Review [Issue 45] The Pathological MUer

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

Micro upgrades. To some, the idea of enhancing a tank in small increments is tedious in the extreme. For others, it's even more rewarding than purchasing an "M" outright.

Whatever your take on the matter, it is undeniable that Micro-Upgrading is a big subject. The sheer amount of available and relevant information is absolutely staggering and with looming deadlines, it's a bit much for one person to satisfactorily handle.

Night-Sisters: So. For the reason stated above and because it's furthering our ultimate goal of female domination in the press, @Phoenix-Warbird and I are going to be co-authoring this one.

Phoenix-Warbird: And thus we welcome you to the first ever female-candidate-collaboration newspaper article in TO! This is a long read; you have been warned. For your own satisfaction, I advise you all to skip the parts that Nighty-Whitey has written.

Night-Sisters: Don't listen to her, she's pathologically insane. ;) And Phoenix. Can you please, Please, PLEASE stop using that insidious nickname. -,-

Phoenix-Warbird: What, 'Nighty-Whitey'? Insidious? C'mon, who names themself Night-Sisters?! Or should I say *themselves? If your name is plural, you could probably collaborate with yourself on this article. *Yourselves, I mean. Tell me that's not weird.

Night-Sisters: It's from Starwars, kay. -_- But speaking of 'yourselves'...dear readers, let's start by getting your opinions on Micro-Upgrades!

Phoenix-Warbird: How to change the subject, Nighty-Whitey!


From the Community

Before getting into the thick of things, it may prove insightful to get a feel for the community's thoughts on MUs. Various tankers were polled and asked to summarize their opinions on Micro-Upgrading. These are their responses.

: My opinion on micro upgrades...hmm. Well, micro upgrades are really helpful indeed, But..but -with the MU update that came out lately, MU's have become very expensive now, and towards the end of your micro upgrading, it takes up to 3 days to MU something. And that, in my opinion, is far too long. And the prices of micro upgrading need to be lowered slightly. I actually prefer the new micro upgrades, but I don't like the prices.. too expensive.
Way too expensive. Besides, the micro upgrade system gets you M4's a lot faster! Especially if you're a rich person with plenty of cash in your bank! <_<

@Dragon-Judgement: To me, it really provides a much-needed edge in a battle.

@beaku Highly Overrated and misleading Crystal Drain. Of course, I'm sure many will be to differ.

@personia: Spending crystals to make a minor difference to an item in the garage, which adds up to a large difference, the more you buy them.

@RoughNut: Micro-upgrades are great if you do not rank quickly, but if you do, I think they are quite pointless.

Micro-Upgrades: The Good and the Bad.

There are advantages to Micro Upgrading...and disadvantages. Before you click that "upgrade" button and dump oodles of crystals in early enhancement you should know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

-They’re really expensive.
MUs are really expensive. It's the price you pay for getting access to the next "M" early. MUs are about twice as expensive as buying the item outright.

-They limit garage diversity.
To be clear: Micros limit garage diversity because they're expensive. If you don't buy crystals (and tbh, even if you do make a purchase) the cost can be burdensome, especially at the lower ranks.

+They're awesome in DM.
MUs are awesome in DMs. Period. Statement. Declarative sentence. It depends on your unique style of play, but Deathmatch is generally where MUed tanks prove to be most effective.
The exception to this is Isida: after Micro-Upgrading, its healing power is extremely high - and that is something any team could greatly benefit from.

+Full M4 is REALLY SCARY.
A maximally upgraded tank comes with one extra parameter that you might not have previously heard of: the scare tactic. M4s are the most powerful tanks you could possibly have, and who wouldn’t want that? You can be sure to feel a difference with having all your stats topped, especially when you’re up against weaker opponents. By going for M3+ your stats are raised by about the same amount as between each regular modification, giving you that coveted "M4". Of course, you could always settle for the halfway mark to save most of your crystals. It would then be safe to say that you have an M3½...which isn't quite as scary as full M4, but still gives you a noticeable advantage over those who don't MU.

