[Guide] Utilization of Shaft

[Truthteller 4,204]

.: How to Utilize Shaft :.

Hello fellow Tankers, in this Guide I will give my tips on how to Fully-Utilize Shaft.

Lets begin.

Choosing your hull

Wasp

Advantages: Speed, Maneuverability.

Disadvantages: Health, Stability.

Result: Wasp is good for changing positions quickly and being stealthy, may also be good if you are more aggressive and like to combine speed with arcade shots but that would not be the best way to use Shaft. I'd also like to point out that Wasp has a height advantage on some hulls which is better for scope mode, on the other hand Wasp is unstable and has low health which is a huge drawback so I would not recommend it.

Rating: 4.5/10

Hornet

Advantages: Speed, Maneuverability

Disadvantages: Health.

Result: Although Hornet is shorter than Wasp it has better acceleration, stability which is much more important.

Although the health is low it is a very versatile combination which can be used to play aggressively and casually.

Rating: 5.5/10

Viking

Advantages: Lightweight, Shape

Disadvantages: Power

Result: This is the combination I use with Shaft, I like that Viking is fast compared to other medium hulls, also due to its low-weight it is great for climbing on other tanks in a situation where you have to take a Goldbox. Not many people think that much about Goldbox but it is an added benefit. Every time I use shaft its with Viking and I have gotten great results with it, it's very versatile, the only complaint I would have with Viking is that it has low pushing power and weight for a medium hull which is bad in some situations.

Rating: 7.75/10

Hunter

Advantages: Shape

Disadvantages: -

Result: This is a good hull for Shaft it is a perfect balance of Health, Speed, Stability, Maneuverability. It is a

Jack of all Trades it is great paired with Shaft and is very Versatile, a recommended hull for shaft.

Rating: 8/10

Dictator

Advantage: Height, Power

Disadvantage: Size

Result: This is a usual combination, I myself have not used this much but I think Dictators height would be useful when shooting from a lower point, because of its height, Dictator is also a great hull in general having great Power and Weight paired up with decent speed, but a huge drawback when using this combo would be that due to Dictators size it is an easy target specially while in scope mode.

Rating: 5.5/10

Titan

Advantage: Health

Disadvantage: Speed

Result: This is a good combination for Shaft that fits in well with the camping/mid-field role, Titan is a versatile hull and the Health comes in very handy, you can survive Shaft, Magnum and Strikers shots with this which is a huge advantage even versus other Shafts. This is not the best for attacking, but its perfect for midfield or defending. You can rack up a lot of points with this Combo.

Rating: 7/10

Mammoth

Advantage: Health, Weight

Disadvantage: Speed

Result: This is an iconic combination of Shaft, this combination fits the camping role great. It's a very formidable opponent and in good hands can be very deadly. This is not recommended for anything other than defending because Mammoths slow speed is a huge hindrance. Another drawback is that it is very slow which limits your game-play to roles which need less movement.

Rating: 6.5/10

You decide.

Choosing Protections

Although Protections are not the most important aspects they are very useful in battles. Here are the Protection Modules that I recommend for Shaft players:

Griffon T-A or Griffon T-D

(Shaft - Railgun - Thunder) (Shaft - Railgun - Smoky)

Griffon T-A is one of the most popular modules in TO it is similar to the old LGC modules such as Picasso and Prodigi, also from many kits. This module gives great protection medium-long range and is almost a must have. This module will definitely make a difference not only with shaft but even any other turret.

Rating: 9/10

Griffon T-D is a slight variation in which Thunder protection is replaced with Smoky protection, unlike other turrets protection against Smoky severely hinders the turret almost making it obsolete, and is a good option if you find Smoky more annoying then Thunder.

Rating: 9/10

Lion T-B

(Twins - Ricochet - Firebird)

This module is very useful if mid range turrets annoy you. Twins protection does not make much of a difference compared to protections against other turrets, because of its high fire rate. Ricochet protection is useful and Firebird protection is definitely useful.

