Guide [Issue 36] Stars 'n Stripes: What to Buy? Part 2

[Shedinja 1,488]

~Stars 'n Stripes~

What to Buy?    

~Part 2~    

 

 

 

 

If you remember the last bit of this series, you'll remember that we covered all of the items unlocked at ranks through . In this section, we'll be taking on a whole different world of Tanki Online: the beginning of the long-sought M3s.

 

In juxtaposition to the materials we covered last time, these machines are a lot quicker to the jump. It takes an experienced set of hands and a sharp wit to get a rein in on these weapons. Take your attention away from the screen while facing/using these, and you're more than likely to find yourself lying sideways within a dark halo of charred titanium and smoke. It's a brave new world for some, and it would be wise to venture into it prepared.

 

This series is dedicated to those between the ranks of Brigadier - General.

 

 

 

What's On The Market?

Y'all remember one of the most annoying but necessary game rules: You have to wait until you're at the available rank to purchase a certain item. At least, this WAS the case before all of these M3 Thunder 'n Twins kits came along, and trying to enter a battle without dealing with these is a futile attempt worth laughing at. Do I even HAVE to say anything about M3 Hornet, whch has been available now at the rank of Colonel TWICE? But, since unlocking an item at these 'star' ranks is a much more time consuming task than it was on your journey through the stripes, making better choices is nothing short of the only option if you wish to get anywhere. It's going to take quite some time for you to transverse from one rank to another in comparison to the 'stripe' ranks. It'd be wise to note that Score Multiplier Passes can help shove that verdant, imperceptibly mobile experience bar along just a bit quicker.

 

 

 

 

Brigadier

 

 

M3 Isida

If you remember from my last article, I stated that Isida was really only suitable for team-type matches, right? Well, seventeen ranks later, that "little PokeCenter" becomes a powerhouse feared by those without a strong protection paint. Straight out of the shop, it can heal or deal 51 units of damage per second -- enough to kill or fully repair an M3 Hornet in just over three of those seconds. With its self-healing factor boosted even further, it can absorb far more damage from close and mid-ranged weapons than it ever could before, which could be a major problem for anyone standing in your path. These changes arguably make it one of the most positively affected weapons when given full upgrades. With the most recent update increasing the reach of this nanobot-utilizing gizmo, distant foes are less of a problem than they used to be, and going toe-to-toe with an M2 Firebird (because M2 Freeze are almost extinct at this rank) is a much easier task. The main drawback, however, is that Isida simply cannot deal much damage to those faster than the hull it's using, making it an easy meal for Railguns, Shafts, and many mid-ranged weapons. Anything from Wasp to Hunter is a good idea, but in singular point CPs, something heavier might work to your advantage.

 

M3 Thunder

"Bring on da bum BUM!" Aptly named "The King of DMs", Thunder was born to crush any resistance made by anything smaller than it. In most successful cases, this is pretty much everything. This cannon is easily the bane of any light or medium-light hull's existence, next to Ricochet, of course. Generating near 100 damage per shot mixed with a firing rate of one shot per 2.8 seconds creates a deadly combination when paired up with a heavy hull. Whenever I see an M2 Mammoth/M3 Thunder roll out to the field in a DM, I feel the urge to go double-check my will. However, when played on a CTF style map, a Mammoth with Thunder is always a sitting duck, and only truly exemplary at non-contact defense. Something along the lines of Viking or Hunter would function better as an offensive threat. No matter what map type you play, though, Thunder will always work best in the mid-field. Too close to your enemies, and you wind up harming your own tank. Too far away, and your shots can be ignored as easily as a roaming gnat, especially considering the sudden abundance of Emerald-bearing kits. Also a notable point: Thunder's splash damage can be used to take down multiple tanks at once, so playing on smaller maps might deliver good results. Bear in mind, though, that being too close to your enemies functions as a double-edged sword. The splash also great for eliminating players clumped around the flag on the offensive, or weakening the opponents as they huddle around the gold box drop zone. 

