[Special Review] Update: Patch #456

[Crip 4,735]

  

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Greetings Tankers! Yes, I know that you're probably extremely bored of seeing me. However, I have to get HOTM work hard to hold my position and because the only thing I'm capable of writing about is Patch Updates. However, I will not be reviewing alone. With me is fellow Reporter and long-time friend, . Today, we will be looking at the changes brought into the game in the recent Balance Update, Patch #456.

 

Let's begin!

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- Official N&A Post | Patch Update #456 -

 

 

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Introduction

 

Yes, you can believe your eyes. This is another patch update and I am completely real, not another one of your nightmares. We have had updates already this month, 2 to be exact. There were also the Cosmonautics Day celebrations. So yes, you could say that we have been well entertained this month already. Most of the changes have been positive and as a whole, the Tanki Community is happy.

 

But now, we have the most hated of update variants; Balance Changes. As they have explained in past Vlogs, the Tanki Development Team is always on the lookout for signs that a turret is becoming "overpowered" and overused. After a period of watching and waiting, the Developers strike hard and fast and hopefully fix the issues that they have seen from afar. In this update there are some slight alterations to several turrets; thankfully none of them are drastic.

 

As well as Balance Changes, there were also several more modifications to Daily Missions as well as some assorted fixes and tweaks. Let's look at them in more detail.

 

 

Balance Changes

 

The last balance changes were implement all the way back on 19th of October, 2016. Under the name 'Global Update', it included extensive balance changes to turrets, hulls and their respective micro-upgrades; changes to kits, alterations and the way supplies work; and lastly, some additional features, the likes of the DR format, damage indicators, etc.

 

But, on the 20th of April, 2017, the lead developer of Tanki Online, Semyon Strizhak posted a video, which included oral information about balance changes made to certain turrets. These were Firebird, Isida, Hammer, Smoky, Striker, Thunder and Magnum.

 

 

Firebird:

For Firebird, the rate at which it heats other tanks has been increased from 0.2% to 0.4%. This may neither sound nor look like a major change - due to our perspective of +0.2% being such a less value - but in fact, it is. Consider taking a Firebird and placing a tank in its optimal range. The Firebird starts heating that tank with an index of 0.2%, that is, for every second a Firebird is heating a tank, it is increasing its temperature by 0.2%. Every single modification of Firebird has 1000 joules of energy; and at the same time, the energy consumption per second for each modification is 200 joules per second, meaning that the energy gauge for any modification of Firebird lasts no more than five seconds.

 

These five seconds were simply too small for the 0.2% heating rate, as such a limited time would not allow a Firebird to heat a tank and strike its maximum temperature. The only conclusion was to increase the heating rate slightly; and hence, its is now 0.4% instead of the previous 0.2%. With this new value, Firebird's flames can now reach their maximum temperature safely before the energy runs out.

 

With its heating rate increased (0.2% → 0.4%), change to Firebird is positive.

 

 

Changes to 'Compact Tanks'

 

In light of the changes mentioned above, a change was made to Firebird's M2 alteration, Compact Tanks. Previously, Compact Tanks gave you a massive 300% increase in rate of heating, making the 0.2% heating rate to 0.8% (original value 0.2% + 300% increase = 0.8%). But, since the heating rate value was itself increased to 0.4%, only a 100% change (again, original value 0.4% + 100% increase = 0.8%) was required to make the heating rate increase to 0.8%.

 

This is a neutral change, as it has no effects at all.

 

 

Isida:

Two changes were made to Isida: its damage per second was increased by ~19% and its healing rate was increased by ~45-50%. These are major changes; and the logic behind these was simple -- Isida was too under-powered in battles after its self-healing was removed. Isida couldn't compete effectively, not to mention it was almost impossible getting kills with in a DM battle.

 

As for the self-healing itself, Semyon said that it wont be added back again, since with self-healing, Isida was too overpowered and it would be very difficult to kill it, especially if it had a Double Power equipped. If you were an Isida, you had an easy time killing everyone around you, but your opponents were the people who had a hard time killing you. In other words, it didn't really feel fair to play against an Isida.

