[Issue 58] [Guide] Pro's Advice #2: Controlling Your Hull in Format Battles

[Shedinja 1,488]

 

 

Part #1: Swinging your Hull

 

This month, another treasure is resurrected, summoned from the abyss of the older V-Logs for extensive dissection. HolyHeroAlex's ideas of how to control your hull during format battles are essentially an augment to Arakelyan's previous video, giving the gift of more crucial tidbits to using your light hull properly. 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qHGFhUQoB8&list=PLoGHE_kS3ppNjijtBsuSuGJGYvc-5Ye5R&index=5

 

 

The Basics

 

In the quick-paced meta world of XP/BP, knowing the ins and outs of both Wasp and Hornet are absolutely essential for survival alone, not to mention victory. HolyHeroAlex first covers the critical facet of hull shape; specifically, starboard and port versus bow and stern. When an enemy Railgun trains their barrel on you and begins charging an attack, keeping the wider sides of the hull facing away from your opponent and pointing your hull towards them minimizes the amount of surface area for them to hit, ultimately offering more survivability. For Hornet, this surface area is decreased more notably than Wasp's, but that's to be expected, judging by its compact size.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this may decrease the likelihood of them hitting you by a small extent, the primary reason to twist your hull to face them when you witness that familiar glow is to help brace for impact. Hornet may have the stability of a rock on a level field but throw high recoil and uneven terrain into the mix and trouble may quickly ensue. Depending on the events that occurred within the last second, being broadsided by a shot may have the potential to flip you. However, a shot from the front is guaranteed not to capsize any hull on a level surface. From the sides, less power and leverage are required to tip your tank due to the shorter width. But from the bow and stern, a shot fired directly through the center of their hull has to displace all of the machine's weight throughout its entire length, which requires far more force that any Railgun (or any weapon in Tanki Online, for the matter) has to accomplish. A further breakdown is depicted through the image below.

 

 

The tactic of dodging shots though area minimization is useful on the move as well, but applicable in only a few select conditions. Should you happen to be trapped in close quarters with an enemy driving alongside you and they begin heating up their Railgun, there's always a chance for you to brake hard and turn your hull to face theirs. Again, this minimizes total surface area for your opponent to land a shot, and chances are they're going to continue moving forward without you and strike the quadrant of space where your tank used to be. Using this timing to break away and find decent cover (and of course, dealing a parting shot) would be an astute decision.

 

If defensively dodging bullets isn't quite your cup of tea, though, then you can always ram a challenger's hull with your own and attempt to knock it off. This is fairly risky, but if done right, you can become one of the most difficult targets to hit in the most ironic form, taking advantage of Railgun's mediocre rotation speed and forcing them to let around loose before they can completely twist their turret to face you. Another opportunity to grab a flag, find cover and/or punch a hole them is granted.

 

Theoretically, it's unlikely that a tank will stand still long enough and wait to be shunted about like the events that took place from 0:38 - 0:50. More likely than not, they'll be in motion and will be waiting for you to be within decent firing range before actually taking the shot since common knowledge and experience dictates that letting any tank near an XP/BP machine can lead to potential lag, tank-phasing mishaps, or event the events of the aforementioned tactic. Besides, Railguns thrive with range on their side, and many effective players take advantage of this fact to the fullest extent they have available.

 

Not an uncommon situation, everyone at some point has dealt with 'corner combat', or the event in which two players are hiding behind their respective exterior sides of a tall, interactive polygon with a convex perpendicular bend (also known as a corner, if you haven't caught on yet) and are waiting for the right opportunity to fire at one another. Every mono-e-mono Sandbox player is familiar with this conundrum, and plenty of other maps grant opportunities for similar situations to blossom. As HolyHeroAlex denoted, most people bluntly drive forward and shoot, but this bears the risk of your opponent firing before you and spurning your aim. Not only that but driving carelessly around the bend can even allow a Railgun swinging their hull to use their impact force and your recoil in tandem to send you belly-up.

 

Avoiding this outcome isn't guaranteed by any means, but some quick maneuvering around the corner, past their tank's location, and to a position behind them may grant an emergency getaway. Typically, the Railgun on the other side of that corner is looking for a small target just before the edge to fire at, so charging completely around the bend eliminates the pre-anticipated target in exchange for complete and utter exposure to the rest of the field. If you're swift enough, you can swing around the bend, barely evade a shot aimed for that corner, and retaliate with your own. Wasp does a better job performing these sudden leaps and out speeding Railgun's rotation speed, not to mention sporting a smaller target zone.

 

This is not foolproof by any means, though, as the looming Wasp or Hornet may not be flat against the wall and may be able to turn their turret and their hull that minuscule degree difference that lets them nick the rear end of your tank. Instead of blindly planting the shell anywhere into them, focus on whatever end of their hull is nearest to the corner. The impact force, if they're not flat against the wall, will toss that corner back against the wall and subtract those few precious rotation degrees needed for them to blast you to smithereens. Try to consistently aim for the nose of their craft, but take note that it's not impossible for them to back away and cause you to miss while simultaneously widening their degree of immediate fire.