 

Savanna, Cherry

The two paints unlocked at Brigadier are different in almost every aspect: one is a long time veteran, the other recently added, organized protection, all-purpose protection, one disguises you as part of a grassy plain, one disguises you as a fruit, green, red... I mean, not even the letters used in each of their names can collate! Anyways, Savanna has base protections of 15% versus Ricochet, 20% against Railgun, and a whopping 40% against Smoky. On the other hand, Cherry can protect you from 20% damage from Vulcan, 25% from Thunder blasts, and a sizable 30% from Twins. I'd have to say that Savanna is most certainly a more specialized paint, as it mainly protects you from mid-ranged and long ranged fire. Cherry, in contrast, has protections from a long ranged weapon, a mid ranged weapon, and a short-ish ranged weapon. I can see that they tried really hard to set some diversity with this paint, but a wise man once said that attempting to catch everything can result in accomplishing nothing. This paint can only be used in really rare circumstances, where all three types of weapons are extremely applicable. Silence and Noise are possibly the best places for this paint, but there are much better paints out there for that type of combat than Cherry. If I had to chose between these two paints, I'd definitely go with Savanna. Its protection spectrum fixates directly of mid- to long ranged combat, allowing to be useful in places like Monte Carlo and Sepurhov, while also being an option in Sandboxes and Tribute. That Ricochet protection is also nice, too.

 

 

 

 Major General

 

 

M3 Freeze

The third and final upgrade of Freeze is thought to be nearly synonymous with the word annoying. At least, that's how it was visualized before the update. With the new parameter adjustments put into place, Freeze has lost and gained arguably more than almost any other turret. Whereas Freeze used to evenly affect the speed of the hull and the turret (drastically, I might add), it loses much of its ability to impede the hull's speed, while on the other hand taking even the fastest rotating turrets and rendering them almost useless. This makes Freeze a lot less useful in defense on a CTF, where it used to thrive like a plant in the sun. The range was kicked down a few notches as well, which makes hounding a target in midfield a less plausible option. However, closing one door usually opens another, and the portal leading to the world of offensive playing was thrust wide open. Certainly, Freeze was useful before on the front lines, but the turret rotation usually wasn't enough to do the trick; mid-ranged weapons that still had some kick left in 'em could gun the little Wasp or Hornet/Freeze down. The updates changed all of that -- any heavy-class hulls trying to sit by the flag can be ruined with a little sneaky-peaky work around some buildings or simply charging at them and... well, not dying. Hard to do in a fast hull, yes, but just stay dodgy and you'll be fine. When playing on maps with CP or TDM listing, Freeze doesn't do its job as efficiently as it would in a CTF. Freeze is mainly for team players with something to protect. At CPs, the best way for this weapon to play efficiently is to make a beeline for the heavy hulls and Isidas, and keep their turrets facing mainly one direction, to minimize their range of attack. As for DMs, there isn't much that Freeze can do without being outclassed by Firebird. 

 

M3 Shaft

Still very powerful in its class of weapons, still unanimously disliked by anyone on the other end of the barrel, yet drastically less popular than its less modified brothers. Whereas M0 and M1 Shafts were a plague during the Warrant Officer Ranks, they seem to have all but disappeared in the ranks after Colonel. Sure, I've seen a rounded collection of M2 Shafts hanging around behemoth maps like Berlin and Solikamsk, but their abundance decreases sharply when the size of the map shrinks. In anything smaller than Station, they become nearly non-existent. The laser scope added quite some time ago has also helped diminish this weapon's popularity. However, those that are still faithful to this weapon are rewarded greatly by the raw power this machine has locked within its titanium shell. A fresh from the factory M3 Shaft can unload a whopping 205 damage when sniping full power. One micro-upgrade to power, and it will one-shot M4 Hornets with no Shaft protection or Double Armor. Max it out completely, and it will do the same to M3 Vikings with several defense MUs. Like in the first article, Shaft is useful with almost any hull, but it's smarter to use a light hull for mobility purposes. As a Shaft, you're going to be targeted by many, so get a good paint depending on the level of cover available to you. If there are many places for a close ranged weapon to hide, I'd say to get something to defend yourself from those types with, like Mars, or Irbis. If there's a lot of wide open space, however, get something like Digital on to protect you from Railgun and opposing Shafts.