 

Isida will now deal 1000 damage per second when fully upgraded, ranking it all the way top in 'Highest Damage per Second Dealt', even bigger than what Twins used to deal before. Now, it is very interesting to play with Isida, as it deals a heck of a' lotta damage and can repair teammates in considerably less time. Isidas will definitely start to pop out in DM battles now, owing much to this change. Even in the video, we saw the Isida making a five tank kill streak without dying. Now that's awesome. However, it is still important to note that even with this big of a change, Isida still bows down to other turrets; for instance Firebird and Freeze, as it can neither burn nor freeze enemy tanks.

 

Isida had its damage and healing increased by ~19% and ~45-50%, making this a positive change.

 

 

Hammer:

Next up: Hammer. As you all know, Hammer fires some pellets, which you can count nine of them. These pellets spread out as they reach their maximum range. Semyon explains that Hammer was a bit too much overpowered, as it could dominate DM battles easily, owing to the fact that it didn't have to get too close to a tank to deal fair damage and also that it has a massive value for damage and impact force. This drove Ricochets and Twins out of DM battles, as they simply couldn't compete with the present Hammers.

 

Thus, Hammer had to be weakened in some way, but weakening this turret's damage and firing rate would make it too weak. Something new had to be given to Hammer. This "new something" were the changes in its pellet's horizontal spread limit. It was changed to 10 degrees from the previous value of 7 degrees. This means that it is harder to get all the pellets onto a tank without getting close to it, making Hammer a bit more balanced. To counter this change, Hammer's range was increased by 10 meters, or the length of two Vikings standing straight in a line. This definitely had big changes on Hammer. Previously, people could shoot each other from so far away, you barely knew which direction the shot actually came from. But now, doing that is certainly impossible.

 

An increase of 3 degrees in horizontal pellet spread limit and a 10m increase in range of maximum damage, the changes to Hammer are both positive and neutral.

 

 

Changes to 'Slugger'

 

 

In order to balance the changes made to Hammer itself, a change was made to its alteration, Slugger. Slugger gave users a very tight pellet range, but they had to pay the price in reduced turret rotation speed. Previously, its value was -65%, meaning that Hammer's rotation speed was decreased by 65% if you equipped Slugger. But now, it decreases by 70%. This 5% change was necessary in order to counter its maximum range increase.

 

With its rotation speed decreased further by 5%, Slugger made Hammer get a negative change.

 

 

Smoky:

The changes made to Smoky are quite interesting. As you know, Smoky fires a critical shot which deals a considerable amount of damage to its opponent. Previously, the chance for firing a critical shot was 20% for all modification levels. This has now been increased with the increase in modification. However, the maximum chance is still 20%. For example, a Smoky M2 will have a bigger chance of making a critical shot than a Smoky M0 or M1, but will have a lesser chance than a Smoky M3. Once a Smoky is upgraded to M3, its critical shot chance becomes 20% and can't be upgraded further on MU'ing. The reasoning behind this change was that two to three years ago, Smoky had a very strong critical hit chance and damage. Whenever it happened, a Smoky could one-shot almost any tank. But when the critical chance gauge didn't fill, Smoky would be useless. For example, when attacking a base, you could either take out all of the defenders or simply die without even scathing them. This type of Smoky wasn't balanced.

 

The other change was regarding its critical damage, which has been slightly decreased for all levels. However, the developers counter this change with the "you get two Smokies in one" phrase. What does this mean? For example, if you have Smoky M0, a critical shot will not be that frequent, however you will be making double the damage output, maybe even more. When upgrading a Smoky, the critical damage will only be increased by 100 or 110 hit-points maximum. This means that you cant get a lot of damage in the early stages, but a more stable damage output at higher levels.

 

A trend of increasing stability in critical chance and damage? Definitely a positive change for Smoky.

