[Issue 64] [Guide] Fulfilling Battle Objectives

[Flexoo 6,980]

 

Throughout our military service in the vast forces of the Tanki Online militia, we find ourselves in many different battles with very different battle objectives. Flags, control points or the number of overall kills are what you and/or your team strives to maximize. What should you do or not do to successfully fulfill the objectives? If this had been a driving question for you, then look no further!  

 

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Game Objectives of Battle Modes

 

Capture The Flag [CTF]

 

Two main objectives of Capture the flag mode are delivering the enemy flag and protecting your own flag. This sounds genuinely logic and easy, but enter one of the CTF battles like Kungur or Forest and you will find that majority of your teammates is arguably boosting their K/D ratio or just wondering around the area. Initiative plays a decisive role in CTF battles. Waiting around the base and beating around the bush does not win the battles. Sooner or later, someone has to pluck up the courage to retrieve the enemy flag. It does not matter how much kills or points you made, flag difference will always determine the winner at the end of the day. Although, I do not consider myself a hardcore supporter of the idea that attack is everything, teams certainly need to stake on offense to succeed.

 

While a flash raid is often times enough to grab the flag and bunk off the enemy base, in more balanced battles you will need more than simple determination. Tactical approach makes a difference when facing opponents that can stand their ground against hyper-offensive players. I am aware Tanki Online has the image of the uncomplicated game, perhaps even after a number of recent updates. Regardless, using one's head and being two steps before your opponents is essential in TO's gameplay as well. Here's one example to demonstrate the general idea;

 

Map: Kungur

> Predictable attacking routes

> Least predictable route

 

Choosing the most suitable and least expected route to the enemy flag is essential part of most tactics. You certainly want to go the line of least resistance. Let's project it to the Kungur's red base as shown on the picture. Paths marked with red arrows represent the most common offensive directions. Defenders will most likely have these paths covered or place their mines here. On the other hand, the green path is far longer and impractical and thus most players won't anticipate attack coming from this direction. As the attacker, you'll travel longer distance, but I dare say you'll catch the enemy by surprise or avoid all the damage from defenders. One should also bear in mind that timing and teamwork determine the result of your attacks. Note that the battle isn't just about you and thus avoid any form of sabotage, blocking or flipping of teammates. Not only it is against the game rules, but you can actually achieve far more when you support your team rather than pursuing only your own objectives.

 

Second objective of the CTF battles is defending your own flag. I know, you might come at me that best defense is offense and you are right. But, even if you manage to overwhelm your opponents and take their flag, your effort will be meaningless when there won't be your team's flag in the base. Thus, it's always good to have at least few defenders looking out for your flag. Probably one of the best turret choices for a defender is Freeze. Not only it can heavily damage incoming opponents, it can slow them down till your teammates return to help you out. Another thing that definitely improves your defense is mining. 

 

Well-positioned mine can make a huge difference.

 

You don't have to transform whole base into minefield, but few mines placed on the supply drop spots or on other strategically important places, can inflict a decent chunk of damage on incoming attacker. Mine causes damage around 120 to 240 HP which can totally eliminate light hulls or heavily damage medium and heavy hulls. Your chances that enemy won't even get close to the flag raise with every mine you lay into his path.

 

If your teams is facing a stalemate when both flags are in opponent's possession, it's important to defend the flag-holder. Also remember that flag is not your personal belonging. Even if you carried it away from the enemy, you should drop it for other teammate who got full HP and can equip Double Armor and Repair Kit right away.

 

 

Control Point [CP]

 

This mode is possibly the one where players cause the most troubles when it comes to fulfilling the battle objectives. For some reason, you can spot most players killing opponents, pretending they just joined the Deathmatch. I don't know why, but tankers frequently ignore the circled hovering alphabets in possession of the opponents.

 

Having all points under control is optimal. Having at least the majority of points is necessary!

 

Winning the CP battle is about the point possession. To win it, you/your team naturally need to possess the majority of the points on the battlefield. Sometimes, player might be misled by the initial lead. But, you should keep in mind that once you loose the majority of points to enemy, the score will start to incline towards the opponent. Thus, while playing CP you should always keep an eye on how many points your team currently possess. While you don't have to capture all the points (which can be hard since some of the control points are placed directly in opponent's base), you should strive to capture at least the points in your base and in the map's middle.

