^Agree with all of this. The Shaft snipers able to focus on the red flag point was IMO the biggest problem with the map. I do miss the map though. Can folks post pictures? When I am back on my laptop I will post my General rank up as I capped a flag in the blue base. It would be nice to see other pics of this map now that it is gone. Back to the drudgery of supplies-only daily missions too. :(

I think we are on borrowed time. Do your missions as quickly as possible. Expect extended Technical Maintenance tonight.

I'm over the "if you know how to use it" line. How about some constructive advice for the rest of us Rail noobs.

IDK about Thunder. Underpowered a few ranks after every mod unlock unless you have limitless DD supplies. Part of me wishes that at Gismo, all turrets and hulls are balanced. As it is the early M3 unlocks just aren't conpetitive.

I just ranked to General this morning. Now I need to grind through to Marshal before Redneck kit comes back. Rico M3, you will be mine soon.

No they cant

Yeah, I call that "sneezing off" the Railgun. :)

Viking is a workhorse. It's the only hull I have ever used (on my main) I've always respected and appreciated Viking's armor, but at M3, Viking has finally really impressed me with its power. I can push most tanks like they aren't even there and I can even push mammys... From the side. Another case in point... I was teetering over a wall last night and Viking M3 was powerful enough to pull up and not fall over But Viking turns like a spinning top, very hard to control. And it gets hung up on just about anything. Speed bumps, triangular gradients, other tanks... You name it. Vikings steering leaves a lot to be desired. Which should I make M4... viking or Hunter?

I've seen this happen but while it does garner a few kills most tanks are wearing double armor so you probably won't commit genocide. I rarely see the Firebird in question end up with the gold.

Personal Discount? I've been at M3 rank for quite a while now and been offered nearly every hull and turret out there... except Isida. M3 Isida is everywhere, so I'm not expecting any gimmes. Good thing too. Gotta save those crystals.

With Hammer the gun drives your play style. You have no choice but fire. If the enemy is destroyed, good, if not wait for the brief reload and fire again. If the enemy is still standing, wait for the brief reload and fire a third time. If your enemy is still standing, you start what I call the Hammer Dance..... Maneuver like crazy to avoid enemy fire while waiting out the LONG full clip reload. Hammer gives no choice as to how much of its fire is unleashed per shot. You have three medium sized shots. Do with them what you will. It's up to you to make this work.b in other words you have to adapt to the turret. I suspect this is why Hammer is unpopular. It imposes a play structure rather than fostering versatility. And it does so WITHOUT the advantage of one shot kills which you can get with the higher yield turrets like Thunder and Rail. To get the versatility and moreover efficiency players want... The ability to deal just enough damage to kill a given tank while saving the rest for the next enemy is reserved for constant fire or near constant fire weapons like Firebird, Freeze, Isida, Vulcan, Ricochet, and of course, Twins. The 50% sale on Hammer has resulted in an uptick of Hammer noobs in the game, which makes for good hunting.

I hear you. I won't be using it at Marshal. My plan is to buy Redneck kit and start wrecking with Rico M3

Medic. Isida is good to and through Generalissimo.

Yeah, Loam doesn't look like much, but it's da bomb against Firebird. I've also got my eye on Rock which gives good protection against Isida and Twins, which are a problem north of General. But I'm not buying. Separating paints from their protections is a real problem, for everyone - the devs, the owners, and the other players. For the devs - how to implement? Do all paints become the same price since they effectively all have the same value? I doubt it. My guess is attractive and visually complex paints will be more expensive. Expect a lot of creativity here. Premium Users might also be able to skin their tank with a wrap of their own choosing. On the protection side, do the become available a la carte? Again, I doubt it. If the MU sea change is an example, devs are removing player choice. I expect the paint bundles to remain the same since they have been carefully balanced. There just won't be a visual component. Who knows what they will be named... 'Combo Number Five' or maybe throw in the unlock rank - "Brigadier Protection Pack 2". Do not expect the prices of these to change. After all it's the protection you're paying for, not the looks. For the owners - how to plan? This is a no brainier if the protection packages remain intact. If they don't we're in for chaos, especially if what we have and have paid for is about to get scrapped. Will there be a refund? I've got my eye on a couple of paints for their protection, not their looks. But what do I do knowing this is all quicksand? One thing is certain, there isn't any future in which the protection I'm looking for will be any more affordable. Get ready for prices to go through the roof... Again think recent MU change For the other players - how to tell? It's not always easy right now to tell what protections a given enemy is wearing. Aside from the basic single protection paints and some mainstream ones like Loam, Tiger, Emerald, Corrosion, and so on, I couldn't tell you what Joe Tanker's paint is protecting him against. I suspect I am not alone. I further expect this to disappear entirely with no replacement indicator as to what protection a given tank has. After all what's the point? In theory the indicator gives an unfair advantage to your attacker in that they can decide whether they need to pop Double Damage or go find another enemy. This is a lose-lose for the devs since any change will be wildly unpopular. But aside from the visual of paint I just don't see how protections can be visualized. There are already too many floating icons over most tanks.

