Review [Special] The Game Balance Update

[Classy_Dude 126]

^^

Hard for me to read - hurts my eyes.

 

EDIT: Thank you Gold Rock :)

Edited October 3, 2016 by Classy_Dude

[Sign.Of.The.Cross 86]

Dear developers, you need a holiday! A loooong holiday...

[Classy_Dude 126]

anuclearbomb ^^^

 

My perfect m4 hammer - MY BFF- is gone forever <_< nothing compared to you...

[BAMBIBX 178]

"this game balance update actually isn't all that bad. "

 

Disagree,  this update is as bad as micro upgrades or worse.  Why don't they just start deleting random turrets from peoples garages now?

 

 

Well, they deleted protections from my garage, and refused to fix it.  Does that count?

[ToiletPaperRoll 1,318]

This rebalance update seems good, but i hate the faster reload for firebird, less healing for isida and m3 all hulls have same protection in each category... so we could buy hunter it will be same like slow and weak dictator??? WHAT IS WRONG WITH DEVS

[Classy_Dude 126]

what will happen to my Viking, hornet m4??? and my hammer and thunder m4's????  :o :huh: :mellow: :( :angry:  <_<

[GoldRock 6,165]

This isn't based on my emotions, but rather is an opinion based on the factual ins-and-outs of the update that I've explored and analysed above. To me, this seems to indicate that in many areas, the development has the right idea with the game balance update. There's no denying that there are some parts which definitely have the potential for bad effects, and I'll be as interested as anyone to see how these bits unfold and whether there are further tweaks to try and make improvements on this. However, on the whole, I would have to say that an assessment of the facts and information we've been presented with produces a positive assessment of the game balance update.

 

^ This is basically the political correct way of saying, " I think we all got screwed over, but I don't want to say something I might regret." :rolleyes:

Hm. What if what you claim I'm trying to say isn't true, and what I actually said there was what I wanted to say? I can confirm that this is the case. I mean, you can always then claim that I'm lying and that really the words you've put into my mouth there are more accurate - but with no evidence to support this, your post is an amusing conspiracy theory and nothing more.

 

Here's an idea - Let everyone swap turrets/hulls/protections/paints. Just let them cash in all their hardware at the current prices for the individual pieces, then buy whatever they want for replacement.

 

So if I have an M3 Hornet (which is now pretty much crap), I can cash it in for 158,300 crystals and use it towards an M3 Mammoth (242,200 crystals) or to buy an M3 Freeze (171,500).

 

My useless Hammer M3 (235,800) can be traded in on a new M3 Protection Package (250,000).

 

After all, if Tanki is going to "reboot" after you've made an investment, shouldn't YOU be able to "reboot" too? Otherwise, a lot of Tanki players are going to feel like they've been ripped off... and they'll be right.

As I discussed above, I seem to recall that a large scale, game-wide refund isn't actually possible anymore in terms of implementation, though I would sympathise with the reasoning behind such an idea.

[Classy_Dude 126]

Since no information or facts about M3+ statistics (beyond total crystal prices) have been released, we'll have to wait and see! 

 

Thanks :)

[Viking4s 10,791]

Thanks for all the positive feedback, guys!

 

@ Viking: not a bad suggestion in terms of the visible damage counter (I don't think it makes much difference for stats tables), but I'd personally rather not see that visible damage counter implemented in the first place! 

 

 

 

Aaaand finally, I may as well share a little bit about me in responding to these posts... I'm not quite an avid journalist in any proper capacity, but a 17-year-old guy finishing off high school. I am, however, currently applying to an essay-based course at university (I've dared to try going for Oxford as my top choice, fingers crossed!) which I'll hopefully be starting with in a year from now :P

 

 

I'm not a fan either of the damage indicator (DI) but some people expressed some interest. I only hope the DI would be an option in the setting windows and not forced upon. And certainly not like the disastrous r/v key. :angry:

Maybe by default the first time you load the updated game, and then you can switch it off (an on in an unlikely moment of weakness).