 

M3 Hornet

Driving this thing around can be exhilarating, but too little caution can leave you lying sideways or upside down. M3 Hornet is probably the most popular M3 hull in Tanki Online, due to a number of reasons: the speed, the price, the availability (the first M3 hull available is likely to be selected just so that people can say they have an M3 hull), and, more recently, its use in format matches. It universal abilities, however, weren't put on the prior list for a reason. Hornet's capabilities to go places and go there quick is exemplary, seconded only by Wasp. However, the armor ratings aren't fantastic -- only around 166 straight out of the shop. That's not much more than M1 Viking has to offer. Thank gravy that micro upgrades were made, though; after the final modification for armor is put into place, it has armor ratings just shy of that of M2 Dictator, which is much more agreeable, but still rather low. It sees quite a bit of action in just about any map and playing style, even in places it would easily be outcompeted by other hulls (such as in Ping-Pong and other uber-small maps, where the heavier you are, the more power you hold). The garage description holds a lot of truth -- almost any weapon works on Hornet. However, it would be worth your while to note that some weapons work better on fast hulls than others. Twins and Vulcan, for example, are weapons that are better suited on leviathans like Titan and Mammoth.

 

Irbis, Emerald, Mars

While two of these paints pose difficult to deal with in close quarters, one focuses generally on protecting your tank from mid-ranged batteries. The ever-popular Emerald paint isn't famous just for its attractive sheen; sporting one of the highest base Thunder protections in the game and considerable Twins and Railgun protection, this paint does its job well in midfield and DM-type situations. You don't necessarily have to get too close, but for the occasional Twins that decides to take you on, you can be ready for it. Also, the Thunder protection is pretty much universal at this rank, where M3 variants spawn like rabbits in springtime. It's very hard to enter a map without encountering Thunder nowadays, so having this could prove worthwhile. However, it may have grown too popular with kits like Bulldozer and Raiden doing excessive advertisement, which, logically speaking, makes Thunder less threatening altogether.

 

Closer to the front lines, Mars and Irbis have variable protection levels from Isida, with Irbis holding more initial protection. However, they begin to branch off into two distinct species of paints: defensive and offensive. Despite originally being advertised with M3 Hornet, Mars can actually play a much better defensive game than it seems to at first glance. Firebirds and Hammers are common players at single-point CPs and DMs; put on something heavy and something that can shoot fast, and start roaming around a map. Isidas are more popular at single-point CPs, since they function best as a team player. As with Irbis, taking an offensive in CTFs is what this paint seems to allow best. Freeze resistance allows you to stay alive a bit longer when caught in the stream, while the sizeable Isida protection can give you an ability to home in on those healing the heavy guys without taking near as much damage. (Especially if Freeze is involved, then you can kill two birds with one stone by taking down the Isida whilst ruining the turret speed of the big guy.) The Ricochet protection is always nice to have in mid-sized maps, where CTFs are most common.

 

 

 

 

 Lieutenant General

 

 

M3 Hammer

Now presenting the Tanki Online and CoD crossover. M3 Hammer can deal loads of damage to an unprepared tanker. Having a protection paint from this gun is almost a necessity if you want to get anywhere in everything but CTFs. (I mean, I had to buy Pixel last sale in order to keep myself from becoming turned into bantha fodder whenever I saw one of these. Even in M3 Viking, I usually died before they had to use a second clip on me.) The reload is fast, the damage is high, and the rotation speed is amazing. The price and anyone who bought the Jackhammer kit/Tiger seem to be the only impediments to this weapon being in every tanker's garage. Tiger seems to be rather popular in correspondence to the increasing number of Hammers floating around. Fast hulls can deal damage with a hit-n'-run style play, and heavy hulls have a game type similar to that of Twins and Vulcan: Be fat and shoot what you see when you see it. Medium hulls, however, is where a lot of maneuverability can be implanted, ergo the most useful playing styles. Hunter or Viking allows for use in almost any type of map, as long as there is a decent amount of cover for Hammer to hide behind, so as not to have the entirety of Tanki's Railguns and Smokies bear down on it.

