Guide [Issue 50] Assisting the Flag-Carrier

[Cor7y 13,862]

Not a wasted charge if it helps cap a flag.

And how exactly can healing a teammate who has full HP help?

[zaintahir 458]

"This is TNT,and see your scorched corpse in my explosion".

[Benefactor 6,888]

And how exactly can healing a teammate who has full HP help?

Because there is no schedule or timetables for shot arrivals.  :)

[Drac0nian 4]

Good article! Would hammer be a good turret to use as a "Raider"?

[Cor7y 13,862]

Because there is no schedule or timetables for shot arrivals.  :)

So why not be alert instead of wasting your charge?

That's just as stupid shooting Ricochet pellets to nowhere hoping someone would come in their way.

[The_Real_Dudearoo 4]

Nice well crafted article and hits all the high points in a CTF game.  Don't have a thing to add since you covered points like taking the bullet for the team (Hey you come back to fight again!) and addressing the Mults (I call them toddlers - I want I want I want gimmie gimmie the flaaaaaaaag)  in the match who just ruin the whole team element that make CTF so exciting.

[defaultNNC 0]

s/o to that Ryan Higa reference (?)

 

Wish more team players existed though.

[firerey101 67]

i love this!

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Good article! Would hammer be a good turret to use as a "Raider"?

Yes! Hammer, especially on a Double Damage, can get rid of enemies very quickly in small maps where defenders are clustered together. Highly efficient, but I'd still prefer Firebird over it.

 

s/o to that Ryan Higa reference (?)

OMG What reference :3 tell me I ro look it up ok

[karthikastro 67]

thx TNT to take me as a volunteer ..........if u need any hlp  just invite me or call me dude

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

thx TNT to take me as a volunteer ..........if u need any hlp  just invite me or call me dude

;) It should be me thanking you for agreeing to do those boring ol' poses.

[fordmustang12345 3,910]

Play at the lower ranks is so selfish, you don't see flag assistants very often, unfortunately.

I always try to drive behind the flag carrier an protect him/her and once I die my dead tank will block them for a few seconds

[DragonOfStorms 2,706]

I always try to drive behind the flag carrier an protect him/her and once I die my dead tank will block them for a few seconds

Awesome! That's pretty rare, sadly.

 

What irritates me to no end is when the person I'm healing retreats, leaving me alone and without charge, to be quickly annihilated :(

[fordmustang12345 3,910]

Awesome! That's pretty rare, sadly.

 

What irritates me to no end is when the person I'm healing retreats, leaving me alone and without charge, to be quickly annihilated :(

I'm use rail more often then isida right now (its more powerful then my isida) but I will sometimes drop a mine so then run over it and I can finish them off

[fordmustang12345 3,910]

But I cant wait until I have stinger kit cause then I can be a even bigger help in battles (plus unless there is a drugging rail m2 I wont can't be one shotted :) )

[Benefactor 6,888]

Awesome! That's pretty rare, sadly.

 

What irritates me to no end is when the person I'm healing retreats, leaving me alone and without charge, to be quickly annihilated :(

I shield my Isidas while they are healing me. Those guys are my lifelines. 

[DragonOfStorms 2,706]

I shield my Isidas while they are healing me. Those guys are my lifelines.

 

Us Isidas appreciate players like you SO much...

[r_snowleopard0512030 66]

So why not be alert instead of wasting your charge?

That's just as stupid shooting Ricochet pellets to nowhere hoping someone would come in their way.

What did healing ever do to you? It's just as important a role as any other, and it can make all the difference in a lot of situations. Because I think you'll find that, in this game, people generally find it a good idea to kill the flag carrier. And you'll also find that when you have ricochets and rails aiming shots at you, you tend to get a few bruises on the way. You don't hope, you know that someone will come your way.

[Cor7y 13,862]

OMFG guys.

TNT said that healing teammates while they are in FULL HEALTH helps, and I was quoting him.

 

You guys are so ignorant -.-

[Slump 0]

 

 

DISCLAIMER  - All the tips, tricks and processes detailed in this article are for use in CTF battles only. Do not try this at home, especially in Death Matches, Team Death Matches and Capture-Point battles. The author is not responsible for the reader being labelled as a mult in the aforementioned three game modes.

 

So you're in an exciting CTF battle. The score is 9-9 and there are thirty seconds left in the match - enough for one last capture, right? And then you see your team has the enemy flag. The problem is, there's nobody to support the guy with the booty. He dies fast, and hence fund gets distributed equally, cheating your team of that extra fund.

 

As much as capturing flags is quintessentially important in a Capture the Flag match, aiding the flag-carrier is just as important - it ensures that you have a safe route for a capture, and you go ahead by one precious flag, which often defines victory and loss in battle.

