Guide [Issue 46] A Tactical Guide to Deathmatch

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

.

 

Campers, kill-stealing, and a distinct lack of flags. These are the defining characteristics of Deathmatch.

 

Some tankers love DM; others abhor it with an unsurpassed vengeance. Whatever your opinion on the subject, it is undeniable that this battle mode is certainly not for the faint of heart. With drugging Mammoths "running" rampant and MUed Flames toasting everyone in sight, it requires nerves of steel and an enviable array of skills to survive with anything that even remotely resembles a decent D/L ratio...

But enough of that. As you have all probably realized by now, I like my introductions short, sweet, and to the point. Thus, without further ado, let's get this good ol' party started!

 

 

Deathmatch: why play it? 

 

From a purely fiscal perspective, playing Deathmatch battles just doesn't make much sense, as CTF and CP both tend towards consistently higher funds. 

The following diagrams were taken from four separate Sandbox matches. Each was a fifteen minute, 8 player battle with drops, supplies, and MUes on. In fact, the only common variable that changed between games was the mode; the difference in fund size was surprisingly extreme. 

 

DM:    

 

TDM: 

 

CTF:  

 

CP:    

 

Also, without flags or control points to capture, the amount of experience accrued is generally far less in Deathmatch than CTF or CP. So, since there seems to be no decipherable financial benefit, it's legitimate to wonder...why should you bother with DM at all?

Well, for one thing, it's a fun, interesting, and engaging game mode, and perhaps there is some element of fascination in playing You vs. The World, with only your wit and skills to depend upon. 

However, I believe that there are other, more tangible benefits that come from playing, including but not limited to:

 

-a deeper knowledge of maps.

-fine-tuned awareness of the general surroundings.

-better over-all driving. 

-better handling of 2+ enemies at once. 

 

 

Battle Customization 

 

Whenever a player hits that "Create" button they have a chance to customize their battle so that it perfectly reflects their style of play. Toggling the max number of players, drops, supplies, and MUes to suit your strengths and preferences can give you a home-court advantage, and the benefit derived happens to be especially noticeable in a Deathmatch. The following is a play-by-play breakdown of how to set all the variable battle elements in your favor.

 

First up in the customization window is Map choice and Theme.

 

 

Some maps make for better Deathmatches than others. The most popular is, obviously, Polygon, but Kungur, Island, Sandbox, and Desert all seem to be relatively common as well. I am personally fond of the dynamic gameplay that Station, Rift, and Zone bring to the table, but I usually cannot find these maps as DM on the servers, and end up creating them myself. Play what you like, but don't forget to experiment. You'll soon discover the maps that you like as DMs...and those that you don't. 

 

The most basic variance in Theme is the Winter/Summer option. As far as I can tell, having a preference for one or the other does not at all effect gameplay, and is a purely cosmetic detail. The difference between Night and Day mode, though, is a bit more extreme. The poor visibility of Night mode throws a whole new element of challenge into the game, and most players are unequipped to handle it. If you like and play well in the semi-darkness then you have an immediate and very large advantage over those not like-minded. 

 

 

                                                                             

 

With enemies spawning all around you, the max allowable number of players in a map makes a huge difference in gameplay. It depends in part upon your weapon of choice, but I am of the opinion that leaving the player count at the max is simply too much. The battle feels overfull and the raging fights tend to spill into the very edges of the map, leaving little room -or time- for maneuvering. However, A full map can be to a players advantage, especially if their combo of choice is a heavy hull and short-ranged gun. Those who favor a lighter hull might want to experiment with cutting the max player count by thirty or forty percent. The battles will still be intense, just a bit less clogged-up.

  

 

 

I move now into customization that requires a Pro Pass.Now,  I do understand that this is not something every tanker has, and that at the lower ranks it is far too costly to purchase with any regularity. Still, with the Pro Pass you can more deeply modify your battles, and is, to my mind, a worthwhile purchase. 

 

Upgrades: If you have MUes on your weapon, then use them, by all means. If you don't Micro-Upgrade, then by failing to uncheck that MU button, you place yourself at a needless disadvantage.

 

Weapons change: This particular feature allows players to adapt their combo on the go in order to best overcome the greatest perceived threat. If you are of the mindset that your combo is a one-size-fits-all kind of deal, then you should disable this feature. On the other hand, if your style of play includes finding the perfect weapon to suit the current battle then you should, of course, leave Weapons change on.

 

Bonus Boxes: Do you like and play well around supply drops? They add an extra level of interest and difficulty without the full "unfairness" of drugging. 

 

Supplies: If you have drugs and are willing to use them, then go ahead. If not...this is one box best unchecked. 

 

Smart Supplies: Be warned. Turn Smart Supplies off and you'll soon get a feel for what drugging used to be like. Players can and do punch 2,3,4 simultaneously, and they'll drug from the second they spawn to the moment they die. It can lead to some stupendously fun, ridiculously wasteful matches, so you'd best start one of these battles prepared with copious amounts of supplies to burn through.  

 

 

 

C'mon, XP/BP ain't only for Sandbox. If you enjoy playing with railgun against railgun, XP DM can put an interesting spin on things. 

 

 

To tie it all together, the following diagram depicts my "perfect" battle. The settings are tailored to my unique likes and preferences.

 

 

 

 

The Hitlist 

 

In the right hands, any mash-up of turret and hull can be deadly in the extreme. However, there are a few combinations that are unusually dangerous in DM. The following is a 'hitlist' of the most feared and widely used combos on the scene.

 

 

1. Firebird/Viking

 

Deathmatchwise, (yup, pro new word there) The Viking/Firebird combo is tough to beat. Viking is low, heavily armored and decently fast. Put a Firebird on top of that, and you can survive long enough to toast just about anyone. 

 

 

 

2. Twins/Titan

 

Surprisingly fast. Viciously effective. If you encounter this combination on the battlefield... you should run. The incessant firing rate of Twins is difficult to combat under any circumstances, but coupled with the sheer power of Titan, you become a veritable fortress on wheels. 

 

 

 

3. Hammer/Viking

 

Add Prodigi and what do you get? 

Every Railgunner's worst nightmare. 

There's just something about the way Hammer functions that makes it extremly difficult to play against. Be it the recoil, range, or firing rate, Hammer is a jack-of-all-trades weapon that does well under any circumstances. Placed atop Viking, Hammer does very well in DM and can definitely hold it's own.

 

 

4. Railgun/Hornet

 

 

Yeah, yeah, I know. The XP combo is hugely cliched and overused. Still, in the hands of a good player, Rail can be used with devastating effect. Though Hornet is light in terms of armor, the speed and trolling capabilities more than make up for it. 

 

 

 

Tactical Overview

 

A large part of thinking tactically is being aware of and anticipating the movements of others on a macro, whole-battle level, rather than just at a play-by-play basis. In order to anticipate a tanker's actions, you need to understand his or her underlying goal.

In a CTF, the flag is the most important motivating factor, because gameplay is centered around it. A tanker is either defending, running with, attempting to capture, or returning the flag. This means that as long as you understand the how a player is moving in correlation with the flag, you can predict their movements. For example, no matter what kind of roundabout route a blue attacker takes in Serpuhov, the element of predictability is still there because eventually that player must arrive at the flag. You know the motivation, thus you can anticipate the movement.

 

 

It is even easier to see this principle in action in a CP game, as all players are constantly moving towards the control point/s.  

 

 

 

In Deathmatch, one does not have the luxury of a flag or control point to dictate enemy movement. The objective is to destroy other tanks, so the fighting rages throughout the entire map as players scramble scramble here and there, always charging towards the next kill.

It begs the question: how then does one make tactical sense of this chaos?

The answer lies, in part, with the spawn points. They "shape" the tactically advantageous portions of the map and determine the ebb and flow of battle.