-You lose them in XP/BP.
If you are mainly an XP/BP player, it might not be worth it to get micro-upgrades as you would be spending a lot of time without using them. Paying so much for micros is a huge waste when they just sit in your garage collecting dust. At the very least, if you’re mostly into format battles, you shouldn’t feel inclined to pay for speedups - so definitely avoid spending your crystals on those!

+MUing can help you rank faster.
Say you have a fully Micro-Upgraded M2 Rail. You are using what is essentially an "M3" weapon against M2 tanks, and it shows. Your K/D rate is better, you survive longer, and you receive more crystals from the fund because you are operating at a higher level than everyone else.


Are they worth it?

Micro upgrades are expensive. Vastly, tremendously, and flabbergastingly expensive. In fact the cost is so great that it begs the question: is Micro-Upgrading even worth it?!?
The short answer: no.
The long answer: possibly.

Phoenix-Warbird: Both answers are of equal length. Very helpful.

Night-Sisters: Ahem. 'Possibly' has more letters. :P But back to the subject at hand...

Effective MUing requires an excess of two things:
Time, and crystals. As the average tanker is more concerned with the flat-out monetary cost, I delve first into the slippery subject of finances.

The charts above put the price of Micro-Upgrading on neat display. Speedups were not included, and the total cost could be lowered through careful use of sales.
However, the fact still stands: MUing before M3+ is twice as expensive as simply buying an "M" outright.
So. Price-wise, is it worth it?

M0-M1: No. Compared to what a tanker can feasibly earn, the amount of crystals needed to MU is simply ludicrous. At this point, a player should be more focused on purchasing and experimenting with different tank combinations. The end result of MUing is a garage with one weapon that is OP for a limited time, and not much else.

M1-M2: Same as above. Micros are nothing more than a crystal sinkhole that limits garage diversity.

M2-M3: This is where the ballgame changes and 'possibly worth it' comes in. Be it Rail\Hornet, Isida\Wasp or Twins and Mammo, by now, most tankers have found that one favorite combo that they use 24/7. M3 is still a long way off, so, though expensive, Micros can be the catalyst in providing that coveted competitive edge. If you like the idea of MUes, have a favorite combo, and are willing to shell out the crystals, then by all means. Go for it.

M3+: It's worth it. Enough said.

The time expenditure that MUing requires often takes a back seat to the gigantic crystal cost. However, it is a legitimate and, indeed, a significant factor to consider. The above painstakingly-crafted diagrams show the approximate number of DAYS that it takes to fully MU, provided you go round-the-clock in an unending cycle...and it's a lot.
You could, of course, purchase speedups, but that would dramatically increase the total MU price.
So if you don't want and/or lack the crystals to hurry along your Micros, just know that you are going to be in it for the looong haul.


From the Community: Are they worth it?
We go again to the community, who were asked the following questions on the cost-effectiveness of Micros.

a.) In your opinion, is the advantage that pre-M3 micro upgrading provides worth the expense?
b.) Do you think M3+ micro upgrading is worth the expense?

a.) In my opinion, not really. Unless you use one particular combo and never change. Other than that, I don't think it is.
b.) Yes in my opinion, micro upgrading M3's can make you very over-powered, and I do think it is worth the expense, BUT - only if you have the crystals to do so. But like I said, micro upgrading M3's is now very expensive.

@Dragon-Judgement
a.) Yes. It may be more costly than just plainly buying M3 on the proper rank, but it is definitely worth it if you're willing to throw in some extra crystals.
b.) Hehe... it may be just another nightmare in Tanki for some; going through the micro upgrading of M3 to 'M4', but at the end of the day... are you willing to better yourself? You have to keep improving, there really is no end product to what you can do.