Isida. It's an early unlock M3 and it dominates battles. Furthermore it remains useful through to Generalissimo, which is unheard of for any other early unlock turret. Forget the "Viking is too slow for Isida" naysayers. Viking is a workhorse. Once you start self healing with Isida and Viking you're practically indestructible. And Isida is fun to play. And Isida is a coin machine. You will rank and earn crystals faster. Rico M3 will be yours before you know it.

Vulcan takes a lot of skill, and I do agree with the fact that it's impact force is set waaaaay too high. Back to Rico, the New Year's Assault map has forced me to go back to Ricochet M2 since Hammer even at M3 is just not effective for anything but camping in the houses. My plan to ignore the Christmas sale and grind through to Marshal and buy Redneck kit is proceeding apace. I'm about a rank and a half shy of Marshal. I am very much afraid though that the current flood of kits into the game is a precursor to a major change. Redneck with my beloved Rico M3 is in the game now but I am not sure if it ever will be again!

LOL Go start a new thread "Nicknames - What You're Stuck With" Back to topic, I have an alt which uses M1 mods of Thunder and Twins. I have to agree with the other poster who says Twins is better. M3 Smoky is pretty good too... At least on the receiving end, it seems like I take a critical hit every third shot. Unless Thunder gets a buff, I think it's usefulness may be limited to specific maps and the few ranks close to each mod unlock. On the other hand, Right now it does rule the New Year's Assault map though.

Dropped two MUs into my M3 Viking. Could have done a LOT more but MUs aren't my priority right now.

Gun is a beast at M3. Each shot is like a slap across the face of any nearby tank. Supremely satisfying. Yet impotent at long range.

Dictator does have more armor, but it handles like a cinder block. Took one for a test drive a few weeks back. Ran screaming back to my Viking.

How is M3 Twins at Gismo? Competitive or not?

Sooooooo damn jealous! I've ditched my alts and am grinding through the General ranks, hoarding every crystal in hopes of affording Redneck kit. IMO this is the only way to get Rico M3... Early unlock via kit. I did get a couple of 3 hour Premium Account missions. The paint was meh... Especially against firebirds... I missed my Loam. Double crystal battle funds were nice though. :)

I've got a serious case of Thunder-envy. M3. I'm just worried that it's going to get outmatched north of General by the turrets unlocking at higher ranks. I just don't know.

Yeah, I don't follow Tanki on Facebook. Kinda want to keep a barrier between Tanki and my FB profile, so I'll never post. But I guess there's no reason not to go see. My 10k rank up number might be a little low. My crystal rank is creeping upward and I've been playing pretty aggressively this week. More like 13k. UPDATE This week I'm about 9k ranked for experience and 15k for crys. With two 2016 gold boxes I'm at 56k rank for that, for whatever good that does. One of those gold boxes completed a mission, which gave me loads of supplies. I've also snagged three of the three-hour premium account rewards. Double battle funds are NICE. It's a vacation week so I've been playing two to three times as much as normal to get these numbers. That translates into about six to ten hours of play each day, which for me is a lot. I did not rank up, so the original 10k rank up number is probably good. It all resets tonight. :(

I've started paying closer attention to my experience, crystal, and when applicable my gold box rating. I've learned a few things that as far as I can tell are not generally or widely known. 1. There are about 200,000 active users right now. 2. About 10,000 high rank players rank up in a given week. 3. My play style - two to four hours of play a day - is more than most players out there... At the end of a rating week, I'm usually near 20,000 in experience rating. That's improved from 200k when the week starts. 4. When I catch golds, my rating doesn't change much. When I catch three golds. The needle moves, but you need to be catching ten or more golds a week for meaningful ratings. What else have folks noticed? And is anyone looking over achievements?