 

 

Striker:

Following the other turrets is Striker, which also has undergone two changes. These changes, though look minimal, had a major change on the turret. The starting velocity of its projectiles or rockets has been increased. It was previously 10 m/sec, changed to 20 m/sec. Although this is a small change, it makes it easier to shoot moving tanks. For example, it was very easy for Hornets and Wasps to dodge Striker's rockets. But now, it will be much harder, simply because of the fact that the rockets now start flying with a velocity of 20 m/sec, get faster, and faster, and faster until they reach their maximum speed limit.

 

The second change makes the Striker user at a danger of self-destructing even earlier than what is was before. This is because its splash damage radius has been increased from 0m to 1m. 0m means that a rocket only caused splash damage right on the location it struck first. But now, this radius has been increased by 1m. With this increase in efficiency, the chance for self damage also increased, so you'll have to keep a bit away from where you plan on targeting your rockets. With these changes, it will be much easier to kill most of the tanks piling under a dropping Gold Box.

 

Striker had a very positive change due to the increase in splash damage radius and starting velocity of its rockets.

 

 

Thunder:

As for Thunder, there were two main changes. The developers found that the damage reduction over distance variable for Thunder was not balanced and working as it should, so they simply fixed it. Thunder is now more efficient at medium-longer ranges.

 

At the same time, Thunder's splash damage radius has now been increased from 0m to 1m. Owing to this 1m increase, the self-damage for Thunder also increases the more closer you get to where you intend to fire. Explanation for a splash damage increase has already been aforementioned.

 

Thunder had a kinda positive change, mainly due to the fact that its weak damage is now working properly.

 

 

Magnum:

Finally, the last turret to undergo changes was Magnum. The change Magnum got was ultimately necessary, and many people were asking for it to be done since its release. Charging time for power has now been increased from two seconds to three seconds. What does this mean? Previously, it took only two seconds for a Magnum to reach 100% power once the 'Spacebar' was pressed. Now, it has been delayed by a second and takes three seconds, therefore making it easier to select the power percentage you want. For example, if you knew what angle and power you had to shoot at to hit a certain point, it would be very hard to do that multiple times in a row, especially if the power was not at 100%. This was because the power gauge would reach 100% so quickly, you would've either let go of the 'Spacebar' too early or too late. This caused the developers to make this change, and now, the power gauge fills up more slowly, making it easier to hit at a certain percentage.

 

Definitely a much needed change for Magnum; and a positive one too!

 

 

Daily Mission Changes and Bonuses

 

• New Daily Mission Type

"How much more can Daily Missions change?" you might be wondering. Well, the answer is that Tanki believes that the breaking point for this feature has not been reached yet. We have already had two large updates this month which altered Daily Missions and the way in which they function, and they did not go down particularly well with the Tanki Community. In the first one, the ability to complete Daily Missions in PRO Battles was removed from the game, sparking considerable annoyance across Tanki. This is because many players simply used to get friends to help them with "Capture Flag(s)" and "Catch Supply Boxes" missions and one could get a large reward for doing relatively nothing. The second update attempted to compensate for this loss by increasing rewards. However, the Tanki Community is still unsatisfied by the mission changes. Anyway, I digress.

 

In this update, the Developers introduced a new type of Daily Mission, one where you collected Crystals in battles to achieve rewards. According to the Vlog, they wished to vary the types of missions more and make them more interesting. These new missions are harder than the existing "Earn Experience" missions, since one has to complete the battle in order to earn the required crystals. As expected, Premium and Beginner's Pass crystal boosts count towards these missions. Here are a few of the new missions, showing the decent crystal rewards that one can acquire.

 

Left to Right: A 3rd Lieutenant (), Field Marshal () and General () missions.

 

• New Premium Bonuses

Now we move onto an interesting and highly unexpected update. Do you remember the old Daily Bonuses, which you simply had to log in to receive? This update brought them back, but with a twist. Only players with Premium will receive a Daily Gift, which can be obtained in exactly the same way as the old bonuses were (by simply logging in). Here are the new rewards. These rewards are not affected by rank, and remain constant regardless of the rank of the player who receives them.