@beaku
a.) No. Not at all. Considering that all those MU's go to utter and complete waste once the next modification is bought. But, it's a necessity considering that you have to face other tankers who apply MU's. It's more of a chain reaction than anything else.
b.) Definitely. That is, IF you want to reach Generalissimo with a near-decent K/D ratio. Also, the ultimate goal of any tanker is to have an ultimate garage, which obviously means that you need to have your equipment fully MUed.


@personia
a.) Not really. I think that it doesn't give you much of an edge, unless you upgrade it to halfway or more.
b.) Yes, yes, and definitely yes. You're getting another level at which you can upgrade your gun to. This basically means that you can get M4 on the item micro upgraded. This gives you a huge edge over opponents with M3 only.

@RoughNut
a.) I don't think so, because you could just wait until you are the right rank, and buy it outright for A LOT fewer crystals.
b.) I think they are, if you have the crystals, and if it is for a weapon that you use full time.

The History of Micro-Upgrades

Phoenix-Warbird: (Reads title and groans) Ugh, history? I'll tell you what's history: my interest. -.- You're on your own for this one. Good night.

Night-Sisters: ^^

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away....STARWARS!!!!!
No, nein, нет, non, não.
The history of Micro-Upgrades, in brief: they entered the game in late 2013 as Update 208. Over the years the system was tweaked, notably on September 24 of 2014, again on May 21, 2015 and then most recently on November 12, 2015. Despite superficial changes, the underlying principles -paying a ridiculously large number of crystals for early enhancement- have remained mostly the same.
The End.

Night-Sisters: See, that wasn't so bad. :P I like my history served in quick, humane, and painless portions.

Phoenix-Warbird: Well I lost you at 'A long time ago'.


Post Update

The latest update to Micros was a bit of a controversial move on the developers part.
The good news? Speedups got cheaper! They are now fixed at half the cost of the MU you are attempting to speed up.
The bad news is that you can no longer upgrade specific parameters as you please. Rather, your only choice is to pay for all the parameters, simultaneously, even if you might have only wanted one. This update gives you fewer options, and despite the fact that you may want less, you are forced to pay more.
On the bright side, at least you get a boost to all your stats in one go.
With the recent update, everybody’s Micro-Upgrades were raised to the level of their most MUed parameter. This gave a huge advantage to tankers who’d MUed only one or two parameters to the maximum; they received full M4 at a fraction of what it's really worth.
Now, most tankers welcomed this aspect of the update with open arms. However, there was one strata of players who did not take kindly to this boost in parameters.
The BPers.
Wasp is a finicky hull...it requires absolute driving precision. So, pre-update, some hardcore BPers did not MU certain parameters, such as Speed, so they could switch fluidly from format battles (with no MUs) to regular games (with MUs) without having to readjust driving techniques.
Then came the parameter-leveling 'gift', which gave these players full M4...whether it was wanted or not.
Overall, this update has made Micro-Upgrading more user-friendly...however, it did come at the price of a lessened ability to customize your tank.


From the Mods: Post Update

The last update was rather contentious. Enough so, that, I (@Night-Sisters) decided to conduct an interview with Wiki Administrator, @Issho_Fujitora on the subject. His interesting and helpful take can be found here: A Discussion Of Micro Upgrades.


The (fake) Conclusion

Well, I hope you (1.) found this article useful and (2.) had as much fun reading this as it was to write it. Be sure to post your feedback and criticisms below. Tell us what worked...and what didn't.
And of course.
Watch out for Micro-Upgrades.

Phoenix-Warbird: Ummm...Night...I'm not sure that applies?!?

Night-Sisters: Alrighty, if you're so smart, then YOU end it. :P

Phoenix-Warbird: I was beginning to think you'd never ask. ;)

Night-Sisters: Uh oh.


