Guide [Issue 32] The Ultimate Guide to Ricochet

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

 

Ricochet is a very powerful turret for defenders, attackers, and midfielders alike, but it's often considered a "noob" turret- a weapon that doesn't require much skill to use effectively. Well, that's not always the case. There's quite a bit more to this turret than meets the eye, something Rico fans know and love. Let's examine this mid-range powerhouse and see what makes it a devastating weapon in the right hands.
 
The History of Ricochet

 

Ricochet was introduced with Freeze, Thunder, and the other Tier 2 turrets back in the old Tanki, before the rebalance and graphic updates. It was the second-to-last M0 turret to be unlocked, and the second-latest M3 since it was unlocked at Third Lieutenant. This version of Ricochet is a bit different from what we're used to- the projectiles traveled considerably slower and there was more recoil. At this point, Ricochet was mostly regulated to combat at medium-close ranges, since the shots were very hard to aim. It was also great for parkour- Wasp-Rico could climb walls fairly easily.

 

After the large updates that followed (rebalance and graphics updates), Ricochet had its stats adjusted to what we see today. The projectile speed was increased significantly, the recoil was reduced (to the anguish of parkourists), and the other parameters were tweaked. The physics update further reduce the ability of parkourists to climb walls. Recently, the developers decreased its energy consumption, effectively giving it more shots per clip.

 

Basic Stats
 
Throughout M0-M3, Ricochet retains some key characteristics:

• The projectiles can bounce off of surfaces to hit enemy tanks. This is the ricochet effect that the weapon is named for. The bouncing has quite a bit of auto-aim, but it only works effectively against vertical surfaces.
• Very high damage per second due to the good damage per shot and high rate of fire. The DPS is pretty close to that of Freeze or Isida- certainly more than Thunder or Smoky.
• It uses ammunition. The ammo bar represents how much energy the weapon has left. When it gets too low, the weapon can't fire, and you'll have to wait for it to recharge. The recharge is a bit on the slow side as well.
• The plasma balls it fires take some time to travel. This increases from M0 to M3, but the delay is still significant.
• Relatively high rotation speed.
• Lots of impact force. Each shot carries a mediocre amount of force, but the rate of fire more than makes up for that.
• Ricochet has the highest vertical auto-aim angles in the game, making it easy to hit enemies that are on significantly higher or lower elevations than you.

Ricochet has quite a bit of recoil. It's nothing to worry about if you're using a medium or heavy hull, but if you're using Wasp or Hornet, it'll decrease your acceleration noticeably when firing forwards. On the bright side, this recoil lets you stabilize yourself when jumping from high surfaces. And, of course, it's good for parkour when mounted on Wasp.
 
Pros and Cons
 
Pros:

• Ricochet can mow down most enemies fairly quickly if you can land hits consistently. Even Mammoths will take quite a beating from a someone unloading a clip into them.
• The bouncing effect of its rounds allows you to hit targets that aren't in your line of sight; very useful for clearing out tunnels and taking out camping enemies.
• The impact force makes it very hard for a scoped Shaft or a Railgun to aim at you.

Cons:

• Ricochet has limited ammunition. While it's easy to destroy enemies with it, you'll usually be low on ammo afterwards. If you don't have enough ammo to take out an enemy, you're going to be in big trouble if you can't run.
• The range of this weapon isn't that impressive. It's enough to deal with enemies at medium range, but you can't hit enemies at long ranges like you can with Thunder or Railgun.
• Rico shots take time to travel. This makes it hard to aim at enemies the further away you are, since you have to lead your shots.
• You can hit yourself with your own rounds if you're not careful with the bouncing feature. This usually isn't a problem, but accidental self-destructs when low on health aren't uncommon.
• Because Ricochet's impressive DPS is mostly due to its rate of fire, you need to keep a constant line of sight to your target to damage them effectively. The ricochet effect can mitigate this to some extent, but it's still easy for Wasp-Railgun to take you out from cover.

Possible combinations
 
Let's see how Ricochet does on different hulls.
 

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Ricochet-Wasp

Wasp-Rico was once thought of as more of a parkour tool than an actual combat tank. It's actually quite good in the right hands. Wasp is fast and maneuverable; combine this with Ricochet's high damage output and you have a great hit-and-run combo for medium range. This does have its downsides, though- the recoil will tend to make driving and firing difficult, and the necessity of maintaining a line of sight to your target will make avoiding fire harder.
 
How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: This is a good combination if you want to get to the front lines quickly and fight, but it's not the best combo for capturing flags. The recoil means you'll have to drive carefully on inclines, and that tends to slow you down, something you don't want as a flag capper. Focus more on supporting your teammates; you can provide cover fire and pick up the flag if the flag holder dies.
• DMs: Not that good for DMs. Like many other Wasp combos, it's very difficult to survive for long with enemies all around you and no allies.
• TDMs: Survivability isn't quite as much of an issue here, so use this combo to sneak behind enemy lines and cause havoc. If you die, enter the enemy base via a different route.
• CPs: Not very effective here. You can get to points quickly (and maybe dispatch an enemy or two), but when it actually comes down to holding them, you won't last very long. It's not impossible to use this well in CPs, but it's a lot easier with other hulls.

Special Notes:
This is good for parkour. You can use Rico's recoil to climb over small obstacles by shooting down.
 

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Ricochet-Hornet

This has a reputation as bad as Mammoth-Shaft, since most, if not all of us have seen low ranked Hornet-Ricochets who somehow haven't learned to turn their turret. The fact that those players can often do decently gives this combo (and Ricochet by extension) a bad name. Ignoring that, this can be a pretty useful combination for tactical players. It's good for sneaking into bases and destroying defenders when they're not looking or distracted- you can be a distraction yourself, allowing your teammates to grab the flag.
 
How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: Hornet's extra stability means you should be a decent flag capper, but again, it's not a choice combo. Stick to backing up your teammates or infiltrating enemy territory.
• DMs: Still not that suited for DMs, I'm afraid.
• TDMs: Since you don't have to capture flags in TDM, focus on attacking your enemies. Note that survivability is more important here than in CTFs- if you plan on attacking enemies from the front, use a heavier hull.
• CPs: See my comments for Wasp-Rico in CPs.

Special Notes:
Ricochet's recoil isn't much of a problem with Hornet. While this makes it easier to drive, it also means you can't parkour as easily.

 

If you plan on using this combination, please, for the love of your deity of choice, do turn your turret. Most people hate non-turret-turning Hornet-Ricochets, so you'll get a lot of dirty looks from your enemies and the rest of your team.

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Ricochet-Hunter

This combo isn't very common, but it performs well and ought to be more popular. Hunter is a universal tank (as I've said before in previous guides), so you can use this for just about anything (except sniping). It excels the most in rapid assault; get to the front lines quickly, unload into the nearest unaware enemy, and move on. If you die, rinse and repeat. Hunter has enough health to let you deal quite a bit of damage while still being able to keep the pressure on your enemies.
 
How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: Hunter can capture flags, but not especially well. Leave the flag capturing to your more speedy Hornet and Wasp teammates- you can still rack up a lot of points by attacking enemies and defending.
• DMs: A bit better for DM use than the previous combinations we've reviewed so far. If your ammunition gets low, run to the nearest safe spot. You don't have teammates to cover you when you run out of ammo, so running away is key.
• TDMs: Good for most uses. If you need to flush out campers, Hunter-Rico is a good combination to use.
• CPs: On single point maps, this still isn't particularly good. On multi-point maps like Stadium, it's great, since you have enough speed to reach a point quickly and enough health to hold your own against an enemy or two.

Special Notes:
Hunter is slightly taller than Viking and Hornet, so you might find landing hits at medium range slightly more difficult. It's not a big concern, since you can rock your tank forwards to angle your shots lower if necessary.
 

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Ricochet-Viking

One of the more common pairings with Ricochet. Viking-Rico is generally quite solid and reliable, especially at M2. Viking has enough health to take advantage of Ricochet's heavy damage output and enough speed to avoid being a target for Shafts and Railguns, so it's easy to see why this is popular.
 
How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: At this point, you can forget about grabbing flags unless you're drugged up. This is a solid attacking, midfielding, and defending combo.
• DMs: Viking's quite suited for DMs- enough health to destroy most hulls in a 1 versus 1 confrontation and enough speed to avoid attracting the attention of everybody in the map. As such, this is pretty good.
• TDMs: Great general-purpose combatant, but note that you won't be able to run away from light hulls easily.
• CPs: Good for attacking points that are only being contested by 1-2 people. Since Ricochet has no crowd control capabilities, you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew- while you can survive long enough to unload a clip and get a kill or two, you might not survive for long enough to recharge a lot. Running away is harder too.

Special Notes:
Viking's flat. This can make hitting far away enemies easier, since you don't have to worry about your shots passing over the turret of your target as much.
 

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Ricochet-Dictator

Not all that common, like a lot of other Dictator combinations. This is nevertheless a great assault tank. You can take impressive amounts of damage before getting destroyed, giving you plenty of time to empty a clip and reload before attacking again. Dictator's height also complements Ricochet's vertical auto-aim angles- more on that later. This is also my personal favorite, although Hunter-Rico is a close second in my opinion.
 
How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: Need a distraction to occupy the entire enemy team? Look no further. If you can enter an enemy base unnoticed, you can go on killing sprees, which will divert attention away from your team's Hornets and Wasps. It's also good for flushing out defenders and destroying flag carriers in stalemates, since you're just that durable.
• DMs: See my comment for Ricochet-Viking in DMs. They're pretty similar in this regard.
• TDMs: Since distractions aren't as important here, focus on destroying as many enemies as possible. You shouldn't really have a problem with that. Stick to the front lines, but retreat when your health gets low- you don't have enough speed to protect yourself from fire.
• CPs: Dictator's ratio of health to speed makes it a good choice for single-point maps like Polygon. You can hold points pretty well, and you have enough speed to get there quickly enough to prevent the enemy team from recovering from previous attacks.

Special Notes:
Dictator is tall. This means it's a bit harder to aim at medium range, since a lot of your shots will pass over your enemies. You can compensate for this by rocking forwards slightly when firing. The height helps if you need to attack enemies on higher elevations, and the auto-aim angles let you attack enemies at close range without firing over them.
 

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Ricochet-Titan

Titan's great for pushing people, and Ricochet packs some serious firepower at medium and close ranges. As such, Ricochet-Titan is a great combo for storming enemy bases. It's slow, but if you can get there with most of your health intact, you can do some serious damage. It's also good for defending. Note that you will mostly likely run out of ammo at some point since Titan will let you survive for a long time. If that happens, take a tactical retreat if possible or sacrifice yourself and impede your enemies.

How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: This is great for both defense and for limited offense. You shouldn't focus too much on attacking your enemies if your team's defense is weak without you. If your team can guard the flag without your help, feel free to sweep the enemy base clean of defenders.
• DMs: You can take on almost any enemy in a one-on-one situation, but Ricochet starts to run into problems when you're trying to engage multiple enemies.
• TDMs: Since defense isn't crucial, focus your efforts on attacking your enemies. If you can get into the enemy base undetected, you can spawn-kill quite a few enemies before going down.
• CPs: If you only need to deal with a few defenders on a point, this is excellent. If there are a lot of defenders on a point, something like Thunder would be more useful.

Special Notes:
Take advantage of Titan's pushing power. In conjunction with the high impact force that Ricochet provides, you can push enemies off of ramps or ledges easily.

 

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Ricochet-Mammoth

This was the combination featured in the old M2 Heavy Tank kit that many remember, where it was included with Inferno and other paints. It's a great combination for taking on one or two enemies at a time, but this is really not for crowd control.

 

How it does in different gametypes:

• CTFs: This is mainly useful for defense- you can sustain a lot of damage from attackers, and Ricochet's high damage output lets you take out enemy flag carriers with ease if you can hit them. Besides that, it's not too versatile. It's not fast enough to provide constant pressure on the enemy team
• DMs: Good DM combo for small maps. You're guaranteed a few kills per life if your enemies are in reach.
• TDMs: See my comments for Ricochet-Titan in TDMs.
• CPs: About the same as Ricochet-Titan in CPs.

Special Notes:

This is a good counter to Smokies and Hammers, since you'll be barely affected by impact force and can rotate your turret fast enough to take them down.

---

 

Ricochet Tactics

 

Remember the non-turret-turning Hornet-Ricochets? They're a good example of what NOT to do with Ricochet. If you want to be effective with this turret as you go up the rank ladder, take these tactics into mind.

 

Leading your shots: Ricochet projectiles take some time to travel. If your target is far away, they might not be in the path of your shot by the time it reaches them. To mitigate this, fire your shots slightly towards the direction they're traveling in. If you do it correctly, you can land hits at surprisingly far distances. This is hard to master initially, but once you get used to it, it makes using Ricochet much easier.

 

Utilizing the ricochet effect: This is something that doesn't get capitalized as often as it should. Ricochet projectiles will bounce off of any non-tank surface they hit, but if the surface isn't vertical, it will bounce off at an odd angle. If you're on level ground and you fire a shot at a vertical wall, the shot will stay at your altitude. You should keep an eye out for vertical walls because of this- they're much easier to accurately hit enemies with. Note that bounced shots have some degree of auto aim, which will help you out.

 

You should use this when you want to attack an enemy that isn't in your direct line of sight. For instance, if he/she's hiding behind two vertical walls, fire your shots at the back one. If angled correctly, they'll bounce back and forth between the two surfaces until they hit. This is really useful when fighting in tunnels, like those in Silence or Noise.

 

Knowing your Ricochet's damage: Ricochet destroys things quickly, but knowing exactly how many shots it will take to down a target will make your job a lot easier. Here's a quick rule of thumb:

• Wasps will take 5-6 shots, while Hornets will take about 6, occasionally 7.
• Hunters and Vikings will go down in 7-8 hits.
• Dictators take 8-9 hits.
• Titans and Mammoths can take almost a full clip before going down.

Assorted Tips:

• If you run out of ammo, head to cover so you can recharge in peace. This is easier said than done for users of medium or heavy hulls, since they're slower. If there's no cover available, just head to the quietest spot in the vicinity. If you don't attract any attention to yourself, you should be able to get enough ammunition to start fighting again.
• Ricochet needs a (somewhat) constant line of sight to deal damage, just like Twins or Vulcan. Be very careful of players using peek-a-boo tactics.
• Use your camera to help you out. If you need to hit enemies that are close to you by bouncing your shots, orient the camera so it's looking down at you. This will let you see nearby enemies from behind walls.
• Ricochet makes a unique sound when the rounds bounce and another unique sound if the rounds hit a tank. If you're trying to hit an enemy from behind cover, listen closely. If you're not hearing any hit sounds, you're not hitting anything, and you should probably do something else. If you do hear hit sounds, keep firing.
• Ricochet is the premier assault weapon due to its high damage potential and lack of self damage. As such, try to be the tip of the spear in combat- you can engage enemies very quickly within your effective range, and your teammates can clean up anything you've missed.

Ricochet against other turrets:
 
This will tell you what to do if you're engaging other turrets in combat.