 

Good luck for Oxford.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Viking4s

[aggaire 10]

The only thing I want to see in an update is nerfing the Damage and Armor supplies. Too bad that's not happening.

Edited October 3, 2016 by aggaire

[GoldRock 6,165]

I'm not a fan either of the damage indicator (DI) but some people expressed some interest. I only hope the DI would be an option in the setting windows and not forced upon. And certainly not like the disastrous r/v key. :angry:

Maybe by default the first time you load the updated game, and then you can switch it off (an on in an unlikely moment of weakness).

 

Good luck for Oxford.

Agreed, that would be fair if implemented as an optional feature, mhm. And thanks!

[Phoenix.Rising 2,519]

Does this means I must swap out my Viking for Hunter already? -_-

[Thekillerpenguin 1,731]

Useless, pointless update aimed to satisfy the devs with more money. They are going to take away all my m3s that I worked hard to earn and weaken the m2s I will have left. They made everything weak and useless.Probably going to quit if this update comes out as I expect it.

For what it's worth, you'll still be able to keep any M3s that you currently own- it's not like the developers are going to confiscate them or anything. Whether you'll like your M3s or not post-update is a different matter, but yeah.

[murcielagoes 331]

Awesome! This update is going to bring a whole new perspective to the game.

yea, nah, yea,  based off the lateral acceleration of hornet in the rebalance, it has the same as wasp so drifting is r.i.p for hornet after rebalance

[ThirdOnion 4,898]

First of all, great review and summary.

In terms of changes to turrets, I'm not very enthusiastic about most of them but I can live with it.

What really concerns me is the changes to hulls:

The devs have completely eliminated the differences in the hulls. They say they have done this to make the classes more defined, but all that means is now that instead of having 7 distinct hulls, each with their own characteristics, we'll just have 3 categories of extremely similar hulls. Tanki is about flexibility and being able to choose your own play style, now the devs are limiting our choices. Wasp and Hornet the same? Hunter, Viking, and Dictator are almost identical? Come on now. This really decreases the variety in the game. Sure, the acceleration rates and top speed between these hulls are slightly different, but that's not enough to set them apart.

And now, Isida is a purely healing turret. People who already die a lot using Isida will die even more. Destroying tanks with Isida is difficult enough, now it will be even harder. This is a game primarily about destroying other tanks, not healing them. I hate what was done to Isida. At least the decrease in damage and self-healing should be compensated by more experienced earned when healing.

Finally, making M3s available at Marshal is a terrible idea. I'm pretty sure I don't have to explain why.

Overall, I am against this update.

Edited October 6, 2016 by ThirdOnion

[daninjadude 14]

Well, here's my opinion, even nobody cares.

I'm a bit sad about the shaft and railgun balances, they seem to make all the turrets more similar. Railgun no longer risks a longer reload, and shaft isn't really a sniper anymore. So much for the days running around with wasp and shaft sniping people. In addition, smoky is shorter ranged, rico is shorter ranged, and just about everything in Tanki is looking like a midfielder weapon.

As for the hull balance, just WHY?

I don't know anyone happy with it. There is barely any distinction between hulls in the same class. Wasp isn't a risky sprinter anymore, and hornet just lost the drift capability that made it so fun. The developers are telling us "okay, you have a choice between wasp a and b, hunter a, b, and c, and titan a and b."

Please, return the hulls to their original statistics. even a slight speed reduction in heavy hulls is fine, just please don't make them all the same.

I play Tanki for the variety in hulls and turrets, not to have everything the same. You don't have to make every hull and turret similar for them to be balanced.

[M-axis 589]

Read the mid-rankers guide, it should help you out.

 

Not anymore xD   Its gonna be outdated..

I'm not a fan either of the damage indicator (DI) but some people expressed some interest. I only hope the DI would be an option in the setting windows and not forced upon. And certainly not like the disastrous r/v key. :angry:

Maybe by default the first time you load the updated game, and then you can switch it off (an on in an unlikely moment of weakness).

