Between this and my package coming in the mail my day (or what's left of it) just keeps getting better!

Hey, either does swearing at people in voicechat but at least it makes you feel better.

If Mobile is considered a part of HTML5 then I'd kind of like to see a quick wheel with responses and messages like in World of Tanks Blitz. We don't need the full chat, being able to say "Help me defend/attack!" would be sufficient.

I don't understand why they haven't just pulled off this bandage in one fell swoop. Do Flash players really want to stay in a watered-down and restricted game? I understand nostalgia being a big factor here, possibly also that some players just don't have the specs for HTML5 but do for Flash, but at this point in a little over three months it won't matter at all. Tanki Online as I knew it back in middle school is dead already and given the Early Access fiasco I'd say this new thing wearing it's skin like some grotesque mockery of my favorite MMO won't be far behind it. I give the new Tanki a year at most before Alterniva Platform really goes to far and not even the next big sale can redeem them.

Wow, even the name of the hull makes zero sense. Like I said in the speculation thread, Grasshopper isn't all that hard to do and it would fit in with the other insect names. Thanks for nothing, I guess.

Aesthetically? Viking-Thunder. It just looks right. Practically? Mammoth-Thunder. It can camp, it can push, but boy it got a big ol' tush. For fun? Titan-Rail. The definition of a support tank, it can punish players from anywhere across the map and drop a bubble for teammates. And my least favorite hull is Hunter, because it looks awkward and it's overdrive feels irrelevant compared to the likes of Viking and Dictator. I'm not a fan of the weird metal circles on the back of the vehicle, which to me look like a pair of eyes.

Say no more.

I have a suggestion for Titan to help separate it from Mammoth a bit further as a defensive powerhouse. When above 50% of it's max health, it should have immunity to debuffs like being frozen or suffering from afterburn, maybe even being stunned. It should also be able to tank one attack that would normally instantly be fatal such as a Shaft blast, N2O bomb, or Hornet overdrive with exactly one health remaining. This will prevent you from being completely helpless if your team still hasn't figured out which color shouldn't be in their spawn and there's a bunch of pests buzzing around uncontested while also giving Titan more staying power in a close-ranged brawl, and I think it would work well as it's own tacked on feature to the hull. I realize there are augments that do the same thing and would make this redundant, but AltPlat have made it clear that only being able to equip one is somehow a way of balancing them.

10/10, all I needed to hear.

True. I like to think I've managed on my main account which is Titan-Rail, so not the most fast-paced gameplay, but even at that I had to learn the finger movements to get the hull to go where I wanted, tweak the settings so that all the gimmicks are off, and finally fine tune the sensitivity. I've persevered through three separate phones and now they're just going to dumb it down even more when mobile players such as myself already arguably have the advantage of a red hit outline showing when we can target something with hitscan weapons AND we had the ability to watch ads to change missions for free. I can't help but think AP is trying to make this version much simpler for the casual mobile gaming crowd while at the same time alienating the majority of players who I assume are simply using mobile to play on the go. Or the ones like me, who started off on PC back when flash was a thing and then had an incident with their computer and a wall at high velocity.

I'm skeptical about the utility of automatic firing. Sure it could make Vulcan more managable since that's a turret with unique firing mechanics and really requires dexterity only a keyboard can provide. On the other hand a turret like Railgun has a delay before firing that you have to account for, which if this system just senses a possible hit and just fires will do a bad job teaching newbies about how to pre-fire before you leave cover. Railgun isn't a reactive turret like Smoky or Thunder, you have to pick a target and then shoot or the enemy can just avoid your attack entirely. Lok, Thu'um.