 

 

 

Since the goal is to destroy as many enemies as possible, it stands to reason that players will go where the kills are. In the case of a twelve player Polygon, the circled area below seems to be where most of the action takes place. The middle of the map contains fourteen of the thirty-six spawn points, or aboouut 40%. It is my experience that tankers spawning at the edge of this central battle tend to get swept into it, away from the edges. This phenomena is especially noticeable with weapons of limited range mounted atop large hulls, as they function best in close quarters fighting. 

 

 

 

The layout of spawn points along with the inward momentum creates natural "safe" zones in a map: tucked away areas that do not frequently experience travel. These are especially useful to the ranged weapons.  

 

 

How you use this information is very much dependent upon the weapon and hull you sport. A Mammo/Twins is best suited for central domination, and a Hornet/Rail can do quite well zipping around the edges, sniping and generally shying away from the thickest combat. 

 

Play well, develop tactics to fit your style, and dominate the Deathmatch scene. 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Hexed

[HichigoShiiro 4,378]

plz teach sonofcrystals how to write articles thx 

[classyplebs 1,786]

^ das

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Oh my, my entire thinking on DMs has changed. I've always avoided them, except when I got missions, and now I realize I've been doing all the wrong things. Thanks again Night.

[Raphael2 3,263]

Very enjoyable article

[wow349 4]

nice article i think now i'll play DM with thunder i'm quite.... sure it will work.

[S.P.A.R.T.4.N 1,495]

Perfectly written.I pretty much agree on everything beside the hitlist...firebird is definetly not good in a DM(unless a map is smaller type) mainly due to not enough effectivness while killing.

 

I myself as experienced DM player encountered thousands of situations where firebirds got robbed.See in Polygon CP's they're used a lot since they can flame multiple targets + dealing lot of damage from afterburn(that's why firebirds get so many points) but killwise i see Thuner and Ricochet far ahead of Hammer and Firebird in DM effectivness.Both guns are perfect for stealing kills,with rico you don't even have to go into "danger zone" and ingage in combat fully & let's not forget how formidable and annoying thunder's splash damage gets :/

 

I tried doing DM's with Ricochet/Viking and Thunder/Hornet and it turned out that those are estonishing combos for kill stealing.

[HichigoShiiro 4,378]

In a DM, weapons with quick reloads are usually the most effective. Its also helpful when you want to kill the opponent before a Thunder/Railgun or Shaft puts their eyes on them. 

 

Hammer is good but only in smaller maps, in big maps hammer is just like a firebird that can only shoot targets near it. 

 

Smoky is the most effective weapon in a DM. 

Edited January 9, 2016 by HichigoShiiro

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

As mentioned in the posts above the hitlist is questionable.

Maybe you should have left it out?

Too many variables, especially Map size, to suffice with such

a short paragraph in a further excellent article.

 

 

Playing DM should indeed be in every Tankers to-do-list.

It 's the gamemode that simply doesn 't allow for being "lazy":

in DM you have to improve your own gameplay or suffer the consequences.

DM is merciless, the main reason why many Tankers dislike it...

 

Many Tankers prefer CTF and CTF is often indeed

the most thrilling gamemode Tanki has to offer.

You can improve in CTF by playing CTF ofcourse, but it 's my firm believe

that with lessons learned in DM, Tankers will improve much faster.

 

They will soon become better CTF players than those

who just stick with CTF all the time.

And when at times you get fed up with nooby teammates, mults etc.

you will always have an alternative gamemode that frees 

you from almost all of that... ;) 

 

Don 't take my word for it: just read the article above!

Edited January 9, 2016 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[Podey_the_Buster 87]

As mentioned in the posts above the hitlist is questionable.

Maybe you should have left it out?

Too many variables, especially Map size, to suffice with such

a short paragraph in a further excellent article.

 

 

Playing DM should indeed be in every Tankers to-do-list.

It 's the gamemode that simply doesn 't allow for being "lazy":

in DM you have to improve your own gameplay or suffer the consequences.

