Jump to content
EN
Play

Forum

[Issue 60] [Guide] Pro's Advice #4: Railgun and its Warmup Time


 Share

Recommended Posts

I17EhcQ.png

xSXe8Zn.pngModified_Title_Image_4.png

hWP02gJ.png

 

 

 

Pro's Advice #1: Swinging Your Hull

Pro's Advice #2: Controlling your Hull in Format Battles

Pro's Advice #3: Knocking Off the Enemy's Aim

 

 

 

An iconic weapon throughout Tanki Online's history, Railgun has always been a prominent weapon between its long range, DPS (damage per shot) based siblings, sporting a well-rounded balance of damage output and reload time. However, its greatest unique drawback between long ranged weapons is its required charge time before firing. Eternity_Guard_Burn explains how to transform this potential liability to an advantage.

 


 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tle6tZQwFnM&list=PLoGHE_kS3ppNjijtBsuSuGJGYvc-5Ye5R&index=38

 

 

 

The Basics

 

Railgun's least desirable features, by the consensus of many players, are it's extensive reload time and the momentary initialization process that occurs immediately after hitting the Spacebar. The first can be remedied through simply utilizing cover properly and not charging headlong into conflict. Admittedly, full frontal assault is not Railgun's strong suit, despite what avid players with an unquenchable desire to squish the '3' key may testify; that plan of attack is better left to the likes of Twins and Firebird. What Railgun can do best consistently is provide support from vast ranges from under the cover of all and any forms of shelter.

 

However, while there's a simple plan for alleviating self-casualty through the long reload time, especially with the older version of Railgun and its newest alteration, the issue of the shot delay causes many a player to suffer in high stakes situations. Weapons with threatening impact forces and instant shot deliverance, such as Smoky, Thunder, Hammer and Shaft, can easily take advantage of a Railgun by simply planting a shot near the corner of their hull. Remember that Pro's Advice #3 covers the topic of knocking off aim to the fullest extent possible. While not quite as dangerous to fight, Ricochet and Twins are also annoying foes at medium range, capable of confounding a Railgun user's aim through volleys of repulsive shots.

 

Depending on the surroundings, a solution to the Railgun's plight could be the map itself. If there's a pair of conjoined, planar x/y/z surfaces nearby (e.g. a wall to a building with a perfectly perpendicular structure), then rearing directly into the nearest wall and rocking your hull as necessary to counteract impending impact force. This provides a suitable brace from any and all frontal assaults by keeping the hull steady on the flat surface, providing a grand opportunity for Railgun users to plant a successful shot. However, it should be noted that hulls with light weights or sprawled shape, such as Wasp, Hornet, and Dictator, are very susceptible to having their aim knocked astray by shots from the corners of the hulls, if not by the hand of its own turret's auto-aim hitbox. This dilemma is expressed in detail by the following diagram.

 

Bracing.png

 

This can be remedied by positioning yourself sideways alongside the walls instead, where any shot dealt that hits the Railgun's current hull will be greatly negated by the adjacent buffer (so long as you stick to it as if it were a massive magnet). However, this comes with a different set of problems: due to Railgun's rotation speed, it may be very difficult to hit a fast moving target from this position, and Shaft or Smoky with the Assault Ammunition alteration equipped have the potential to still send a wall-pinned Railgun's shot up and over their targets, should they choose light hulls. With maneuverability completely restricted by both the surface's length and its requirement to stick close to it, targeting players from multiple perspectives on a whim is next to impossible, and breaking away from the wall immediately is even more difficult still. Having a Speed Boost active grants more mobility on this front, and the newest Railgun alteration only functions as a support.

 

With ramps, where the surface is still planar but deviate from the primary x/y/z surface group, the bar of competence is raised a considerable degree. Not only would one be required to navigate and align themselves with the wall quickly, but they must do so before an opponent can move to engage them from the top of the ramp. (In most cases, engaging from below the ramp is favorable to a Railgun.) This level of fluidity comes with practice, but a brief demonstration is described through the media ink above and the image below. The interesting item of note here is that both walls of a ramp sport different benefits.

 

Ramp_Wall_Close.png

Ramp_Wall_Far.png

 

The closest wall to the target, while the least likely to allow a deferred shot to stray beyond Railgun's downward auto-aim zone and limiting the range of effectiveness that the enemy turret has, suffers the drawback of not being able to fire until the turret completely clears the ramp and is within sight of the enemy tank. This means that hitting first is a matter of competitive, instinctive reaction. Should both the Railgun and the impact force based weapon happen to fire at the same time, a light hull such as Wasp may be flipped sideways or even totally upended on the ramp. The closest wall should be reserved for medium tanks, such as Hunter or Viking, that sport respectable stability.

 

The further wall, while acting as a more effective brace to keep a light tank aligned while granting more auto-aim room to target an opponent, grants the enemy a higher chance of throwing off the Railgun's aim upwards to the point of the projectile soaring over their head harmlessly, unlike the previous position. Secondly, this route opens up the opportunity of the other tank slipping directly onto the ramp, unimpeded to do whatever they want to the kinetics-toting tank. The first route allows an enemy tank to lay a mine down on unsuspecting tankers with ease, too, so when engaging a tank in this method, it's best to consider what hull is in use first.

 

Of course, the most apparent method of removing the issue of shot delay is by simply preparing the round from behind cover, much like one would when using Vulcan. Using cover is Railgun's strongest suit, making it a far different weapon from Shaft in field-based positioning. Railgun may not be the most dynamic weapon on its own, simply loading, shooting, and trying not to miss (though could any weapon be exempt from this ambiguous description?), but with a fair amount of prediction, a skilled user of the kinetic gun can allow the user to retain momentum just as an instantly gratifying turret such as Smoky or Thunder would. Charging from the safety of a large polygon (or something suitable enough to hide the blatant glow of the turret's tip) can grant a player the certainty of a perfect shot, so long as the timing and aim is proper. Remember that the warm-up period for all variations of Railgun takes exactly 1.1 seconds, so by the end of the first second, it'd be wise to have already left cover.