 

Good luck for Oxford.

VERY good idea. I seriously am not looking forward to the damage indicator. I hope they implement this!!

[Metaphor 538]

Hm. What if what you claim I'm trying to say isn't true, and what I actually said there was what I wanted to say? I can confirm that this is the case. I mean, you can always then claim that I'm lying and that really the words you've put into my mouth there are more accurate - but with no evidence to support this, your post is an amusing conspiracy theory and nothing more. 

 

 

Look, I am not trying to say you were lying per say; but the way you worded that last paragraph seemed kinda sorta sketchy in my opinion.

[LaserShark 2,095]

For what it's worth, you'll still be able to keep any M3s that you currently own- it's not like the developers are going to confiscate them or anything.

They might as well confiscate them, a lot of them are worthless now.

[TheMaster161 0]

This update is not good for my M1 Mammoth and M1 rail combo!! I need that high damage and health points Especially against druggers! I do like the fact that the mammoth will get faster though.

 

I do like the idea of the speed boost being faster but would like the active time to stay the same like I'd like the mines to keep the same reload time.

 

In some aspects of this I think it's quite a good update and in others like with the SB, Mines, Mammoth and Rail I don't think it's going to be that great of an update.

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Incredible article! Absolutely phenomenal. Arguably one of the best articles EVER written in the TO Newspaper. Under the section for Isida, you wrote "Firebird" as "FIrebird" and the I was accidentally in capitals. Mini mistake but annoys a Grammar Nazi like me. :p

[Doctor.Noob 3,270]

I never like drifting in Hornet. When I playing example Desert DM xp/bp, and when I fighting against Vasp, me personally is bothered drifting. When I want to hide behind the wall, and then hornet start drifting, I hated that. But that's what's made the difference between this two hulls.

It's just my opinion.

[Hex 11,520]

In my opinion, this was one EPIC update. It's going to make the game more diverse and tactical than ever!

[OKDad70 862]

Supplies changes, including kits in shop, favor buyers, strongly! (Pay to win is now obvious. Only the most patient will be able to reach 5 million experience without significant cash outlays.)

 

Supplies changes will increase supplies use, and it will increase disgruntlement among those who cannot buy or will not buy, and those few who view supplies use as unsporting.

 

Smart cooldowns will no longer require smarts.

 

Hulls: [redacted]

 

Firebird: Wow, can we say overpowered? Afterburn will claim fewer opponents after the firebird tank explodes, but the parameter increases are excessive.

 

Freeze: I have too little experience with it, but the most powerful turret (with drawbacks that keep it from being popular) gets stronger. The reduction in rotation and acceleration will make it even less popular.

 

Isida: I hate isida, but wow, who will use it now? It had its place. It just needed nerfed in damage dealt, and increased in healing teammates. (A little range reduction is good.)

 

Hammer: Not sure those changes will matter to anyone.

 

Twins: My motto is “Twins is fun!” Reduced impact, from nearly nothing to begin with, will reduce fun. Recoil? Does twins have recoil? Why reduce it further? And how does reduced recoil count as a plus-up? I will have to see how the rotation changes matter, but I'm thinking much less fun. Max damage-range won't matter (no one will ever notice).

 

Ricochet: It seems the most overpowered turret in the game will stay so. Not much change that will matter except the range. It will make it hard for me to snipe the shafts. That was always fun. Reducing its range so much will reduce its fun.

 

Smoky: Do you hate smoky? Why leave it in the game? This will be less popular than isida. With no impact, no critical, no rotation, why would anyone use it? You even reduced its range. I don't think it is possible to overstate how badly you seem to intend to nerf this turret.

 

Vulcan: Good to see its impact reduced. Now maybe I can drive my titan while approaching a vulcan. I'm not sure how the other parms are going to affect play. Seems very little affected over all. It will still be overly effective. (Skill required to use it effectively will be reduced, except on heavy hull. There was never any skill required for amble and maintain fire.)