• 2,500 Crystals
• 3 Repair Kits
• 10 Double Damage
• 10 Double Armor
• 10 Speed Boosts
• 10 Mines

So now, from Recruit () to Legend (), all Premium users will get this identical bonus every single day. As mentioned in the Vlog, it is now actually much more worthwhile to purchase Premium rather than crystals. If you are prepared to log-in daily, you can easily make as may crystals from the 2.5k per day as you would receive if you purchased a crystal pack for the same amount of money. Then add the fact that you are still getting the original benefits of a Premium account (2x crystal multiplier, 1.5x Experience multiplier, access to purchasing special XT equipment etc), buying Premium and earning slowly and playing consistently will repay your injection of cash with much more than a standard crystal pack will.

 

As you can see, it is now much more worthwhile to buy Premium over crystals if you can afford to play more.

 

But how will this update affect the game? Well, on the one side players (buyers) with Premium will be much more likely to play consistently in order to obtain these free Premium bonuses. However, one does get the feeling that this section of the update was veering sharply towards being "Pay2Win", and there will be many disgruntled tankers who will object to seeing this sort of update in the game.

 

 

"Communicator" Changes

 

There have been some teething troubles discovered after the introduction of the "Communicator" in the last update, and players had criticisms as well as praise for the new addition. The largest complaint was the fact that the "News" section would always appear first, whenever the player logged in or changed servers. This was irritating, as one would have preferred to see the server chat rather than being shown the same announcements as before.

 

Now however, this update has solved this problem. The game now "remembers" the tab that you last had open, and will automatically show that tab on startup. Though all the "News" items have to have been read to allow the above to occur, or else that tab will open automatically. To "read" the entire section you simply have to click each of the announcements, removing the green circle from around each one. A picture of this is show below.

 

The announcement on the left is "unread" whereas the one on the right has been "read". All thanks to .

 

As well as the main change described above, there were also several bug fixes and minor improvements to help a player get the most out of the Communicator.

 

 

Other Changes

 

There were a couple of other changes included in this Patch Update. They are as follows:

• New Flags for CTF Mode:

One of the other changes was the re-design of the CTF mode's flag. It was changed mainly due to the fact that it just did not agree with its futuristic base. The old flag was a mighty symbol of the game - a mere cloth hanging from a pole. After the change, the flag looks way more futuristic, and has a logical reason behind its glow.

 

   

 

• Power-up Sound of Magnum Extended:

Pretty much self-explanatory. The sound of Magnum powering up was extended. This was probably done to make Magnum more dramatic and realistic.

• Changes to the Siege Map:

Semyon explained that the Siege map was very unbalanced in terms of spawn locations. Both the bases were connected to each other separated by only a one-level ridge.Thus, it was possible for one team to entirely take over the base of the other, making the game-play boring and one-sided. Two changes were made to this map:

 

Addition of a Second Ridge:

Previously, the bases were separated by only a one-level ridge, which could be easily countered by Magnums. Now, the developers have added one more ridge on top of the previous one, making it difficult to hit each other while in your base. In other words, the hill in the centre of the map was made bigger by adding a second level on it.

 

 

Wider Spawn Locations:

The spawn locations were jumbled up, and it was hard to drive through tens of spawning tanks in your base. Now, the spawn points have been spaced out to the edges too.

 

The new spawn locations are shown in the spoiler below ~

 

 

Red team:

 

 

Blue team:

 

 

 

 

Bug Fixes

 

When you gotta fry a bug, you gotta fry it.

• Problem with Monte Carlo Summer | Problem with Valley «Space»:

Two maps were facing bug problems after the release of the «Space» mode. The first bug struck Monte Carlo, spawning an error whenever it was created. The second bug struck Valley, which made an error if it was set to «Space» mode. Both of these bugs have been fried.

• Problem with authorization via VKontakte:

VKontake (VK) is a popular European social network site, most popular with Russian users. While authorizing your account via VK, a bug would cause an undefined error. This bug has been eliminated.

 

 

Conclusion

 

And there you have it! Yet another Patch Update covered! Many thanks to my slave assistant , who (as always) worked very hard to write the required sections. Overall, #456 was a good update, as the balance changes were not drastic and decisive. We were also treated to some new missions, and some very special bonuses for Premium tankers. What will Tanki introduce next? We are indeed living in interesting times.

