@Ironmantonystark @kydapoot @Spy @wild001 Thank you for your advice! I might try to go for the assault rounds (buying those myself). Cryo/Fire rounds seem fun as well. Autocannon, despite being strong, seems off idea-wise - I've had a chance to encounter it a few times. Gauss and Magnum protection definitely crossed my mind a few times. I am not sure if the 3rd would be Railgun, because Vulcan/Striker/even Firebird seem annoying to deal with (at lower ranks at least). Defender is probably the best choice indeed because armour is the most used supply of mine.

I do play games overall and I do remember playing the game years ago - so that is nothing new, really. I do expect a constructive answer if I ask a question though, so please keep your salt levels at the minimum.

I saw that some augments from Wiki page are not obtainable in a normal way - they are not listed in-game either. What would be the best choice from those I can buy? I cant afford them yet but I am curious. Regarding Smoky being OP all the time - I can't really relate to that part (because I am bad at the game duh). People usually overwhelm me with (as OP as it ever was on low ranks) Firebird, Ricochet and even Gauss. Maybe it'll change after M4 or a bit higher modifications.

Hello! I am a returning player - have not been playing for a long while, and while I was never (by any means) a really good player, my skill level used to allow to play quite comfortably on low ranks. But now, as I can see, the game changed pace a lot and became significantly more dynamic, so I guess I need to adapt to it. (Un?)fortunately, I still enjoy the Turret-Hull combination I chose even after those years, so the change should come in either change of either game tactics or the Smoky usage (those Augments seem to affect gameplay a lot). I used to play defensively with an occasional push towards enemy spawn point/flag in a 80/20 proportion. Now, since overdrive exists, it might be worth it to switch to a bit more aggressive approach to utilize it more? After I've figured this part out... I felt like i needed help, because I do not really know much about current state of the game/meta. Would Smoky+Hunter work at all? Or maybe they are obsolete? What is the most effective way to use them (even if I don't end up playing like that on a regular basis, I need to know to at least try it out). Augments are another difficult part - are they worth saving up for? If so, which ones prove to be the most effective? I might be able to figure out the best Drone and resistances for the playstyle after I practice a bit, but please let me know if there are any particular ones (overwhelmingly powerful turrets or drones) that I should know about. Thank you in advance!