 

The best and most effective way to capture the point is to gang up on it. Point is claimed quicker if more players are capturing it. This shortens the time required for capturing and decreases the danger that comes with limited mobility when you're claiming the point.

 

DeathMatch [DM] and Team DeathMatch [TDM]

 

In spite of the fact that Deathmatch mode isn't the hardest one to handle, it's miles away from the simple and prevalent conviction. While there is just one simple objective to complete; and that is to destroy as many opponents as you can, there are many effective ways to accomplish it. You should not slack-off on formulating tactics and finding the best approach. Right positioning is probably the most important thing in Deathmatch.

 

Good camping spots in Desert Deathmatch

 

Since everyone is potentially your enemy, it's important to find a good place where you will be able to deal with less opponents at once and where you'll be covered from enemy fire. The best spots are usually map corners or hardly accessible places like corridors behind buildings, hills etc. Do not loaf around middle. It's usually a place where most tankers spawn and fight. Middle areas are usually open to fire and tankers do not last here for too long.

 

If you want to raise your chances to win or at least place in higher positions, team up with other players. Deathmatch is the only mode in which you can team up even with your opponents. The most common Deathmatch teams consist of two players who share the same equipment or at least same turret. This unwritten law that players with same turret do not attack each other exists for some time now and you should use it in your favor. It is not strictly followed in every battle, but if you see a tanker approaching you without shooting at you, reconsider whether he could be your ally. As a tandem, you can easily deal with individual coming your way.

 

Team Deathmatch is in many ways similar to Deathmatch mode (with exception of teaming with enemy), but there's a bigger emphasis on teamwork. While in Deathmatch it's all about you, your positioning and moving, in the team mode you put the accent on how you will position yourselves, how you move as team towards the enemy and how you support each other in combat. Winning the TDM is also a lot about using the surroundings to avoid damage and possibly getting closer to opponents so that you can deliver the final blow.

 

 

Secondary Battle Objectives

 

Support & Backup

 

Players that provide the support don't carry out the main battle objectives but rather help other allied players to fulfill them. Probably the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is Isida. Indeed, in a game where any opponent can heavily damage your tank, you'll find a supporting player that replenishes your HP extremely helpful. Isida, the only turret capable of this, unburdens the allies that do not have to rely on repair kits as the only other way of healing. Just one Isida can greatly improve the team's chances to win the battle and I suggest you to use this hull as offensive supporters.

 

 

However, supporting does not include solely pet Isidas. Basically any kind of other turret/hull can be used to support the teammate. Especially in CTF battles, you can rarely see tankers shielding the flag-holder. As it can be seen on the picture's right side , flag-holder is being healed by the Isida player, but is fairly opened to enemy fire from the back. On the left side [A], we have a support that is closely behind the flag-holder. The left side simulates the optimal situation.

 

If you will proceed this way, you will be able to heal your teammate and block any incoming damage from long to mid range guns like Thunder, Vulcan, Shaft. In this situation, it does not matter you catch all the bullets, since you perform only a secondary role. On the other hand, your teammate with flag will be able to fulfill the much important main objective. In other words, don't be afraid to throw your 'tank life' for greater good.

 

There are more ways to support your teammates, so let's list them here;

 

I.   Convoying -  This can often be seen in XP format and/or tournaments. Since Railgun possesses the penetrating power and ability to deliver damage even through other tanks, shielding isn't an effective way of protecting your ally with flag. Instead, you can see other player 'escorting' the flag-holder to the base. Essentially, if your teammate with flag is killed halfway through delivery, you as an escort pick the flag and carry the main objective instead of him.

 

II.  Knocking the Aim -  This supportive move belongs to the ones you can spot in battles daily. The aim is not necessary  to kill the opposing threats, but rather to nullify any damage he can possibly do on escaping flag-holder, for example. You can achieve this with turrets that have a good impact force like Smoky, Ricochet, Railgun, Hammer or Thunder. Shooting the tank's sides is the best way to knock the enemy's aim. However, after the balance update implemented some time ago, most hulls got their weight parameter reduced which means that even shots hitting other parts of tank still have the potential to mess the enemy's aim.

 

III. Offensive Support - The role of the offensive support is very simple; to eliminate any tanker who would dare to cross the path of your ally fulfilling the battle objective. Offensive support clears the path for the ally and or eliminates any other enemy tankers approaching the ally. You should equip Double Power to attain the maximum destruction power for this job.

