[Special Review] Update: Patch #450

[Crip 4,735]

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Greetings Tankers! We have had an interesting month packed to the brim with experiments and updates. Some were greeted with great enthusiasm by players, while many were much less keen on others. But this update must be the most popular by a sizeable amount. The all-new turret Magnum was released in this patch along with more Modules, Product Kits, and the resolution of several issues.

 

Here we will break this update down and look at each section in detail. Read on!

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Introduction

 

As mentioned in the intro, this has been a March like no other. We have already had the second Supply Experiment, interesting changes to the Micro-upgrade system (#435 and #449), the introduction of Tanki to Steam, and of course, the smaller updates which included Alteration rental for crystals and discount removals. Plenty of fascinating modifications to the game, and seems to be doing everything in his power to keep the Reporter Team occupied.

 

And then of course, we had the Woman's Day Festivities which were filled with fun, sales and Gold Boxes. Crystals were spent liberally throughout the last few sales, though there is no doubt that players have not bee able to hold back the anticipation of the "Artillery" turret's arrival.

 

And here it is, the flagship of #450! This new patch includes the long-awaited Magnum turret and the rest of the update is largely centered around it. There are new Modules providing protection from Magnum and Product Kits containing the turret. However, we will begin with the new turret in this next section, and briefly look over the shiny all-new Magnum.

 

 

Magnum Released

 

 

It has finally arrived! The "Artillery" turret is in the game, and available to be purchased by anyone. There has been more hype and anticipation for this turret than Striker, which was released on the 23rd of December, 2016. After many rumours, both turrets were officially stated as "Under Development" in the Vlog #106, though Striker ended up being introduced much earlier. This was due (according to Friday's Vlog) to the many different sounds that Magnum required to be installed.

 

Here is a table showing the statistics for all modifications levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the damage Magnum is capable of dealing is huge. It can 1 shot any hull of the same modification level if it has a Double Damage equipped, joining Shaft, which also has this capability. The shot is similar to Thunder in the way that it deals a large amount of splash damage to enemies within a certain radius. However, unlike Thunder, the shot's damage is not affected by range. So you can effectively destroy tanks at all ranges, provided you have the skills required operate the turret effectively.

 

Magnum's impact force is worth mentioning as it is actually similar in power to Hammer's punch. The force with which it hits you is very surprising and can easily knock turrets such as Railgun or Smoky off aim. One can use this to his or her advantage.

 

Then we have Mangum's incredible range. A full-power shot can easily hit tanks on the other side of Highways, and the splash damage can usually make sure that every shot (within reason) counts.

 

Here is an image which shows the distance a Magnum round can travel for.

 

 

Taken by , this picture clearly shows the large distance that a Magnum shell can travel for.

 

How To Use

 

 

The firing angle for the Magnum. Use the Z and X keys to change it.

 

Magnum has its own unique method of firing a projectile. Here's how it works.

 

✯ Turret cannot rotate, and the "X" and "Z keys move the turret barrel up down with it.

✯ The "C" key moves the turret to a 10 degree angle.

✯ The spacebar delivers power to the shot. One can alter the power easily by holding the spacebar down for longer.

✯ One simply selects the firing angle, aims the turret, powers up, and lets fly.

 

Role(s)

 

Of course its main purpose and role in battle will be to camp (remain in one place and fire at enemies from a distance). It will perform the best (in my opinion) as an offensive midfielder, and play fairly near to its friendly flag. From this position, it can utilize its massive range and generous splash damage to target the enemy defenders.

 

A Medium/Large hull will suit it best because the lengthy reload time and the chance of a large amount of self-damage mean that plenty of HP is important. Also, the high recoil can knock light hulls off balance.

 

Opinion

 

It's an interesting new addition to Tanki, and it will definitely be effective on certain maps. The only issue I have with it is the playing style, because it can be twisted. If the user has plenty of supplies, why bother camping? They will just use it in a similar way to Thunder. I also do not like the fact that the turret doesn't rotate, as it leaves you blind to situations on both sides.

