Other [Issue 21] Editorials

[Raphael2 3,263]

 

Hello active reader, you want to make people aware of a cause, promote something or simply want to be heard?

Forget humans billboards, flyers, hoardings.

In this topic we will publish opinion pieces, letters, adverts etc..
In order to be published, you need to PM Raphael2 with your text. It will be published in the next Issue as long as it is appropriate and suitable for all ages.

 

---

@Lankbouv: Why Shaft is completely different to its predecessor; and why it is now like Railgun.

 

 

 

 

 

Shaft.  The weapon, that along with ricochet, ruled the pre-rebalance days.  The weapon that at M3, could one shot any hull apart from mammoth.  Shaft.  The weapon that after the rebalance was nerfed so heavily that it fell into almost complete disuse.  But what it is like now?  How was it changed by the new physics update?

 

Firstly, let me explain how shaft has changed.  Before the physics update, with shaft, you would have to sit there and load up your charge, very slowly.  In contrast, now, you can play almost like a Rail-gunner.  You can pop out, charge, in a matter of seconds, kill someone and hide again.  You no longer need a great hiding place, where no one can kill you.  You can dart around the map, destroying people with ease.  People, since the “Reworking of maps” Update have been saying that there is a lack of hiding places for shaft.  In my opinion they are no longer needed.

 

Now, pre-physics/rebalance, the favoured hull for shaft was mammoth.  You did see others occasionally, but mainly it was mammoth.  But, because the way shaft works had changed (previous paragraph), I believe a different hull is necessary.

 

I have only evaluate 3 hulls, as I believe these are the only hulls you would consider.  I may well be wrong :P

 

First option: Hornet

 

 

Hornet is a nice fast hull, and is perfect in my opinion for shaft now.  This is because of its slow recharge.  It needs to be able to hide while it charges.  Then, when charged, it can pop out, take a quick shot, and kill.

 

Pros

 

-Quick.

-Enough health to make it more reliable than wasp.

-Good stability, so it doesn't flip.

-Still has the ability to capture flags.

 

Cons

 

-Not much health, can easily be overwhelmed by close range weapons such as Freeze or Firebird. (This is why positioning is imperative with shaft).

 

CONCLUSION:  For me, hornet would now be the perfect hull to go with shaft. 9/10

 

Second Option: Viking

 

 

Viking is a nice hull, with a low centre of gravity.  It's speed was increased with the new physics, and its armour is, for me, phenomenal. 

 

Pros:

 

-Impossible to flip, unless you attempt hair-raising manoeuvres, and considering this is shaft we are talking about, you probably won't need to be jumping off bridges and the like.

-Great health, you can win a 1 v 1 with another shaft easily.  

 

Cons:

 

-Not as fast as hornet, and so you can be caught easily.  I suggest you use Viking in a defensive position, as oppose to hornet, which could be midfield.

- Slow turning speed.  If you try to turn quickly to face a freeze, you may not be able to do so in time, and you will almost certainly be killed.

 

CONCLUSION:

 

Not too bad for shaft, but I suggest you use it in defence, as in attack you will be overwhelmed easily. Not a good hull for smaller maps, such as silence. 6.5/10

 

Third Option: Mammoth

 

 

Mammoth is now the slowest hull in the game.  It is sluggish but has an incredible amount of health.  However, there is no doubt it as been nerfed in comparison to other hulls.  But is it compatible with Shaft.

 

Pros:

 

- As stated before, its incredible health means that you will be well protected from Railguns and others who try to take you out.

 

Cons:

 

-Definitely too slow to be used properly with the pop-out theory.

-Awful turning, completely atrocious and dire.

-Should only be used with shaft in defence, which limits its usefulness to a team

 

CONCLUSION:  It used to be the ideal hull for shaft, able to withstand batterings while it charged itself up, but due to the short recharge mammoth is obsolete with shaft.  3/10.

 

So we've seen what a shaft can do, but how can we combat it?

 

How to beat a shaft:

 

Just after the new physics update, many people were fooled by shaft's quick charge.  People did not realise that shaft would go from 0 damage to full strength in a matter of seconds.  Often, they would think they had time to get out of the shaft's line of fire.  I was one of those people.  And it never ends well, believe me:

 

                                                                                  

 

 

So, how do we avoid, and kill, a shaft? 

 

Well, in some cases, it is easy.  If you catch them unaware, you can often go around them and shoot them, especially if they are in sniper mode:

 

 

 

However, most of the time, the shaft will be at a distance to you and therefore you have no chance of killing it.

 

 

Take the above example.  If you run straight at the shaft, it is easily going to kill you.  You have to find cover.  From there you can do a special trick, which I will explain now. 

 

Basically, if you are hiding behind something, and if you go out of cover a shaft will certainly get you;  this is what you must do.  Fire to the right or left, and the shaft will think you are going that way.  Then, when he has charged up, go the other way.  Like this:

 

 

 

I have seen this trick employed many times, and have also done it.  It doesn't work all the time, but if you can commit the shaft into charging itself up, you have beaten it.

 

Another way to beat a shaft is by using a paint with protection against it.  If you use hornet normally, a shaft of the same modification level as you can consistently 1 shot you.  So, in CTF games, it can be frustrating when yo beat their defence and somehow the shaft still kills you.  So, it is worthwhile investing in paints.  I think these are the best two you can go for:

 

  

 

With 38% protection, against shaft and only costing roughly 100k crystals, Winter is a good buy.  It also has handy thunder protection as well as some fairly pointless 5% protections.  If you wait for a 50% sale, this can be extremely good value, nice and cheap.

 

 

With 45% protection against shaft, and costing roughly 150k crystals, this is slightly more expensive.  However, if you have this paint you are almost immune to pesky Shafts.  And don't forget it has a handy 25% and 12% protection against thunder and smoky respectively.

 

Winter looks fairly ugly, but Jade is downright awesome, one of the best looking paints in the game.

 

So, this concludes my article about shaft, and hopefully, I'll give something for Raph to post next month.

 

@Lankbouv

Edited July 31, 2017 by Hexed

[Remaine 4,687]

Nice, Lank.

[coolio679 84]

Good read that

[Therider 2,034]

nice lanky :3

[D1E 257]

Cheers guys :), I may send another in this month.

[Beerme 106]

nice :P

[GoldRock 6,165]

Nicely written Lank, a great editorial ^_^

[Fjelstad1678 186]

Very nice! I would have probably rated the Viking a little bit higher, but that's just me.  ^_^ All in all, I think this guide is very useful! Great job! 

[canadarules 1,938]

In this topic we will publish opinion pieces, letters, adverts etc..

 

can we make them non tanki related like outside world events

[D1E 257]

^It was my opinion on shaft :P and thanks guys 

Edited March 4, 2014 by D1E

[D1E 257]

Very nice! I would have probably rated the Viking a little bit higher, but that's just me.  ^_^ All in all, I think this guide is very useful! Great job! 

Hmm, looking back that is quite possible, maybe 8/10, but only in defensive positions.  In attacking it is nigh on useless

[mdit108 121]

nice article...worth reading

[rokar123 11]

Nice.

[Xenophobia 457]

Very nice! I would have probably rated the Viking a little bit higher, but that's just me.  ^_^ All in all, I think this guide is very useful! Great job! 

So would I. When I use shaft, I always use it with viking, it's turning speed is not that bad, and in maps like silence when I am camping on both sides it's awesome. Yeah, I am actually mostly camping with shaft, not moving around.

[High 773]

Sweat work!

[D1E 257]

Cheers guys, I ranked 2day, incidently and took a gold box :P

 

wrong place IK but meh

[AkiliW 210]

 Slendertank Guide coming soon!

[D1E 257]

le wut^?

[AkiliW 210]

Le battle mode called ST battle, or Slendertank.

[ZachPadda11 54]

le wut^?

 

Le battle mode called ST battle, or Slendertank.

Really Cool battle!!