Guide [Issue 24] The Cheapskate's Shopping Guide

[Valletta 834]

 

     Do you consider yourself to be part of the less wealthy section of the community? The players who don’t get much luck in battles, or aren’t involved in contests, or recently spent all their savings on equipment they now regret ever buying. In all these cases your stockpile of crystals is quite humble and you need patch up the situation so you can present yourself in a somewhat dignifying tank configuration. After all, no one takes an M0 combo in a Warrant Officer battle seriously.  Same goes for people who use M1 or M2 modifications of their equipment in higher ranked battles when they know they can use better and far more efficient pieces of equipment that are available at their rank. Well then, worry not, because no matter if you are a beginner or a relatively high-ranked player who is going through a tough period, this guide will offer tips on how to obtain the closest and cheapest imitation of a decent configuration for your tank.

 

     Starting off: Newbies or “Rusty players” (M0 Level)

 

     For new players and such who haven’t played the game in a while, the constant changes in game physics and equipment stats can be difficult to cope with, so re-learning some skills or substituting them with new ones is often the only option. Newbies can choose a single combination to use in all battles, regardless of the conditions. So far light hulls used with Ricochet, Thunder and Railgun seem to be the leading multipurpose tanks and that is for a good reason - everyone loves hit-and-run tactics for weapons with a superb single shot damage like Railgun or Thunder, while Ricochet is just overpowered. Once equipped, say, Ricochet, becomes “linked” with its owner and the aggressive play style never goes away. So, choosing a combination of one hull and gun to later develop and get better at is a very good, if not the best option. TO has already set the bar for starting players with a relatively versatile combination – Hunter and Smoky. If you wish you can develop this perfectly average tank. Players who are not familiar with the game mechanics can choose a less demanding combination like Titan and Ricochet or Twins, while users who are creating an alternative account and already know how to play can choose Wasp with some of the above mentioned hit-and-run guns (Thunder, Railgun). The whole point of this task is to not end up with a bunch of hulls and guns in your garage and be left with no crystals for upgrades, because then there is no easy way out of that situation. Rather, you should work towards being the best in just one or two tank configurations, so you can achieve maximum efficiency against rivals with different or even identical configurations.

 

     Stick to the best combo you currently own (M1 Level)

 

     Assuming you already have a combination of gun and hull you feel competitive with, you need to be sure you are the best one with this combination in every map you choose to play in. So, if you join a Serpuhov in your Wasp-Rail, you need to be sure that you’re the best (and preferably the only) Wasp-Rail out there. A tank that is different from the others proves to be more versatile on its own than any of its teammates. With time M0’s become M1’s and M1’s become M2’s, and so on. Simply by playing games without much risk of takeovers and regularly picking up daily bonuses guarantees sufficient funds for the upgrade you want when the time for the upgrade comes. Generally, follow the strategy of upgrading the gun first, and then the hull, as points are gained through destroying enemies, not through surviving attacks. To boost your self esteem slightly, you can buy a cheap paint from the range of 250 to 2000 crystals (Like Metallic, Lava or Lead) – those won’t guarantee you survival from an entire hit from one weapon, but do come in handy when you need to buy yourself a few seconds of survival when you know what your enemy is using, or even in clan wars (In fact, in minor leagues, many players rely on Forester for battles restricted to Railguns).

 

     Getting to the tricky part (M2 Level)

 

     At some point the M1 newbie gets immersed in the world of higher ranked and more competitive players. If you are low on funds at that point, things are way harder to grind through because of the high prices, with the tanks still not being able to output their highest level of efficiency. At this point the experienced newbie becomes a weak professional and the change in league can become stressful. This is also the point at which many players give up on the game because of the immense tedium. To cope with all this, you need to start getting involved in the community – help from friends allows participating in games with different dynamics, which pose a more certain end of the battle in favor of your team. There you can demonstrate what you’ve previously learned with your favorite tank configuration – all the skills you were supposed to get at M1 level and excel over your opponents are now put to the test. On top of that, in case rolling with the same tank over and over again gets too tedious, there is one last trick up the sleeve of playing with friends: Many non-traditional battles can be organized aside from those classic CTF’s and DM’s you already know. Battles made specifically for farming gold boxes or funds are quite popular, with Wasp and Firebird combos fighting upon mutual agreement. You can do the same with Wasp and Thunder, or Hornet and Rail (also known as XP), or whatever you and your friends find to be fun. All this can be a nice pastime for all these bored M2’s until they get through the tedious ranks and get some proper M3 combinations. Just like grinding through the M1 stage, you need to focus on upgrading one (or optionally two) combo(s) and doing your best with that. If there are no extra expenses like drugs or paints, your funds should be enough for upgrading both your hull and gun to M3.