Rating: 8/10

Kodiak T-A

(Firebird - Railgun - Thunder)

This module provides you good protection in mid ranges, Railgun protection is very useful.

Rating: 7/10

Other notable modules include:

Grizzly T-A (Smoky Twins Freeze)

Ursa T-A (Smoky Twins Shaft)

Badger T-B (Isida Freeze Ricochet)

Ursa T-H (Isida Magnum Ricochet)

Griffon T-H (Shaft Magnum Ricochet)

Kodiak T-F (Railgun Thunder Ricochet)

Shaft Alterations

Assault Emitters

Reload time: +20% Minimum Damage: +25%

This alteration may be useful in certain situations but I think that the standard shaft is better.

Heavy Capacitors

Sniping Horizontal Aiming Speed: -30% Power up Time: +100% Max Sniping Damage: +30%

This Alteration is definitely not recommended for Shaft users that do not Camp every time, I find the Horizontal Aiming Speed Nerf unnecessary as the powerup time is already increased double, but it is useful for Campers, An M4 Shaft with this Alteration does 3900 damage and with double damage 7800 damage, impressive! An M4 Shaft with HC alteration can 1 shot kill a Heavy hull that is 15/20 without double damage, that is if the heavy hull does not have shaft protection, this is very impressive and useful. Medium and light hulls are easy kills with this alteration, it also means that if a Medium hull of same modification and MU and has 30% or below shaft protection you can still 1 shot it, what is also means is that if there is a 15/20 light hull with 50% protection against shaft! with a Shaft M4 with HC you can still 1 shot it. (By 1 shot I mean 1 shot one kill)

Conclusion: Great alteration for Campers.

Choosing the right battle

Choose the team which looks like it will win, Shaft is not a turret for takeovers.

Change your playing style according to what your team needs to win, if your team is losing in a CTF defend the base area and make sure to kill any flag carriers. If your team needs kills in a TDM find a suitable camping spot and make kills, the longer you stay in one camping spot the less useful it becomes so always change positions, etc.

Shaft can be used for anything attacking or defending, but is best suitable for midfield.

You can also obtain first position with Shaft if you use it right.

Try to join medium sized battles in which shaft has an advantage. Do not go to big maps such as Highways or Monte Carlo in which you will perform badly and will have to waste a lot of supplies for little reward, there will usually if not always be a better Sniper than you in large battles and its better to avoid them.

Use paints that camouflage(they do help!), and always find decent cover.

How to Utilize both modes of Shaft

As we already know Shafts has two modes of fire, Arcade and Sniping mode, to be a good Shaft user you must know when to use either.

Arcade shots should preferably be used in close-mid range situations, arcade shots are very useful and a perfect blend of arcade and sniper shots can make a Shaft very deadly.

Arcade on its own great like a Smoky, but with higher damage per shot and longer reload,
a fully upgraded M3 Shaft arcade shot does damage within the range of 660-750, this damage decreases further with range, Shaft's arcade shot is basically a hybrid of Smoky and Thunder and is very deadly in the right hands.

Scope should be used in situations in which you need to deal high damage very quickly, if you see a full drugged person not far away, Scope is a good option, or if you are a Sniper you should definitely used Scope.

Learning how to blend the two modes is something you will learn with experience but when used correctly shaft can be one of the deadliest and most versatile weapons in the game.

Counter to all Turrets

Firebird: You must keep your distance from this turret, you can easily kill it from far but if you make of letting it get too close there is little you can do, get as many arcade shots as you can on it keep distance from it and activate a repair if it is not damaging you (repair works if there is only after burn damage acting on you), use a mine, running and placing a mine also works if that is what you want.

Freeze: Again if you let this turret get close there is little you can do, but in this case there is even less that you can do to survive the encounter, the Freeze will probably have freeze effect on and if he is a good player he will know how to circle you until you inevitably die, you can use a mine if it has not reached you yet to slow it down or damage it significantly.