 

There are a few fundamental principles which I shall be discussing here, both for the low ranks and the high ranks to follow as per their discretion. Also, I'll be looking over the dimensions of aiding the flag-carrier.

 

But before we begin, there is one simple way of aiding the flag-carrier - 

 

 

Nah, just joking. Read on, tankers!

 

PART ONE - TYPES OF FLAG-ASSISTANTS

 

 

Here's the thing - there are mainly three types of flag-assistants in Tanki Online (at least, those I know of) and each of the three have diverse duties, depending on when they start assisting the flag-carrier. So, here are my three picks :

 

1. THE RAIDER

 

Now looky 'ere, mate. You have to be with the carrier right from the time when he starts from your base. You will be expected to go into the flag area and create a big distraction by killing tanks and blocking paths while your flag carrier conveniently makes off with his prize. Preferably take a combo like Hornet/Firebird where you can get a lot of kills very easily.

 

I'm afraid you won't be of much use in maps with only one entry/exit point to and from from the flag; you'll only end up blocking your carrier. But, in maps with more than one entrance, you and your carrier can go in through different ways. This way, the carrier would be exiting in a different path and you can still block the defenders like this - 

 

 

Now, I wouldn't recommend Hornet/Railgun for a raider, but you get how this thing works, don't you?

 

By doing this you can ensure that the enemy team will have two or three players less to follow you, and in that time, the carrier can escape quickly with barely a scratch on him. Alternatively, you can scout around the enemy base finishing off defenders before the carrier reaches there, so all he'll do is take a joyride between the two flags.

 

 

2. THE MIDFIELD ASSISTANT

 

Okay, so the carrier just did a solo raid on the enemy base and is heading your way with the flag. The problem is, there are enemies aplenty in no man's land (the "neutral" area) and you need to provide cover for him while he makes the capture. 

 

This is where you come in. You can travel with him as a kind of escort, shooting at enemies who follow and ready to take the flag should the carrier die. Mind, make sure you don't die first without having proper backup.

 

 

If you're an Isida, it's an added bonus - you can keep healing your carrier while killing enemies. An Isida on double damage isn't a pretty sight for anyone on the opposite team. 

 

Anyways, your role is limited to the midfield area, and you can make sure that the flag is delivered safely to that part of your map where your defenders prowl, giving full security to the flag, leading to an easy capture.

 

 

3. THE SNIPER

 

In the strictest terms, you won't exactly be sniping - though it can be part of the job. Once the carrier is back into your base, you have to get rid of anyone else who may be thinking of making a raid into your base, potentially killing your carrier and returning the flag.

 

You can do this with Railgun and any other sniping turret, or lay mines to ensure nobody makes unwanted appearances in your territory. Skirt the entrance pathways and kill everyone in your path - at least, those you can kill.

 

So yeah, it's the final frontier - a barrier that the enemies can't crack to make last minute saves. In case of a stalemate, you can stick to your carrier providing physical defence and warding off anyone coming uncomfortably close - I say, what a great way to contribute to your team while being lazy all the way!

 

Enough with the types of flag carriers, now we come to the business-end of the article - How to make your role count as an assistant in battle. Read on!

 

 

PART TWO - YOUR DUTIES AS A FLAG-ASSISTANT

 

 

As an assistant (you shall henceforth be referred to as assistant), your prime duty is to give support to the guy with the flag - forget everything else in battle. Sticking with the flag carrier all the way till the flag might seem simple, but there's a lot more to it than just tagging along. You have to ensure that the flag-carrier is safe both from the opposition team and your own team. Yes, you heard that correctly.

 

So here's what you have to do as an assistant:

 

DON'T GET IN THE WAY

 

Forget destroying enemies; you're doing no good to your team if you get in the way of the flag-capturer. Now, you might be ensuring that the coast is clear in front, or even mining behind you to ensure no unwanted person gets through, but if you put your tanker in the path, the flag-carrier will struggle to manouevre around you, hence wasting precious time. Any half-decent Thunder, Smoky or Railgun can easily get the guy from there, and before you can do anything about it, they'll kill you too.

 

 

Yeah, that's what you should NEVER do.

 

Suggestion? Never drive in front of the flag-carrier, especially in maps with a lot of choke points. A flag returned equals no flag at all. Either drive behind him or parallel to him, slightly to the rear side. This way, you can clear his path without getting in the way. And before you know it, you'll have captured a flag.

 

 

TAKE CARE OF HINDRANCES

 

A self-explanatory title - all you gotta do is get rid of anything that threatens your flag - enemies, corpses of tanks, and even mults. More on that last part later.

