[Issue 62] [Review] Hulls: In the Light of Recent Updates

[Flexoo 6,980]

 

Hulls give shape to every tank, affect the way one performs in the battle and influence the style with which one plays. Last couple of updates focused mainly on balance tweaks of turrets, while hulls remained seemingly unchanged. Did the updates have any effect on hulls?  How did chassis carrying the arms of bane turn in the light of recent updates? Find out below.

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Game Balance Update

 

I admit it: this ain't recent, at all. Furthermore, Gildedbrick covered everything about the Game balance update here, in a comprehensive thirty page text wall so characteristic to him. I don't really want to parrot after Gold, therefore if you're looking for complex review on Game balance update, click the above link. Instead, I would rather focus on the way this update affected the current game's hulls in the context of the major change; the unification of M3 and M3+ protection parameters (HP) in the same hull classes (light, medium, heavy) and additional buffs and nerfs to other hull parameters.

 

Light Hulls

 

 

The insect brethren, Wasp and Hornet, had their M3 and M3+ modifications' protection stat unified, meaning that both light hulls have the same amount of 168 HP at M3, respectively 200 HP when fully micro-upgraded. It's a welcome increase in HP stat for Wasp ranging from approximately 10 HP on lower modification to 20 HP on M3 and M3+. On the contrary, Hornet's HP stat went slightly down on almost all modifications. Another noticeable nerf affected the Weight stat of both hulls. Both lost roughly 1/10 of their previous weight, the stat that reflects their stability and ability to withstand pushing from others. Shooting sideways, using turrets with recoil as well as facing turrets with impact force became a little more complicated. Should you ever use light hulls, look out for these weight loss drawbacks.

 

Weight and protection changes had been somehow evened by increase in acceleration, anti-inertial acceleration and/or speed. The shifts in turret parameters touched the popular XP/BP format once again. Overall decreases in Railgun's minimum and maximum damage and Wasp's equalized HP resulted in fact that light hulls can take damage fairly well now and at times survive two shots. This also leads to the fact that M2 players are discriminated in combat against opponents with M3s.

 

In short:

 

Wasp: Lighter but better armored, slightly slower in turning but quicker at backing up.

Hornet: Lighter with decreased protection. Max speed, turning speed and accelerations had been slightly increased.

 

Medium Hulls

 

 

The middle trio became less bulkier (except for Hunter) in means of protection, with Viking loosing around 10 to 20 HP through the modifications and Dictator shedding more than 40 HP from its top two modifications.

 

Hunter received the biggest buffs from the trio, having most of its parameters boosted. Protection, turning speed, weight and acceleration numbers were raised by good 10% or more in exchange for lower speed and turning acceleration. This forwarded Hunter further into the group of medium hulls and made it less of a transition hull between the light and medium class. Despite all the benefits and overall positive changes to Hunter, it still keeps the brand of outsider in medium hull category.

 

Viking's protection has been reduced, however it gained an interesting speed boost in return (no, not the box, silly), actually resulting in it drifting while turning at high speed. To be precise, Hunter passed the baton of speediest medium hull to Viking in trade-off for weight and acceleration decrease.

 

Dictator suffered the most by unified HP stat on M3 and M3+ modifications, which also affected its ability to take damage considering its height disadvantage. Just like Hunter, Dictator was transformed from a semi-category hull, as some of the parameters that compared it to the heavy hulls have been decreased. Dictator is now heavier on higher modifications, but also a considerably speedier. Turning speed and acceleration, however, decreased in number. Dictator still stands out in the category 'Top Gold Hunting Machine', though: it's quicker than before, which makes the tracking of the spot easier, but you should be aware of lower robustness when approaching the scrimmage under the 'gold coffin'. Tanks shall burn, and if you're accustomed to Dictator's higher health stat, then you might wind up returning in a box instead of with one.

 

In short:

 

Hunter: Huge betterments in protection, weight and acceleration stats in opposition to lowered speed and turning speed.