 

However, its mechanism is very nice (though it requires a lot of accuracy and no shortage of luck). I think with time players will become accustomed to its ins-and-outs and it might even become a game-changer.

 

 

New Modules

 

Three of the twelve new Protection Modules are shown above.

 

As with the Striker update in addition to the new turret we were also provided with a set of Protection Modules providing resistance against Magnum. The other protection slots in the new Modules are taken up by various other turrets, which I originally thought would be very similar to the ones included in the "Striker" Modules. However, they are much different, and largely close-medium range Modules. This is slightly peculiar, since Magnum operates best on large maps. Players would require a protection module that has protection from Magnum and other turrets of similar range.

 

Here is a table showing all of the new Modules released in this update.

 

 

 

 

 

An interesting module selection to say the least, though I doubt whether the majority will serve effectively in regular battles. The protection ranges covered are just too diverse in my opinion. The Griffon T-F might serve you well in larger maps, but with the others you would probably have a redundant protection.

 

 

New Product Kits

 

All the brand-new Product Kits which contain the new turret, Magnum.

 

The release of Magnum was very similar to Striker's update patch, and for both updates, Product Kits containing the new weapon were added. Three kits were added from each Modification Level, excluding M0. Like the Striker kits, they are not available to be purchased in the garage and will not show up in the Product Kit rotation.

 

The nine Magnum kits can only be bought (for real money) via the Shop.

 

"Gustav" Kit = Magnum M3, Titan M3, Griffon T-H M3 and Jeans ($77.19)

  +    +    + 

"Siegfried" Kit = Magnum M3, Hunter M3, Kodiak T-L M3 and Inferno ($80.99)

  +  + + 

"Bertha" Kit = Magnum M3, Mammoth M3 , Ursa T-J M3 and Sweater ($81.99)

  +  + +

 

"Hyacinth" Kit = Magnum M2, Mammoth M2, Ursa T-H M2 and Soft Flowers ($39.99)

  +  + +

"Excalibur" Kit = Magnum M2, Viking M2, Kodiak T-K M2 and Disco ($38.99)

  +  + +

"Ballista" Kit = Magnum M2, Hunter M2, Griffon T-G M2 and Lead ($37.99)

  +  + +

 

"Unicorn" Kit = Magnum M1, Hornet M1, Panda D-D M1 and Pixel Heart ($9.99)

  +  + +

"Archer" Kit = Magnum M1, Hunter M1, Panda D-E M1 and Harlequin ($9.99)

  +  + +

"Panther" Kit = Magnum M1, Dictator M1, Panda D-F M1 and  Night ($9.99)

  +  + +

 

The paints included in these kits aren't particularly special in most cases, unlike normal Product Kits where the paint included is available several ranks before it can actually be bought separately. For example, "Ballista" kit includes the paint "Lead", even though this paint is unlocked at the rank of . And then you have paints such as "Sweater" or "Jeans", which are available to buy in everyone's garage from the ranks of and respectively. However, these paints are being added into kits unlocked at . If you're searching for an expensive-looking paint, then the majority of these new kits won't satisfy you.

 

As with the Striker Shop Kits, I cannot see these being a great success, especially as Magnum isn't a tried-and-tested turret yet. It still is essentially fresh out of the fitters, and its parameters will probably be altered in the upcoming weeks and months (as being down with the upcoming Patch #451)

 

When the Striker kits were originally released into the Shop, I assumed that it was only a matter of time before they would be added to the garage. However, since that hasn't been the case, I think we can safely assume that these items will remain purchasable only via real money, and not in-game currency. You can count this as a positive or a negative, depending on your view of the new turret. It's positive since the kit rotation won't be "cluttered" by new kit additions (meaning you'd have to wait years for your desired kit to come round). At the same time it means one cannot own Magnum before its modification unlock rank without paying real money.

 

 

Changes to Map Pool for Non-Pro Battles

 

Along with the main implementations of this patch (the inclusion of Magnum), there were some other smaller changes. This one appears insignificant, but is actually fairly important.