 

Against Firebird:

Ricochet's damage output is high, sure, but it's not strong enough to compete with a Firebird at close range unless you have a lot more health. Hit Firebirds with as many shots as you can when you're out of their range, and start backpedaling when they get too close.

 

Against Freeze:

Freeze still deals more damage than Ricochet, so you're probably not going to win the damage race. Treat Freezes like Firebirds. While they're not as powerful, they can immobilize you, which can mean certain death.
 
Against Isida:

Isida's damage per second is somewhat more than Ricochet's, but the self healing is the main problem. In general, if an Isida is leeching health from you, it'll take a few more shots for you to destroy them, so try to eliminate them from a distance.

 

Against Vulcan:

 

 

Vulcan is the new kid on the block in the turret world, but it's already established itself as a devastating mid-range weapon when used correctly. In terms of damage per second, it's slightly less powerful than Ricochet, but it has superior range, it isn't affected by impact force, and infinite ammunition- something you should be very wary of. Fortunately, it has a lot of downsides too. To fight Vulcans, get as close to them as possible and try to circle strafe them- they won't be able to turn their turret quickly enough to hit you.

 

Don't try to attack a Vulcan head-on unless the distance is short or there's cover, though- otherwise, it's suicide.

Against Twins:

Twins is somewhat less powerful than Vulcan or Ricochet, but it makes up for that with truly infinite ammunition- it can fire forever with no strings attached. If you have enough ammo, you should be able to win against a Twins of similar health, but you should be very careful if you're running low. Twins also has lower projectile speed and range- if you're good at aiming and maneuvering your hull, you can exploit that to destroy Twins users without getting damaged at all.
 
Against Ricochet:

Ricochet vs. Ricochet combat boils down to who has more ammunition and who has more health. Use every single advantage you have over your opponent- are you better at leading your shots than he/she is? Are you in a better position to hit them with bounced shots? Try to maneuver your hull well if you're using a light hull- if your opponent isn't particularly good at aiming, you can dodge quite a few shots.

 

Against Smoky:

Smoky is Ricochet's main rival in close-to-medium range combat. Ricochet does have the upper hand in terms of damage per second, but Smoky enjoys infinite ammunition and high impact force. You'll usually win if your Ricochet is fully loaded, but you need to run if your clip is dry. Be careful if you're using a light hull, since Smoky can mess up your aim easily.

 

Against Hammer:

You will definitely not win a fight against a fully loaded Hammer at close range- while Ricochet also deals a lot of damage per second at close range, Hammer takes the cake easily. On the bright side, Hammer has limited ammo too. If you can stay far away enough from a Hammer to avoid getting 3-shotted, you can close the distance and pelt them with shots while they're busy reloading.

 

Against Thunder:

Dealing with Thunders is similar to dealing with Vulcans. They will be a big issue at medium to long ranges, but not so much up close. They'll hit themselves with splash damage if you get in their faces, and you'll have no problem finishing them off. This is even more apparent if they're using Double Damage- you can use a Double Armor to counteract their extra damage, drive right next to them, and watch as they blow themselves up with their doubled splash damage (assuming they don't use DA too).
 
Against Railgun:

Railgun is a big annoyance at medium and long range, since they'll use peek-a-boo tactics, which, as we've discussed earlier, is really hard to deal with using Ricochet. Stay away from open areas while you get close to them. If you can catch a Railgun by surprise, they won't stand a chance.
 
Against Shaft:

Shafts (generally) don't use peek-a-boo tactics, but they do have a scope, extreme precision, and infinite range. Get close and unload your clip into them, moving if possible. The impact force will make it extremely difficult for them to aim properly.

 

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...and we're done. I hope you learned something from this guide. If this helped you out with using Ricochet, that's great. If this helped you out with fighting Ricochets, well, that's also great. If you have any comments or corrections that you'd like to make, post them below. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Yisroel.Rabin

[greyat 2,972]

Neat!