 

Cant_See_Charge.png

 

Bear in mind that the above can still be foiled by the keen eye of a player using high-end graphics, as dynamic lighting settings sometimes cause the wall on the opposite side to glow as if the light was being projected on that side. Because screw light-based physics. This particular phenomenon is more notable under night mode conditions, where Railgun has a much harder time remaining anonymous due to the sheer amount of light it produces with each shot. This makes it one of the few weapons to be more effective in daytime circumstances over nighttime.

 

Fighting against skilled users of Smoky and Hammer are tall orders for a Railgun, since the two have the advantage of high impact force and immediate shot gratification upon hitting the spacebar. A user waiting for the Railgun to come out of hiding has the edge whether the Railgun user decides to charge behind cover or not, since the small interval of time between leaving the building and actually loosing the shot may be enough for a quick opponent to nick the corner of the Railgun user's hull, skewing their aim. When facing this scenario, the only thing Railgun players can do is force a Smoky or Hammer's hand by letting them shoot first instead, so that the Railgun has enough of an interval to prime their own shot. If timed right, by taking a hit first, the retaliation shot could be enough to throw off the aim of the opposing tank, turning the tables and granting a brief reprieve from fire for them to do something else.

 

While not quite specific solutions to Railgun's warmup conundrum, this video also included a few neat tidbits and mind games that tankers of all merit and almost every weapon class can use to gain leverage over their opponents.

 

For example, one of the best times to target an enemy is when they're decreasing in altitude, through means of either a ramp or diving off of whatever platform lies above. There's a fair chance that if a DPS-based weapon is hiding behind cover until firing, then they'll be able to get away with an easy shot, disorienting the target upon reaching the level ground and, if an enemy decides to jump from a cliff, even potentially tipping the hull onto its end. Remember: tanks are the most susceptible to recoil-based weapons in mid-air. This information is critical to users and targets of them alike.

 

A fearful reputation is born from unpredictability, so when it comes to firing from behind cover, keep your opponents guessing. Eternity_Guard_Burn displays an excellent example of confusing enemies by luring them behind one portion of a building, then attacking them from another. This can be performed under a variety of circumstances, but is most effectively executed with a light hull. Most medium or heavy hulls don't have the luxury of swift motion to confuse enemies directly on their tail, but with enough time granted, it's possible to take the road less traveled and launch attacks from other angles. Cracks in walls and gaps between buildings are excellent refuge locations for medium and long ranged fighters, since few hunters will expect these locations to be used by their prey. However, as clever of a misdirection method as this can be, it can easily be nullified by using the 'Q' and 'E' keys to adjust the camera angle to see over things. (In fact, if you're not practicing with these keys often, you're at a major disadvantage.) 

 

 

 

What's Happened Since

 

The most important facet of Railgun's shot delay has been changed with the advent of the '16 global stats update -- instead of decreasing gradually from M0 to M4, it retains the same time throughout the course of its life: 1.1 seconds. Knowing that M0's value was 1.196 seconds and a fully micro-upgraded M3's was 1.06, the target range for the current value lies somewhere very close to the old M3 value. While the difference between the change is only a tenth of a second, very minimal, this still means that every player below the micro-upgrade focus stage receives benefits, while those well into the endgame forcibly concede their benefits.

 

In regards to wall-crawling to stabilize a tank, the newest alteration for Railgun's rotation speed increases the effectiveness of this tactic greatly, but at the cost of losing a considerable amount of auto-aim value. While this is great for combating enemies on the same plane within a reasonable range, but in the event of an enemy attacking from a higher altitude, this cripples the weapon's effectiveness greatly, requiring the owner to swing their hull along the wall. This may not bestow desirable results, especially if the enemy moves to engage from the side.

 

A Smoky alteration, Assault Ammunition, only means that Smoky's effectiveness at ruining a Railgun's aim is boosted. Hammer's concentrated pellet shot, due not only to its Slugger alteration but the post-introduction pellet spread re-organization, also make it more effective at concisely confounding a charging Railgun. Ricochet, while being discussed as a powerful threat, loses a fair amount of its mortality when thrown under the microscope; with the global update of 2016, impact forces have lost a bit of their luster, and since Ricochet's projectiles take time to impact their target, a distant foe can recalculate their aim and compensate for the impact. (Striker suffers from this as well, though it can cover infinite distances.) The Minus Field Stabilization alteration reduces this to an extent, however.

 

 

 

In A Nutshell

 

  • Avoid getting close to Twins and Ricochet entirely, since their respective alterations allow them to fire quickly enough to fire similarly to an instant-gratification turret.
  • Charge Railgun from behind cover instead of out in the open if possible.
  • Use perpendicular surfaces to keep your hull steady upon impact from other weapons.
  • Determine which side of the ramp to use depending on what hull is being used.
  • When charging, keep the tip of your turret in front of the wall instead of sticking out of it. This will keep your shot hidden until the last moment.
  • Alternating between firing immediately and feigning an attack to lure opponents in will keep an enemy tanker guessing, so as a Railgun user, switch between these tactics often.

 


 

While there's only so much that can be done about the required charge time, Eternity_Guard_Burn's guide in conjunction with this one should suffice to negate most detriments the trait brings upon itself. Next month brings one last collection of notes for up-and-coming XP players, so if you're interested, stay tuned.

Shedinja_Logo.png

 

 

.

kDYWCWE.pngk7ftT83.png

Edited by Shedinja
  • Like 9

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...