Guide [Issue 25] Movement with Railgun

[Fen-Harel 1,176]

 

Mastering a turret is a must for any tanker, but it won't bring out the full potential of a tank. In order to use the full power of a combo, you must master both the turret and hull. Now mastering a hull doesn't only mean learning how to drive and memorizing maps, it's also positioning yourself in battle. And with good positioning you can shoot off much more useful shots both for yourself and for your team. This advice is best used in XP (hornet/railgun) battles, but can easily be used in normal battles as well. Here I'll share some tips that in my experience helped me achieve good results.

 

See and observe

 

This is extremely important. Constant awareness of yourself and your opponents is vital to any match. Knowing your position and the position of others can determine the path you'll take in attacking and defending. In order to achieve this you'll constantly need to change your camera angle and rotate your turret, so get used to using Q and E. Counting shots is another thing that you have to use to achieve a decent success in the game - know how much health your opponent has, how long he's reloading, how much of a threat he is at that moment. Use the information given in the top right corner of your screen*, monitor who killed who and how many people are left alive. Using this you can quickly conclude if the base is empty, or if defenders are about to spawn. It'll also help you verify if you got a shot before someone else, the one who killed first or died first will always have the advantage, and knowing who that is is vital. All those combined will help you prioritize opponents, evade attacker and stop attempts of a flag capture.
*See picture below

 

Seeing the advantage

 

Whenever two players are hiding behind cover, sometimes there's an opening in the defence. You must know when you have the advantage to strike. These tactics will work if your opponent is a Railgun user, but with practice it can also surprise a Smoky or a Thunder. If you're in cover but your opponent is driving towards you, you have an easy shot. However don't be predictable. Make sure he's not charging the Railgun shot. In every case you always must watch your opponent, and make decisions based on his movement and aiming. If the opponent isn't charging, but he's moving towards you quickly. Now shoot first, while in cover, then move. This will make you much harder to predict than just moving out of cover and then pressing space. Since most players who see even the slightest hull movement will immediately charge their rail, shooting you off your aim. Note that this isn't only used if your opponent is going towards you, if he's standing on a ramp or slope you can use it to your advantage as well. Next example is when you're in cover, but your opponent is on a small ramp or slope. This is where you have a bit more advantage if you can use it properly. Here you will have to know the way your opponent is thinking. Is he going to rush his shot? Is he going to wait for you to waste yours? Will he be careful and move to another cover? You have about 1 second of charging with Rail. So you need to maximize its use, move out of cover then try to charge it the moment you see you can get inside your opponent's cover. This is a bit harder than the last one, but it'll come with practice.
    

Basic cover use:

  

Slope advantage:

 

 

Breaking ramp cover:

user=463568  

 

         

Positioning yourself

 

Now comes the part where you take the most benefit out of your hull. Most of the times you have an easy shot to make, shooting one opponent, however it's not always the best choice. If your opponent is reloading, try and look for other targets that may be a bigger threat. If you don't have any other opponents, you need to shoot in such a way to give you time for an escape. Go towards some cover, preferably a house or something like that. Then shoot your opponents side to slow him down if he's following you and quickly make a sharp turn around the cover. Now you'll have a chance to dodge a shot. The next positioning is one that's both attractive and effective. Lining up your opponents. Most enemies will just sit next to cover, so if you're in those 1 on 1 scenarios with someone else, try to line up with someone else. This takes practice but if you can score two hits for only one shot it'll benefit everyone. Predicting your opponents movement can also help in making double shots. If you know someone will rush for a flag, or go to cover, use it to your advantage. And patience is key, the easiest shots aren't the best ones. If you're inside the opponents base and have a clean shot, try and wait for one more opponent to spawn, then move out to angle them in a single line and shoot. Always remember that the benefit of Railgun is its range which doesn't reduce damage, so there's no need to go towards and opponent to hit him, it might also cause you to miss due to lag (since it can increase when you're pushing a tank).

 

Railgun outside XP

 

XP battles are nice and fun for those who like to experience the most out of their combo. But Railgun is also a standard tanki weapon, used in the normal battles as well. Pretty much the same tactics apply, only perhaps harder to execute since you're up against Smokies, Thunders and other weapons. Attacking with Railgun and taking flags is not something people suggest to new players, but it can be done with the right opportunity. Penetration power help here, so having Railgun to at least an M2 level would be good enough. Again finding a good spot is key. A spot where you can defend yourself from any attacker and see them approaching early, and at the same time have a good view of the opponents base. Since that's where they will regroup the most, penetrating shots are easy, so you can shoot two and sometimes three people at once. And since you only have one shot and then a long reload, using the most of it is highly beneficial. (If you can, using a double power would help you a lot in this situation) Once you see an opportunity to clear out the base, you can freely take the flag.

