Guide [Issue 27] Smart Cooldowns

[Pathfinder 1,690]

 

All players receive drugs in daily bonuses and so everyone has access to drugs, no matter if they buy them or not. As a result, drugs are an intrinsic part of Tanki, and knowing how to use them properly is a definite component of success.

As you probably know, from the forum or from in-game, the drugs have changed in both appearance and function. This was implemented to try and introduce a new dimension to the game and a new strategy to drugging, as opposed to simply pressing 2,3 and 4 mindlessly after spawning.

Here in this article, you will find out about what drugs are, when or when not to drug, as well as how to use them effectively.
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What?

Before the introduction of Smart Cooldowns, the cooldown of supplies were independent of each other, only influenced by when you had last used that particular supply. However, the use of one particular supply now affects the cooldown time for others. This makes it impossible to use a certain combination of supplies at the same time.

• Repair Kit: Restores 200 hitpoints per second and removes burning and freeze effects over 2 seconds. Prevents use of another Repair Kit for 30 seconds after point of use. Prevents use of Double Armour, Double Power or Mine for 15 seconds after point of use.
• Double Armour: Doubles Armour for 45 seconds. Prevents use of Double Power for 30 seconds after point of use. Prevents use of Nitro for 15 seconds after point of use. After usage, cool down time of 15 seconds before reuse.
• Double Power: Doubles Power for 45 seconds. Prevents use of Double Armour for 30 seconds after point of use. Prevents use of Nitro for 15 seconds after point of use. After usage, cool down time of 15 seconds before reuse.
• Nitro: Increases speed by 30% for 45 seconds (check if it's 20%+3). Prevents use of Double Armour and Double Power for 15 seconds after point of use. After usage, cool down time of 15 seconds.
• Mine: Activates 1 seconds after setting, dealing 100-200 damage points when enemies move over them. Prevents use of Repair Kit, Double Armour or Double Power for 15 seconds. Prevents use of another Mine for 30 seconds.

Smart cooldowns are made clear from the following table, courtesy of tankiwiki: (Top Row is the Drug Equipped, while the Left Column is the amount of seconds needed before the next drug can be used)


This raises the point that when you want to use a particular pair of drugs, the order you use them can make a difference. For example, when using a Repair Kit/Double Armour, you can use both simultaneously if you press 2 before 1, but you have to wait 15 seconds if you use the Repair Kit first.

When?
Many players like to drug when the fund reaches a large amount, and this certainly does seem like an attractive option - drugging can indeed win you a game and reward you with many, many crystals! And what better time to do this than when the fund is thousands of crystals?

However, this may not always be the case. There are many factors to consider. And don't forget that one set of drugs (FA, DP, DA, Nitro) costs 450 crystals!

The sharing of the fund brings me to my first point. You will be sharing the final fund with your teammates, so their scores may influence whether it is a good idea to drug or not. Let me illustrate this with an example. Imagine your team has a combined total score of 1000, and the battle fund is 5000 crystals. For every kill you make, your score increases by 10 points, which is 1% of the battle fund, earning you around an extra 50 crystals. However, if the total score of the team was 10,000 and the fund was the same size, each kill you make now earns you 0.1% of the fund, which is just 5 crystals.

So overall, to work out if drugging is a good idea economically depends on a ratio of the battle fund to the total team score.

The linear distribution of funds brings me to my second point, which I will again illustrate with an example.

Imagine you had 1000 points and there were 9 other players on your team each with 400 points. Currently, if you took your share of the fund you would receive (1000/4600)= 21.7% of the fund. Now imagine each of your team captured a flag, leaving you with 1100 points and your teammates on 600. Now you receive (1100/5600) = 19.6% of the fund. You may argue that an increase in fund would balance this, but let me tell you that's not always the case. Let the battle fund be 5000 crystals originally. You would receive (1000/4600)*5000 = 1087 crystals originally. In order to receive the same amount, the new battle fund must be (1087/0.196) = 5534 crystals, and I don't think capturing 10 flags increases the fund by as much as 534 crystals. Thus, it may sometimes me a good idea to 'close' the game, especially if you have a leading score. Otherwise you may end up playing for less and less crystals! So make that balance!

Conversely, if you have a lower score on your team, drag the game on (don't drug)! If your teammates' scores increases linearly as does yours, your proportion of the team's score increases as does the fund. Double win!

Of course, it need not be said that drugging for the gold is a good idea. As to which drug to use, with a slow tank like Mammoth, a Nitro would benefit you more. But with a weaker tank that doesn't particularly lack speed, a Double Armour would be effective.

Now we have looked at some points of when it is appropriate to drug, when is it not so good an idea?

Although it is a good idea generally to drug when the fund is large, this fund can only be yours if you win, and this won't happen all the time.

Firstly, bear in mind that if you drug, the enemy may drug back! And if you then decide to stop, the enemy may not be so forgiving and continue to drug! Therefore, it may be best to drug only if you have the better equipment in the battle - it will not end well if the enemy drugs back with better equipment than you! Also, it may also be best if you can bring a few other members on your team to drug too - strength in numbers!

Secondly, even if you have better gear, the battle may still be unwinnable. Don't waste your drugs if you are losing 99-1 in a 100 flag game. Don't waste your drugs if you don't have time to stay till the end of the 999 minute game to enjoy the fund. Don't waste your drugs when there are just 5 minutes left to capture 50 flags!

Now for some common situations when it is very tempting to drug, but you shouldn't. The first case is where you have already invested a lot of time and drugs into a particular game. True, if you stopped drugging you could let that go to waste, but evaluate before continuing - you could end up losing even more! The second case is drug versus drugs. If the enemy has worse gear and you can tell from the way they are playing that you can outmatch them, sure drugging would be advised. But if they have better gear, why drug back when you will just be wasting them?

How?

Now we know about when it is appropriate to drug, how do we do it most effectively? With the introduction of smart cooldowns, this skill is even more pertinent, so I have taken some time to look at a few scenarios that should encompass your gameplay.

Camping/Sniping: Hopefully, if you are intending to camp (sitting in cover to snipe), you are wise enough to find a safe and well hidden area, preferably where enemies can only approach you from one side and where you can pick them off before they get near. If this is the case, Double Armour isn't as useful as a Double Power. The enemy can't hit you very easily and so the extra defence isn't so useful, while the extra damage means you can kill twice as fast. Nitro wouldn't be so useful as you are stationary!

Flag Runs: Obviously here the priority it to take the flag and escape as fast as possible without being shot down! And so, both Nitro and Double Defence will both be immensely useful. It is possible to use one first and wait 15 seconds to use the other. But which one do you activate first?

No matter which one you choose, you will effectively have 30 seconds of time when both will be active, and then 15 seconds where only one will be active. If you have a relatively fast tank (I wouldn't recommend taking flags with a Mammoth), 30 seconds is ample time to get back to your flag. But what if your flag has been taken? In this scenario, it's all about keeping the enemy flag safe in your own base, where the Double Defence will be more useful than the Nitro. And so usually, when going for flags, I'd activate the Nitro first, and then the Double Defence before running in to try and take it.

Capture Points: Here, your choice of Double Armour and Double Power should depend on the role you intend to play.

If you are going in to capture the point, Double Armour would surely be more useful. It keeps you alive, allowing you to stay in the capture zone for longer. This is particularly good for heavy tanks - it is extremely hard for enemies to remove you from the point's vicinity!

On the other hand, if you intend to fire at the point from a distance and support the point-capturers, perhaps a Double Power is more useful. With the enemies going for the point, it is less likely that they will target you, and so Double Armour is less important.

Healing Isida: How often do you see a drugged up Mammoth/Thunder, or Mammoth/Twins, sitting pretty and wasting enemies while any damage it takes is healed by supporting Isidas? The role of a healing or support Isida player is to heal a heavier tank which is spearheading an assault. Nitro isn't so important, as you will be following a fairly heavy tank that is advancing slowly or not at all. Double Armour may be useful if the map is relatively open - this makes it easier for enemies to target you, which is what they should be trying to do in that situation. Don't forget that while healing you will not gain health, and you will not stay alive so easily. However, if the assault is through a chokepoint, or you can easily find cover from the surroundings or behind the tank you are trying to heal, a Double Power may be the better choice.

Heavy Tanks: As a heavy tank, you want to activate both Double Armour and Double Power. But which do you activate first?

In principle, it makes more sense to activate the Double Armour first, as it allows you to stay alive while you wait for the cooldown time on your Double Power. But, on the other hand, you are a heavy tank... and will not be lacking on health.

The one you should use first depends on your situation. If you are being bombarded by many other tanks with little support, use your Double Armour first. If you have plenty of support, and are not at much risk of being destroyed, use your Double Power first.

I would write a short bit on how to use mines, but it has already been done better than i could ever do it. Courtesy of Tommy60:

 

http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=215418 

Thanks for reading! And since smart cooldowns haven't been properly established yet, I expect your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!

Edited July 31, 2017 by Hexed

[lordmostafa 3,821]

Hm, here is a tip, when you want to activate DA with FA or DP with FA, I recommend that you first either use DA or DP then use FA, because when you use the DA or DP first you do not need to wait for the FA to load, but, if you use FA first, you will have to wait to use DA or DP, which sometimes that is a life saver :)

 

DA=Double Armor, DP=Double Power and FA= First Aid, just in case you get confused.

 

Also, a well done article, nice job Hog I mean Kirby :lol:

Edited October 3, 2014 by lordmostafa

[aperaiderpistol 459]

A truly awesome article explaining smart cooldowns.

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Mentioned that :) but thanks for feedback!

[lordmostafa 3,821]

Mentioned that :) but thanks for feedback!

I see, I missed that part, sorry :)

[Rob 141]

Good work, Kirby!

[MA3CTPO_HA_XAHTEP 832]

Nice article, but bad update...

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

^Nice article, as nice as the update is... :)

Good job!

 

A Smart and easy solution to be able to use supplies uneconomically in battles is

ofcourse multiple accounts.

This way you receive plenty of drugs with the daily gifts: so you hardly have to Cooldown in using them.

Besides you can get a lot of free supplies in contests etc.

 

You get those supplies for free, so it 's up to you to "convert" them into those beautiful blue crystals! :wub:

Edited October 4, 2014 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[lukey0 27,543]

Enjoyed reading good article!  ;)

[aBdUlLaHkInGg 39]

Awesome cooldowns.

[I.H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E 120]

loser cool downs tanki must have gone and had to much vodka when they came up with that i dea i have quit buy cristals because of that wheat the point in drugging when i can not youse them freely and all on at once change it back tanki the old way was better and your bank acout will find that out

[TheDerpyTanky 0]

Do daily bonuses get better depending on how many points you have?

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Do daily bonuses get better depending on how many points you have?

The amount of crystals (and hence supplies, since you get supplies equal in value to your crystal daily bonus), increases with rank :)

 

I think there's a table on the wiki somewhere, but I think it goes up to 3300 for a generalissimo