 

     The Pro league (M3 level)

 

     Hooray! You got to build your first M3 tank! Congratulations, but oh, what? You want more? Well, the good part about ranks past, say, Brigadier, is that you already have a solid basis you have built upon, and now it is down to ticking all the things that aren’t in your garage off the list. Years ago, before the first and pivotal rebalance, players could get Viking M3 and Thunder M3 at the rank of Warrant Officer 4. Seeing Viking-Thunders in battles with no drugs or no paints was a common sight, and this is the strategy that many still follow today. However, Viking and Thunder are now available at the ranks of Brigadier and Lieutenant General, leaving a huge gap in between to stock up on crystals for upgrading other tanks and buying better paints, or even, if you happen to come across a large sum of crystals, to buy some shiny kit. With M3 gear, drugs and paints finally begin to play a role and can actually change the outcome of a battle. Prioritizing on the most practical paints for your tank is key here, so don’t go buying Inferno if you intend on playing XP battles just because it looks cool.

 

     What is important here is to choose specific types of battles, funds and generally trying to make your matchmaking work in your favor because your tank isn’t getting any better and you can only rely on your skills. So, if you are a Brigadier, try playing battles with Majors instead of Marshals, as the results are clearly going to be different.

 

     This wraps it up in regard to strategies for each rank. Of course, there are just a few more quite obvious, but still very handy tricks:

• Do your best to collect daily bonuses as much as possible, because buying supplies is never a smart option
• Look forward to earning every single bit of crystals you can get: Gold boxes, contest prizes, even patches of unpicked crystals in your way; Never leave battles prematurely, because even the losing side gets part of the fund.
• Play regularly. A single day of spending 6 hours playing isn’t nearly as effective as spending the entire week playing about an hour of playing.
• Give yourself breaks from playing. If your supplies run out, spend a week just logging in for the dailies so your supply can replenish.
• Do your best to get hulls and guns available at a rank when your opponents will still not be able to upgrade their equipment; Having that advantage is crucial, even in the smallest aspects.

 

     Good luck carefully planning your upgrading path and working on your routine to assure a risk-free and successful career!

[Guest Maserati]

good job :)

[austlee 56]

fantastic

[r_PlasmaTank1 19]

This is a great guide.  :)

[Atakhan 1,229]

Nice :)

[Valletta 834]

Glad you found it helpful :)

[The-Beast-Is-Here 5]

Helpful, But still comes down to how many digits show on the crystal count!

[moldocj 0]

Awesome advice! I am really gonna use this.

[Kotooshu 30]

Супер! :D

[That_Random_Tank 0]

Thanks for this awesome guide! Gonna use it!  ;)

[T3chio 18]

This paper is sweet! really good advice in everything i've read :)

[Hawkyrapter 1]

Very Good Valletta but I didn't find it all that helpful since I prefer to buy everything cheapest to most expensive.

By the way are you from Malta?

[souljaboy_cg 0]

:fire_r: GOOD  :fire_r:  :fire_l: JOB :fire_l:

[bart420 63]

good job tanki you RULE!!!!!! :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:  :fire_r:  :fire_l:

[Valletta 834]

Helpful, But still comes down to how many digits show on the crystal count!

Indeed, but following some of the tips I suggested you can make any crystal count work in your favor ;)

Супер! :D

Благодаря, but try using english here :p

Very Good Valletta but I didn't find it all that helpful since I prefer to buy everything cheapest to most expensive.

By the way are you from Malta?

Whatever buying strategy works best for you pal, I'm just adding more options :) And no, I am not Maltese (there's always someone who asks this!)

[Kotooshu 30]

Indeed, but following some of the tips I suggested you can make any crystal count work in your favor ;)

Благодаря, but try using english here :P

Whatever buying strategy works best for you pal, I'm just adding more options :) And no, I am not Maltese (there's always someone who asks this!)

I was just joking, randomizing the comments with some bulgarian :D

[souljaboy_cg 0]

i needed something like this GO TANKI :fire_r:  :tank:  :fire_l:

[gazatron30 513]

very nice

[eefschiet 17]

really, really helpful  :)

 

I like the M2 part, that was really interesting....

[lukey0 27,543]

Nice this will really help lower ranks or even high ones too. 

[Bananasoup82 1]

valleta the me gusta at the bottom was nice, like the guide too

[img000016 1]

cool

 

[Vettefan22 145]

Now I wish I hadn't gotten M1 Dictator.. need to focus on Wasp/Hunter and Thunder/Smoky instead... dangit

 

Great article. This whole issue is amazing!

[r_PC-JACK0 91]

Good job -- good giude -- excellant layout and design with some style. :):)

[EatYourMeat 27]

Lovely Val, these is very informative. Your tips and advice are very effective! Thumbs Up!(If there was any  :ph34r: