Other [Issue 33] Kirby's Garage Analysis - Part 2

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Welcome readers, to the second Garage Analysis of mine in the newspaper! You might be wondering why I have posted another analysis just five months after my last one, but a lot has happened between now and then, so without further waffle let's get straight to it!

The first part can be found here, in case you missed it, and I will try and write in the same style - giving you my detailed thoughts and reflections instead of the all too common ratings.

Title picture courtesy of - one of my favourite pictures!


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The first item I bought was Savanna on a 50% paint sale last year, the paint that I had been hyping up to get for a long time. It was a good looking paint, one that had a great combination of protections (namely Smoky and Railgun), and provided good camouflage, though admittedly that's not a major factor. Another great thing about this paint was that it was one of the main paints in clan competitions, and at the time I had minor aspirations of joining a clan and participating in some tournaments. Though, as many of you who have played XP with me before, I'm not there yet...

I never anticipated buying Needle, so at the time I thought Savanna would be a great choice. However, as I did eventually get Needle for reasons that I'll come to, and since Savanna is now banned from the light format, I regret splashing 60,000 on this paint which I never use any more.

My favourite hull in the game is Viking, and so understandably I was elated when Viking underwent a 70% plummet in price last year. Viking M3 is a purchase that I will never regret, especially for the bargain price I got it at. I use this hull nearly all the time now - it is a great balance between speed, agility and protection. One note that I would make with this hull is that it is in desperate need of MUs. It improves drastically with microuprades, so if you really want the most from this hull, make sure to set aside some extra crystals for the right MU sale.

Now, when Halloween came round I was not expecting the existing kits to go on sale, namely the old Light Kit containing Hornet M3, Railgun M3 and Needle, since I was under the impression that only the newly introduced kits would be affected by external discounts. However, as soon as I heard about this on the day, I went into the garage and bought this kit immediately. For just over 200,000 crystals, this was again an absolute bargain, equivalent to buying the three items at almost 70% off base price! Hornet is a reasonably dynamic hull to play with, packing a lot of speed, and Railgun, as we all know, is a weapon to be feared. Another perk that came with buying this combination was that it allowed me to begin getting into XP battles (Hornet-Rail only). It provided a nice change to the normal games elsewhere.

The next discount that came round was a 50% cut on both Thunder and Shaft. Thunder was a weapon that many had advised me to get, so I did not hesitate to take advantage of the sale and purchase Thunder M3. Shaft, I debated over for some time, before deciding to buy it. It provided a unique playing experience that I had to at least try. It turned out to be an alright weapon, though its slow pace disappointed me. Shaft M3 is a weapon that I do regret buying, and I wish I could have the crystals to pump into other items for my garage. I even put a fair amount of MUs into it on the Runet Sale - it has over 50% of the MUs on every parameter, which only makes this purchase is even more of a regret in hindsight.

The other item that I pumped plenty of crystals into MUs on the Runet Sale was Thunder, and after the sale it was 80% on the way to M4. Now, contrary to Shaft, this was definitely a worth investment. Thunder could dominate any enemy who was ill-prepared, and with drugs it was just unstoppable in some cases. With the ability to take out most enemies in two or even one shot with a Double Power, this weapon was truly scary. On the New Year's MU sale of 2014, I completed micro-upgrading this weapon completely, and I could now call it Thunder M4.

Over the two MU sales, the Runet sale and the New Year's sale, I also fully upgraded my trusty Viking to Viking M4. Viking complemented Thunder perfectly, giving me the speed to handle a weapon as dynamic as Thunder, but also the strength to be able to confront enemies in a head-on grind. Again, a definite rate from me, I could not ask for more from a hull.

I did not only use the New Year's sale for MUs (although most of it was). I also bought Isida M3 on impulse - I thought it was a unique turret, and an essential in particular team situations. Doing the maths, I also saw that Isida statistically is not only great for support, but also extremely dangerous in head-on confrontations, even against other short range specialists like Freeze and Firebird. However, with the recent addition of hull hitpoints, it has become harder to take on the heavy hulls with this turret.

During the New Year's sale, I also micro-upgraded Isida significantly, and completely it fully on the 2015 Women's Day MU sale to Isida M4. As I have already mentioned, statistically Isida is an awesome turret, and practically it does not let down. Isida, has great potential, especially on small and medium sized maps. It is extremely versatile, and you can play a large number of different positions with it. It can be used effectively to defend, self-heal giving you more staying-power, and healing allowing you to heal other defenders; it can be used effectively in the middle ground, to support all areas of the battle; t can be used aggressively, the self-heal coming in especially useful in allowing you stay alive while you make quick runs with the enemy flag.

On the Iron Days sale, in anticipation of the Women's Day MU sale, I decided to splash out on some more gear, even though the sale was only 25%. This was a tough choice for me, since I have always waited for at least 50% discounts before making purchases (apart from Isida M1 which you will know from the first Garage Analysis). When choosing which items to get, my desire to save crystals overwhelmed, as I chose Freeze M3 since it was the cheapest M3 turret that was in my list of future purchases, and Rock, as it was one of my favourite paints.

I was very underwhelmed by Freeze M3, though this may have been due to my experience with an M4 short-range weapon already. I could not reach the higher scores in the team, and I seemed like I was confined to more defensive roles in the team. The freezing effect is useful, but I regretted not choosing a different weapon instead. When I upgraded it to Freeze M4 on the Women's Day sale, I noticed a significant improvement, and it is much more usable and fun to play with. I might warm to it more in the future, who knows.