DM is merciless, the main reason why many Tankers dislike it...

 

Many Tankers prefer CTF and CTF is often indeed

the most thrilling gamemode Tanki has to offer.

You can improve in CTF by playing CTF ofcourse, but it 's my firm believe

that with lessons learned in DM, Tankers will improve much faster.

 

They will soon become better CTF players than those

who just stick with CTF all the time.

And when at times you get fed up with nooby teammates, mults etc.

you will always have an alternative gamemode that frees 

you from almost all of that... ;)

 

Don 't take my word for it: just read the article above!

Hmmm I never really liked DMs because there was always this one big guy who was totally annihilating every one else, but, yeah I agree with you. I often get real angry with team mates who seem to have nothing to do other than get in the way.

[r_snowleopard0512030 66]

Right now I'm using DM quite a lot, to improve my D/L (look at my profile and you will see what I mean). What advice would anyone give for that? And what would you term as an acceptable D/L?

 

Great article, I use Polygon loads, so really useful

[Quarks 2,255]

Took me too long to read this, but it was worth the wait, well done.

[I.Hero 22]

Nice <3

[sooraj007 54]

enjoyed it :)

[PUP193 41]

10/10 very nice article good work :D

[stawp_thundertime 275]

Ok gotta admit, that was really good :)

[Dragon-Judgement 1,529]

Great article NS! Although you forgot ONE combo that I see in DMs (when I play): Mammoth/Smoky.

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

Thanks everyone :)

 

@Dragon-Judgment (and a few others)

 

I "forgot" a lot of combos... because pretty much anything can be deadly in the right hands. For the sake of time, my sanity, and space, I just mentioned a few of what I consider to be commonly used dangerous weapon/hull combinations. 

 

For the record... Mammo/anything is scary.  ;)

[Dragon-Judgement 1,529]

Thanks everyone :)

 

@Dragon-Judgment (and a few others)

 

I "forgot" a lot of combos... because pretty much anything can be deadly in the right hands. For the sake of time, my sanity, and space, I just mentioned a few of what I consider to be commonly used dangerous weapon/hull combinations. 

 

For the record... Mammo/anything is scary.  ;)

All fair, I understand that!  :D 

The list you provided wasn't too bad though, pretty standard I suppose hehe.

I need to get out of this mindset that everyone neglects Mammoth except me. :mellow:

[Night-Sisters 2,139]

I actually find them particularly difficult to play against (Yes, I admit to being a hardcore rail junkie.) 

[I.H.U.R.R.I.C.A.N.E 120]

Yes i agree hornet rail is pretty good on some DM battles i find it very annoying and since i use dictator hammer m4 with zuse or prodigy  i am usally the one to get so mad that i do nothing but chase that Hor/rail guys around the arena (M4 dictator can out run a m4 hornet if the dictator has speed and the hornet dose not)

[DarthMaul667 18]

In a DM, weapons with quick reloads are usually the most effective. Its also helpful when you want to kill the opponent before a Thunder/Railgun or Shaft puts their eyes on them. 

 

Hammer is good but only in smaller maps, in big maps hammer is just like a firebird that can only shoot targets near it. 

 

Smoky is the most effective weapon in a DM. 

Night is also only talking about polygon here. All of her advice is focused centrally on one map. She is just giving suggestions as to what she thinks are the toughest combos to play against, in this one map. 

[DarthMaul667 18]

Btw, Great article Sis! Keep it up!!

[Dragon-Judgement 1,529]

I actually find them particularly difficult to play against (Yes, I admit to being a hardcore rail junkie.) 

I can hold my own against an enemy Mammoth...probably because most I come across are plain M2 or not even at the M3 stage mine is at. Even M3+ I can trade blows with.

The only Hull I really fear is Titan. I try to avoid it even if it's M2; that thing has power that is very overwhelming to deal with.

[sergenut 0]

Nice article man, taught me alot.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Lhamster