 

Thanks for reading!

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How did you find this update? Is the Premium bonus "Pay2Win"? Do you like the new missions?

We want to hear your opinions!

 

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                                        ✯ DestroyerPdox ✯

 

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2017 by Savage

[Crip 4,735]

Yet another Patch Update reviewed! Enjoy!

[rommel91644 5]

This must have made all the vampires Isidas happy It's now buffed back to the unbeatable annoyance of a few months ago. I spent all last weekend in battles that were completely dominated by those little twerps and it was NO FUN. A particular problem is when bunch of them band together and run around as a train. Then it might as well be an all-isida battle and everyone else should jus quit and go to another battle. Good luck finding one that isn't bloodsucker infested though.

[Crip 4,735]

This must have made all the vampires Isidas happy It's now buffed back to the unbeatable annoyance of a few months ago. I spent all last weekend in battles that were completely dominated by those little twerps and it was NO FUN. A particular problem is when bunch of them band together and run around as a train. Then it might as well be an all-isida battle and everyone else should jus quit and go to another battle. Good luck finding one that isn't bloodsucker infested though.

Personally, I thought Isida was good enough before this update. I was playing a Noise CTF last week (pre-update), and my M3 Hunter was being sapped of HP alarmingly fast by several M2 Isidas.

[arnav0506 2,777]

Thanks savvy and Pdox :)

Edited April 27, 2017 by arnav0506

[Hatty1994 819]

Just trim/remove isida update, all others nice B)

[RIDDLER_8 5,553]

Lost Temple - Map - Bug

 

There is an annoying bug on the "Lost Temple" map that kicks and error called "An error occurred" and players get kicked out of the map. This bug came along when Magnum was released. This bug on the Lost Temple map keeps persisting even if there are no Magnum player in the game.

 

I other posts, I have asked the developers to fix this bug but they did not do it. Please fix the Lost Temple map bug as soon as possible.

[Shaftermath 185]

Thank you for reviewing the patch, Savage.

 

I've posted elsewhere about the mission updates which reduce the available crystals. This is another in a long line of patches which do that - you have to complete a battle on the winning side to have any chance of achieving those crystal missions,  and for that, you generally win just a few supplies. It's really not worth the while.

 

To award daily crystals for premium buyers really unbalances the game, particularly at lower ranks. Beginners will be up against L1 tanks almost from the outset. It will be difficult for them to progress, and frustrating as they become cannon fodder for the rich kids. I wonder whether you'll lose new players as a result.

 

Now, I'm all for folks getting something for their money, but why unbalance the game to do it? Why not give them a double bonus for crystals instead? - make them play to earn those extra crystals, not just sit on their backsides.  Why not give them more exclusive equipment and discounted kits? Why not make new turrets like Striker and Magnum available to premium buyers for a month before anyone else?

 

And finally, now you've battered the honest, hard-playing non-buyer for the last few patches, why not give something back, to show you still love us?

[Hatty1994 819]

Lost Temple - Map - Bug

 

There is an annoying bug on the "Lost Temple" map that kicks and error called "An error occurred" and players get kicked out of the map. This bug came along when Magnum was released. This bug on the Lost Temple map keeps persisting even if there are no Magnum player in the game.

 

I other posts, I have asked the developers to fix this bug but they did not do it. Please fix the Lost Temple map bug as soon as possible.

Bug still exists in most of the maps, especially "Re-enter the game" error surfaces frequently in most of the large maps like LOST TEMPLE, RED ALERT etc. Instead of releasing lame update like last two patch updates, they need to fix the game :ph34r: :wacko:

[l3iG_GUY 12]

Oh wonderful this is really the perfect update now we the tankers who love tanki online can play the game ' enjoying!

