Guide [Issue 33] XP vs BP

[Fen-Harel 1,176]

XP vs BP

 

With the format battles finally implemented into the game, the most popular servers are filled with titles XP/BP. However, which hull is more suitable for this mode?

 

Statistics
The most vital attributes of a hull are its speed and health points. According to the statistics for each hull, we see that Hornet M3 has a top speed of about  11m/s (which is around 39.6km/h). It has a decent amount of health with 166 points. On the other hand, Wasp M3 has a speed of amazing 12.2m/s (43.92km/h). Pretty fast for a tank, but interestingly it's still almost twice as slow as the fastest real life tank built (82.23km/h).  As for the hulls armor, it's at a bare minimum with only 149.5 points. To avoid getting killed in a single Railgun shot, it's allowed to carry up to 10% protection from this weapon. So the Wasp has more speed without sacrificing HP? True, statistically Wasp is better, however there's still practical use to take into account.
Now let's go into some more detail about the statistics. Yes, health and speed are vital, but don't neglect other attributes. Hornet has more power than Wasp, which although a small advantage might prove crucial in those close range dodging situations.  Since it has more power, Hornet can accelerate faster and brake faster, which makes those sudden stop maneuvers easier. Wasp on the other hand has a higher turning speed, allowing it to escape from danger quickly. Swiftly joining combat and swiftly hiding is what's Wasp is all about, prioritize not getting hit and wait for the proper chance to attack.

Practice
As we leave the garage and go into the battlefield the experience differs from the theoretical attributes. By gaining that speed, Wasp loses a large amount of stability making it easy to flip with just one hit. To accommodate for this you'll have to make sure that you're facing your opponent straight forward and don't try to make sudden brakes while being shot at, even if someone hits you while you're sideways just balance out by moving along with the impact force (If someone shoots you on the front, start moving backwards so the impact doesn't flip you). This is a bit harder to explain and it'll come to you naturally as you practice more. If you can survive without having too much trouble staying on your tires, start using Wasp's advantages. Turret position is important on any hull and it helps a great deal next to corners. Unlike Hornet, you don't have to expose a lot of your hull to the opponents Railgun, making it difficult for them to hit you. Now comes the part that's most used in maps with different altitudes (such as the Sandbox platform), Wasp's height. This allows the player to make tough long range shots without having to worry about braking too hard and raising your turret upwards a great deal. And even if you do use your somewhat slower brakes to raise the end of your hull, the payoff is much greater and you have a wider choice of targets. (Although some shots are still challenging to pull off and might even require a nitro)

  *Red is the area that the Wasp can hit. Blue are Hornets limits.

 

The new auto-aim update
For a long time players had to focus their fire on the hull itself (except for shaft) which made Wasp's small size a one more advantage. However, finally Tanki developers introduced a new feature which allows players to hit tank's turrets as well. This not only provided a larger target for players, but also a priority. If you hit the top of someone's tank, you're much more likely to flip them due to increased impact on that one point. This now changes a lot of things regarding cover usage. Ramps for example are far less effective, considering your turret almost constantly hangs out and however you try to fix that flaw proper positioning of your opponent will render you defenseless. As the ramp is already a less preferable cover position than say a platform corner, you'll want to avoid getting stuck there especially if you're a Wasp. Also platforms are now a much more dangerous area, being targeted from both the same altitude level, above and now even more easily below. This is where knowing where your opponents are will be of the biggest importance. To counter your enemy team you must know what points on the map they're covering.

 

Tips and strategy
If you've made the decision of which hull you like better, you need to learn to use its advantages in the most effective way possible. In Hornets case, you'll want to use its higher acceleration speed. To do this you'll use strong brakes and sudden changes of direction. Moving at full speed then stopping at a fast rate might dodge a shot from time to time, just keep paying attention to where your opponent is aiming and go to the opposite direction.  However Hornets drift effect exposes the back of your hull while you're turning in most situations, meaning that you'll want to avoid turning and stick to one corners until it's safe to move. When using Wasp things are a lot more dynamic and involve a high risk-high reward style of gameplay. The key thing with Wasp is its velocity and turning speed. It can easily circle an opponent's Railgun and dodge shots with an impressive amount of style. No need for sudden brakes here, just keep circling away from that turret's barrel and you'll be fine. Also, consider the turrets position on the hull- it's placed on the back end. This does make corner tactics easier as you expose less of yourself to the enemy, but driving backwards constantly reduces your potential to hit those I3rilliant long range shots. To summarize; drive backwards when using corners and drive forwards when moving around the map and aiming for distracted opponents. The final and probably easiest tip for a Wasp is simply don't stop moving. In addition to making it tougher to aim at it takes time for that acceleration to get you at top speed and it's even faster to make a 180 degrees turn rather than stopping and going in reverse. So moving constantly gives you two benefits at once.

