Advanced Strategy Guide - Polygon CP (custom, no-supply)

[austen_pierce 1,948]

Below, I am creating a strategy guide to playing Polygon CP. it's obviously a great way to grind for crystals and XP. Battle funds often exceed 10k and the pace is some of the most intense and exciting you'll find in the game. Of course if you are on the losing team, play can be as frustrating as it is thrilling.

 

I cover basic CP topics, however, what I really want to dig into with this thread are more subtle methods to ensure victory for your team and thus a nice fat slice of that battle fund for you.

 

EDIT- the topic has stalled so I'm done for now. I do have thoughts on the below but those will have to wait for another venue, perhaps amateur writing...

 

What role does freeze play?

 

Collaborative team tactics - variety of hulls and turrets vs an onslaught of a single type.

 

Camper spots and defensive formations.

 

Capture and gold va capture and flee.

 

Exploiting human nature to lure enemies away from the point.

 

What role does a spoiler play? This is the team mate who does not cap the point, rather circles the edges in order to weaken (not necessarily kill) enemies as they spawn.

 

Tactics resulting from the fact that supplies are off. No repair kits.

 

I'd like to talk about all of this and more, take your feedback and create a solid guide on how to best play this popular map and mode.

 

Starting to build out the guide below:

 

BASIC CP TIPS

 

1. Light the 'Base' It's not enough to drain the enemy's circle. You must remain close enough to the point (indicated by both the line connecting your rank to the point and the positive fill sound) to fill the circle with your team color and cause the base at the bottom of the point to glow your team color. Only a control point base which glows your team color will add score to your team and subtract score from the enemy team. Driving away from the point or being destroyed before the base lights up gets you nothing. [credit: @Viking4s]

 

2. Stay Healthy My Friend Remember that controlling a point takes twice as long when the point has already been set to the enemy color, since you must first 'unwind' their control. For this reason, be sure to have plenty of health saved up to keep you alive long enough to both remove enemy control and place your teams control in place. Avoid getting into fights with other tanks on the way to a point, as this will leave you too weak to complete the control acquisition.

 

3. Splish-Splash or Take a Bath - When selecting or changing weapons in any CP game, but especially Polygon CP, give preference to turrets with splash damage. You'll need that ability to do significant damage to multiple tanks at the center point in order to prevent or weaken an enemy foothold. Thunder, Striker, and Magnum are the most potent. Twins and Ricochet can now be configured with splash damage. Beware of self damage with these choices though. Fire and Freeze deserve mention due to their ability to damage multiple tanks simultaneously. [credit: @LittleWillie]

 

4. Minimize Your Exposure - As with any battle, you'll want to take less damage than you deal. Use the houses and ramps on this map to 'shoot and hide', reducing or eliminating an enemy's opportunity to fire at you. Be aware of your location, since an attacking position results in a higher share of the fund. [credit: @tere8]

 

5. Useful Aterations - If alterations are enabled, these are the alts you will want to have:

 

For thunder, the standard version is the best for this turret in this case.

For fire, compact tanks might help, but the standard version will perform just as good here.

For twins, it's a must at all times to have the stable plasma equipped, the four meter splash radius is not worth the self damage.

For Vulcan, the standard version will work, but the modified firing rate will also do.

For Rico, I would go for the unstable plasma alt, the 7 meter splash radius is well worth it here.

For hammer, it's up to what you like here.

For isida, if you are using dictator, grab that broadband emitters alt for easier aim. Other than that leave it's range alone and grab that support nanobots to heal your teammates longer.

For freeze, grab that corrosive mix alt if you have it.

For smoky, the standard is fine, but that assault ammunition alt is great for flipping enemy isidas trying to hop into the tunnel.

For railgun, high caliber is your best bet here.

For shaft, assault emitters will help you out. [credit: @DieselPlatinum]

 

6. Protection Modules - Twins and/or Thunder should be the rocks on which you base your Protection module choice prior to entering a Poly CP custom battle. There's usually at least one or two of each - Twins rushing the point and Thunder hanging back and splashing. Fire, Freeze, and Ricochet are also very common turrets there. Can't find a 5-way protection module? Of course you can't. But if you pick from the above (I personally favor Rico Twins Fire yet often yearn for Thunder protection), you'll generally do well upon entering a new Poly CP battle.

 

List of basic useful modules: Note the prevalence of short range turrets, useful for surviving close encounters in the pit.