 

M3 Viking

Undoubtedly the most popular medium hull in Tanki Online. Second in use frequency only to Hornet, M3 Viking is considered one of the "universal hulls" -- can be equipped with any paint and any turret and still play well. There hasn't been a lot of proof to disclaim this as of yet; stable, great armor ratings in comparison to its speed (it starts with close to 250, but it has 300 HP with full armor MUs), easy-to-maneuver driving patterns --  you'd think this would be the most popular hull out there. (With the four separate Viking kits that came out this last month, I wouldn't be surprised if the trend made it so within the next three months.) The price isn't terrible for its stats, either; only about 5k shy of 200 grand. One of the few problems with being a universal hull is, paradoxically, its neutrality. Not leaning extremely towards extreme armor layering or exemplary motor speed leaves it strangely lacking in single-point CPs next to heavier hulls, and easily outclassed in vast CTF maps like Berlin and Dusseldorf by anything smaller than it, even its cousin universal hull, Hunter. Viking is truly for non-specialist types; if you don't have a preference as to what you do in any map, buy this one. (Or, save your crystals and bide your time for M3 Hunter.)

 

Inferno, Jade, Hive

I'll bet all of the contents of my wallet (my BCHS student ID, a dilapidated paper from a fortune cookie, one self-printed plastic coin with my logo sketched onto it, two dollars, and a Trident wrapper that looks like it's been in there since the dawn of time) that you'll see either Emerald or Inferno in a heated battle today. Fresh from the factory, Inferno has exemplary Freeze and Firebird protections (40%, 30%). Both can be upgraded to 50%, equaling a mini-Zeus. However, whereas Zeus also can grab 50% Smoky resistance, Inferno only has a measly Twins resistance that can barely go above 20%. Inferno absolutely screams front-lines fighting, resisting the most difficult flag-sitters enemies in the game. Wasp and Hornet are good for surprise attacks, as usual, while anything much bigger is really just using it to outlast opponents instead of outspeeding them.

 

Jade takes on a whole different range of players -- Shaft, Smoky, Hammer, and Thunder. Both Shaft and Smoky can max out, but the other two can only go about halfway at their final MU. This paint can play at long ranges, but it's a bit difficult to use Shaft protection without using Railgun protection. It's not exactly vice versa, though, which is the real kicker; Railgun paints without much to take on Shafts can manage rather well, i.e. Savanna or Clay. I'd stay a way from Jade, since Prodigi or Picasso would make much more suitable substitutes in the long run.

 

Hive... I'm being completely honest when I say I have NEVER seen Hive used in a match before. EVER. I kid you not. I thought, "Wow, at first glance, you'd assume this paint is taboo or something. Why?" Then I went to the garage description and whaddaya know, that's why. Its primary protections are spread out exactly like Cherry's. You're disguised as a walking beehive, with moderate protection from Vulcan (33%), while only secondary priority is given to Ricochet and Freeze, with 20 - 25% for each. For such a high rank, it seems that Hive is really lacking in collective protection. Maybe equivalent to something available in the Lieutenant Colonel ranks; whatever the case, by the time it's available, it's almost completely redundant to buy. Rustles and Pythons everywhere make emergency anti-Freeze gear when necessary, and even my almost fully micro-upgraded Desert works better than Hive does at its Rico-reflective pinnacle. Vulcan... it's just not as troublesome enough anymore for buying a paint for it to be key to survival. Maybe if there's some sort of change in balance that gives Vulcan a bit more damage, this paint would definitely be on a list of items to own. But until then...

 

 

 

 

 General

 

 

M3 Railgun

Competing in StarLadder competitions without at least owning one of these is like deciding never to wear pants. Easily the most common weapon in Tanki Online, Railgun is most well known for its abilities to shine in long-ranged combat. It's also the only weapon to have its own format made after it. (Hopefully, this won't be the ONLY weapon with its own format.) The reload time it has in its M0 modification is drastically decreased; it fires a whole two seconds faster now than it did before. Clearly, however, this isn't the best change delivered. The damage has been more than doubled, the rotation speed is now manageable for most medium hulls, its piercing power ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING, and its impact force nearly quadruples. M3 Railgun is still better on medium and light hulls than with Titan and Mammoth, but in the future, when M3 Mammoth and Titan are released, it can actually do something besides spending all of its time trying to follow a target with the combination's terrible net rotation speed. Railgun works well in plenty of situations, but it's relatively clear that small maps and anywhere with lots of Twins or Ricochets don't bode well for it. In DM setups, it's outclassed for kill-stealing capabilities only by Hammer, which can deal tons of damage at once and it frequenting shots.