Isida: If you let this turret get close its high damage will kill you in a matter of few seconds unless you have got significant protection against it which will probably only give you a few seconds to live, BUT if you play it smart and place a mine in front of it which will buy you time or deal allot of damage to it, if it reaches you, you have to exploit its small cone angle and move around back and forth while shooting arcade at vulnerable angles of its hull to make it difficult for the Isida to aim at you, runing is also an option but the isida will most likely catch you and kill you. It is difficult but possible to survive an encounter with an Isida.

Twins: Run. (Unless it does not have an alteration in that case ram it)

Ricochet: 1. Mine and Run and shoot it from afar or let your teammates deal with it 2. try to fight it off and most likely die.

Hammer: keep your distance and use arcade combined with a mine if its close if its far its an easy counter.

Vulcan: Take cover, keep shooting it with arcade shoots using the peek-a-boo tactic, if there is no cover run towards or away from it, depending on their health and hull.

Thunder: Easy counter, take cover and use arcade shots with the peek-a-boo tactic if its far away its an even easier counter.

Striker: Take cover and do the same as you would do with Thunder, but if this case a striker could harm you even if its far.

Railgun: Easy to counter, many railgun players are professionals and know how to use their turret well but you can easily counter them with arcade or scope, try to knock their aim off and take cover.

Magnum: Easy to counter if its close, if its far try to shoot its barrel with usually extend above cover and be prepared to use a lot of supplies.

Shaft: This is tough, if the battle is close use a mixture of scope or arcade when needed, if far try to use your sniping skills if the opponent has a pet isida its better to take cover until they get bored and find another turret and then harm it or its isida.

Before I end this Guide I have a Q&A with two experienced Shaft Players:

@Truthteller: Why would you recommend Shaft?

@Stinger911: I recommend Shaft because it has huge instant damage (which is fully controllable depending on your target's hull). You also only really need double damage to dominate the battlefield.

@splitterpoint: Shaft is currently the weapon with the highest damage per shot. This makes it possible to kill even some fresh enemies who use medium hulls. Either way you'll do massive damage or severely cripple an enemy. there's also a choice which one to take down instead of spreading the damage across a group of enemies. I'm talking about the element of suprise. You can suprise enemies with that and make them waste an entire set of supplies or preventing them from using the medkit. I usually aim for the Isida's now.

The arcade mode of Shaft was quite weak in the past but has been slightly buffed in damage and reloading time. Nowadays you can do a nice amount of damage if you're being attacked by an enemy from up-close. My arcade shots deal around 710 damage. I think that's quite something if you consider that the reload time is less than thunder M3.

And now since mouse controls are a thing in Tanki Online you can use your Shaft like never before. The real benefits of mouse controls is that you can hold your right mouse button and that gives a lot of advantages over normal controls. You can expand your view by holding the laser and move around with your mouse. This also make it possible to hide your laser and view several paths that enemies use. The right mouse button can also be hold outside scope mode to look around you without moving the turret. I've planned to do some sort of guide for Shaft on mouse controls for a while but I don't have enough spare time on my hands currently.

@Truthteller: What are your tips for Shaft users?

@Stinger911: Only go into scope mode the moment you see your target, and make sure you will be able to land a shot! Do not stay in scope mode for more than a few seconds if nothing's on your sight, as you will only be wasting your time. Search for your targets instead, and use arcade shots if the situation demands it. You would be surprised how much DPs arcade shots do.

@splitterpoint: I'd say, try mouse controls for a while and get used to it. You'll notice that the laser follows the mouse and that it can't keep up with the speed of your hand. The laser has a fixed turning speed, your hand doesn't. And there's still some stuttering in the movement because that's the cause of Flash Player itself. If you get used to that though you will start to see the real benefits of mouse controls.

@Truthteller: Do you like the current Shaft or you feel that it needs further changes?

@Stinger911: Yes, out of all the iterations of Shaft in its 6-year lifespan, I think the current one is most ideal for my play style. In one hand, it does decent enough damage for arcade shots to eliminate minor threats and on the other, it has just enough damage to one-shot all medium hulls. The only major annoyance is the lack of vertical aiming angles.

