stop killing machine once pooled up, and that really comes in handy in the right situations. - CP - Capturing Points: There are a total of three control points in Forest: A in the Red Base, B in the Middle while C being in the Blue Base. Under this section, you can find a little guide on how to capture these points. Point A: Reds: This point exists right in your base, so as far I know, there will be no problem for you in capturing this point. Blues: The only way you'll be able to control this point is to send a team of two to three light and medium hulls, take the people who are there out and capture the point. Point B: Reds and Blues: This point will be the most contested one throughout the length of the battle. In order to keep capturing this, you'll need what is called a "dream team". Basically, you'd want a few Isidas, some heavy hulls with high damage-dealing turret and a few light-medium hulls which go and capture other points. Lay some mines, sit back and brick the Spacebar. Point C: Reds: Same as the case for Blues when it comes to Point A. Blues: This point exists right in your base, so as far I know - again, there will be no problem for you in capturing this point. Effective Combinations: For CP mode, I'd suggest using the following combinations: 1. Hornet-Hammer - This combination is what's called 'effective distraction material' or even better: 'reconnaissance machine'. Using this, you will be able to go far ahead then your team's attackers, letting them know what kind of ambushes the enemy team has set up next to certain point. You'll also be able to quickly lead way to point, blasting enemy mines and saving the main convoy of your team from getting defeated. 2. Viking-Twins - Viking paired up with Twins has always been an effective combination for CP mode. The fact that Twins can deal so much damage in a short amount of time makes it really viable to use with a medium hull such as Viking, which itself has enough hitpoints to go kill a couple of enemies and escape from that area. Can be used when attacking or rounding up at an enemy point. 3. Mammoth-Vulcan - But wait, why not Titan here too? The only logical reasoning behind that is in CTF mode, you really have to be aware of your surroundings as well as the enemy's movements; so you have to be on the move here and there to stop them from taking your flag. CP mode, however, doesn't force you doing that. If you want to be a defender, use any of the medium ranged weapons with Mammoth, and surely you'll have a good time killing people over and over again. - DM & TDM - Tricks & Strategies: Camping: If you play like a camper, or at least, want to stay hidden while simultaneously killing enemies, I'd suggest hiding behind the houses in the Passageways while having Railgun or something like Striker, Shaft or Magnum equipped with a medium-heavy hull, possibly Viking or Titan. Hit & Run: Hitting and running people is the most efficient way you can win a Forest DM/TDM game. I'd suggest using something like Viking-Isida, Hornet-Fire or Hunter-Freeze to make the best out of your enemies! Effective Combinations: We've come to that part of the article again, the best combinations for DM or TDM in Forest: 1. Viking-Isida - I have used this combination in a total of about ten Forest DM games, and trust me, every single time I was in the top two (mainly first unless there was another M4/M4 supply-spammer in the battle) with scores like 50/8, 78/11 and even 80/6. In one word, this combination is the definition of deadly. If you have it upgraded, do not hesitate to go and use this. 2. Titan-Striker - Effective, deadly and great at getting the job done. Do note one thing by the way, only use the salvo when you're targeting a group of tanks. For single tanks, always fire the rockets one by one! 3. Mammoth-Magnum - Inhumane. Once you start getting the hang of Magnum, go in a Forest DM, pick a place (preferably in the thick forests or behind a house) and start raining lead on whoever comes near you. Another point to ponder is that this turret is fairly new, so there's minimal, or no protections from it in battles. __________________________________________________________________________________________ So there it is - yet another 'It's Time To Excel In' article from my workplace. Well, I'm open for criticism and supportive comments; and if you want, you can feel free to hit me up with opinions and suggestions related to this article down below. Additionally, I'm turning the tables. Now, instead of me, you readers will decide which map I should dissect next. So, please do not forget to vote for your map in the poll above. Thanks for reading; see you around tankers!