Viking: Drifty, speedy hull with lowered protection, weight and acceleration stats.

Dictator: Distinct decrease in protection and turning, but a slightly faster and heavier.

 

Heavy Hulls

 

 

Both heavy hulls shrank on protection, and although the decrease might not be that radical for others, I as a regular heavy hull user badly perceive the lack of extra protection points, especially in the context of the new batch of alterations offering an increase in damage. The weight of heavy hulls, however, dropped even further by a humongous 40%. If I'd have to describe the change by my own words, I'd say that heavy hulls transformed from gawky, stationary colossi to a more mobile fortresses. This hugely impaled the exerted image of heavy tanks that are impossible to push from the position they occupy.  

 

In short:

 

Titan & Mammoth: A tad bit quicker with additional gains in their respective accelerations, but far lighter and less armored.

 

Turret Alterations

 

I am slightly turning off from the cardinal point of the article to the theme of turrets and their alterations. You might wonder: "Why should turret alterations be listed here? This is an article about hulls..." The matter of fact is that turrets and hulls are closely associated, and any change to turrets will somehow transmit to the hulls as well. Alterations definitely are a change that greatly influences the whole gaming system, and thus I would like to list those alterations that impede our hulls the most.

 

  Plasma Core Accelerators - Twins

 

Reload Time: +20%
Projectile speed: +100%
Range of min damage: +100%

 

Twins always guaranteed two things: 1.) that your opponent will succumb to the flood of plasma shots, fly into a rage and treat you as an incompetent tanker who uses the devil's tool of pure annoyance, and 2.) that you will eventually break your keyboard from sheer overuse and will have to secure another one to continue the never-ending cycle of Space bar abuse. Even a stock M3 Twins is a particularly painful opponent to face, destroying micro-upgraded heavy hulls in something around seven seconds in its maximum effective range.

 

Plasma Core Accelerators amplifies the annoying nature of this turret, doubling the range of minimum damage and projectile speed at the cost of mere 20% decrease in reload time (you will hardly notice the difference in reload speed, trust me). It allows Twins to reach far more distant enemies while the projectile speed lowers the opponents reaction time for evasive maneuvers. This enables Twins to now shine on even larger maps and deal with quick light hulls on the loose as well as distant bulky campers (e.g. Shaft/Titan) or defenders (e.g. Vulcan/Mammoth) inside of bases.

 

  Minus Field Stabilization - Ricochet

 

Reload Time: +20%
Projectile speed: +100%
Range of min damage: +100%

 

Ricochet, the natural counterpart to Twins in the plasma department, keeps practically the same type of alteration as Twins at its disposal. With doubled range of minimal damage and projectile speed, Ricochet now delivers the shots twice as fast and far. Unlike in case of Twins, dodging the straight line of shot won't insure you won't get hit as Ricochet's range raises also the bouncing potential of the plasma shots. However, the reload time increase is more perceivable than in case of Twins. Nevertheless, developers' step to reduce the HP of most hulls made Ricochet with doubled projectile speed and range one of the most dangerous weapons out there.

 

  Compact Tanks - Firebird

 

Energy consumption: +50%
Max temperature: +150%
Rate of heating: +300%

 

Firebird was by many considered to be the most powerful close range turret out in battlefields. The ability to quickly burn the enemies and then bug out to the safety to let them slowly roast type this turret to my favorites. It was deemed so powerful that developers came to ultimate decision to eradicate its ability to shoot through tanks.

 

To partially avert the lovable ability, you can least boost the Firebird with couple of alterations. My favorite and the one I consider to be the ultimate hull killer is the Compact Tanks alteration. This particular turret tweak massively increases the rate of heating, which means your opponent will burn quicker while also raising the temperature with which the tank burns, skyrocketing the burn damage output. In exchange, you have to sacrifice the girth of energy pool, which exhausts very rapidly while this alteration is equipped. However, the final effect is astounding. I would avoid facing Firebird with this alteration whether you use light hull or bulky heavy hulls - it's capable to whittle down any opponent. Playing the stayaway game is the most effective way to beat a proximity weapon in general, and this is no different.