The final major investment I made was full-MU Rock on the Women's day sale. Rock is one fo my favourite paints for quite a few reasons. Firstly, it has a great combination of protections - 50% Twins, 50% Isida, 39% Freeze and 15% Hammer. Twins, Freeze and Isida are all of similar range, and are relatively common on small-medium maps. Especially in the case of CTF. Twins, Freeze and Isida users thrive on small-medium CTF games, where they are essential for defence , the combination of infinite firepower, knockback, freezing ability and healing meeting each other perfectly. Hammer 15% protection is a useful one to have too, allowing me to survive four Hammer shots instead of three with my Viking, which is key as Hammer only holds three shots per clip. Secondly, it suited two of my main combinations, Isida-Viking and Freeze-Viking, extremely well. Thirdly, it has the highest overall protection of all paints in the game. And finally, a personal one, it looks absolutely stunning in my eyes.

I'm completely spent after the recent sales, so it will take me another long period before I can earn enough crystals for another major spending spree. For the future, I plan on getting another one of my favourite paints Clay and MUing it of course, for my Thunder-Viking combination, offering me great self-protection and guarding against three extremely annoying turrets Ricochet, Thunder and Railgun. Firebird, Ricochet and Smoky are also on my long list, as well as a strong light hull - I'm still unsure whether I will get Wasp or simply continue and micro-upgrade my Hornet.

And that's it! All feedback, comments, thoughts, are all welcome below. And any suggestions on where I should take my garage next would be greatly appreciated!

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[r_priyangshu0 270]

Great work!

 

I wonder how you know so much about the vanilla M3s when you have upgraded most of them to M4 right after. :P

[bravo30 136]

what the heck!!!!! from where did you get so many cry? of course i am aware of your salary thingy but that isn't enough to meet purchases you have made since you get once every month

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice cool garage

[Pathfinder 1,690]

what the heck!!!!! from where did you get so many cry? of course i am aware of your salary thingy but that isn't enough to meet purchases you have made since you get once every month

Juju magic

[jazz20 1,181]

Regretting to buy Shaft m3 really makes me wonder if I should get it.

 

When Shadowvisions said that Tanki ruined the shaft, I guess he wasn't kidding.........sorta.

[lukey0 27,543]

Great garage analysis.  

 

You need some Firebird protection, you should get Zeus next.

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Great garage analysis.  

 

You need some Firebird protection, you should get Zeus next.

Zeus sometime soon too, thanks for your feedback and your advice :)

[Cor7y 13,862]

Nice garage but a weapon can be upgraded to 3.5, not m4

[r_Your-Daddy3 605]

Next time post Kirby's crystals analysis plz!!!!

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Next time post Kirby's crystals analysis plz!!!!

Meaning?

[r_Your-Daddy3 605]

Meaning?

I mean that post the tip of getting crystals next time....You have garage filled.. lol

[Truthteller 4,204]

what the heck!!!!! from where did you get so many cry? of course i am aware of your salary thingy but that isn't enough to meet purchases you have made since you get once every month

It is enough plus high funds and daily gifts the pay of the reporter is not 2 cry dude

Edited March 28, 2015 by Truthteller

[fast900 5]

Kirby are you a wizard? :P

[Superlative 500]

First reporter to write a Part 2. xD

[Lhamster 4,081]

My Part 2 would be pretty boring: "I bought everything else and MUed a bunch of it to M4 and at the next paint sale will buy all the good new paints" :lol:

[fast900 5]

Well anything can be interesting if you can express them using the right words right?  :lol:

[T.O.T.A.L.W.A.R 581]

Awesome article +1 .. any plan to purchase a good Vulcan paint ? 

[Ben 644]

Considering getting Vulcan m3/4? Or is that too similar to thunder for your liking?

 

I have Thunder M3 and rarely use it, but your article+gameplay has convinced me that as soon as I get good protection for it I'll invest in M4

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Awesome article +1 .. any plan to purchase a good Vulcan paint ?

 

Not currently, I don't see Vulcans being that common, and I'm not really a fan of the Vulcan paints if I'm completely honest :p

[Pathfinder 1,690]

Considering getting Vulcan m3/4? Or is that too similar to thunder for your liking?

 

I have Thunder M3 and rarely use it, but your article+gameplay has convinced me that as soon as I get good protection for it I'll invest in M4

I've never used Vulcan even on test, haven't even bought m0 :p

 

Coming up against it it is a very annoying turret, very different to Thunder. I might consider hammer/Vulcan after I get clay

 

And definitely thoroughly recommend Thunder. Fun, and extremely powerful. It improves a lot between m3 and m4... I think damage output increases by over 50%!

 

Nice meeting and playing with you today btw!

Edited March 28, 2015 by Pathfinder

[fluctuation123 3,435]

some really good points. thank you. and you confirmed my suspicion about shaft.

[Firenze_PRO 80]

Is Viking and Hammer a good combo, or is Viking and Thunder better? 

I'm going to get M2 viking, but I don't know which turret I should use.....

[emrakul 7,801]

Wow, you spent more crystals in half year, than me whole game XD

Did you saved all those cry from staff job?

Great article btw ;)

[last_warrior 103]

How did u get mountains of crystals for all of these stuff -_-

i guess thats one of the advantages of being a mod.