 

M3 Wasp

"Gotta go fast!" M3 Wasp is the definition of all things speedy. The tight turning speed also blesses this tank with the awed power of agility, nearly eliminating the need to use reverse acceleration. Nearly. Clearly, what it has in speed, it lacks in armor, with only minimal protection enforced. Its armor straight out of the shop is less than that of an M0 Mammoth. Cumulative micro-upgrades increase that only to 180, about 40 points more than it originally had. Frankly, this armor is only emergency protection; if you want to live, learn how to drive. The best defense is one where the opponent cannot hit you. Almost any weapon (besides Vulcan, due to the crippling overheat) works well on wasp, just so long as aiming comes as a second nature. The controls are very stiff on Wasp -- it does exactly as you ask it to. You want to go left, it almost instantly responds. The cooperation of Wasp leaves driving this machine completely to human success (or human error). Presumably, this vehicle undoubtedly works best in large maps, where its speed can be used to its full potential. However, do try to find and utilize cover when you can, since there isn't much armor between you and an errant Shaft round.

 

Taiga, Tiger

Tiger's main attraction (besides its appeal to wildcat-lovers) is its enormous resistance to Hammer and Smoky shots. Kind of ironic, since rifles and shotguns are what are used to hunt these creatures. If it had Shaft protection, too... Anyways, with base protections above thirty percent for each, this paint has plenty of close ranged capabilities. However, it's odd to see Hammer and Smoky in the same match, so usually the paint is purchased with protection for either/or, with the secondary 15% Railgun protection and the non-favored primary is considered a bonus. The combination of Railgun and Smoky protections allowed it to find a home within StarLadder competitions, which probably significantly helped spike its popularity. Also, the famous Jackhammer kit (consisting of M3 Viking, M3 Hammer, and Tiger) increased awareness of Hammer's girth in mid- to short range matches, causing even more Tiger cubs to start popping up on maps of similar dress. Use in long-ranged combat isn't suggested, as paints like Digital, Savannah and Winter function more efficiently, both protection-wise and camouflage-wise. Come on, now, we all know Tiger sticks out like a sore thumb in a crowd, like a guy who wears sunglasses at night.

 

Y'know, I find it funny that the names of these paints are so similar, and available at the same rank, too. Taiga sounds a little bit like someone with a British accent saying Tiger. The paints, though, contrast in many ways. Whereas Tiger had its sights on mid- to long ranged combatants, Taiga spent more time shielding itself from things that liked to get closer. With 30% base protection from Isida and 20% base protection from Ricochet and Firebird, you know this paint was meant to get into someone's face, rather than sit back and take potshots. Another 15% resistance to Twins only backs up this theory. The aesthetics, though, also give it a bit of use in nighttime XP format matches, where the shades can blend in with shadows as well as extraneous plant life and boxes. Not as useful in daytime, where shadows are more easily defined, but sill a nice edition to the garage. If you didn't already buy Inferno, Mars or Irbis at this point, I'd say splurge for this one, even if the cost is rather... erm... overbearing. 210,000 plus micro-upgrades are grounds that only those looking to focus minimally on paints and maximally on other equipment should tread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's My Strategy?

Just like last time, I'm going to let you try and figure out this one on your own. Let's just blindly assume that your garage is made up of a few M2s and some scattered M1s and M0s. Going along those guidelines, go nuts deciding where you want to take this. Please, though, try not to get lost in there...

 

v v v START HERE v v v

Garages are like those little bags of addicting Fruit Snacks -- supplies and flavor vary by pack. The same applies to the individual's garage: it's extremely unlikely for two people to have the same contents, especially at these ranks. As written above, I've taken the setup of an "average" tanker at this rank: a few reliable M2s, the occasional M1, and the M0s that the player was never fond of.

 

So, you've just ranked up to Brigadier General. With this one star, you begin to unlock a whole new world. Facing the future, you know you're not exactly prepared. With a few crystals in your pocket, you eye each available item in the garage and wonder: "What to buy?"

 

You have available to you M3 Isida and M3 Thunder. No M3 Hulls quite yet, so ranking up fast would be a good option so that you have access to something better. Both guns are great at gathering experience points. It's all a matter of preference. 