 

  High Capacity Drum - Hammer

 

Clip reload time: +35%
Ammo per clip: +2
Shot reload time: +10%

 

Hammer embodies a heavy damaging beast that can easily tear any light and medium hull to shreds in one clip. Outstanding damage output of 1070 hit points per shot (at M4) makes it a turret to watch for, even without any alterations equipped to it. Hammer easily dominates close to mid-range battlefields with steady damage output of approximately 3210 HP, which can be raised by adding 2 more shots with high capacity drums to astonishing 5350 HP in a single clip.

 

Bear in mind that even a fully micro-upgraded heavy hull possess only 4000 HP as of now, and thus a full clip will easily take down the bulky fortresses without Hammer protection module. I advise to avoid a head-to-head confrontations with Hammer, especially if you are unaware of the number of remaining shots in the clip.

 

 Precision Targeting System - Smoky

 

Min damage: +50%
Max damage: +20%
Critical hit damage: +20%
Reload time: +40%

 

Smoky admittedly commands the respect of most players. Its rapid firing rate, coupled with critical hits and sizable impact force, assign it to the group of the strongest turrets in the game. Smoky became a powerful tool feared by many players using long-ranged weaponry, doing well in any battle situation and against all enemy tanks. It came to the point when it was necessary to balance Smoky that relentlessly dominated the battlefields. Developers subjugated Smoky's critical damage and reloading speed over the course of past months. Even in the face of these changes, Smoky successfully holds onto the polar position, maintaining a balance as, ironically, anything but an Average Joe in the turrets collection.

 

From my own observations, not many players actually like the Precision Targeting System on Smoky. I have to coincide that 40% increase in reload time is a lot if you are used to super short reload that Smoky is identified by. However, my personal experience proved that after a little using to reloading and timing, this alteration will scatter badly damaging shots at relatively decent pace.

 

  High-caliber Ammo - Railgun

 

Reload Time: +50%
Min damage: +40%
Max damage: +40%

 

I cannot miss the public cutie pie, the beloved Railgun and its alteration so much present in every freaking battle. Railgun certainly is a powerful foe to meddle with, seemingly limited only by its own popularity. The high damage per shot and unlimited range will mess up any enemy when in hands of true professional.

 

High caliber Ammo alteration practically resurrects the old Railgun - or in other words, it noticeably lowers the reload speed but heavily increases minimum and maximum damage. If you are used to a slower Railgun from not so long ago, you will enjoy massacring the protection scalped hulls. Just for illustration, I've recently been in a battle where my fully micro-upgraded medium hull with 20% Railgun resistance was OHKOed by a pesky Railgun midfielder. Overpowered I tell ya!

 

Hull Alterations

 

Alterations serve the purpose of further equipment customization, and since hulls underwent some changes just as turrets did, a question pops up as to whether hulls should receive alterations as well. Note that hull alterations listed below are not present in the game nor are planned for future. It's just my take on how any potential hull alterations may be presented.

 

Heavy Armour

 

Protection: +15%

Speed: -10% 

 

The idea behind this one is pretty simple. As you probably know, majority of hulls lost some of their protection in exchange for increase in speed. This alteration would simply allow players who prefer protection over speed to bring back the stats from before the Game balance update.

 

Lightweight Gear

 

Speed: +10%

Weight: -10%

 

This particular alteration would further increase your speed in attack, driving and retreating with flag for example. Unfortunately, engineers would have to eliminate the old heavy parts of the engine which would make your tank lighter. Your tank would be easily pushed from the spot, impact force would affect your tank more and you'd be lacking some steadiness.

 

Those two are just the examples to push your imagination. Note that if hull alterations are ever to be implemented, they will likely not be available in a modification system like in case of turrets. Hulls don't have so many different parameters like turrets do and thus there would be a max of 5 - 10 hull alterations on the offer, in my opinion.

