Guide [Issue 35] Heavy Hulls - Why? What? When?

[S.C.Y.T.H.E 1,072]

Heavy Hulls

Why? What? When?

 

 

These hulls are the definition of heavy. Heavy in weight and heavy in armor, Mammoth and Titan are intimidating hulls that should never be overlooked. These hulls don’t turn up very frequently in battles, and they may seem like “useless fatsos”. Some of y’all may be facing a question; When, why and where should you use a heavy hull?

My mammoth really needs to lose weight. Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig?

 

First off, let’s take a look at heavy tanks in general. Titan unlocks at the rank of recruit and Mammoth unlocks only a few ranks later. Both contain significantly more armor than an M0 Hunter, so they may be appealing picks for newbies. However, many new players are instantly turned off by these hulls’ slow speed. Titan and Mammoths’ slow speed affect players who do not turn their turret quite a bit! 

The heavy hulls’ sluggish speed is certainly its main (and maybe only) disadvantage. This disadvantage is all about effectiveness. If after you spawn it takes thirty seconds to find an enemy, your damage output is much lower than a speedy hornet that easily finds enemies, and could have even spawned three times in the time it takes a Titan to even find an enemy. Of course, I am exaggerating the disadvantage (this situation would only occur in large maps with few players) but it still exists. The time it takes a slow hull to find an enemy to do damage is (hopefully) balanced by the fact that Titan or Mammoth can deal a lot more damage per spawn due to their huge armor pool.

 

However, if your damage output is not equal to a lighter hull in the same battle, then using a heavy hull is not a good option. Why?

 

Because these heavy hulls are going to be capturing flags extremely rarely, if at all. If Titan or Mammoth aren’t going to be capturing any flags, then their main purpose is to deal out damage. Damage can be dealt in different ways such as defending choke points, or pushing up to the enemy base to make room for a light hull to take the flag. But a heavy hull’s job is essentially to deal damage. 

If a heavy hull’s main job is to deal damage, than their damage output (or damage per minute) should be much higher than a lighter hull attempting to do the same job. If it isn’t, then why not use a lighter hull which can actually capture flags? There is no reason not to. But do lighter hulls have higher damage outputs than heavy hulls?

 

Sometimes. In theory, damage output should be about the same. But in large maps, lighter hulls generally have a big advantage. Let’s take the map Lost Temple. In Lost Temple, the heavy hulls can do nearly nothing but camp in one space. If they try to drive out into enemy territory, it will take them extended periods of time. But, as soon as they near an enemy side, these heavy hulls are virtually sitting ducks to the other camping heavy (and medium/light) hulls on the enemy team. 

 

Besides being slow, heavy tanks aren’t agile and in open ground are sometimes sitting ducks. Light hulls have a further advantage here. Their maneuverability and lower profile makes them harder to hit in every circumstance. A skilled light-tanker can use tactics such as circling and faking to dodge shots that a Heavy tank couldn’t dream of dodging.

By the way my Mammoth's name is Woolly

 

 A question I frequently ponder is: Can a light hull dodge enough shots to make up for its low armor compared to heavies? Sometimes I think so. If this is the case, then there is absolutely no point in using a heavy hull. But, usually this isn’t the case. A light hull can hide and dodge shots, but not without retaining the same damage output as before or capturing as many flags. When you play extremely cautiously, you simply won’t hit as many enemies in as short a period of time. And circumstances where you can even dodge so many shots are rare. However, I do think that Medium hulls can usually dodge enough shots to make up for the difference between it and a heavy hull, and still obtain a great damage output. But obviously, this all depends on the map and your playstyle. 

 

So, what is my point? Are heavy hulls obsolete? Should light and medium hulls be used instead? Perhaps there is a good reason heavy hulls don’t appear often in battles! However, I am not saying that heavy hulls should never be used. My point is: Heavy hulls are the least flexible hulls in the game. In large and most medium sized maps heavy hulls rarely perform well, and there is always a better option.

 

But, heavy hulls have the potential to be way more powerful than any other hull, in certain situations. Which situations? Close range maps, Control Points, and DMs. In small maps, it takes nearly no time at all to find an enemy after you spawn. So a heavy hull’s low top speed is not much of a disadvantage. In these small maps, damage is dealt out very quickly, and a time spent alive equals more damage dealt. So, having powerful armor helps greatly. In Control Point battles (particularly maps with a single control point), having good armor is a huge advantage. One can survive long enough to destroy enemies guarding the point and still have enough health to completely capture a control point. Lighter hulls, on the other hand, have a disadvantage when it comes to capturing points because they simply won’t survive long enough to capture a point in many circumstances. In DMs and TDMs heavy hulls also preform fairly well. In Team Death Match, heavy hulls are (as always) difficult to destroy. Even if a heavy hull doesn’t dish out a ton of damage, so long as it doesn’t die too often it is still helping its team. But heavy hulls excel at destroying enemies in the first place, making them an excellent choice for TDMs and DMs. 

 

In Island, heavy hulls are generally the best option, particularly in Island CPs. Although, a light hull comes in handy if you are trying to capture flags in Island. But in Island CP, Titan or Mammoth is easily the best option in my opinion. Another good map to use heavy hulls is Hill. Hill is another very small map, with practically no cover besides the slope of the hill. Heavy hulls will survive much, much longer than other hulls. In Hill, heavy hulls can easily capture flags and won’t have trouble destroying enemies. Also, Polygon CP is definitely the map where I use heavy hulls the most. No matter where you spawn in Polygon, it doesn’t take long to get to the center control point. And the central control point is always stuffed with enemies to destroy, though that is not where a heavy hull’s real strength comes in. A Mammoth or Titan (especially with drugs) can clear out weaker enemies clustered around Point A and re-capture the point for your team all by itself in one spawn. I would hypothesize that a team comprised solely of Mammoths and Titans would crush almost any other random team in Polygon. I have even heard tankers saying “If after you spawn you immediately drive to the point, even if you never shoot once, by the end of the game you will be at the top of the scoreboard.” I am not sure if this is quite true, but it certainly emphasizes my point.