 

 

Daily Missions

 

Perhaps, I would categorize fulfillment of daily missions more as a personal battle objective. Nevertheless, one does strive to fulfill them alongside the main battle objectives so we can theoretically label them as secondary commissions. Daily missions can only be fulfilled in the battles and thus it's important to find the golden middle way of completing them without intercepting with the more relevant battle objectives.

 

Don't be that guy who takes Repair Kit away from damaged ally.

 

Probably the most infamous example of a daily mission that interferes with battle objective is 'Collect the boxes' mission. I witnessed myself many times that a tanker with full HP took a Repair kit from damaged teammate who was driving the enemy flag to the base. I reckon everyone wants to finish his mission as soon as possible, but make sure that daily mission affairs won't have negative aftermath on your teammates and team. In case of supply drops, there will always be another more fitting time and place to take another drop box.

 

What to Avoid

 

Parkour

 

Parkour firmly established itself on the grounds of Tanki Online battlefields. Following the steps of fabled parkour teams such as The Flying Parkourists, Fight & Flight and other parkour elites, many venture at trying to exceed their glory or at least reach their standards. It's not a secret that parkour and battle objectives don't exactly go along with each other. Therefore, if someone is parkouring in normal battles, he's practically multing. He's a dead cell that does not carry out its original function. Team is practically man down. Whilst I do not wish to throw a bad light on parkour, it should be performed in the appropriate format battle. Tanki Online's battle settings offer above standard options for creating different modes and formats. Use them in a right fashion.  

 

Camping

 

Despite the popular belief that camping is always a bad thing, I'll go on a limb and say otherwise. A well positioned camper who knows the battle priorities can be a great asset to his team. The major problem with campers (mainly in CTF and CP) is the fact they focus most of their attention on sniping down the least critical opponents and harvesting their K/D ratios. For example, it's not that rare to see a camping Shaft to snipe down an unarmored Wasp or Hornet rather then that Viking holding his flag. Reason? Hornet and Wasp are simply an OHKO targets. While this Shaft player gets an easy kill, the damage he could have done on the escaping Viking might have helped the team to retrieve the flag.

 

Tip:

Camper should always target the biggest threats; player holding your flag, player capturing the point, defender who's impending yours team attacker, etc. Getting easy kills is not part of the game objective in CP and CTF battles. If you do not participate in completing the main battle objective, serve as a support.

 

Slaughter Mode

 

Don't get much excited. I am not leaking the concept of the new game mode or anything. I use this rather custom expression to characterize players that go on rampage and destroy every tank crossing their path. That's nothing extraordinary to talk about if you play in Deathmatch modes. However, in case of the other two modes, one should prioritize the flags and control points rather than kill count. All in all, destroying opponents is part of every battle mode, and eliminating all the threats benefits the team, but never loose the track of the main battle objectives of CTF and CP which is capturing the flags or points respectively.

 

 

I hope this will clarify what one should and shouldn't do in the battles. Focus on the battle objectives and you'll be able to win even the fiercest competitions. If you have more tips on how to fulfill battle objectives, feel free to share them with us! See you next time, combatants.

 

[Musa 5,352]

Huh? I hate when someone teams up in DM mode. You only need team if you are noob and can't face all opponents alone. 

If your tank's modification is equal to other's, then by teaming you are just decreasing the number of opponents and and the chances of winning or getting higher position. And also your teammate can steal your kills easily....

[Sevdragon 13]

Good article, Flexoo! I will use these tips in battle more often...I focus more on myself than my team  :lol:

 

I would suggest that you change the hp damage the mines do from 120 to 240 hp to 1200 to 2400 hp (makes more sense with the new update)

 

See you on the battlefield! (or I would if I was a higher rank)

[Mattz_GT 0]

CP is my favorite, in both single and multiple point format... really miss the old Polygon CP battles, nonstop action with everyone converging on the point or shooting up the point takers / holders from the high point.
The flip side of CP is multiple point, particularly on a convoluted map like Madness.

Favorite CTF map: Rift, fairly short routes and lots of them.

 

TDM? Hate it, maybe I should get a magnum and just trade artillery with the camped enemy, because if you go near the enemy base, you're toast! Only time I do TDM is for a mission.