Ares was recently introduced to the game with a mixed, mostly negative response. I personally love it, though I must admit some bias as my primary platform is the mobile client until a Switch port happens or even unlikelier, I finally get around to finishing my PC build. However, that's not why you're here, is it? You're wondering how in the world a heavy hull can be paired with Firebird, of all turrets. Well, quite simply, with a lot of janky maneuvers and lots of speed boosts. Before we get into the meat of this wall of text, I'd first like to attempt to explain Ares' controls (on mobile) in a better way than the recent V-Logs ever could. It's quite simple on mobile: Rotating the camera instead turns the turret you have equipped separate from the hull. Moving the thumbstick forward will cause the hull to attempt to simultaneously move in the direction the turret is facing and also rotate the hull so that the front of it matches the orientation of your turret. In even simpler terms, imagine if Magnum could rotate by pressing the turret rotation keys but the hull also moves slightly behind it. What does this do for Firebird that other hulls don't? Well... 1. Jukes and japes By focusing one tank down and melting their hull down to tinfoil then abruptly changing direction to target someone on the opposite side of your hull, you can react quicker to developing events in the battle. You could, say, focus down a Dictator to force him to use his overdrive then suddenly target the Isida attempting to flank you and heal him, wasting an enemy's valuable ability AND delaying his healing, possibly even downing a medic if they're stupid enough to continue approaching. Everyone who's anyone knows when a Wasp gets very brave, especially if they have a long range turret, they're going to drop a bomb. Some of them even completely do away with the concept of hit-and-run by just running and hitting shift then standing around like a fool. What can this combo do to help in this situation? First, equip a speed boost if you aren't already fastened up. Then start approaching to intercept the Wasp, ideally from a slight angle so that after you hose them down with napalm you can then rotate your turret away and then start moving out of range of the now counting down bomb. It takes some getting used to, but due to the unique way of inputting directions combined with the ability to instantly change your direction you can melt the Wasp and avoid the explosion easier than faster tracked hulls. If my words here help, try to think of turning with this hull as both using the joystick AND rotating in the direction you wish to move, as this is faster than simply trying to strafe/backpedal away. 2. Strafing and retaliating Think you've mastered this combo just because you can maneuver quickly? Now it's time to learn how to "hug". I call it this because to me it brings to mind two people hugging. To do this you must approach your desired target, preferably from behind, and then get right beside them and begin moving the stick into their direction. This will cause Ares to essentially latch onto their hull and you can rotate the turret without worrying about getting disoriented. You should be blasting them with fire throughout this, then once you reach the desired damage and temperature, begin moving again to let them cook to death. Once you get the handle on this, try doing it without squeezing into them and instead circle-strafe like you would with any other hull. This is the bulk of your engagements with Ares-Firebird but will also reward you quite a bit by hopefully mitigating the disorientation the hull causes just by being what it is. Retaliating is the exact opposite. This is using Firebird's naturally fast turning speed to react to oncoming threats and maneuver into range, bearing in mind what I said earlier: The hull considers forwards to be the direction the turret is facing, and also accelerates quicker moving forwards. Firebird moves so fast, in fact, that even when your hull is slowed, you can actually outpace a circle-strafing Freeze on a Wasp. 3. Distracting and outlasting Using Ares with Firebird locks you out of a direct assault role due to the hull being too slow and big to safely approach from the front, but if you use the techniques described above, you can easily slip through some flanking routes and begin attacking enemies from the back and in general, spreading discord and massive damage through groups of defenders or midfielders. Think of yourself as not only a slow moving target, but a slow moving priority target. Your primary role should always be to distract and stress out the enemy team by making them devote valuable time and ammunition to taking you out before you barbecue their entire spawn, allowing your teammates to grab the flag or gain ground on the map and supply drops. Firebird's crowd control and ability to dish out afterburn makes it perfect for this role as not only will they have to try and repair the damage mid-rampage and put their repair kit on cooldown, but also try to swarm you or run into a hiding spot. The more time you can spend alive and being hunted down, the better as every pride-driven Hornet who you've angered by having the audacity to outsmart them tunnel visioning you is one that's not killing your team. 4. Alternate routes and vertical drops As Ares is essentially impossible to flip to such a degree I refuse to believe the developers actually modeled the bottom of the hull since you'll never see it, it is the absolute best at navigating narrow ledges and making insane vertical maneuvers to not only flank but also escape danger. Need to escape a swarm of Wasp-Firebirds on a bridge? Just jump right off and watch them flip themselves chasing you. Need to get to an enemy Shaft around a bend? Go around the edge of the terrain by hugging the wall and take him by surprise! The sky's the limit when you face no risk of failure. Go above, go beyond, but most of all, have fun. 5. Conclusion Unfortunately it's past midnight and my Mr. Pibb supply has been depleted, so I must wrap things up. Ares-Firebird presents an interesting challenge for the user and while it might be less efficient than a light hull, the capabilities of the hover mechanics make it well worth trying out. Lok, Thu'um.

Protip: Use the reduced chance of tipping off of a narrow ledge to flank in places tracked hulls can't.

There was a gold box in Juggernaut. I think you can tell where this is going. The grossest misuse of overdrives and biggest dogpile of treads and metal ever seen. For a shiny little box containing 1000 crystals. Oh, and my teammate decided to try and shove me (an Ares) off of the bridge it was on because he misinterpreted me going after the enemy Wasp with an OD ready to delete our Juggernaut as me trying to go for the distraction. Needless to say it didn't go to well for him, since he commited fully to gravity and was inhibited by his treads where I could simply reorient myself in midair like a cat. Lok, Thu'um.

I have settled on the recently-introduced Ares hull and Firebird as my turret, as they befit my draconic heritage well. However, while I rake in crystals with such a simple combo I have nothing much to spend them on and would like to purchase an Alteration that will enhance my ability to kill with a slow and bulky hull like Ares. I was thinking High Pressure Pump, not because of the low price, but because the increased range would help in closing in on enemies. This is currently my biggest weakness on open terrain, they see me coming from a mile away and I either have to strafe and weave or use my armor supplies. Does the alteration actually increase the range or just the range at which the turret deals more damage? If it's the latter, I'd rather focus on raw damage with Thermite Mixture or melting things to brimstone with Compact Fuel Tanks. Lok, Thu'um.