Review [Issue 49] On the Versatility of Weapons

[greyat 2,972]

 

There are eleven turrets in Tanki. Each has its strengths, and each has its weaknesses. But which is more versatile? To determine that, I looked at a few things – a turret’s ability to be paired with the different classes of hulls, how it fares on the different maps (large, like Kungur, medium, like Silence or Polygon, or small, like Island), and its ability to take different roles on the battlefield.

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Shaft

Versatility Rating: Poor

Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against Shaft. In fact, there’s nothing that scares me more than a clever Shaft as an opponent. Still, Shafts tend to suffer in many maps, their effectiveness mostly limited to large and the larger medium maps. In small maps, you’ll likely to be steamrollered should you attempt to use Shaft – don’t do it. As for capabilities, Shafts have virtually no offensive virtue: long reload time, tiny damage with an uncharged shot. This significantly limits their abilities to defense and occasionally midfielding. But in this respect, Shafts excel. Without a protective paint, a Shaft can take out most of a Viking’s HP, perhaps even one-hit it, given sufficient MUs. Thus, a Shaft can effectively stall an offensive, by taking out the key driver behind it – perhaps the Isida that’s healing the flag-bearer, allowing for teammates to do the rest. There’s also the psychological factor – no one wants to wander around a corner when they can see the laser sweeping about, knowing that they’ll die as soon as they round the corner. In this way, a Shaft can shut down large sectors of the map to enemy traffic.

Shaft works with many hulls, though the choice of hulls also limits your playing style. With a heavy hull, you’re going to have to be a sedentary camper, mostly in your base, as you’ll likely absorb a large amount of damage. On the opposite extremum are light hulls – to avoid enemies from killing you, you look to mobility, not HP. Thus, Shaft-Hornets would be best advised to stay on the move constantly. Moreover, unlike heavy hulls, which can stay steady in the face of enemy fire, still being able to pick off enemies, light hulls are tossed around much by enemy shots. Being able to get a shot off depends on not being seen. Medium hulls offer a good compromise – you can get to far off camping positions in good time, while being able to withstand some damage before having to retreat, and also not being affected too much by impacts.

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Vulcan

Versatility Rating: Poor

Vulcan is quite an odd weapon. It excels when there are open spaces, but otherwise is rather limited. This suggests that it would do well on large maps, except its damage is halved at long ranges (also, many large maps have nooks and crannies where you can hide from Vulcans). Meanwhile, on small maps, although Vulcan has high damage then, it can enemies can easily approach you and take advantage of your low turret rotation rate to defeat you easily. Hence, Vulcans are best suited to medium maps such as Polygon, where you can maintain a reasonable DPS while not being out-maneuvered by enemies. Vulcans are best used for defense and midfielding – attacking generally involves combat at short distances, where Vulcans are easily circled and destroyed, in addition to them suffering overheat damage and only being able to target a single enemy. As a defender, you can rely on support by Isidas and Freezes, allowing you to discount overheat damage, and focusing on a single target may even be desirable – taking out one main target may defeat the entire assault. A Vulcan can also perform midfielding admirably – chipping away at enemies’ HP from afar, doing progressively greater damage as they approach – all qualities of an excellent midfielder.

As for equipment, Vulcan is similar to Twins – avoid using on light hulls. You will burn out very rapidly if you sustain fire; else, remain limited to firing for rather short bursts, dealing negligible damage against most hulls. Vulcan and heavy hulls are a perfect match – you can fire for an extended period of time, yet suffer relatively little damage comparatively. However, at short ranges you will be extremely vulnerable – both heavy hulls and Vulcan lack rotational speed; a Wasp-Freeze will do you in. Medium hulls offer the compromise between maneuverability and armor. You can rotate to catch up with circling enemies, and also retreat from incoming threats, yet still have sufficient HP to withstand overheating.

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Thunder

Versatility Rating: Poor

Thunder performs well on a variety of maps, particular those with open spaces, where approaching enemies can be taken care of at a range. In small maps, Thunder will suffer horrendously; although it has a higher DPS, self-damage will wreak havoc with your playing. Don’t use it there. On medium and large maps, Thunder is well suited to camping in the midfield, where enemies will find it hard to approach you. You should avoid getting caught up in the midst of defending – you’ll likely do more damage to yourself via the splash than to the enemy offensive as a whole. Thunder is also ill-suited to offence, where its self-damaging cripples its ability to take out enemies at a close range. Ultimately, these qualities limit Thunder to the midfield, where it excels, having high damage that is mostly maintained with range.

In terms of hulls, Thunder also works well with many of them. With heavy hulls, Thunder can be used to stay in a stationary camping position – you’ll be very hard to displace. Using medium hulls can allow for more dynamic midfielding capabilities – you can move from position to position avoiding enemies, and also hunting down fleeing enemies. Light hulls tend to suffer with Thunder – after all, if you accidentally splash yourself, you can take out up to a quarter of your HP. With a self-protection paint, however, light hulls can work very well with Thunder, forming a glass cannon of sorts, capable of pouring out very high damage yet dying relatively easily.

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Railgun

Versatility Rating: Poor to Moderate

Railgun isn’t as good as its worshipers want you to think. Still, they find use in many situations, offering good to mediocre abilities in many maps. Indeed, Railgun is one of the better turrets in the larger maps – able to snipe across the map without damage falloff; this ability is only rivaled by Shaft. Unlike Shaft, Railguns can stay mobile – there is no need to enter a nonexistent scope. Moreover, enemies have a hard time approaching Railguns sniping across the map without getting picked off, making larger maps the ideal habitat for Railguns. Railguns still perform well on medium maps, though it is easier for enemies to force a confrontation that they will usually win. Try to avoid small maps; although it is all fun and games hiding behind the walls and buildings on Island and other small maps, once you’re caught (as you will be, no matter how good you are), you’ll be dead meat. Or scrap metal. As an attacker, Railgun has a few functionalities – if you line up your shot correctly, you might be able to take out a slew of enemies with one shot. If you screw it up, then you’ve failed miserably, as the long reload time of Railgun all but guarantees that you’ll be destroyed before having a second chance. Thus, Railgun works best as a midfielder, where missed shots count for less, and a successful shot means that an attacking enemy will be heading for your base with significantly less HP. As a defender, Railgun also has its merits, but remember – your shot will be reduced in damage for each ally it passes through.

As for hulls, just keep this in mind – Mammoth-Railgun is the worst combination that ever existed. Ok, maybe not that extreme. But in all seriousness, there are very few situations that merit using that behemoth with Railgun. You’ll be suffering more damage than the extra HP of a heavy hull is worth. Medium hulls work better with Railgun, but remember, the key to success is mobility. Not an ample supply of HP, although that helps. Ultimately, you’ll suffer more from decreased speed than benefit from increased health, so it is the light hulls that emphasize the forte of Railgun.

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Firebird

Versatility Rating: Moderate

Firebird is also relatively useful, although its ability to be used on larger maps is rather limited. Firebird is usefulness is highly limited by your ability to approach enemies – if you can’t even leave cover without getting picked off by a Shaft, then what use is there in using Firebird. Thus, on larger maps, one of the few roles a Firebird can serve is as defense, where the enemy comes to you. Even then, if the flag is rather exposed, you’re likely to be destroyed before enemies approach the flag. However, on smaller maps, with more cramped quarters, it is far easier to close on enemies. That, combined with Firebird’s potential to deal huge amounts of damage, makes it excellent for such maps. (Interestingly, thanks to Dusseldorf’s narrow system of alleys, Firebirds can also excel there)

Firebird is not the best turret to put on a heavy hull. Limited range plus poor speed turns that combination in to a virtual sign saying ‘Kill me!’ As always, though it may work on smaller maps, generally you’ll end up dead before touching an enemy. On light and medium hulls, Firebird proves to be far better – especially light hulls, where you can sneak in, empty your tank of napalm, and dart off, before your enemy even realizes what has happened. Firebird paired with medium hulls proves to be mediocre at worse, and sometimes better than light hulls. As a Firebird, your goal is to empty your tank of napalm on your enemy. Sometimes, light hulls just lack the survivability to accomplish this task – and that is where medium hulls become of use.

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Twins

Versatility Rating: Moderate

Twins is generally more useful on smaller maps. Its range is the smallest of all of the turrets outside of the short-range ones, and consequentially it does not fair well on large maps. Meanwhile, on smaller maps, where you will encounter enemies more frequently, Twins is your go-to choice. Thanks to unlimited ammunition and extremely high sustained DPS at close ranges, Twins will almost always win an encounter with other turrets at short range. More than that, it doesn’t even need to reload between fights – you can move from one enemy to the next without hesitation. As a defender, Twins can be excellent, its infinite ammunition allowing you to take down a stream of attackers. Just make sure that allies don’t block your shots from making contact. Twins can also be relegated to the role of midfielding, though sustained contact with the enemy is required to deal a noticeable amount of damage, as each individual plasma charge does a negligible amount of damage. Twins is a great attacker – in the enemy base, there is likely to be a large amount of enemies. Where other weapons such as Firebird or Ricochet might run out of charge, Twins can just keep firing. Firing, until everything is gone and smoke rises from the scorched ground.

Don’t use Twins with Wasp. Please. Although recoil is negligible, to deal a large amount of damage, Twins must be able to close with an enemy and stay there. That’s not going to happen if you die in Railgun shot. Hornet-Twins is more feasible (there’s even a product kit featuring it), but I feel that as Twins’ main feature is being able to sustain a stream of plasma charges, what use is there if you die before a Ricochet’s charge is exhausted? Twins pairs beautifully with medium and heavy hulls, however. With medium hulls, you can approach an enemy easily, and stay alive until they are destroyed. With heavy hulls, you can stay alive for significantly longer, all the while firing and pouring out an insane amount of firepower.

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Hammer

Versatility Rating: Moderate to Good

Hammer is limited to offence on larger maps. With defense, much of the time your aim will be obstructed by teammates (pellets cannot travel through allies), so your damage will be dramatically decreased. On offence, high damage per shot means that you can take out key enemies rapidly, thus steal the flag or allow an ally to do so. On medium maps, Hammer can take a number of roles, in particular, as a mid-fielder in addition to an offensive role. As a mid-fielder, you can eliminate attacking enemies and aid escaping enemies, all the while maintaining the ability to retreat to your base to reload. This role is viable because medium maps are smaller and hence enemies are forced to come closer to you on their way to attack. Hammer also is excellent on small maps – the closer quarters means that enemies will be forced to absorb full damage from most of your shots. However, it also means that you will be lacking in retreat options once your clip has been exhausted. I find Hammer’s forte to be in medium maps for this reason.

Hammer can be used with any hull; however, range once again dictates which ones are superior. You need to be able to approach an enemy in order to damage them to a significant extent; thus, heavy hulls are generally not the best unless you are on a small or medium map with frequent encounters with enemies. The time it takes to empty your clip, and recoil also comes into play – a light hull might only be able to get one or two shots off before being destroyed, and recoil can cause you to flip in extreme cases. Therefore, in general, I find medium hulls to be the best with Hammer, although light and heavy hulls still have their merits.

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Freeze

Versatility Rating: Good

Freeze, like its short-ranged brethren, is lacking in large, open maps. However, thanks to its freezing ability, it proves to be a capable defender in any situation, making it more useful than Firebirds on such maps. On small to medium maps, like the other short-ranged turrets, Freeze proves to be very useful. Enemies cannot help but to bump into you, so there will be no deficit of victims.