[LittleWillie 3,199]

" This unwritten law that players with same turret do not attack each other exists for some time now and you should use it in your favor. "

 

It's unwritten because it's a fantasy. I;ve never heard anyone say this and I've never seen a tank with the smae turret pass me by in DM. Hilarious.

 

BTW I stopped reading your article once you recommended teaming up in DM. That is not a strategy. That is an exploit. There's a difference. Why not just recommend players use hacks? It's easier to win with them too.

 

Shame since it was up to then a better Tanki article than most.

[Flexoo 6,980]

" This unwritten law that players with same turret do not attack each other exists for some time now and you should use it in your favor. "

 

It's unwritten because it's a fantasy. I;ve never heard anyone say this and I've never seen a tank with the smae turret pass me by in DM. Hilarious.

 

Just because you didn't encounter it, does not mean it does not exist. I am not saying it's common (used to be much in the past).

 

BTW I stopped reading your article once you recommended teaming up in DM. That is not a strategy. That is an exploit. There's a difference. Why not just recommend players use hacks? It's easier to win with them too.

 

Shame since it was up to then a better Tanki article than most.

 

You are mixing two different things. Hacks are explicitly forbidden by the rules. In this case, if someone uses them he is exploiting this unfair advantage. Teaming in DM is not forbidden! (teaming with opponents is only forbidden in team modes). I know this probably goes against 'every man for himself' principle of DM mode, but since it's not forbidden it's up on everybody's decision how will he use this option in DM.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Flexoo

[Truthteller 4,204]

Lol when a shaft sees you with shaft it just wants him want to kill you more, it's true if the opponent has any other turret too.. everyone wants to kill the shaft :P

[lukey0 27,543]

 

" This unwritten law that players with same turret do not attack each other exists for some time now and you should use it in your favor. "

 

It's unwritten because it's a fantasy. I;ve never heard anyone say this and I've never seen a tank with the smae turret pass me by in DM. Hilarious.

 

Just because you didn't encounter it, does not mean it does not exist. I am not saying it's common (used to be much in the past).

 

BTW I stopped reading your article once you recommended teaming up in DM. That is not a strategy. That is an exploit. There's a difference. Why not just recommend players use hacks? It's easier to win with them too.

 

Shame since it was up to then a better Tanki article than most.

 

You are mixing two different things. Hacks are explicitly forbidden by the rules. In this case, if someone uses them he is exploiting this unfair advantage. Teaming in DM is not forbidden! (teaming with opponents is only forbidden in team modes). I know this probably goes against 'every man for himself' principle of DM mode, but since it's not forbidden it's up on everybody's decision how will he use this option in DM.

 

Agreed, back in 2014 and earlier DM teaming was very common among high ranks. They only teamed with others with the same turret as their own. Why? Because it always came down to either; 1. Who had the most protection from it, 2. Who had the least HP or 3. Who was willing to use the most drugs. 

 

As you can tell it was time consuming and pointless, considering it was quicker going after a different enemy with a different turret. You do have to remember this was during Tanki's time period when 'balance' wasn't the most common thing, resulting in only a few different turrets in each battle. Now this teaming isn't so common. 

[Viking4s 10,791]

Huh? I hate when someone teams up in DM mode. You only need team if you are noob and can't face all opponents alone. 

If your tank's modification is equal to other's, then by teaming you are just decreasing the number of opponents and and the chances of winning or getting higher position. And also your teammate can steal your kills easily....

Is it about wining or showing you're a big guy?

I trust you don't use supplies because that's noob too? or you do because that's nothing to do with facing an opponent alone.

"And also your teammate can steal your kills easily...." that's what you're afraid of. If you were smart enought one cover on eside and the other  the other side (or your back). Like this there is no "stealing".

[maryam98 1,171]

I remember, when I was a noob, in a TDM game, I was shaft and I had another teammate shaft. It was before the laser I think, and I told him to cover the ramp that came to where we were camping, while i sniped randomly at guys around the map. We both got huge amounts of kills and our D/Ls (which I didnt really know about) were probably really high as we rarely died. The same thing would apply in a DM I think?

[M-axis 589]

Nice article! Pretty basic stuff really, but it was a nice review :) Thanks for taking the time to write it!

 

Plus i didn't know about that 'same-turret-no-kill' thingy. Never seen it before :ph34r: