[Issue 30] [Guide] Light Hulls - How to Choose, How to Use

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

Light Hulls-How to Choose, How to Use

 

 

Hornet and Wasp are currently the only 2 light hulls in the game. It should be no surprise to anybody here that there is a huge debate about which is better. A surefire way to start an argument is to say "Wasp sucks, Hornet is better" or "Hornet sucks, Wasp is better". Let's go into detail with these two rival hulls, and see if we can settle this debate once and for all.

 

Wasp and Hornet seem pretty similar at first glance. They're both fast with low health and stability, since they're light hulls. As such, they're often interchangeable on the battlefield; a Wasp can fulfill the same role that a Hornet can. The difference between the two hulls boils down to their health, speed, and handling. Wasp is the fastest hull in the game, and it has excellent maneuverability at the cost of low health and weight. Hornet is a bit slower than Wasp, but it makes up for this with increased durability and more weight. Hornet users argue that Wasp is simply too fragile and unstable when under fire, and Hornet is more manageable. Wasp users argue that Wasp's agility allows the user to avoid taking damage, which mitigates the unimpressive health and stability, while Hornet ends up taking more damage because of its lower agility.

 

Both sides have a point, but I think it's safe to say that they're both equally effective in the right hands, and the choice between one or the other is personal preference. Let's talk about Wasp first.

 

Wasp

If you want to take a look at Wasp's statistics, they're in this spoiler.

 

 

 

 

 

Wasp is very popular with low-ranking players, since it's cheap and quite effective. It becomes more rare as you go up the rank ladder; I've seen only a handful of M2 Wasps in my Tanki career. In CTFs, Wasp is the premier flag-capturing hull, thanks to its unsurpassed speed and maneuvering. You can run into an enemy base, grab the flag, and get out before anybody knows you're there. It's also good for attacking in any battle mode, since you can get to the front lines quickly and keep the pressure on the enemy team.

 

Wasp is better suited for navigating tight spaces than Hornet, since it has a fast turning speed and little drift. It's a bit easier to drive overall, which can help if you're trying to run away or attack quickly in cramped spaces. Wasp's full potential comes in large maps, where you can take advantage of the speed. Small maps, like Duel or Island, are typically more suited for heavier hulls.

 

Wasp's weaknesses come in the form of the low health and low stability. It can't survive long under heavy fire, and it's easy to mess up the aim of a Wasp with a weapon like Smoky or Railgun. This means you generally shouldn't attack enemies from the front; instead, try attacking them from the sides or from the behind. Take advantage of any cover you can get when driving; doing so will significantly improve your survivability.

 

On Wasp, the turret is mounted near the back of the hull. This means it goes well with the peek-a-boo tactic that many Railgunners use, as long as you poke the back end out and not the front. This also means that you might have trouble attacking enemies when rounding corners. As a result, a large number of Wasp users drive their tank backwards. While it may look a bit odd, it can make targeting more convenient.

 

Wasp is cheap and early-unlocking at M0 and M1. At M2/M3, it unlocks late and is more expensive, meaning it's more of an investment. Only go for M2 or M3 Wasp if you know you're going to be satisfied with it.

 

tl;dr: If you're confident in your ability to avoid being hit and enjoy unsurpassed maneuverability, Wasp is the way to go.

 

Hornet

If you want to take a look at Hornet's statistics, they're in this spoiler.

 

 

 

 

 

Hornet generally unlocks fairly early at each of its modifications; this is especially true with M2 and M3, where it's the first hull unlocked. This, and its low price, contributes to its wild popularity at ranks both high and low. Popularity isn't necessarily equivalent to quality, however; while Hornet certainly is a useful hull, it's not a perfect hull that makes everything else obsolete.

 

In terms of use, it's like a more rugged, but slower Wasp. You can use it for anything you'd use Wasp for, like capturing flags or simply being a very nimble combatant. The speed is still very good, but you will occasionally lose flags that you might have captured with Wasp. Hornet is more suited for straight-up combat than Wasp, so in a sense it's more versatile. To put it simply, Wasp is better at doing what it does best, but Hornet is better at doing what it doesn't do the best.

 

Hornet has its fair share of weaknesses too. Many complain about Hornet's drift; it tends to slide when making tight turns. This means that you'll often bump into map objects (or even fall off the map) if you're in a hurry. It gets even more pronounced if you use Speed Boost. You'll get used to it after a while, but most maps are still easier to navigate with a Wasp. Another complaint is the stability; it's more stable than Wasp, but still not exceptionally so. Combined with the drifting, many players end up flipping or falling off of maps due to a combination of instability and enemy fire. These issues can be mitigated by practice, making Hornet a very deadly hull in skilled hands.

 

With Hornet, the turret is mounted in the center of the hull. While this means you won't have to drive backwards for convenience, this also means more of your tank will be exposed when doing peek-a-boo tactics. Take this into note if there are Shafts around, since they can snipe even a tiny sliver of your hull.

 

As I've stated before, Hornet is cheap and early-unlocking at all of its modifications. It's very good if you use it at the rank it unlocks, but it starts to lose some ground as you rank up. You can mitigate this with micro-upgrades. If you're tight on crystals, then this would be a good choice at M2 and M3.

