Sounds like good news for me. :) I am glad I genuinely prefer Smokey-style combat.

The power-ups (drugs) are simply too powerful at 2x. Let's cut to the chase: they are the most important factor in the game. But the game is supposed to be about tanks ... not power-ups. The goal is supposed to be about creating the most powerful tanks you can choose and afford to fit your style. But it is not. What the game really is about is about being able to stay as close fully drugged all of the time. The game may as well be named Pickupi Online. The numbers do not lie. Players are supposed to worry about paying thousands of C per MU. Each of these MU steps might increase you turret damage by a fraction of a percent. A power-up increases damage by 100 percent and costs 50 C, Sure that boost it temporary - per drug dose. That temporary problem goes away if players are able to stay in a permanent state of powered-up. And evidence seems to say this is iundeed possible. So we see an end-game where the only way to compete is to stay powered up all the time. The game becomes one of drug management not maneuver and tactics. But Little Willie, you say, what's the problem is everyone is fully powered-up? then the Game is lie playing with n one powered up (except for the speed of the tanks / rotations). WEll flip that argument on its head. If drugs do not affect the end-game play balance .. then why do we have them? The power-ups need a fresh look from the design team. They need to be designed to give an advantage but not one so large that they dominate the game. Right now I am seeing a negative incentive to gain experience! If gaining experience mostly means I meet more and more "druggers" dominating battles then gaining experience has a bit of the kiss of death about it. If that is not a glaring warning sign to the developers that there is a drastic flaw in their design I don't know what is.

The power-ups (drugs) are simply too powerful at 2x. Let's cut to the chase: they are the most important factor in the game. But the game is supposed to be about tanks ... not power-ups. The goal is supposed to be about creating the most powerful tanks you can choose and afford to fit your style. But it is not. What the game really is about is about being able to stay as close fully drugged all of the time. The game may as well be named Pickupi Online. The numbers do not lie. Players are supposed to worry about paying thousands of C per MU. Each of these MU steps might increase you turret damage by a fraction of a percent. A power-up increases damage by 100 percent and costs 50 C, Sure that boost it temporary - per drug dose. That temporary problem goes away if players are able to stay in a permanent state of powered-up. And evidence seems to say this is iundeed possible. So we see an end-game where the only way to compete is to stay powered up all the time. The game becomes one of drug management not maneuver and tactics. But Little Willie, you say, what's the problem is everyone is fully powered-up? then the Game is lie playing with n one powered up (except for the speed of the tanks / rotations). WEll flip that argument on its head. If drugs do not affect the end-game play balance .. then why do we have them? The power-ups need a fresh look from the design team. They need to be designed to give an advantage but not one so large that they dominate the game. Right now I am seeing a negative incentive to gain experience! If gaining experience mostly means I meet more and more "druggers" dominating battles then gaining experience has a bit of the kiss of death about it. If that is not a glaring warning sign to the developers that there is a drastic flaw in their design I don't know what is.

I do not doubt you for a minute. My only point was an emotional one. The Isida might kill me but he cannot knock off my aim and I will pump as many shells into his hull as fast as the crew can load 'em. ;)

I keep hearing Smoky get better relative to the other weapons as you go up the ladder so I am encouraged by what you say. Part of my perception is possibly due to the way some higher level options become available at much lower ranks than other options. The advantages rotate as you go up ranks. Thc for pointing my to the Northerner kit. I did not know about it and that will save me maybe 20k C.

Verdun: Deep trench networks on both side with a "No-man's land" of shell craters in between. There's many historical battlefields to serve as variant inspirations. I'll stop now. :)

Monte Cassino: Irregular terrain with a heights on one side filled with rubble walls and a large. This side would overlook the other half of the map which would feature a couple barrow valleys. The idea is a asymetrical mapo like noise or gravity where one side has the disadvantage of attacking uphill. Could be a nice CP map.

I would love more maps on the Massacre model with 95% irregular terrain. That makes shooting and maneuver muc more "realistic". But more importantly it if fun. Sme ideas for variants: Mt Suribachi: The map is essentially one large mountain with a network of tunnels. Ardennes: Irregular terrain with a buttload of trees to mask visibility and a few flat "roads" snaking around. Kursk: (CAn't believe that name's noit been used already.) Irregular terrain with trees and such and several "ruined villages" scattered around. That is, a couple-few cliusters of shattered walls and mayb a small hut oir two. Whatever tha variants please more maps based on irregular "natural" terrain! Thank you.