 

A lot of the XP/BP game is founded on course calculation and momentum, keeping the matches dynamic only to a point. When putting a standard non-format battle under the microscope, one can derive that there are usually only two or three routes to invade a base and grab a flag, and skilled defenders can easily guard most of them without too much difficulty. However, subtract all weapons but Railgun and all hulls but the fastest, and no ground is solid ground. That is, 'defense' is but courteous nomenclature for 'offense from our side'. This means pretty much any side is susceptible to attack at any given time, even those that an XP/BP vehicle is guarding.

 

As a brilliant example, HolyHeroAlex explains how to escape from an enemy through charging directly past them. If you're heading around a corner and the path ahead is too long of a straight shot to escape through, there's always a way out -- back the way you came. From a flag-toting distance standpoint, turning tail and charging at your opponents only means that they have less ground to cover when attempting to return the flag. It's common knowledge to most format players to avoid staying inside an enemy base for too long, considering only two shots will do you in and this is where they're all reborn. However, note that winding toward and past your opponents as depicted from 1:30 to 1:37 instead of away from them could save you an extra six seconds if they misfire. That's precious time to release an easy shot and run in the general direction of your teammates.

 

The above tactic functions very similarly to the corner combat segment: drive around the fellow before they can release a shot, plant one yourself into the edge of their hull, and use any cover in the opposite direction. It works only when they don't expect you to return, however, and most will try to recalculate their aim when on the corner or ramp. It's insanely difficult to pull off against a seasoned veteran; worst comes to worst, your discarded, burning shell can still be an impediment to their objectives for several seconds.

 

 

 

What's Changed Since

 

Turning your hull to face someone isn't usually done due to overturn prevention anymore since the decreased impact force of Railgun and other weapons. However, this is negated somewhat by the general decrease in hull weight, which is helpful for destabilizing an opponent on unsafe terrain, but not enough to upend a Hornet or Wasp with a lazy broadside shot.

 

Secondly, the roundabout corner combat methods are no longer news. In fact, in that time period, they were still considered old tricks used to mess with less experienced tankers. Their effectiveness relies entirely on predictability; rather, the lack thereof. If you've grown accustomed to simply shooting from behind the wall, suddenly swinging around the corner will most certainly catch them off guard. However, if you've gotten into the habit of performing the prior over the course of the match, a clever feint in simply shooting from behind the wall will confuse wary tankers. Keep your opponent playing a dangerous guessing game, and you'll frequently have the upper hand.

 

 

 

In a nutshell, HolyHeroAlex attempts to convey these points:

 

• Don't take broadside attacks under any circumstances that you can prevent, as you might wind up flipping yourself if you begin charging just a moment after an enemy Railgun does.
• Turn your hull to face your opponent to minimize the amount of surface area available for opposition to hit.
• Instead of constantly shooting from behind the corner, surprise your enemies by swiveling around them and throwing their stratagem off course.
• Change your corner combat techniques depending on how long you've been using one or another against your opponent.

 

That's all for this particular clip. Hopefully, you picked up something new to use on the field, be it in a format battle or for use under any circumstance. We'll still be covering the topic of XP/BP format matches in the near future, so if you're interested, stay tuned. Tread carefully, cadets.

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Edited November 12, 2016 by Shedinja

[DragonOfStorms 2,706]

Very informative. I'm a pretty mediocre XP/BP player, hopefully these tips will help :lol:

[TTK_229 1,080]

His name is actually Holy_Hero_Alexxxxxx. Hopefully I will never need to know these tips, as XP/BP to me is monotonous and boring. Which is not to say I'm bad at railgun...

I kinda suck at rail tho. All xp/up battles I've been in are two non-format battles with TM and one with Noely01. With m0. Both times. I should really get m2 rail...waiting for the next discount.

[TTK_229 1,080]

Oh, and could you do the thunder tips one, #34 I think, next?

[3x3cube 288]

Scientific article O_O

[Shedinja 1,488]

Oh, and could you do the thunder tips one, #34 I think, next?

Sorry to disappoint, but I've already constructed a list for the Pro's Advice column prior to the series' revelation. You won't have to wait too long for Thunder, though, it happens to be near the top of the queue.

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Grrrr to much maths!!!

[TTK_229 1,080]

Sorry to disappoint, but I've already constructed a list for the Pro's Advice column prior to the series' revelation. You won't have to wait too long for Thunder, though, it happens to be near the top of the queue.

BTW, the thunder tips in that one aren't very good. If I could sum that one up, it would basically be "use splash damage, kids."

[Shedinja 1,488]

BTW, the thunder tips in that one aren't very good. If I could sum that one up, it would basically be "use splash damage, kids."

You may have a point, but in the harsh light of day, Thunder's splash damage is its only largely unique characteristic, not leaving a quick guide many descriptive options. There's a number of ways that the tips covered can branch out to explain other scenarios, though, so you can rest assured that I'm going to string out the section to cover more than just the vague bubble of information there.