There are over one hundred different paints in the game. Some of them are straight-up ugly, some are really beautiful; while some provide camouflage in the most messy of situations. But then, there are those paints who raise a lot of questions and controversies. Intrigued? Read on! ______________________________________________________________________________________ 'Tanki is a big threat to the environment and doesn't comply with UDAW', says UNEPO. Long ago, when Tanki came into being, the developers were hard at work, trying to develop paints that would not only please tankers but also would make tanks really stand out from other people in a battle. Well, the United Nations Environmental Protection Organization contacted us here at the Tanki Official Newspaper, with just a single paragraph: 'Our organization has deemed Tanki Online not worthy of operation anymore, simply because it is posing a serious problem to the Earth, to the environment and everything it between. After months of investigation, it has been revealed that the developers have actually hurt animals in the process of making this game possible, despite writing the 'No animals were hurt during the development of this game' sentence in the final credits. This is of utmost importance that Tanki must be brought to justice for the cruelty it has been doing to various species of animals - mainly hunting them for their skins, ultimately developing them as paints for the tanks in their game. In a nutshell, Tanki doesn't comply with the Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare!' - United Nations Environmental Protection Organization (UNEPO) The question now arises: What has Tanki really been doing? Taking a look at the current paint's roster, the results have been quite frightening. Paints like Alligator, Safari, Dragon, Tiger, Irbis, Cheetah, Jaguar and Python have shown positive results that they contain animal DNA after they were tested at the local laboratory. What's even more eye-opening is that Tanki itself admits that they have been doing animal cruelty for years, as one the above mentioned paint's description proves: One of the most mysterious felines, the Irbis is also known as the "snow leopard". After a series of high-risk expeditions and fifteen accidents, our researchers managed to restrain a snow leopard long enough to copy its coat and create the "Irbis" paint. Despite all these harrowing remarks from UNEPO and even its own Newspaper, Tanki developers have refused to give any comments on the matter. What do you think? Should they be fined or let go? The Beautiful Paints: However, that didn't stop the Tanki developers from creating the most beautiful paints, nothing ever like the entire Tankiverse had ever seen. Upon lots of request from anonymous and other users, we decided to auction and then review them. So, here were the three best-selling paints: Other beautiful paints who sold for a lot were the likes of Emerald, Nano, Hohloma, Graffiti, Zombie, Lumberjack, Kaleidoscope, Corrosion and even Mint! De Ugly Paints: Believe it or not, the National Aesthetics Safety Board issued a warning to Tanki Online today, titled 'Ugly Paints in Your Garage Are a Dangerous Health Hazard' with the following text: 'Directed to: Semyon Strizhak, lead developer, Tanki Online. Hello! Our trends and studies have shown that the more uglier paints in your Garage are posing a very intense threat to the health of many tankers in your game. These include the likes of Confetti, Lava, Safari, Chainmail, Roger, Sweater, Alien, Drought, Lunar Soil, Rust and probably the most ugliest paint you've ever launched: Birdwatcher. We would also like to include that the Reporter paint also comes in this list, but has a separate mention due to it being a moderator paint. All of these paints are causing Post-Equipping Stress Disorder (PESD), Pre-Looking Nausea and Distress (PLND), headaches and many other diseases/disorders. Please take immediate notice of this. Thanks!' Following what they did with the animal issue, the Tanki developers have again denied the fact that there paints are causing damage, despite the report coming from the biggest Safety Board in the country. The Camouflage Paints: Even though with all that animal and ugly paint stuff, Tanki actually received many positive votes and numbers for the camouflage paints it submitted quite recently for the Ultimate Camouflage Competition, 2016. In fact, Tanki Online was the only game whose some paint's the judges of that competition completely failed to point out from the screenshots. Quite an achievement right? The Supreme Judge of that competition wrote a small congratulations letter and sent a trophy to the Tanki HQ in spite of this achievement. Wondering what paints they were? Well... Needle was the declared the ultimate winner, which actually was hidden in such a hard spot, not even the entire All Kind team and even Semyon Kirov managed to find the tank. This was the screenshot: Other paints who won lots of prizes and reputes were the following: Descriptions Are All That Matter! I'm just going to say this straightforwardly, just look at these paint's descriptions. Some of them are so funny I want to laugh for the rest of the day, while others are so weird it's actually hard to believe they're official description. So, enough brouhaha: Swamp - This paint was created after a tank battalion leader accidentally fell asleep, and drove his comrades into a swamp, where a secret operation for training saboteur frogs was being conducted. Frogs, Tanki, frogs? Really? Cedar - This paint is composed of pounded pine cone flakes. It is environmentally friendly and comes with two bags of peeled pine nuts with every second canister of paint purchased. I bought sixty canisters of this paint to cover my home's fence Tanki, where are my peeled pine nuts? I've been wronged! Moss - Blend in with the forest environment when stalking your enemies. But remember, moss does not usually move, nor does it fire at tanks, so doing any of those things might draw attention on your presence. Tanki Online - the new Captain Obvious. Sandstone - The paint combines the masking properties of sand, with wind-tempered stone. The "Sandstone" set comes bundled with bathing trunks or bikini of choice, sunglasses and a parasol. Tanki, you better send these complimentary gifts quickly, or me and my girlfriend will not be happy! Atom - A protective cover for tanks guarding nuclear research centers. The cover is so high-tech that it is able to withstand a direct nuclear charge hit. Unfortunately, while the paint will be untouched, the tank beneath it will still evaporate. Tanki, how dare do you lie...? Anyone intelligent enough surely knows that when you die wearing Atom, the tank stays intact, while the paint burns off. Hive - Originally intended as a paint with active offensive properties, "Hive" was supposed to be enriched with special anti-tank bees. However, this plan was dropped due to numerous protests from animal-friendly organizations. As a result, the paint now only retains its color and texture. The irony between these paint's description and other animal-based paints is at level 9000. Rock - The armored plates called "The Rock" are mined from huge rock formations, using an ancient Egyptian technology. Dry pegs are hammered into the rock, then soaked with water till they swell, breaking the rock into smooth blocks of stone. This camouflage is the definition of "hand-made". MOM BRING THE CAMERAA!!1!!1 The Rock was excavated by Tanki Online!!11! Alligator - An exclusive coating called Alligator is a result of a successful experiment of crossbreeding Black African alligators with carbon steel plates. This paint scared the researchers so much that they decided to show it only to law enforcers. Those who risk their lives every day for the wellbeing of others are hard to surprise with anything, and they have forgot the word "Fear" long ago. How on EARTH did the developers cross-breed Black African alligators with carbon steel plates?!! Bonus: The... Joke Paint: Hello and welcome to the final segment of this article. There is only on aim, open the spoiler and off you go! ______________________________________________________________________________________ Well, there it is. A complete go-through of many of the paints in Tanki Online. What do you think, should Tanki be banned for it's offensive and immoral actions against animals and general health? Or should it be left alone because of it's UCC '16 trophy and humor? Share your opinions below!