 

The Map Pool is a group of maps from which one is selected and created at random when the "Battle!" button is pressed. Obviously, maps like Island and Arena aren't included. Tanki wants to encourage more users to play in the lesser-known maps, rather than just Noise or Polygon.

 

Several maps were introduced into the pool in #450, and one solitary map was removed. The new regular maps are shown below, with a small image for each one. They are Novel, Lost Temple and Esplanade, from left to right.

 

 

You can now play in these three maps without using a Pro Pass.

 

And then we come to the removed map. Sadly for all those Noise-lovers, this map was removed from the pool. I believe this mostly was due to its unbalanced gameplay, since the Red Team can simply camp the enemy into submission. Also, with the new Magnum contest, Noise would have made the challenge much easier.

 

 

Say goodbye to this, non-Pro Pass users...

 

 

Other Changes and Fixes

 

And of course, there are always those very small alterations which nearly everyone misses. These weren't actually that worthy of a detailed mention, though they will be most likely very important to some. Here they are.

• Firefox users were having trouble with the game loading then erroring out. This update is supposed to have fixed this.
• Many complaints were coming through about the payment error system. #450 has improved the way in which these forms are reviewed.
• The Tanki Critical Error Team have been busy fixing and optimizing.

And then of course the long-awaited achievements for Striker are now also in the game, with the 10 000, 100 000 and 500 000 experience milestones implemented, as well as the "M3 Unlock" achievement. Identical achievements for Magnum were also released at the same time.

 

 

One of the new achievements added into the game during #450.

 

 

Conclusion

 

And with that, we have come to the end of this article on #450! I hope you have enjoyed reading this, but thank you for actually reaching this far (unless you skim-read, in which case shame on you).

 

This was an interesting update full of character, the update that brought us the long-awaited Artillery turret, "Magnum." For once, there wasn't actually much in this update for players to pick holes in, compared to many of the previous updates. Magnum's release looks like it has been a great success among players and we will continue to keep you informed on any changes made to the turret in the coming weeks.

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Do you like Magnum and its mechanics? What do you think Tanki should focus on next?

We want to hear your opinions!

 

Till next time!

 

 

Edited March 31, 2017 by Savage

[Crip 4,735]

Another article for you to read! Trying to keep up with all the new updates is harder than it looks.

 

Enjoy!

Edited March 28, 2017 by Savage

[arnav0506 2,777]

You work hard for us Savage :3

Thanks :D

Edited March 29, 2017 by arnav0506

[Tofu 6,773]

Noice

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

Nice one nug

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Great Article! Mini things:

You misspelt "with" under "How to Use" and you might wanna update the picture of the MU table because there were a few typos that recently got fixed up. Thanks!

[killer_on_fire12 0]

Its so good to hear they removed Noise from the map pool. Magnum with double damage can be op on the blue team sitting ducks down below, the guy can simply keep on camping on the ramp. I hope they do some changes to magnum soon because blue team in Noise always is sitting ducks with Magnum on red team. I've been on both sides and felt the need to do something about it

[bc200214_777 582]

Child amazed by amazing article.

 

Child is speechless.

 

However, child still annoyed and furious about new non-pro pass missions update.

[Tank_Bastion 57]

Finally!!! A real module for snipers!!!!

     Griffon T-F

[Tank_Bastion 57]

Its so good to hear they removed Noise from the map pool. Magnum with double damage can be op on the blue team sitting ducks down below, the guy can simply keep on camping on the ramp. I hope they do some changes to magnum soon because blue team in Noise always is sitting ducks with Magnum on red team. I've been on both sides and felt the need to do something about it

I think this is the biggest advantage and characteristic of Magnum, ignoring obstacles.  And Noise some how is the Magnum dominant map. Just like Highway. I don't think magnum needs any changes 

[duzagh 18]

work om not bringing worst updates like the missions one. and obly 30% slale tomorrow thats badd.

[Possibility 282]

Nice!