Akin to its counterparts, Freeze is not the best turret to mount on a heavy hull. However, again thanks to its freezing ability, Freeze fares better in such a manner – your slowed down enemy will be easier to pursue. Medium and light hulls remain the best choice for Freeze – with a fast hull and making use of the circling tactic, it is quite possible to avoid most of the damage from enemies. Indeed, this capability of slowing down enemies makes Freeze an excellent choice in most situations – pursuing a fleeing enemy with the flag, slowing down an enemy pursuing your flag-bearer, anything you can imagine.

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Ricochet

Versatility Rating: Good

Ricochet has very good range, though it is not infinite – it can shoot across most of Polygon, for example. Range only becomes an issue on larger maps, and even then you’re likely not going to be sniping across the map. Due to this, Ricochet is useful on essentially all types of maps – large, medium and small. Due to teammates being able to block your charges, Ricochet isn’t the best for defense on many maps, where someone grabbing the flag will inevitably result in a huge pileup of tanks. As a midfielder, however, Ricochet works on most of the maps, where the distances associated with combat are well within the effective range of Ricochet. It also works well with attacking – you can take out enemies from a safe distance back with your Ricochet’s rather burst damage, and then move in and snag the flag. Beware when you run out of charge – your DPS drops to pitiful levels, making you an easy kill.

Ricochet works on many hulls as well. Mount it on a heavy hull, and you can camp from afar (watch out for Shafts, though). Used with a medium hull, Ricochet can charge in, unleash its clip on some unsuspecting victim, and retreat, victorious. Ricochet is not the best suited for light hulls, in particular, Wasp. It has very high recoil, so your aim will inevitably go off if you do not correct it, particularly when shooting from the side. In addition, you might not even be able to unload your entire clip before getting destroyed. There are situations where a light hull used with Ricochet can be useful, however. It can be useful in a battle mainly dominated by short-range turrets – your Hornet will be much more useful in getting out of the way compared to a Viking. Taking the role as a midfielder can also be better with a light hull – you can close the range rapidly to maximize damage, and retreat to avoid destruction when necessary.

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Isida

Versatility Rating: Excellent

This is definitely one of the most versatile turrets. Thanks to its ability to aid teammates, Isida can be used on just about any map, large or small. On the larger maps, it can be used in friendly base, supporting defenders, supporting attackers, or even as an assault weapon itself. Capable of healing its user from damage done to enemies, an Isida generally lives longer in the midst of concentrated firepower – and that extra time can be vital in getting the flag out. On smaller maps, you’ll have no shortage of enemies to confront – and steal health from – so Isidas will be able to remain alive for very long periods of time. Be careful when you run out of charge, however, as you will die very rapidly without being able to respond.

In terms of hull pairings, Isida is more limited. As a short-range turret, heavy hulls aren’t the best to use with Isida, unless you’re sitting on the flag or helping a flag-sitter, although it can be of use on smaller maps and single-point CP battles. In general, Isida is best used with the faster range of hulls, Viking through Wasp. The ability to catch up with an enemy and maintain a beam on them is vital to their survival. Dodging shots and making an approach to an enemy from afar is also necessary, which proves to be easier with a faster, more nimble hull.

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Smoky

Versatility Rating: Excellent

Smoky is good on many maps, though at extreme ranges it suffers significantly from damage falloff. Despite this, extreme ranges are not the norm when it comes to combat, so it is good in essentially all situations. On larger maps, Smoky can relatively easily venture into its zone of maximum effectiveness, making it very useful in them. Moreover, even before entering the zone, it can snipe away at an enemy, leaving them to wonder where the threat is. On medium maps, Smoky is ridiculously effective – most of the map can be covered, and much of it falls within the range of maximum damage. Smoky also does well on small maps, but it is replaced in effectiveness by other turrets capable of higher damage at closer ranges. Thanks to these attributes, Smoky serves numerous roles very well. It is capable of inflicting significant amounts of damage as a midfielder, and with its impact, can also wreak havoc on the driving of lighter hulls. Although it has a modest DPS at close ranges, it can also prove to be a capable defender – just avoid having your shots blocked by an ally. As an attacker, Smoky also works well; snipe away at the defenders from afar, taking advantage of your long range, then close to finish off the rest and spirit away the flag.