[salamaobama 0]

:wub:

[cb_rider 17]

​YALL GOT DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE ISIAD UPDATE THEY TAKEING OVER BATTLES WITH THEM FEEDING EACH OTHER NOW ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET FLAG ARE RETURN FLAG IS NOT FAIR BALANCE

[rockstar3984 50]

First things first, SAVAGE and PDOX, Great article guys. Very well written. Thoroughly loved reading it. Everything is great except ONE thing according to me and that is the premium account benefits. WHY TANKI? WHY WHY WHY. If tanki is really trying to provide a fair play to everyone by balancing the turrets, hulls and etc etc, Then how come tanki did not think of this in a fair way?  Let me explain, Everyone clearly knows that buyers are/get obviously powerful in the game and hence the drugging happens followed by hundreds and thousands of frustrated players and Tanki itself are making them overpowered and providing a chance to unfair play by providing goodies and x2 benefits (stop it or give it to everyone. stop being money minded in such things). Secondly 225000 crystals in 3 months? JUST for Premium buyers? Really? So of-course all their tanks will be upgraded and maxed out which means FUN JUST FOR BUYERS where players who cannot afford will just get killed again and again even after year. This can be related to the proverb called "RICH GETS RICHER AND POOR GETS POORER (OR STAY POORER)". Please be fairer to every tanker. Stop linking everything with money please. I hope NOT to see tanki just for only buyers in coming future. :) PEACE  :)  ADIOS  :) 

[wolverine848 13,097]

I'm still not understanding how this is a positive change for my smoky.

 

My % chance of critical went down.

My critical damage went down.

 

Are these not negatives? Don't I want to do higher damage, more often?

 

So... where is the positive?

[rommel91644 5]

Bug still exists in most of the maps, especially "Re-enter the game" error surfaces frequently in most of the large maps like LOST TEMPLE, RED ALERT etc. Instead of releasing lame update like last two patch updates, they need to fix the game :ph34r: :wacko:

I'm experiencing the same problems but also a quirk. I play 2 accts. 1 generalissimo, 1 captain and I have this happen constantly with the captain acct. but fairly rarely on the generalissimo. Just finished a full CP battle on Lost Temple with no problem, but earlier today on the captain acct. I got "reenter the game error six or seven times in a 15 min. CTF on the same map. Does this make any sense?

[Crip 4,735]

I'm experiencing the same problems but also a quirk. I play 2 accts. 1 generalissimo, 1 captain and I have this happen constantly with the captain acct. but fairly rarely on the generalissimo. Just finished a full CP battle on Lost Temple with no problem, but earlier today on the captain acct. I got "reenter the game error six or seven times in a 15 min. CTF on the same map. Does this make any sense?

Maybe your Captain account is using different equipment which is triggering the Critical Error?

[GomerKyle1 0]

1. I agree with others: Isida is WAY too powerful now.  Please ratchet back down.

2. Change to my THUNDER is somewhat Positive ... but also Negative regarding Self-Damage.

• Extra splash damage is good.
• Additional self-damage is bad.
• In close battles/DM, self-damage is already a HUGE problem with Thunder.
• When I kill an attacking Firebird/Isida/etc., but I self-damage and kill myself, my game stats show I died, and I also lose (never see) the credit for my successful kill of the other tank.  Not fun!
• In old days, you could buy special paint (protection) with extra-high protection % from Thunder, and lower protection % against a couple other turrets.  You could invest in protecting yourself from self-damage, so you didn't kill yourself as often in close battles.
• Now, dual- and triple-protection Modules only allow Thunder to have the same protection % as other turrets listed in that module. That limit is excruciating with M0, M1, or even M2 protection for Thunder, due to frequent self-damage in close battles.
• Only other option is to just let the Firebird/Isida/etc. kill me without firing back.  Again, not fun!

3.  REQUEST:  Due to high self-damage with THUNDER (now made even more self-damaging from the recent patch), PLEASE PROVIDE A WAY TO INVEST IN EXTRA SELF-PROTECTION FOR THUNDER (and/or other turrets that can self-damage).  

4.  I agree with others:  error/glitch in Lost Temple is very annoying.  

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Top notch article. Also, have these balance changes gone active because I've felt that Isida and Thunder have been uncomfortably stronger recently.

[HAPPSHOT 2,029]

NERF THUNDER xD