 

tl;dr: If you feel the need for more health than Wasp but still like speed (or want to play XP), use Hornet.

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I hope this article helped you out. Feel free to give feedback by posting a reply. Thanks for reading!

Edited January 1, 2015 by Thekillerpenguin

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

Great article, well done!

 

"Both sides have a point, but I think it's safe to say that they're both equally effective in the right hands,

and the choice between one or the other is personal preference."

 

Second that!

 

One remark is that I also believe that the Wasp is better suited for peek-a-boo tactics, but there are

also advantages of having a centralized turret like the Hornet has.

e.g. you never have to turn your turret/hull in the Wasps preferred Mosquito style,

which can save you some precious milliseconds.

[greyat 2,972]

Getting both. Problem solved ;)

"Easy to mess up the aim" - are you kidding me, the thing just about flips!

Edited January 2, 2015 by greyat

[thunderousrailgunner 1,934]

I Go For Hornet !! 

[boppyeric 30]

Hoornet ftw

[Remaine 4,687]

Great work - a lot of thought-provoking points here.

 

I shall stick to using either Hornet or Wasp depending on which one is better in the circumstances I'm in.

[lukey0 27,543]

Great work, I'm a Hornet fan. :D

[jazz20 1,181]

Wasp m2 is much better than hornet m2 just because the health for both are nearly the same yet wasp is much faster. Wasp is super fun to use just because of its speed and maneuverability although its lack of drift can prove quite a challenge.

Edited January 3, 2015 by jazz20

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

Wasp m2 is much better than hornet m2 just because the health for both are nearly the same yet wasp is much faster. Wasp is super fun to use just because of its speed and maneuverability although its lack of drift can prove quite a challenge.

Much is a bit much, but indeed the Wasp M2 is overall better than the Hornet M2. (it also depends on which turret you mount)

 

Hornet M2 users can enjoy the benefits from having a M2 hull already from First Second Lieutenant though...

Edited January 3, 2015 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[rich678 1]

But many people say that wasp's handling is a lot harder... and some people say that the drift HELPS handling... ( saw that in Raphael2's hulls guide

[Remaine 4,687]

Much is a bit much, but indeed the Wasp M2 is overall better than the Hornet M2. (it also depends on which turret you mount)

 

Hornet M2 users can enjoy the benefits from having a M2 hull already from First Second Lieutenant though...

There you go.

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

There you go.

Thank you for correcting. It 's indeed a rank earlier.

 

(wrongly mentioning the First LT rank had more to do with the ability to play M2 XP)

[rotten101 8]

i wil gte wsp m2 i have m1 and hornet m2 but i use wasp m1 more for some reason so im goin for wasp

[M1-A2 840]

Nice article penguin!! Keep up the good work.

I prefer hornet because of its higher health. And because I spend most of my time with heavier hulls, I find its much easier to control. This making it more enjoyable to use. Though it still aggravates me when I shoot someone in midair, and flip, because I'm used to landing that kind of stunt with viking.

[Leena_ES 2]

I have Hornet M2 and it's really good and I'm about to get wasp M2 I can't wait !

[pizzaslad 471]

Wasp4dayz.

 

It's fun when you get hit with 3 M2 Thunder shots, or survive a M2 Rail hit without a paint you your attacker is saying 'What?! How did he survive?!?! HAX' Then you explain to them it's M2. :D Probably haven't seen one before.

 

It also makes you feel special when you're the only one with Wasp in the battle, with the rest the lights being Hornets and you surpass them in score. Just driving around in it makes me happy :)

[Dark-Rim 183]

Tl;dr version at the bottom of the article...

How cruel. :P

Edited January 5, 2015 by Dark-Rim

[Pathfinder 1,690]

But many people say that wasp's handling is a lot harder... and some people say that the drift HELPS handling... ( saw that in Raphael2's hulls guide

I don't like the drift very much, it ruins the control you could have :p especially when going round corners cleanly!

[T.O.R_Snap 118]

Not a bad article, but it's more or less incomplete. You said some good stats about them separately, it isn't put to comparation a lot, you could have made the comparation looking at the stats of both and things like that then giving a fair opinion on what's better and what not. Take care of more factors and make that title visible in the article, the comparasion itself. Good luck in the future ;) .

[abcd022 388]

Very good Article. :)

[crazykiller7 48]

Very cool and useful article...prefer hornet,need to buy it m3...  :P  :D  :wub:

[x.VIP.x 4]

Thank you for correcting. It 's indeed a rank earlier.

 

(wrongly mentioning the First LT rank had more to do with the ability to play M2 XP)

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

Yup...Hornet M2 already in the pocket: Rail M2 and Sandstone available at First Lieutenant...

[Quarks 2,255]

I don't like the drift very much, it ruins the control you could have :P especially when going round corners cleanly!

Kirby, you've got great articles, but the drift make turning at speeds easier, and harder for shafts to hit if you drift, I've done it, at mO. thats all I've got I prefer hornet, If you haven't guessed by now. :lol:  :tank:

[My_Tiger_Psy 4]

Not too bad.  I like your work.