Smoky couples well with all of the hulls. Many times have I seen a Wasp-Smoky and a Mammoth-Smoky competing for the top spot in a battle. Each type of hull serves to accentuate different aspects of Smoky – with heavy hulls, it is Smoky’s ability to fire for an indefinite period of time, allowing for a high sustained damage, with medium hulls, the ability to have move to where firepower is the most needed, while light hulls highlight the use of Smoky in hit-and-run as well as mobile camping. A word of warning – light hulls are not going to take you everywhere; you’d do rather poorly in an Island CP with Wasp-Smoky. Still, that is an isolated case – in the vast majority of situations, Smoky can work and will work with any hull.

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That's all for now; I hope you're still awake. Keep in mind that all of this represents my opinion only. Let it influence your choices, or ignore it. Ultimately, what should decide what you purchase is your playing style - depending on that, you could be the best assault Shaft that ever lived, or an Isida that doesn't know what the flag is (like our dear Remult). Don't base your decisions on something that a random cat on the internet wrote.

Edited September 27, 2017 by greyat

[Zenyth 6,494]

Great article! +1

Read it all.

[DragonOfStorms 2,706]

Easily my favorite article of the paper. Read it all, and loved it all. I was not surprised that Isida and Smoky took the top two spots for versatility, I pretty much completely agree with all of what you said - thank you for a wonderful read.

 

777th post. Lucky me.

Edited February 20, 2016 by DragonOfStorms

[Destrod 2,634]

Very in-depth and well-prepared article.

[destroyer56super 33]

Quote:

That's all for now; I hope you're still awake.

 

I almost dozed off at Smoky. :P  Other than that it's a good article. :) 

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

Great article!

 

Thunder imo is more versatile than it got rated, but that 's about it.

 

Smoky and Isida most versatile: yes

[yk88 577]

love isida!!!

[AN_602 280]

Read it all.

ouch >.<

It does look great, but i guess this time i'll join those who press Like without reading :P

[wow349 4]

one of the best articles i've read You forgot to mention thunder is great for single-point CP maps like polygon, wave even arena and island cuz of that splash damage

Edited February 20, 2016 by wow349

[Podey_the_Buster 87]

Great article, totally agree with you. Even though I'm a Shafter( and a pro one in that) I'd agree with your statements.Great article! ;)

[MrCheezyPotato 850]

Wait....Hammer is more versatile than Twins? That makes no sense...

[Hex 11,520]

I saw nothing, and I will repeat this until convinced.

Edited February 21, 2016 by greyat
Thanks.

[canadian_tank 226]

Two Shaft M0's? Lol, Shaft M1 ~

 

 

 

Look, I know people make mistakes, but whatevs. Awesome article, enjoyed reading every bit of it!

And there's a lot more mistakes, you need a editor grey Edited February 21, 2016 by canadian_tank

[greyat 2,972]

And there's a lot more mistakes, you need a editor grey

Pray tell what.

[Efxzz 30]

Nice article but..when fire bird is MODERATE,even freeze should be..u said freeze has capability to slow down...but u didn't write about after burn in fire bird.

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

Nice article but..when fire bird is MODERATE,even freeze should be..u said freeze has capability to slow down...but u didn't write about after burn in fire bird.

There is quite a difference between a turret that only has an extra damage component in the afterburn compared to a turret that is

capable to physically impact it 's opponents movements. (at least Freeze used to be capable of doing that before it got nerfed)

[Bugs.meeny 1,013]

I liked this article, but i dont agree with how thunder was ranked. My main turret is Thunder and i can rule almost any map, including small ones like island.

[r_MaquinaDeGuerra0 207]

Great article :D, Shaft is poor make get scared and Smoky is... Uff

[HaloScorpionV2 438]

Whenever I use Shaft in pro battle Poly CP, everyone calls me noob even though I have the highest K/D, and have a good amount of score. They shut up when I switch to something like Fire, and then take over first. <_<

[TG159 734]

Hunter+Smoky=versatile