Well I am glad to hear that about Smoky because that is without a doubt the most fun turret to me. It "feels"like shooting. I have an alt Fire / Hornet that absolutely scours enemy tanks from the map, but I find playing it can become very repetitive and thus boring. With Smokey I find the game play much more varied.

WEll today as I type this I'll take that trade. With Isida I can shoot back and maneuver I might lose but I might win. When a Rico gets closehe's gonna kill me long before I land the 5-6 shots needed to kill him. Of course many time I can't even draw a bead on him .... THAT's what rubs salt in the wound.

Thanks for taking the time to answer NewbieCake. That's reassuring for the long run - but - how many players do not stick around for the long run bcause they form their opinions in the many long hours befor reaching that endgame situation? Wjhat I am trying to say is, balance at the M0-M2 stages is imporant too.

I should ad I am talking about Rico at the Warrant officer level. Things might be different at M3 but players form their opinions of the game much earlier than the M3 stage. So I think these complaints have merit. Freeze is a PITA too but they also have their weaknesses such that you do not see 15%-20% of the battle using freeze guns. Thanks for the thoughtful back and forth. I needed to vent. Cuz yuo were right arought getting knockedaround.:)

I hear ya about Vulcan, it is annoying too, but it is very map-dependrnt. You don't see 3-4 vulcans in any large battle but you will see that many Ricos. Because players gravitate to the uber game-gear; it's no accident that you see so many Ricos. All I am asking for is Rico to be given _A_ point of strength in the game not two or three. Right now it's the fastest-firing, it's the #1 disruptor from knockback (because of fast fire + big knockback/shot) and on top of all that it's one of the best for shooting up or down w/o special positioning of the tank. That's 3 things it ecells at ... PLUS it shoot around corners too. C'mon.

Rico: the poorest designed, most ridiculous turret in the game. It's vertical arc should be severly reduced or its knocjback power severly reduced, but not both.

Rico is the most ridiculous weapon in the game. It simply has too many capabilities. OIt has a wide vertical arc, its shots have a huge knockback effect. And while the info says its shots are not very damaging/ But in the game you find it fires so fast yu are dea in 3 seconds. And if you shoot back you night hit 50% of your shots (3 seconds worth) because you are geting knocked all around. Did I mention it shots bounce and it can hoot around corners? Yeah it has that capability too. Compare that with Smoky. I'll have to hit a target tank 3 to over 12 times to kill it. That 3 is for a basic Wasp/ Anything heavier it'll be 4-6 shots which even at Smoky's fast fire rate means 9-10 seconds...and I can't miss a single shot. Each one which must be aimed. Miss one and you die. In the team games there's the benefit to geting credit for wounding tanks even if you do not take the kill shot. But in DM you are at a massive disadvantage w/Smoky compared to weapons ike Rico when you can just dump all you shots at one point in a couple seconds.

Sorry to come off salty that's my bad and it is on me. But look at this turret objectively. It has an incredibly high rate of fire (while charged) and each shot knocks the target around a lot. It has the unique ability to bounce shots around corners. That should be enough to make it an effective turret with a definite role in the game. But the current vertical auto-aim deflections are too much. It is already the master of horizontal fire with its ability to shoot around cover. So why is it made powerful in vertical fire too? A Rico can sit on a height and rain death on me but I cannot shoot back with my smokey ... even if the recoil wasn't knocking my aim off anyway. Just tone down its vertical capabilities and I have no probs with this turret. But as is, yes, it is over-powered. Again, sorry to come off so combative.

Like hell it does. What Rico needs is to be restricted to the vertical arc the the cannon type weapons have, Smokey and Thunder. As it is Rico users can hit anything in front of them and aiming ain't very important. Rico and Vulcan are the two no-skill turrets in this game.

This is backwards reasoning. The fact that Rico protections are becoming common is because many people WANT it. So why do they want it? Because the Rico turret is very popular and is overpowered. THAT is why protections are appearing ... because the turret is a PITA and is very popular. That means the trend is for MORE RIco turrets out there not fewer. So suck it up EVERY turret has the same % protection so stop crying that the OP Rico turret also has some protection modules.