Reducing threat level

Dodging, shooting people off aim and taking cover is a great way to survive, but it's not always possible. Especially in a chaotic rush for the flag where everyone seems to be in the same place just shooting the nearest enemy. In this situation I prefer to move out of the group and keep control of the position from a far. An example would be hiding in the bushes part of Sandbox, it'll make you harder to notice and while people are occupied with the flag, they'll hardly even look there. Sometimes even a simple move as rotating your turret to someone else will cause an opponent to hit someone next to you, thinking you won't aim at him. However this is somewhat of a risky strategy, for you need to be confident in your ability that you can use an opportunity after you've "sacrificed" your teammate. Always keep in mind that small factor of how dangerous you are to your opponent, for it'll give you a shot or two more then someone who's seen as a bigger threat.

 

Controlling the battle

 

This is what separates the normal players from the great ones. Controlling the battle requires you to combine all the previous techniques mentioned. To clarify, you need to have a feeling of power when you join a match. You don't want to be surprised by anything. You need to predict everything, including when you'll get killed. As long as you control the match, you won't have trouble helping your team. The moment you lose control is the one when you feel like you don't know what to do, if you're getting killed right after you spawn, if you can't recognize who has full health points and who's low. However you mustn't let that distract you. Take a few seconds to get the feeling of the situation, sometimes the opponents will cap a flag while you try to see where you're at but that's unimportant (unless the flag is the deciding one and ends the match). You must know what you're doing at every moment, and to an extent know when your teammates will get destroyed and who will they wound. This too in time becomes instinctive, but start practising it early, for it'll help in the future.

 

Conclusion

 

There is always room for improvement in your gameplay, and experimenting with different tactics and shots is what makes the game all the more enjoyable. Finding some easy and simple tricks will always help you win a battle, and help your teammates along the way. Get together with your friends and find the best positions in maps to help you beat even the strongest of opponents. Railgun is a weapon that most veteran players use, it's the most popular weapon in cybersport, holding a vital part in the light format, and for good reason. The large damage of the endless beam and slow reload combined with elegance and speed of hornet makes this a harmonious combination. I'm sure many players have their own tricks that help them gain the edge over their opponents, mastering a certain position and controlling every segment of the battle. I'm hoping this guide will help the newer players, or even some of the more experienced, get increased enjoyment out of the beautiful weapon that is the Railgun.

 

Thank you for reading and see you in battle.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Hexed

[The_PlayMaker 657]

Nice Fen  ^_^

[AngeIs.And.Demons 1,988]

Im in za pics :D Add thanks atleast :P

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Nice one... :)

[qinwan9 125]

Nice start,keep up the good work! ;)

[Guest Maserati]

good techniques might think about using some of them

 

joking - ik them alrdy but it will help those newbs out there to improve :P

 

[g08408 10]

thanks for the tips! (sorry accidental dislike i meant to like this)

[DarkOperative 5,580]

Woah. That ze secrets to your amazing skillz. I go do everything as stated!  :wub:

[TheLonelyEpic 212]

Like the first pic Fen. Look forward to more high quality work like this.

[mitropam 18]

Well, you've convinced me to try out rail in an (even!) lower account! That's saying something. B)

Edited August 9, 2014 by mitropam

[nexx_mowarek 35]

A really informative and helpful guide! Thanks a lot!

[EatYourMeat 27]

Well done man, very decent guide. this will help me alot in XP's!

[lordmostafa 3,821]

Nice information Fen, great job.

[robbiealdo 373]

since when is turning your turret available :o

[lukey0 27,543]

Good job. XP might just become more skilled.  :ph34r:

[donut70 97]

Good tips, but most will take too much time to  "think" about. For anyone who read this to try and get better, keep these tips in mind, but realize that they won't be very helpful until you make them instinctual. When these techniques are no longer pulling any of your attention from the basic demands of winning the current firefight THEN you will become far better.

[Death705 227]

nice

[kEwEi 27]

Great topic to teach ppl how to rail, nice

[LaLisa_My_Queen 271]

Thanks for sharing, it really helps.

[7919zola 252]

Yup, it's always good to feel like everything is in control in a current match. Great article @Fen-Harel.

[Cook.My.Sock 269]

Small yet informative guide :) will certainly help me in the future :). Looking forward to more from you Harel :)

[Warhammer_TO 181]

since when is turning your turret available :o

noob don't you know how to play tanki?!

lol you hit the x and z keys

[Eragon 13,876]

I lag so no matter what skill I got I will miss 76%  :ph34r:

[dragonssk1 334]

Too long to read on my phone.... sorry

[canadarules 1,938]

nice fen and controlling the battle is fun...done it before :P

[redbear74 0]

really guys