Badger T-A (Fire, Freeze, Hammer)

Badger T-D (Fire, Freeze, Thunder)

Badger T-F (Fire, Freeze, Twins)

Lion T-B (Fire, Twins, Rico)

Lion T-C (Freeze, Rico, Hammer)

Shark T-D (Thunder, Twins, Vulcan)

Shark T-G (Thunder, Rico, Striker)

Ursa T-J (Twins, Magnum, Striker) - a must have - sooner or later teams inevitably switch to these high yield turrets in an attempt to flood the pit with splash damage

 

More advanced: mixing in medium turrets while protecting against those rogue Viking-freezers and taking on those Isida pit tunnel healers

Badger T-B (Rico, Freeze, Isida)

Badger T-C (Thunder, Freeze, Isida)

Badger T-J (Fire, Isida, Striker)

Lion T-A (Fire, Hammer, Twins)

Lion T-D (Hammer, Twins, Rico)

Lion T-F (Striker, Twins, Rico)

Grizzly T-L (Striker, Freeze, Hammer)

Ursa T-H (Magnum, Rico, Isida)

 

Note: this is not a complete list of the modules that can be useful in Polygon CP

[credit: @TheBlackChick]

 

But remember - battles evolve, and I'll talk about swapping out modules in the advanced section.

 

7. Don't Chase Gold Boxes - When you are chasing gold, your enemy is controlling the point! Remember that 12,368 crystal battle fund? Yeah, you would have taken 1,200-2,500 of that for yourself.... but... instead you got 300 crystals because your team lost... because you weren't doing your job. And don't count of that comfortable lead to cushion you. Most gold box dashes irrevocably scramble a team and make regaining point control all but impossible.

 

ADVANCED POLYGON CP STRATEGY

1. Heavy, Medium, or Light Hull? - The answer is both Heavy AND Medium. If you enter a Poly CP battle and your team is all heavy or all medium hulls, you're team is either going to be too slow to get to the point or too brittle to hold control of it. The right mix involves having a few medium hulls rush the point, deal damage to any enemies there, and hopefully begin the acquisition of control. While all this is happening, your heavier tanks are making their way to the point with full health in order to finish the acquisition of control and to maintain that control longer using their higher hit points. Do not make the mistake of thinking heavy hulls will guarantee victory - under the kind of punishment taken at the point, heavy hulls don't last that much longer than medium hulls. The good news is that your medium hulls have respawned and are racing back to the point by the time the heavies die. Said a simpler way, the speed advantage of medium hulls is greater than the hit point advantage of heavy hulls, but you need both on a successful team.

 

For the greedy, I believe medium hulls to actually be superior scorers, since they spend less time traveling from their spawn point to the pit. Thus medium hulls generally result in higher crystal yields, because they spend more time in battle vs travel. But don't be greedy. Be sure you have the right mix of hulls on your team. Remember - the best way to be greedy is to ensure your team wins.

 

Footnote on light hulls. Some success can be realized using light hulls and peek-a-boo tactics to do damage with high yield / single burst weapons like Railgun, Thunder, and even Magnum. I don't recommend it though. With light hulls, the trade off for speed at the expense of hit points is just not worth it. Besides the fact that you'll never acquire point control with a light hull, you generally won't need the speed advantage. Polygon is a small map, with the point in the center, so it's not like you need to race across a large map or even all the way across this small one. Also, most enemy fire is focused on the point, so if you want to play peek-a-boo, you'll usually only be engaged by one or two enemies at a time. Speed just isn't that important. Stick to a medium hull.

 

2. Equipment Changes - Usually when 3-4 enemies have protection (35%+) against your turret it's time to change equipment. Thunder may be an exception due to the high value of splash damage and quick reload compared with Striker and Magnum, but definitely change if you can't use it to clear the point. When changing always keep in mind what modules your enemies have at that time. You can make this easier by asking your teammates how many modules are against a certain turret (provided that at least 1 of your mates has the turret you want to change to). Try changing the protection module whenever you have a better option in the garage for the situation you are in.

A critical point to remember when changing modules and turrets is to change as soon as possible AFTER the mix of enemy turrets and modules settles. Said another way, do not change in the first few minutes of a battle - your enemy will simply change to something you don't have countered and leave you stuck with ineffective gear. No, watch the upper left messages for notices that your enemy has changed equipment. Once you see a few of those, choose a new turret or module based on the enemy configuration. Then the enemy will be the one stuck with ineffective gear for up to the next five minutes of battle.

 

Advanced consideration for modules - also check what your team is protecting against and maybe look out for spoilers among the enemy. Maybe go against what your team mates have chosen, say protection from Twins, Thunder, and Firebird, and go with protection from Isida, Freeze, or Vulcan in order to tackle those nuisance tanks prowling the field trying to disrupt your team.