 

Patch Update #430 - Introduction of Striker

 

Striker remains to be a big enigma in the current game. It's still kind of a freshman between the turrets and it still hasn't found a definite place in the list of 'goodies and baddies of the turret world'. Although I see a lot of different viewpoints on Striker around (reference the numerous Special articles and the V-Log guides made for it in the past), for now I've counted more pessimistic opinions on its effectiveness.

 

 

 

Does this execration of Striker make it so inoffensive? I beg to disagree. It proved many times before, that the more players underestimate the capabilities of the turret, the more they lower they guard when facing it and the more powerful the turret itself gets. As of now, Striker does around 90 damage per rocket and around 315 per salvo. That's enough to destroy any current M4 light or medium hull and heavily damage the heavy hulls. Not too shabby, aye?

 

I would definitely recommend to be on guard before Striker. It's very potent and powerful enough to deal with any hull swiftly and it still did not get through that much balance updates and tweaks that would turn it super hard to master.

 

Patch Update #439

 

Patch update #439 brought along few changes to the Tanki's Plasma Turret Department (a.k.a. PTD, not to be mistaken with POTD). First of all, Twins received new feature: a splash damage statistic that should transform it to a more of strategy-based turret (good luck devs, good luck!). It means that Twins now deals fragmentary damage to tanks near the one who's being shot by the plasma balls, but it's also affected by splash damage if the fired shots are near your own hull. This affects the way with which you should approach Twins users with your hull and the way you'd drive while shooting with Twins.

 

 

Another implementation of this update introduced a set of new alterations for the Twins and Ricochet. While the first one simply averts the splash effect on Twins, the second one made for Ricochet comes with rather drastic exchange. Just like Twins, Ricochet can affect other tanks with splash damage, but in exchange for bouncing effect of the shells. This might be good in some crowded Polygon CPs where you can damage multiple hulls at once, but otherwise, I would rather keep the standard bouncing ability which is, in my opinion, far more sufficient.

 

Patch Update #441

 

Some very interesting parameter changes were implemented by the most recent patch update #441. This time around, Shaft, Isida and Hammer had been on the gutter of developers balancing interests.

 

Shaft went down on reload speed, but its damage in sniper mode raised substantially. On top of that, arcade shots now drop in damage output based on the distance between the target and the sniper. This essentially means that Shaft was transformed from less potent quick shooter to slower heavy damaging marksman. Although most players wear some sort of Shaft resisting module on the maps where Shaft's star shines the brightest, I find it important to mention that fully micro-upgraded Shaft can easily OHKO any fully micro-upgraded light or medium hull without resistance module.

 

Isida lost its vampiric self-healing powers for good, but its damage raised exponentially. Additionally, its energy pool now exhausts depending on the operation it performs. The energy pool exhausts now in 5 seconds when attacking, but Isida's damage output is the greatest from all the close range turrets, and thus it deals with medium and light hulls fairly quickly. On the contrary, healing exhausts the energy pool twice as slow, and thus Isida can support its teammates' hulls easily and at constant pace.

 

Hammer's reload time between shots decreased, which is a welcome betterment for any lover of this turret. It means that Hammer can two-shot light hulls in just less than two seconds, medium in three seconds, and a heavy hull in four seconds at the M4 level. Of course, it is counterbalanced by a one second increase in the reload time between the clips. Hammer is the most vulnerable when it's out of most of its shots in the clip or when it starts to reload clips. This is the time when you should approach in the combat with it. Last but not least, Hammer also gained the ricocheting ability for its pellets (yay, another turret with bouncing ability). So stand at attention before the one-time ricocheting pellets that may come from behind the corner and the self-damaging effect that comes with. It may leave a nasty scrape on your own hull.

 

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I guess this summarizes pretty much everything about the major updates and their influence on hulls. At the same time, I am sorry for turning this a little bit into a GoldRock text barricade. You are always welcome to blame him for leading me by example. Thanks for reading. Be sure to leave a response!

 

[3x3cube 288]

Awesome!

[bc200214_777 582]

Very helpful