 

But, heavy hulls aren’t just good for Close-Range maps and certain game types. They can excel in certain tasks admirably where all other hulls will fail, even in TDM. First of all, heavy hulls are great at defending and clogging up a choke point. A heavy hull’s armor is often times more than double other medium and light hulls. When defending, it is almost as if you are two tanks, though with only one turret. Obviously it will take twice as long to destroy you, which is great. But besides heavy hulls’ armor, they are massive. One really can’t get past a heavy hull without destroying it, and even after you destroy a heavy hull, the briefly remaining corpse is just as impedimentary. Let’s take the map Highland as an example. On both sides of the map, heavy hulls can camp behind cover within a few feet of their flag. As soon as an opponent nears the flag, a heavy hull can usually take it out. But even if it can’t, it will be very hard for an enemy to escape past the bulk of a Mammoth without being significantly slowed. But, how often do tankers actually get close enough to the flag to let a heavy hull destroy it? Fairly rarely. And how often do enemy tanks take your flag with a full health bar? What I am getting at is: heavy hulls using tactics like these won’t actually be dealing out much damage, although they are playing a great defense. Paradoxically, these heavy hulls will usually remain near the bottom of the scoreboard while at the same time being their teams’ most useful defender.

Never mount Zeus on Titan. They can't get along.

 

Heavy hulls shouldn’t be underestimated, nor should they be overestimated. In more common maps, where you know your teammates and you are working together, heavy hulls can be essential to the team. Yet they will usually not be the highest scorer, destroyer, or flag-capturer. In perhaps rarer, closer-range maps heavy hulls will excel on the scoreboard. Heavy hulls are strong and rigid, terrific in specific situations but not very flexible. Heavy hulls are not jacks of all trades, but under the command of skilled, specialized tankers, Heavy hulls will dominate.

                                                                                                                                                                       

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[seriol_killer 7]

Yay, first. Nice and comprehensive guide :)

[Darren4Turbo 4,913]

Nice Guide  :D

[Quarks 2,255]

Good job, still prefer my light hulls.

[Alklines 1,751]

Good article! xD

[liverpoolaum 811]

nice

[DarkShadow916 304]

Not bad I still getting mammy m2 tho

[fire1233_PRO 2]

@S.C.Y.T.H.E

Edited June 2, 2015 by fire1233_PRO

[Dust3r 32]

Plz write something short and include pictures, I can't rad a text this long cuz i don't have a day to check the whole newspaper. If u don't want to make the changes, then never mind my words

[epanastasi1821 80]

Nice article. You have covered mosts aspects,and obviously put a large amount of effort into it. However one use I have for Mammouth is not mentioned. If I am playing CTF and am on the winning team,but with a fair amount of time left, sometimes the opposition gets a flood of people with unlimited supplies trying to snatch the win. This is when I will switch to my mammy and camp on the flag, and for the purposes of one battle my supplies are unlimited too :P ! Generally it works very well, especially when an isida on my team camps with me - knowing there will be a huge supply of points for healing me!

[Truthteller 4,204]

I prefer medium hulls :P or wasp, Great guide.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Truthteller

[Reallusion 9]

Heavy hulls most definitely have a place on large maps!   I enjoy playing Shaft/TItan on large CTF maps, like Rio, Sepuhov, Monte Carlo, and even Lost Temple.  Once you get to know the best spots on the map, it's easy to rack up high numbers of kills while avoiding being blown up.  There are good places to park on most of these maps which limit your exposure to attacks from light/medium hulls and give you time to swing the turret and eliminate them.

 

You do need to get over a fear of being blown up.  Of course, no one likes having to respawn.  But, sometimes you have to stay focused on one target and end up also being taken out.  It's all for the benefit of the team.

 

Heavy hulls work better with some turrets than others.  I like playing Smoky, too, but I would never put Smoky on my Titan.  I've seen a few case where Isida/Titan was used effectively in a defensive mode.  Having the healer with a thick skin can be a benefit to a team.  

 

On the whole, though, heavy hulls work better with long range turrets on big maps where there is room to find and destroy opposition targets.

[applications_tanki 129]

i use heavy hulls

[comandobob 15]

M3 MAMMOTH TO DA MAX

[Miracle_Quip 1]

your mammoth's name is woolly. i have a friend whose nickname is woolley mammoth...ummm 

[thechosenoneone 0]

I haven't bought mammoth yet, but my Viking has more health than it....

[azaz20 1]

HELL YEAH!

[MrCommando 1,412]

Nice Job!

I still like to use Hornet.

 

I only use XP..

 

[sha77777_super 877]

Nice article

[GorcsevIvan 55]

There is a value of the Mammoth, but I prefer the speed. 

Mine is very rarely used. I prefer Hornet or Viking as medium.

[kostas604 106]

Why not Zeus on titan?

[r_BLASTOY0 32]

I use my titan,thunder and Zeus combo,i cant remember when was the first time i came second using it.I am always on the Top in DMs and CPs.I guess you dont know how to play with TItan and Zeus :/ .According to me Zeus and Titan are best suited for each other.