 

Did you buy Isida?

Since Isida has great cumulative abilities on team matches, you decide to pick that. You're likely to be roving around in M2 Wasp, Hornet or Hunter, so something along those lines would be a good purchase for you once you have access to the M3 version. It's also been seen to function well with M2 Viking and Dictator in maps where everything is closer together. Anyways, it'll do you good for a long while, but eventually you're going to need something to fight with that can reach more than a few meters. Fortunately, Shaft and Railgun are right around the corner.

 

I'm going to buy Shaft.

Shaft is a great team player, so it would fit in with your M3 Isida harmoniously. With this excellent setup, you never find much of a need to stray outside anything that involves teams. With these weapons, though, you're going to constantly be a target, so finding a way to deal with the pain would be suggested. Having an M2 hull all the time has become an impediment. Buying something now can serve you well.

 

Hornet or Wasp?

You're confident in your driving skill, so you go with one of those two. You make your current setup even more compatible with large maps, allowing you to go wherever you want without much limitation and giving you some edge on CTF style matches. The speed can also help you reach distant players that are in need of assistance with Isida, and keep a mobile defense with Shaft. Buying a long ranged paint like Savannah, Emerald or Jade can help you take on anything that tries to take potshots at you, while buying something like Inferno or Taiga allows you to tackle the offensive lines. Remember, though: your role with these weapons is generalized around support. 

 

Viking?

Since everything is more useful when it stays alive longer, you determine that buying Viking would be more beneficial. Now rounded enough to face any type of map, bet it a vast plain or a cramped nook, both weapons can be used in their individual sections. Isida, paired up with Inferno or Irbis, is able to do battle on most small maps, with the regenerative qualities of the nano-mechanical gizmo serving you well. A Shaft wearing Savannah or Tiger can get a few licks in defensively, where targets are constantly pouring into sight. Just make sure you're in a good position to get rid of your opponents BEFORE they reach you.

 

 

I'm going to buy Railgun.

Railgun, with a fast reload and high damage per shot, allows you access to every section of the map, be it the offense, the defense, or the mid-field. Hornet is probably better for you if you're juggling Isida around, but this means you'll have to move around a lot more. Using Hornet/Isida can be a universal healing machine, so long as you're not standing out in the open all the time. Stick behind players with Viking or Hunter and heal them as they swipe the flag. With Railgun, you're going to be sticking to the sidelines a lot more in CPs, but you'll have access to play in many different XP-format matches, where anyone can learn a new thing or two. You can build your own offensive with Hornet/Railgun in normal matches as well, but make sure the map is equal to bigger than the size of Industrial Zone or Sepurhov. Smaller maps tend to hold more heavy hulls and close to mid-ranged equipment, something Hornet/Railgun isn't too great at fighting against. Almost any paint works with this combination, but at least grab two polar opposite paints in terms of protection. You're going to be in a variety of situations with this getup, so it'd be best to come prepped...

 

 

Did you buy Thunder?

Packing and delivering heat is what you love to do, so you choose Thunder. A real DM buddy, it can be delivering blows like nobody's business with a few MUs attached and a sturdy M2 medium or heavy hull. It sees professional use in medium to teeny maps, so buying Emerald or Tiger is a step towards owning the upper hand. You have some range on you, so maybe Shaft or Railgun don't have to be purchase options. That is, if you have the capabilities to reach opposing users safely.

 

Railgun or Shaft over here!

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." With larger maps now attainable for a player like you, some offensive sniping is exactly what you need. Since, originally, your focus was locked onto medium to heavy hulls, giving you M3 Viking would simply be assisting a match made in heaven. Taking care of players at any distance is child's play, and when the situation calls, you can switch out equipment to deal with specified threats, like that random Wasp/Freeze who can't seem to get enough of your team's flag, or that Twins/Mammoth over there, thinkin' he's the biggest, baddest blob in the DM. Since you're going to be a bit laid back, buying something like Mars (for those spicy, close combat single-point CPs) would be a worthwhile investment.

 

Freeze over here!