The (real) Conclusion

Readers, whether you are a fan of Micros or not, you now know most of what we could dig up about this fascinating aspect of the game. I say most, because even with the two of us working, there were some aspects of MUing that we simply couldn't cover. (Time restraints, deadlines, jobs, finals, and life got in the way. :P)
We did our best to take an entertaining look at this seemingly 'dry' topic, but if you were miserably bored while reading, I apologize.
It's only because you neglected to take my advice and didn't skip all the parts that Nighty-Whitey wrote.


Best regards,






@Night-Sisters

and

@Phoenix-Warbird

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hexed

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Nice again Night. And, uh... what was the other person's name? Sorry, it's just very hard to remember, I thought there was somebody co-authoring this but I must have been wrong.

Jk, good job too Phoenix.

 

Edited December 18, 2015 by KillerGnat

[TheGoldenTanker 4,951]

Hahaha brilliant :D

Thanks once again for the interview. 

 

It was a pleasure, as well as an honour, to be even picked.   :)

Edited December 18, 2015 by Unthinkable

[Cor7y 13,862]

I really wish that they returned to the previous micro-upgrading system. MUs ware aaaaaay too costly now :mellow:

Edited December 18, 2015 by Cor7y

[NewbieCake 3,067]

Have you watched the new Star Wars? Very much related to you ;).

 

Anyways, this is brilliant. Loved the starting; good way to hook your readers.

[TheGoldenTanker 4,951]

So... Nightey-Whitey eh?  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[Quarks 2,255]

Nice job, the two females taking on a dull subject and making it interesting. Well done you two.

[13rilliant 8]

Nice Job 

 

It was fun to read.... Entertaining

 

[DarthMaul667 18]

For the record Phoenix, The Night's nickname was my idea :) What can I say? I'm a Star Wars fanatic. :)

[DarthMaul667 18]

For the record Phoenix, The Night's nickname was my idea :) What can I say? I'm a Star Wars fanatic. :)

Alright Now that I've stopped laughing over Phoenixe's prolific use of "Nightey Whitey", I can say GREAT JOB GUYS!!! Love the back and forth. Hope you guys put your heads together on another one soon!

[greyat 2,972]

Excellent article, I expect to see great things from both of you.

[Phoenix-Warbird 1,329]

Congratulations @Night-Sisters for earning your well-deserved official Reporter status  :wub:  ^_^

I thought my 800th post should include at least some kind of photo too k so here's the best I got for you sis:

(it says "N-S" in case you find it illegible, hhh)

I fought the urge to make it 'N-W' instead. yw :3

Edited December 19, 2015 by Phoenix-Warbird

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

:) :) :) :) :)

[Rebellion 640]

Fantastic article that was almost like an interactive :D Clear cut information.

 

But I think some of the MU's on M3's to get to M4 (M3+) are debatable due to price.

 

Twins being my favorite gun sees an improvement from 0-30 on M3 but not nearly as worth the price from 30-50 depending on your point of view and crystal count.

 

I think the discussion of what to upgrade first (Hull/Turret/paint) should also be discussed as it's helpful for those new to MU's

 

Overall, well done on the article and presenting the information in a fun and entertaining way thus rendering it memorable and helpful throughout the remaining career of a tanker. -TTW

[MessagerAngel 33]

Great job night and phoenix. Thanks for the info

[Spit_Fyre 334]

Tbh, I got a little lost between the humorous narration, dialogue and the sub-titled substance of this collaborated article. Spoilers for the dialogue would have been nice. Or aligning parts left/right - so the reader can distinguish parts more easily.

 

Lots of info here though. But I'm still unsure of MUs at the M3+ level :unsure: 

 

I wonder if the anti-glare on my glasses has worn  off...that fluorescent green just gave me a headache. *Checks graphics properties*

[GHOST68INVINCIBLE 152]

NIGHTY WHITEY :p (no offense and also amazing article :) )

[Royalworld 1,269]

Nicely written by the reporter(s) :D

[Bugs.meeny 1,013]

Nicely done, interesting, funny. Good job NS

EDIT: and PW

Edited January 7, 2016 by Bugs.meeny