[pizzaslad 471]

 

After the large updates that followed (rebalance and graphics updates), Ricochet had its stats adjusted to what we see today. The projectile speed was increased significantly, the recoil was reduced (to the anguish of parkourists),  It was the physics update that killed off us Rico parkourists :(

• Ricochet has the highest vertical auto-aim angles in the game, making it easy to hit enemies that are on significantly higher or lower elevations than you. Sure this title doesn't belong to Izzy?

 

 

 

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

 

 

After the large updates that followed (rebalance and graphics updates), Ricochet had its stats adjusted to what we see today. The projectile speed was increased significantly, the recoil was reduced (to the anguish of parkourists),  It was the physics update that killed off us Rico parkourists :(

• Ricochet has the highest vertical auto-aim angles in the game, making it easy to hit enemies that are on significantly higher or lower elevations than you. Sure this title doesn't belong to Izzy?

I'll make some corrections. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[jazz20 1,181]

Another fun history fact: Before Ricochet was supposed to be released and leaked videos were presented to the public, the original name was supposed to be Vulcan and not Ricochet.

[lukey0 27,543]

Nice guide.

 

Will never forget my Dictator Ricochet. :wub:

[DXD10 4]

That's pretty nice info but yeah smoky can finish off any turret or hull with just 1 critical with double damage... nothing can win against that :D !! Critical always win ahahahahaha..

[bravo30 136]

pls update your garage analysis.

[Death705 227]

Penguin, really nice topic...I'm going to buy ricochet after i get smoky!!
Thanks a ton, this one was my old favorite... :wub:  :wub:

[rothro3 50]

Umm…Noise doesn't have tunnels of extreme length.  

[jsawesome1 1]

Finally! A complete analysis on my favorite gun! Nice job!

[Alklines 1,751]

Good guide))

[RicoGod 1,832]

Nice Guide ))))

[Baby_Sam 614]

This is an excellent guide. I learned a few things from this guide. Thank you.

 

However, I do not agree with your comparison between the Rico and each of the Twins and Hammer.

 

Average TDPS table for M0/M1/M2/M3/M4

 

Twins----:  24.0, 36.0, 42.8, 48.4, 056.0

Rico-----:   27.0, 33.6, 43.6, 61.7, 073.0

Hammer:   29.3, 43.1, 59.2, 75.2, 108.3

 

For the Twins, the Rico is superior except for M1. However for M0/M1/M2 they are close enough that whoever gets the first shot will most likely win.

 

For the Hammer, the Rico should win if it can survive 3 Hammer shots. That is very likely (depending on the Hull obviously) for M0/M1/M2. You need a heavier hull for M3/M4.

 

I obviously can't expect you to go in depth when comparing the Rico with every turret.

 

By the way, the leading with the shots becomes very difficult and or impossible when you need vertical auto aiming because you would be aiming at an empty spot.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Baby_Sam

[My_Tiger_Psy 4]

Amazing work!  So much detail.  Must have taken 12 hours. :P

[smurf55555 3]

Very good guide. Nice work.  ;)

[JsMSMASH 0]

Nice topic. Rico has been my favorite gun ever since I bought it. Once you master it, you can take on just about any battle situation with ease. The only battle mode that will almost always be difficult with rico is DM. I usually focus on TDM and CTF, and I usually end up in the top 5 players, no matter what the ranks involved are. 

[racer22_online 206]

Thanks - excellent write up on my favorite gun.

 

I originally swapped to Rico from Twins after finding Rico's so annoying to deal with - 'if you can't beat em, join em'.

Since, then I'm frightened to admit how powerful the Wasp and Rico combination is in case Tanki feel the need to nerf it!  Right now a 10 clip 'take down' of a Mammoth from a Wasp is most impressive.

M1 Wasp and M1 Rico is 'boss' on almost any map in the right hands and I have started some new tank accounts just so I can go back to the fun I had with that.