[credit @TheBlackChick and @austen_pierce]

 

 

3. Equip to Begin a Battle - My go-to is Twins Titan and Rico-Twins-Fire protection. Anyone see the problem here? Yeah, if I'm protecting from my own turret, chances are everyone else will too. Regardless, these are common turrets and odds are you'll see a bunch at the beginning of any Poly CP battle. Thunder and Hammer are also very common turrets, so a module replacing those for any of the aforementioned, you should be good.

 

4. Re-Equip During Battle -

Titan is solid but you are always subject to rogue Viking Freeze spoilers. Trust me, they are out there and they lick their chops when they see a slow tank lumbering toward the point. If you find this the case, consider changing to Viking in order to keep those Freezes off your back. Viking can also help when battles turn into races for the point rather than endurance contests.

 

Thunder and Twins should always be on your team because they aren't thwarted by protection modules the way other turrets are. Don't pull out Striker or Magnum just yet - save those for later. Instead have a couple of players switch out to some exotic / nuisance turrets like Railgun, Freeze, Vulcan, Isida, and even Shaft. Avoid Smoky - it just won't get you the damage you need to be dealing.

 

Changing equipment also keeps the enemy team off balance. This is especially important because when a team notices a new turret on the battlefield most will take a moment to evaluate their module choices. That's a distraction your team can use to take the point. Then when you see a couple of enemies have changed their protection modules, signal to a team mate via team chat to change their turret. Again, give preference to splash or 'spray' style weapons for maximum yield. Rinse and repeat.

 

5. Equip to End or Turn Around a Battle - The point here is to lull the enemy team into a sense of complacency, whether your team is already winning or losing by a modest margin. If your team is using constant equipment changes during battle to unnerve the enemy, stop about 60-70% of the way through a battle and stick with what is working or at least keeping you competitive. Said another way, when the game is within about 50CP or 10-15 minutes of ending, swap out for what I call closer configurations. You'll need one or two of each:

-Viking-Freeze to foil the enemy plans to reach the point and engage your teammates. Viking-Hammet can also be used, but due to limited yield in NS battles probably don't want more than one of these at the endgame, when damage yield is everything.

-Thunder-Titan to inflict as much splash damage as possible on enemies as the point or approaching (both are equally important)

-Magnum-Viking to deal high rates of damage and foil enemies with Thunder protection while maintaining mobility to retreat after firing to reload. PRO TIP: There **aren't** modules with both Thunder and Magnum protection!

-Twins-Titan to pummell enemies without worrying about reload. This combo is still important at the endgame because it deters enemies from changing out their modules.

-Striker-Viking or Titan to deal more and more splash damage. But watch out for the emergence of Striker and Magnum protection and make sure your Thunder-wielding teammates target those tanks.

 

Modules at the endgame are tricky. Any change you make can be countered by an enemy turret change and you are stuck. Generally I do not recommend a module change late in the game. But if the enemy tries a massive turret change to lock down their win, as I describe above, *then* change your protection and let the enemy be the team losing precious final minutes of battle with a bad configuration.

 

.

Edited September 19, 2017 by austen_pierce

[tere8 132]

I think the obvious thing with Polygon CP is to go for point the point and try to capture it. Just keep doing that and focus on capturing the point rather than your KD. Choose a short ranged turret because most of the action happens in a small clustered space so long range is a no go here. Medium does work as well but only if you use it right.

I might give more detail if this topic becomes popular. See you on the battlefield!

[Artificial-Intel 73]

You could almost do two guides. One for the winning team on how to keep the other team from dominating the pit and the other for the losing team on how to dominate the pit. Because pit domination is what that map mode is all about. I've been on the losing team and once we dominated the pit, the game changed dramatically. Players on the winning team started leaving, even though they were still in the lead. 

[austen_pierce 1,948]

Pit Domination - yes - I like that. More to that than simply turning the point to your color.

 

Tere- thank you. Your points seem kinda basic, but I'm going to build out the guide with everything, so I appreciate your input

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

The best weapons would include: thunder, fire, twins, Vulcan, Rico, hammer, isida, freeze, and striker.

 

If alterations are enabled, these are the alts you will want to have:

 

For thunder, the standard version is the best for this turret in this case.

For fire, compact tanks might help, but the standard version will perform just as good here.

For twins, it's a must at all times to have the stable plasma equipped, the four meter splash radius is not worth the self damage.

For Vulcan, the standard version will work, but the modified firing rate will also do.

For Rico, I would go for the unstable plasma alt, the 7 meter splash radius is well worth it here.

For hammer, it's up to what you like here.

For isida, if you are using dictator, grab that broadband emitters alt for easier aim. Other than that leave it's range alone and grab that support nanobots to heal your teammates longer.

For freeze, grab that corrosive mix alt if you have it.

For smoky, the standard is fine, but that assault ammunition alt is great for flipping enemy isidas trying to hop into the tunnel. :lol:

For railgun, high caliber is your best bet here.

For shaft, assault emitters will help you out.

[austen_pierce 1,948]

Thank you Diesel

 

I hadn't considered alterations in my mix, but this is excellent guidance.

 

In case anyone was wondering, I'll be editing the original post into the guide as this thread develops. Diesel, I'll definitely include your alt guidance with credit.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

For here are the best turrets that can go well for each hull, that I thought of.

 

Wasp - fire, freeze, isida.

 

Hornet - fire, freeze, isida, hammer, twins, Rico.

 

Hunter - fire, freeze, isida, hammer, twins, Rico, smoky, striker, thunder, railgun, magnum, shaft.

 

Viking - fire, freeze, hammer, twins, Rico, smoky, striker, thunder, railgun, magnum, shaft.

 

Dictator - isida(BBE alt), hammer, Rico, thunder, magnum.

 

Titan - isida, hammer, twins, Rico, smoky, Vulcan, striker, thunder, magnum.

 

Mammoth - twins, Vulcan, striker, thunder, magnum, shaft.

[tere8 132]

Polygon CP XP/BP Mini Guide: 

Keep shooting at  tanks at the point. A little trick I try to do is to hit multiple tanks with one shot so more of my enemies are damaged. Use the houses and ramps to 'shoot and hide'. I would take an attacking position in this map because it normally results in a higher share of the fund. 

[Viking4s 10,791]

You should cover basics of CP strategy as people do not understand how it works. They cap and then leave, by the time opponent already went to the CP and disable the point counting, so we made all the trouble for nothing as we got no point at all. The CP need to be full (and stay full) to start scoring therefore your teammate need to stay by the point...

So strategy to convert the point and to keep it!

Also how to disable the point when owned by the opposite team.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Viking4s

[The-Jinx 32]

How many seconds per point? I seem to have forgotten.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

How many seconds per point? I seem to have forgotten.

I think it's 1-5 seconds. Don't know for sure, but it's a guess.

[austen_pierce 1,948]

I think it's 1-5 seconds. Don't know for sure, but it's a guess.

3-4 seconds of acquisition time for 1 point of score

[TheBlackChick 319]

 

Isida

 

Support nanobots is a rather bad alteration for Isida. The damage is extremely important. Attacking as an Isida is vital in some situations:

1. Low health and plenty of ammo

2. 2v1 and 2v2 when enemies have low or no protection at all: focusing on 1 enemy will transform a 2v2 in a 2v1 immediately which makes a significant difference

3. Near a turret with very high damage and long reload (ex: Magnum, Rail) => every shot matters so destroying them right before they can land it will help 

 

Additional tips:

Aiming with Isida is rather difficult => Try avoiding ramps as you may need a bit of time to get into the perfect position to be able to hit the enemy and turrets with high impact force may make this even more difficult  

Healing: Prioritising targets. When choosing which teammate to heal an Isida must be always aware of the amount of MUs and ammo his teammates have while at the same time having to consider what protection modules enemies are using. 

Common situation: standing near several teammates with low health. In this case it's best to heal 1 of them as much as possible instead of healing all of them but for a small amount mainly because of turrets that can damage multiple target which may be able to finish off all your teammates immediately.

 

 

 

Firebird

 

 

Compact tanks is rather a must have. In 1v1 a Fire with this alteration has lower damage output, but if used correctly this alteration can increase your performace. Cosnidering same MU levels, no protection and full health, you should use 50-75% of your ammo when hitting a medium hull and 80-100% when you are facing a heavy hull and then just run away. Try to find a new enemy to hit (prefferably while getting into cover to avoid being hit by the enemy you have just shoot). Don't waste ammo => always keep in mind how much health left the enemy may have. If your teammates can get the point fast without your help (no enemies at the point) try to drive around it searching for new targets to hit (because of the short range and fast reload you would just waste your time driving and sitting at the point).

 

 

Smoky, Shaft

 

 

Smoky is a rather poor choice for Poly CP. Even if there are no modules against them this doesn't make up for the lack of ability to hit multiple targets and low DPS. Shaft is the same but just worse.