Something stronger for close ranges seems like it would help your case better, eh? Well, you don't have to look further than this fine specimen. Freeze has an increased DPS rate, a good recharge, and that oh-so-useful stalling effect on anything that strays too close to it. Problem is, though, that you can't reach a Rail or a Shaft in time unless you've got something that you can really floor it in. Fortunately, you have two fine specimens to choose from, here: Hornet, or Wasp. Honestly, I'd go with Wasp here, mainly because of its abilities to turn on a dime and stay steady while circling your opponents to death. Buying something like Inferno or Taiga to fend of those close ranged fighters would aid your playing style greatly. Wasp may not pair up as well with Thunder initially, but set it to use over medium maps, and you may have something. Besides, wasn't there a unofficial format for Wasp/Thunder some time ago?

 

Hammer over here!

Although it mind seem a bit redundant at first to own both M3 Hammer and M3 Thunder before you even make it to 'issimo, you have to wonder, "Hey, could Hammer function as a better close-range partner than Thunder?" Think about it. Hammer can do more damage per shot AND shoot it off faster. Only drawbacks are that it needs to reload every three shots and it's almost useless at ranges over 60 meters. In light of this information, it seems that Thunder can accomplish what Hammer can't, and vice versa.

 

However, you come to another crossroads when you ask yourself, "Alright, I have the weapons, now what should I plant them on?" Wasp maybe isn't the best option. That thing would flip like a Krabby Patty before you made it five feet. However, Hornet and Viking seem to be ideal M3 options. Which one is it gonna be?

 

I'm gettin' Hornet.

Seems you sprung for the more offensive option. 'Tis fair, since Hammer and Thunder both exhibit the power to blow chunks out of famous walls like Titan and Mammoth. You may have to stick to large maps when using this combination, however, since smaller maps are home to the meatier species of tank. They usually don't like visitors, and retaliate by ripping your teeny Hornet to bits with Ricochets and Vulcans. Or Twins. Lots and lots of Twins. On big maps like Kungur or Aleksandrovsk, Hornet/Hammer can get the jump on a lot of the light hulls floating around -- just watch out for Tiger paints. Don't waste your time trying to gun them down; they're just simply not worth it. I can assure you, whatever they have can cut you down before you're able to shell them with another clip. If you can, save your money until you have enough to buy Prodigi or Picasso. These paints work beautifully with Hornet/Hammer, since Rails and Shafts seem to be the bane of this combination's existence. 

 

I'm getting Viking.

Mid-field. Stay mid-field. Thunder or Hammer can do that job very well. With Viking supporting these guns, there's almost nothing getting past you. Emerald is too good to pass up, since you'll be attracting the attention of other mid-fielders, as well. In single-point CPs, you're guaranteed to be charging for the point 24/7. Why? It's going to seem like you're the only one capable of doing so after a while. Blam! Blam! Blam! Hide. Blam! Blam! Blam! Hide. A steady stream of targets will constantly be flowing your way, so you don't need to worry about being bored for the remaining 45 minutes. In CTFs, you're going to have to be held responsible for whoever gets in and out of your side of the field. Anyone gets a hold of your flag, and you're going to have to be there to hound them down. Anyone starts going for your flag, and you're going to have to hound them down. Anyone starts chasing your buddies with the flag into your zone, guess what you're going to have to do?

 

 

 

 

Again, I hope y'all enjoyed the second half of Stars 'n Stripes series. Until next time!

 

 

 

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Edited January 7, 2018 by Hexed

[BlazingCoder 108]

First.

Good tips to help me once I reach Brigadier.

[anuclearbomb 220]

someone complemented shaft? what is this 2011? nah i kid, shaft is amazing. nice article will be filled in my favorites under "shaft"

[Gunslinger300 45]

nice

[r_Dark_Nightmare5 24]

Nice

[luca.p 26]

Nice Job

[Quarks 2,255]

Shed: ¨bantha fodder¨

I love star wars too, I really like the reference.  :D 

[Guest]

nice

[MJROCKS05 428]

- Nice article... liked the way u told em those isida haters, how cool this weapon actually is !!  ;)  :lol: 

- Hammer is OP !! Even at m2 .. it should unlock at colonel , not at captain... hate that gun  :angry: 

 

 

 

 

The poke-fan is back :P

[Darren4Turbo 4,913]

Nice Article :).