I.e. when I collect a field dropped 'nitro' - I shout 'show time' and then wreak havoc in the enemy base!  Also having nitro means it's easier to catch the other field dropped supplies and get fully drugged up at no cost to myself (crystals).  (However, I sometimes get 'shafted' or a Rail flips me and I end up upside down with half health and a full set of drugs - bummer!)

M2 Rico is known to be weak against M2 Thunder and M2 Twins - but by using 'cover' on the Map, a 10 clip can help resolve this.

Obviously the Map helps a lot in providing cover while reloading and making use of vertical walls for bounce effect.  Even firing into ramps is devastating and when on Gravity shooting downwards and into the ramps I can take out half the enemy team all by my-self - which sadly causes the enemy to surrender!  On Madness - the gun is fantastic for controlling the big drops.  I've even had top score on Massacre and once got a gold box while lying upside down on the Massacre battlefield - wish I had a video of that!  That Map is so much fun.

Rico can self-right a Wasp or Hornet on it's side - this is clearly a life saver on many attacking campaigns or rubbish driving!  It's also good for putting teammates back on their tracks - this can make some good Izzy friends that way!  Also regular flag running can mean you can drop the flag to some of your defender team mates - and thus some shafts may even friend you!

Wasp and Rico effectively have infinite HP when hiding behind a wall while reloading or shooting bounce shots.  Even in DM: 'ambushing' is very effective - Dusseldorf is great for this.

Taking on 'shorties' head on at close range usually ends in defeat - a very good tactic is to drop a mine and reverse out and shoot from range if the mine does not kill them!  Practice finding ways to find that 5 key in a hurry.

Hornets with double armour will need double damage (DD) on the Rico to kill them quickly enough.  Always keep some DD to hand for these situations - or simply run away and shoot from distance.

Even if a Wasp / Rico loses a head on fight - they can re-spawn and be back at the battle scene quicker than any other tank and thus kill the weakened tank that just killed you.  Hence, better than 1:1 K/D ratios can be achieved.  Although constant flag running will hurt your K/D ratio.  I sometimes have to go and kill a few shafts in revenge!  (Which sadly can cause the shafts to leave the game because being killed by a Rico is brutal and is a relative slow death at about 6 seconds!).  When the enemy has laid lots of mines around the flag I put on DA and can take out 2 mines at once as a sacrifice to help the team!

The following is not something I use very often because I'm normally to be found in the enemy base till I die - but once in a while this is an advantage.  A Rico on low health can shoot its-self and hence quickly return to a spawn point - 20 seconds later you're back in action with full health - this can be very good while sitting in defence waiting for the next attack.  (Thunder can do this too.)

If you MU enough then an 80 meter range on the Rico can do more damage than you might think - all from relative safety.

With Rico on a Wasp aiming with the Tank is best - mainly because the Wasp turns faster than the gun until you get to M2.  However, turning BOTH turret and tank is fastest and can even kill a few freezes this way.

I use an Apple keyboard on my Windows PC because the cursor keys are the 'dogs bollocks' for controlling your tank.

It's a very good tactic to drive right past the enemy (or sometimes over them if you have a ramp) and then turn both gun and tank on them as fast as you can.  I can slam round the back of a mammoth and kill it before they can shoot me.

Hence, I agree, learning to control the turret instinctively while driving is a valuable skill.

I have spent many hours practicing turret control on my own - I used to use 'private' map settings - when Tanki stopped this - I spent 2500 xtals on a discounted Pro pass but could find no battles to fight in!  Most tankers will not buy Pro passes until more tankers can get Pro passes cheaply so we have more Pro maps available at all levels.  Right now I have to practice on little used servers and leave if anyone joins!  I also practise with my alternate tank accounts against noobs!  That's why I want a 'Jolly Roger' flag on my tank when I do that - so they don't get dispirited.

I know this is a Wasp bonus - when running with the flag - go down an alley and turn on the spot - then come back out where you just went in - this confuses the hell out of the enemy - and next time you do it halves the defenders you have to deal with because they cannot predict where you're going.  But Rico helps with this because you can shoot as soon as you see a small part of the enemy - no delay.