 

 

 

Protection Modules

 

 

List of basic useful modules:

Badger T-A (Fire, Freeze, Hammer)

Badger T-D (Fire, Freeze, Thunder)

Badger T-F (Fire, Freeze, Twins)

Lion T-B (Fire, Twins, Rico)

Lion T-C (Freeze, Rico, Hammer)

Shark T-D (Thunder, Twins, Vulcan)

Shark T-G (Thunder, Rico, Striker)

Ursa T-J (Twins, Magnum, Striker)

 

More advanced:

Badger T-B (Rico, Freeze, Isida)

Badger T-C (Thunder, Freeze, Isida)

Badger T-J (Fire, Isida, Striker)

Lion T-A (Fire, Hammer, Twins)

Lion T-D (Hammer, Twins, Rico)

Lion T-F (Striker, Twins, Rico)

Grizzly T-L (Striker, Freeze, Hammer)

Ursa T-H (Magnum, Rico, Isida)

 

Note: this is not a complete list of the modules that can be useful in Polygon CP

 

 

 

Hull choice:

 

 

Isida, Freeze, Firebird - Medium hull (speed is needed to make up for the short range and if you have Compact Tanks equipped on your Fire more mobility is needed)

Twins, Vulcan - Titan (they have no reload whatsoever and they make great use of the extra health)

Rico, Thunder, Rail, Hammer - Titan or medium hull (depending on the gameplay you want and what your team needs most)

 

 

 

Additional tips:

 

 

When you find yourself in the pit and someone jumps in from the right side you can always flip him provided that you use a turret with high impact and rather slow reload (Hammer, Twins, Rico). The same goes for cases in which you are outside, quite close to the pit, whenever someone is trying to jump in the pit, but this time other turrets like Thunder and Rail can work just as well. Always priorities enemies that are at or near the point, enemies with fast or no reload (why kill a Rico without ammo instead of a Twins?), enemies without protection against your turret, enemies that one or more of your teammates hit at that moment, groups of enemies instead of 1 enemy (works for turrets that can hit multiple targets).After capturing the point try to get into a defensive position (preffrably having at least 1 teammate near you): the tunnel is excellent for a Titan and a Viking-Isida behind it. If you don't have time to get away from the pit you need to know where most of the enemies are coming from so that you can get near the appropriate wall to get some cover if you need to reload

 

 

 

Equipment changing 

 

 

Usually when 3-4 enemies have protection (35%+) against your turret it's time to change equipment. When changing always keep in mind what modules your enemies have at that time. You can make this easier by asking your teammates how many modules are against a certain turret (provided that at least 1 of your mates has the turret you want to change to). Try changing the protection module whenever you have a better option in the garage for the situation you are in (but also keep in mind that it's better to change after enemies change turrets and not before).

 

 

 

Communicating has become rather difficult if you don't know Russian. Here are the basic things you need to know:

1 very common word in Polygon is "яма" or "яму" which mean "pit. People usually use it to suggest going into the tunnel or clearing the tunnel if there are enemies in it.

"Сколко от <<turret name>>?" or "Skolko ot <<turret name>>?" means "How many modules are against <<turret name>>?"

This isn't 100% correct but at least people will understand what you mean.

To answer you can use numbers, but most of the Russians preffer to use letter when answering this question:

1 = Один = Odin 

2 = Два = Dva

3 = Три = Tri

4 = Четыре = Chetyre

5 = Пять = Pyat'

 

Turret names:

Firebird = Жига = Jiga

Freeze = Фриз = Friz

Isida =Изида = Izida (many use Изя = Izia)

Twins = Твинс

Smoky = Смоки

Thunder = Гром = Grom

Rail = Рельса = Relsa

Hammer = Молот = Molot

Rico = Рик = Rik

Vulcan = Вулкан

Striker = Страйкер

Magnum = Магнум

 

 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2017 by TheBlackChick

[austen_pierce 1,948]

Thank you TBC. Could I ask you a favor and add the protections of the modules you recommend to your post?

 

I promise everyone I'll be back to write more of the guide in the coming days. I've taken a quick break to follow the Moscow topic and grind away in the game itself. Plus it's a holiday in the US so I'm hanging with family. Back soon - lots more to write!

 

.

Edited September 3, 2017 by austen_pierce

[TheBlackChick 319]

Could I ask you a favor and add the protections of the modules you recommend to your post?

Done. I forgot that there are people who don't know what a certain module protects them from. It's should be ok now.

[austen_pierce 1,948]

I appreciate it!

 

Added section on equipment changes

 

Will probably make one more update then abandon this as it does not seem to be garnering much interest.

Edited September 18, 2017 by austen_pierce