WTF is it? Looks more like a plane than a tank. Maybe you should model it after this fine piece of machinery

Your welcome, figured I would just take the opinion out of it and give some raw data. Makes it easy. Should I just post this as a standalone new thread?

I am just going to do some quick math to show newer players why upgrading smokey is better than going to an M0 or even an M1 Rail. Pricing: M0 - M3 Smokey Total Cost = 420 M0 - M1 Rail Total Cost = 450 Smokey is Cheaper Shots Per Minute: M3 Smokey = 37.5 M1 Rail = 8.2 So M3 Smokey can roughly shoot 4 shots to every 1 Shot for M1 Rail Max Damage: So Let's look at Max Damage per shot using the 4 shots to 1 ratio M3 Smokey Max Damage = 24 M1 Rail Max Damage = 51 4(24) vs 1(51) 96 vs. 51 NOTE: I use the 4:1 value because most early levels don't have units that have over 100 HP, so if you are in a "like Rank" game you won't need much more than 4 shots to kill your enemy. So their you have it, a cheaper gun, and better gun for newer players. Add in the fact that you can redirect may units firing down on you and it does a fairly good job. I personally prefer my M2 rail over the M3 smokey, but that is just a preference thing and I had amassed enough crystals to upgrade all the way to the M2 without any issues. If you are just starting, just upgrade the smokey or make a quick move to another cheap gun and start amassing crystals if you want to move to rail.

Other than buying there is no real "easy" way, but there are some strategies that make it easier. 1. Join games early, 0-0 being ideal, but definitely not when each team has 5 or more flags. As a lower rank you have no chance at getting crystals. 2. If you join a game that is say 3-0, join the losing side, not the winning side. By joining the lower side you have more of a chance to grow your point value and gain crystals if you help them win. 3. Become efficient at your weapon / driving. Learn to simultaneously drive your tank and move your turret. The tutorial posted above in the link is actually very good so make sure you watch the videos. 4. Become efficient at using power ups, don't waste them. (EXAMPLE: Don't grab a nitro, and sit back, go for the flag) 5. Become efficient at passing up power ups. This is a VERY tough concept, but lets say you are ranked first by a large margin on your team and a couple of guys come in with faster/stronger tanks. Let them help you both win and stay on top of the rankings for crystals by letting them grab the power ups). How do you know where you are ranked? Hit the TAB key in game and you can figure out what to do. 6. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, Join games that are close to your rank. If you are a recruit, don't go join a game with Generals, Marshals and Lietenants. You will get your ass-kicked and gain nothing from it other than sitting still and shooting your gun from a long range. I am sure I can think of some other tips, but generally speaking these can work.

Honestly, it is just a preference issue. If you like to stand tall, take a beating and deliver one back, go mammoth. Put whatever you want on it. As long as you are ok with Slow movement and massive HP. If you like some maneuverability and a decent amount of HP, go viking. Again mount whatever weapon you want on it, just whatever you feel you are most effective with. If you like speed, go hornet.

Essentially the noob effect is when a team increases in lower-level players because the higher-skilled players happen to be beating the other team at that specific time that the join. What makes it even more amusing is that there are far more points (and crystals) to be earned if, at the time that they join the game, help contribute to the losing team and help them eventually earn a win. And this is how it goes.

Follow-up Tanki's help group rectified the issue. I can't say enough about their customer service in dealing with these issues, I would just prefer they don't happen.

I posted 10 topics and received 3000 crystals. Tanki held up its end of the bargain, this is a legitimate offer.

So I have been playing a lot lately and have noticed that when I change between servers that sometimes I lose the crystals earned on a particular server. I have estimated about 500 crystals lost since I noticed the issue but today I actually paid attention and short of screen shots have some proof. I started playing today on server 6 and had 1996 crystals when I started. I decided to pay attention to my crystals since it seems like I am always "going backwards" when it comes to earning crystals. After playing a couple of games, one where I scored 44 crystals coming in first, another where I scored another 14 crystals along with all of the miscellaneous crystals I had obtained 2075 crystals. I had grown bored of Server 6 which I didn't think had any good games and decided to log onto server 2. Upon signing into server 2 I found that my crystal total was now 1999. Talk about frustrating. I am sure I have been "robbed" of several other crystal amounts in the past but rarely paid attention to where I was at when jumping between servers. Quite frustrating for someone taking the "long route" to obtain upgrades. I have considered buying crystals, but now I don't think I will based on the fact that crystals are reduced arbitrarily via this bug. I have emailed help@tankionline.com , but I would encourage you to pay more attention to your crystal numbers if you bounce between servers.

I don't understand why ppl complain. Tanki is a business enterprise that survives on cash injections. If you are having trouble getting crystals here is a little tip for you, START YOUR OWN GAMES. Limit the ranks that can come in, get better and you will start earning crystals.

I play a few more games than this one. One thing that I like about some other MPO games I play is that the room has to be even/filled prior to start. This wouldn't be THAT much of an issue other than the fact that: I DON'T SPEAK RUSSIAN........OR HUNDREDS OF OTHER LANGUAGES for that matter. So I am going to propose an INTERNATIONAL signal that the game has not started. My idea is a simple one........every unit stands on or near the flag or base, lined up until someone gives a signal of some sort. I propose a countdown from 10 or 3 to 1. Any other ideas are welcome, but if everyone in every language agrees then I think games will only get better on this site.

The sites developers might appreciate the "more expensive" part. I don't necessarily think it is that confusing. It would be even easier if they had a way to test your config prior to purchase to ensure it adds / subtracts the right amount of speed / HP that you prefer.

My preference for both crystal / resource drops while also helping out your team is currently the "highland" map with its propensity to do a mass drop of resources in the middle of the map. While you are trying to gain crystals you are forced to interact with the enemy at the same time. Does anyone else have any map preferences for resource drops / leveling?

I have been playing the "Madness" map recently and find that it is a good source for leveling do to the wide open nature of the battle. Does anyone else have a map preference for quick leveling?

Please feel free to share some of your advanced team tactics here. I have seen some teams in action, but I would like to see if anyone has a clear cut strategy to dealing with the game with all of the units and their various skills that they bring to the table (non-operator based).

I would think that spending money on bonuses could yield more XP and crystals in the long run, what did you do?

Does anyone have any suggestions for leveling up early in your career?

I generally prefer faster tanks but have been recently upgrading my rail gun. Currently have a Hornet, would I be better off with another unit?

Sitting at Sargeant major, just trying to decide what to do?

I have been thinking about this. Instead of having M1-4 tank units, It would probably make more sense to just buy shell units, and have different pieces of armor that you can attach to your unit. Same with Engine's etc. Obviously the larger the shell, the lower the top speed of the unit. Also the more armor, the slower the unit. HP can be a function of survivability / armor on each unit. So say you wanted a hornet, and wanted the speed of the unit, you would obviously have a much lighter armor and a high Horsepower output engine. But if you wanted to balance your hornets speed with a heavy / medium armor then you could sacrifice the speed of the unit for more survivability. Of course the power ups can remain to essentially create more survivability, but the concept could both make for a more interesting game AND eliminate the "paint as armor" that I personally feel is a little hokey.