Note as I'm a Free to Play player I reduce the use of garage drugs by only using them when my team is losing.  I wish this was 'enforced' in the game rules so that the losing team gains an advantage - but I would accept this messes up your K/D ratio - on the other hand this rule would encourage good tanks to join the losing side - so maybe there is something in this - make it a setup option and see how popular it is?

I'm hoping in the new 'Stats' the K/D ratio is not an important factor - because K/D ratio favours Shafts and not 'flag runners' like me.  What does matter is the number of points scored.  I think Tanki should show up to the minute stats of the points scored at each rank level - obviously as you rank up, you go to the bottom of the list.  But that's fine - what each user should see is constant improvement until they next rank up.  I would also like to see how many crystals each tank earned while at that rank and how many they bought (= unfair advantage) and how many gold boxes they captured - however, I accept this may encourage people not to buy crystals (but Tanki could get advertising money instead and keep this game as low cost as possible).

[Baby_Sam 614]

This is an interesting appendix to the guide. I think your K/D is called officially D/L.

 

...

 

Note as I'm a Free to Play player I reduce the use of garage drugs by only using them when my team is losing.  I wish this was 'enforced' in the game rules so that the losing team gains an advantage - but I would accept this messes up your K/D ratio - on the other hand this rule would encourage good tanks to join the losing side - so maybe there is something in this - make it a setup option and see how popular it is?

 

...

This is an interesting idea. If good tanks join the losing team, when it wins, it becomes the other team's turn. That changes the game dynamics quite a bit, and, I think, it makes the game more interesting.

Edited March 4, 2015 by Baby_Sam

[awesomewarrior1 208]

Nice guide overall, although I think all that was being done was stating the obvious.

 

(no offense to anybody, by the way)

[Baby_Sam 614]

Nice guide overall, although I think all that was being done was stating the obvious.

 

(no offense to anybody, by the way)

Maybe you should write guides. :P

[awesomewarrior1 208]

Maybe you should write guides. :P

I don't have any problem with writing guides, but the problem is that there are already guides about every aspect of the game already floating around the web.

[ADepic 2]

Finally! A complete analysis on my favorite gun! Nice job!

yes i hoped for a rico guide!!

[BLUGGZ 0]

I'll make some corrections. Thanks for letting me know.

Yeah, isida is very good at attacking enemies from, basicly anywhere at close range, and can surprise attack, (Like everything else) from the tunnel in polygon easily, and simalar places, from @obsidianlover4242

[BLUGGZ 0]

 

 

The History of Ricochet

 

Ricochet was introduced with Freeze, Thunder, and the other Tier 2 turrets back in the old Tanki, before the rebalance and graphic updates. It was the second-to-last M0 turret to be unlocked, and the second-latest M3 since it was unlocked at Third Lieutenant. This version of Ricochet is a bit different from what we're used to- the projectiles traveled considerably slower and there was more recoil. At this point, Ricochet was mostly regulated to combat at medium-close ranges, since the shots were very hard to aim. It was also great for parkour- Wasp-Rico could climb walls fairly easily.

 

After the large updates that followed (rebalance and graphics updates), Ricochet had its stats adjusted to what we see today. The projectile speed was increased significantly, the recoil was reduced (to the anguish of parkourists), and the other parameters were tweaked. The physics update further reduce the ability of parkourists to climb walls. Recently, the developers decreased its energy consumption, effectively giving it more shots per clip.

Ricochet-Wasp

 

---

...and we're done. I hope you learned something from this guide. If this helped you out with using Ricochet, that's great. If this helped you out with fighting Ricochets, well, that's also great. If you have any comments or corrections that you'd like to make, post them below. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Longest. post. ever. (I cut your post down, ALOTTT)

Edited March 14, 2015 by BLUGGZ