 

Thunder: Other than slight damage nerf, this may be the most effective turret in game. Anyone using smoky instead of thunder must be dumb or just too traditional. For that matter, why use rail instead of this?

 

Railgun: Why take out the railgun and replace it with this? This turret isn't suitable for the standard fighting style of most railgunners.

 

Shaft: In my opinion, shafts are only in the game for me to kill. Killing shafts is fun. I suppose they will still be fun to kill.

 

My basic overall assessment of these changes are a leveling of the playing field such that good skilled players cannot find niche expertise. These changes will bring the good down and let the poor look better, especially if they are willing to part with cash for 1500-supplies, especially at the lower ranks.

 

The scheme changes the game. It takes much and gives nothing. Specialization not only looks impossible, it looks to be actively quashed. Let mediocrity rule.

 

BTW, I am OKDad70, Ricosck, Riconot, NobodyUKnow70, DH.98, and Sarek_V.

Total kills: 213,481

Total experience: 3,135,064

Total hours played: 763

 

I've been playing since March 2014, and I have two sons that play. I've paid attention. Most of the complaints have amounted to little. A few complaints were bad. This one is the worst I have seen.

Edited October 16, 2016 by Hexed
Please avoid using profane language and abbreviations.

[DarkVengeance 31]

Some thoughts;

 

Premier League?

 

Clearly, the devs are turning M3 into a 'premier league,' available only at the final tier starting at Marshall. This seems fair enough, it is how it should be. If a person were to separate Tanki progress into 3 bands, calculated on experience, a Tanker would be a mid ranked until 933 333, which is between General and Marshall.

 

Introducing fairness

 

The stated criterion is so that M2s do not face M3s in battle. This logic would apply, similarly to M0s fighting M1s, M1s fighting M2s and so forth, and I presume a similar plan is in the works for these Modifications. However, there is a problem in implementation. For example, at my rank, competitiors have had access to M3 Isida, Thunder, Shaft and Hornet already, through the purchase of product kits. At the rate I play, I would be facing these weapons with M2 mods until March 2017, or June 2017 if I wait until the customary 50% sale on Tankers day to go M3, 6 months later than anticipated,  according to a plan to rank to Generallissimo in 2 years, at a rate of about 1800 exp a day, which is probably standard for any hardcore gamer. The net effect is that I face M3s with M2s for the next 9 months, thus defeating the object.

 

Being forced to use weapons now not in accordance with playing style

 

The devs have consistently remarked that Tankers should pick weapons and tanks in accordance with playing style, not to seek advantage by looking for weapon that are OP, and that anything overpowered is likely to be nerfed sooner or later. The planned update radically changes playing style for a number of combinations. Im in agreement with Gold Rock. FireBird is now more of a generalised assault weapon, Isida is more powerful as an attacker than as a healer, Rico now operates better at melee and short range, Thunder is less of a support weapon and similar in gameplay now to Rico, Shaft is no longer suited to snipe high value targets out of an attack, and so forth. A tanker that has worked and invested in these weapons, to facilitate a preferred playing style or tactics may wake up after the update to find his hard earned Tank performing in terms of a completely different way of playing

 

A Solution

 

It seems that the better option to a Sale together with a number of days of double battle funds, to sweeten what may be a bitter pill for some, is to give a refund on cry spent to date, and to remove existing tanks from every players garage, together with a Sale. That way, we have the option of  purchasing tanks that suit respective playing style after the update. Its also less totalitarian. Tanks are seen as electronic property, worked and paid for, it does not seem legitimate for developers to unilaterally change the performance characteristics, Imagine if Ferarri were to come into a guys garage and change the engine on a car so as to improve the overall Ferrarri picture, leaving a vehicle that performs completely differently? This also provides the option of screening out 'premier league' M3 tanks using the create battle function, so we dont have to get shot up by those who use Thunder, Shaft and Isida for close on a year whilst getting to Marshall, in my example. A refund was offered, from what I read, after the last major global update, the same logic would apply. 

 

DarkVengeance