I have never been so hyped for any update before...

Oh trust me, it will be.

2000+, hmm, won't be easy at all. Thank goodness we have two days though!

^ You're a true fan, now aren't ya?

A hearty congratulations to eSports veteran @Spy for achieving the position of Reporter Candidate. If you don't know, he will be our eSports Reporter, so you'll have a lot more professionally written eSports articles in the Newspaper now. Again, congratulations and all the best!

"Aptly said, the main objective is to create a written message to the future readers of the Newspaper. Be creative! Mention the recent major community events. Include pictures, the community's dreams for the upcoming year, or even speculate on the future of Tanki Online, Tanki X and the Newspaper. There are no strict guidelines. The goal is to create a definitive message that will intrigue the 2018 readers of the Tanki Online Newspaper." Do anything you want, but make sure it revolves around the key idea. The prizes are the same as they were one year ago, when the contest was originally initiated. The prizes will be distributed on Sep 1st, but the entries will be reveled next year. "Aptly said, the main objective is to create a written message to the future readers of the Newspaper. Be creative! Mention the recent major community events. Include pictures, the community's dreams for the upcoming year, or even speculate on the future of Tanki Online, Tanki X and the Newspaper. There are no strict guidelines. The goal is to create a definitive message that will intrigue the 2018 readers of the Tanki Online Newspaper."