 

Unless you're a Firebird, Freeze or Isida, don't wait for the opponent to come close to you. Start shooting potential threats from afar, and this way, when they come close, you can bring him down, aided by fire from the flag-carrier himself/herself. (#GenderEquality)

 

 

As you can see here, I'm healing the flag-carrier even when he's on full health. This way, if he gets hit by a sniper on double damage, he still won't lose too much of health because of the constant supply of nanobots to his tank, replenishing his HP bar.

 

If you're an Isida, keep healing the flag carrier. Don't wait for a lot of health to get drained in the prospect of farming more XP - A cap can get you a lot of battle fund. Finally, watch out for Freezes. They're the most pesky creatures of all times, especially if you have the flag. If you're an Isida, keep healing the flag-carrier and let him take care of the opponent. If you're NOT an Isida, take DD and beat the crap out of your enemy!

 

Um, yeah. That's pretty much it.

 

 

BE READY TO TAKE THE FLAG

 

 

While backing up the flag-carrier, you need to make sure that you're ready to take the flag yourself if the carrier dies or makes a strategic pass. If your carrier dies, turn your tank and push as hard as you can, while attacking your enemies all the while. This way, you can take the flag as quickly as possible, and possibly go on and make the capture.

 

This can be practically possible if you're a medium to heavy hull. I'm not saying that you can't cap if you're a light hull, but even so, a light hull should aim to get the flag as far into its own base as possible before dying, so that capturing becomes all the more easier.

 

And finally, if the carrier dies at a choke point, first make sure everyone's dead before getting to the flag before you actually take the flag. You can do this by pressing 3 on your keyboard or laying a mine to accelerate the job.

 

 

GET MULTS OUT OF THE WAY

 

Well, there are some people who still think that the one who captures the flag gets all the experience points. I'm tired of trying to explain this to every such person whom I meet on the battlefield, and yet, for the sake of this article, we have to brand these people as mults.

 

They may try to block the carrier's progress to the flag by sandwiching them to a wall or building with their (generally) heavy hulls, with the hope that the carrier drops the flag in irritation or gets killed, making him the closest guy to take the flag.

 

Well, most of the time, this "mult" gets killed before he gets his tank to the flag too, causing a return. This is only a loss for your team.

 

So as a faithful assistant, you have to try and push him out of the way, at least creating a space through which the carrier can wriggle through and continue his journey.

 

 

This is an ideal scenario of how you can get rid of a mult. Use your hull to the best use possible. Sorry for making you the 'mult', Phantom =P

 

 

ABSORB ENEMY FIRE

 

Absorbing enemy fire with your tank gives your carrier that much more time and health power to carry the flag all the way. Except for Firebird, Freeze and Railgun, you should be able to effectively block enemy shots with your tank by standing BEHIND the carrier, contrary to the conventional stance of slightly to the side. Of course, you will have to vary this position depending on where the enemies come from.

 

There are two ways of doing this - one is to go right into the enemy base with the to-be carrier and take all the fire from the enemies while the carrier makes an unimpeded exit, and the second is to join the enemy as a midfield assistant, getting your tank in the way of the enemies so that their shots hit you and not the carrier.

 

Of course, don't care for your D/L; it's only going to get you in a spot of bother.

 

 

HAVE EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 

Communication is the backbone of anything succesful. I recommend Skype and TeamSpeak for this purpose

 

Using the chat (team chat, mind you), you can notify your flag carrier about incoming threats from enemies, the safest route to take, whether to pass the flag to someone else or not, or even which enemies are going to be easy to kill.

 

Don't do this if you're raiding the enemy base with your carrier - it'll waste precious time and defeat your purpose, but if you're a midfield assistant, you should get plenty of time to type all this in chat before your duty begins.

 

Of course, it becomes easier when the carrier and you speak the same language, but if you play on RU servers, keep a Google Translate tab ready  :P.

 

PART THREE - CONCLUSION

 

 

Flag-assistance is something as important as capturing flags itself, and I cannot emphasise enough on its importance. There's much more to it than all this I wrote; the rest will come naturally to you through experience on the playing fields. However, till that happy moment, you can stick to these fundamentals^.

 

Remember, always have the team's interests at mind while doing this. Multing to get the flag will only cause a return and a loss for your team. So...um, basically, assisting the guy with the flag has its rewards - do it consistently and you may even be gifted a flag, though that may not give you too much experience as far as the XP-granting system works. Yeah, to finish it off, flag-assistance is a good habit.

 

Aaaaaand that concludes this article. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll assist a lot of flag-carriers armed with superior knowledge. Till next time, this is TNT. See you in battle!

 

 

Oh, and a ton of thanks to @karthikastro, , , @SWAGY-HIPPO and @Helindu_2014 for all the help with the pictures :-)

 

Title Picture credits - @Issho_Fujitora, Tanki Online Wiki 2016

 

[Slump 0]

thx a greatr help and ikr well about noobs "MULTS"