 

 

Conclusion
As both hulls are useful in their own way, I have to say that Wasp is a lot more fun to use. It never gets old doing tough shots and making those last second saves for the team, as well as stealing the flag swiftly and moving out of the danger area without even having to stop. Simply put Wasp is a lot more dynamic, has a bigger potential for skillful gameplay and is just satisfying to use if you can avoid getting flipped. Still, this doesn't mean that using was will make you a better format player, weak Wasps who flip constantly pretty much cost the team three Railgun shots every time they flip. (about 13 seconds of total re-spawn time/6 seconds of Railgun's reload~ 3 shots) The only way to get better at something is to practice it, skill will come with experience. You'll learn how to judge a situation and do the right decision, just keep trying to make the right choice every time and learn from any mistakes and successes. Wasp may be harder to use, but it surely is a dangerous opponent on the battlefield if used properly.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[beaku 2,656]

I love my wasp... :wub:

[blackopspaul 753]

Xornet

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice

[I.Devastation 2,053]

Nice article

Edited March 27, 2015 by I.Devastation

[PetertheGeniusGamer 74]

Just bought M2 Wasp :). It rocks!

Edited March 27, 2015 by PetertheGeniusGamer

[jazz20 1,181]

To be able to dodge a shot takes much skill and pre-planning on the players part. Arcade got my respect when I saw one of their battle clips where one of the players was able to dodge an incoming rail-gun shot with a stall-juke style method. 

[Cor7y 13,862]

IMO, wasp is much better than hornet in XP/BP battles

[thunderousrailgunner 1,934]

I Like BP .  :wub:

[denex12 77]

BP > XP. Done deal.

 

But they both require amazing amounts of skill, so I don't really have much a preference, although I would prefer BP over XP almost all the time.

Edited March 28, 2015 by denex12

[Falcot.Army 11]

I love XP

[Mr.I3oSS 557]

Top Notch article.

[Z3RO_DiM3NSiON4L 82]

Great article :)

[deafeat1 271]

Omg.. :O soo awesome....

[Truthteller 4,204]

 I3rilliant job fen!

 

I prefer Wasp  :wub:

[Ben 644]

gotta get wasp m3 and try it out. You have to be really skilled at not flipping to use wasp.

[fahim_the_boss 1,519]

BP is good for those who don't flip. I recommend XP.

[chrome1234567 9]

wasp

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Nice article Fen, but you'll want to write it in a font size larger than your own...... xD

I can't make out much out what was written, mainly due to the text size and layout. It's too small, and it's pretty cramped together. It kinda takes away my mood to read such a nice article.

Use something like Tahoma, and a font size of about 14 will be fine. And oh, Fen, have you heard of paragraphs? :P

 

Hope you remember this..........

[Phoenix-Warbird 1,329]

RO WASP RO

[best_perfect 29]

XP ROCKS!!!

[fightermalikio20115 374]

wasp is the best

[cellblaster32 2]

thumbs up

[C-O-O-L-G-U-Y 131]

In general (as an xp player) I always notice that wasp can be an intimidating opponent if it is used correctly. Its fast speed and very high turning ability can be deadly when capturing flags or dodging shots. However wasp has many weaknesses which i did not notice until I actually tried the hull itself. First is that its acceleration rate is awful in comparison to a hornet. This means that it is easy to throw off the hull by making a fake. Since its acceleration is terrible it will be left out in the open for a second. Other than that I think the rest of the weaknesses is all mentioned above^ Great article by the way :D

Edited March 30, 2015 by C-O-O-L-G-U-Y

[Firenze_PRO 80]

Love the "expectation" and "reality" :P :D :)