@splitterpoint: I think Shaft's effectiveness has to do with how people use it because with that scope mode, it stands out against the rest of the turrets. There's a lot of power but you need to make it count aswell. I don't think Shaft needs further changes but in the hands of the skilled people it'll be somewhat overpowered.

________________________________________

And with that I will conclude this Guide, I hope you have learnt something you did not know, give this topic a like if you enjoyed it.

(Special Thanks to Stinger911 and splitterpoint for answering my Questions, Pictures taken from tankiwiki)

Edited September 13, 2017 by Truthteller

[tweezers 1,034]

Approved.

 

-Reformatted and corrected about three quarters of the article.

-Language and grammar corrections.

-Underlined titles. 

 

A few tips; always capitalize the first letter of turrets and hulls, as they are names. Also, I noticed a lot of needless repetition when you were giving your opinions and quite often you contradicted those opinions in the very next line. 

 

Also, stop using commas like you're Saltbae salting a steak, it makes it incredibly hard to read a paragraph and even more tedious to edit it. A fullstop usually does the job much better.

[GuidoFawkes 2,361]

Just 6/10 for mammoth while titan, hunter and viking got better ratings? why were you using shaft mammoth yesterday? :p

[GuidoFawkes 2,361]

I have heavy capacitors and i think it's only useful in high ranked battles when you're on a noob team. during these times you only have the chance to expose yourself to shoot maybe once in1-2 minutes. but for most members of a certain shaft clan elite snipers ahemm, they just leave everytime they realise they're not gonna get a lot of easy kills for that battle, they'll probably say it's useless because it is useless to them.

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

:ph34r: Pro article. As a Shaft user though, I think I'd bump VIking/Shaft to a 7.5. Hunter is better by a small margin, but Viking's low profile just makes it oh-so-good for being stealthy in grasses far away from the enemy. 

 

My personal module I went for is the Kodiak T-F, although I haven't had the chance to try it yet since I only just bought it. Anyways, nice job making sure you talked about all the combinations and aspects, and the interview was a nice touch as well.

[Stratosphere 2,234]

Nice article!

[Truthteller 4,204]

Just 6/10 for mammoth while titan, hunter and viking got better ratings? why were you using shaft mammoth yesterday? :P

I don't use mammoth, I used titan yesterday, shaft+mammoth is mainly used for camping and campers get good DL but their score progresses at a much slower pace than a shaft paired with a medium hull. Mammoths statistics are also worse than Titan. Mammoth would be better only in turret placement, But 6 might have been too low I will change it to 6.5. 

 

 

:ph34r: Pro article. As a Shaft user though, I think I'd bump VIking/Shaft to a 7.5. Hunter is better by a small margin, but Viking's low profile just makes it oh-so-good for being stealthy in grasses far away from the enemy. 

 

My personal module I went for is the Kodiak T-F, although I haven't had the chance to try it yet since I only just bought it. Anyways, nice job making sure you talked about all the combinations and aspects, and the interview was a nice touch as well.

You're right  I never factored in the stealth aspect of viking I think I might have rated viking too low, I'll change that.

 

 

 

 You're right the guide looks much better after you replaced the commas and the underline was a good touch I will take your advice for any further guides. 

Edited September 12, 2017 by Truthteller

[g-force 1,000]

Thumbs up!

[Tofu 6,773]

Well done truthy

[GuidoFawkes 2,361]

 

I don't use mammoth, I used titan yesterday, shaft+mammoth is mainly used for camping and campers get good DL but their score progresses at a much slower pace than a shaft paired with a medium hull. Mammoths statistics are also worse than Titan. Mammoth would be better only in turret placement, But 6 might have been too low I will change it to 6.5.

looks like i'll have to get my eyes checked lol. but actually i use mammoth to sit on the flag. it's heavier and bigger. yes, you don't get score for being a shield but in order to better serve my clan i chose mammoth over titan as my main hull.

[LIMITFULL 1,793]

Nice one Truthy!
Almost makes me want to try Shaft again, but it would look pretty funny using my M0..!  Gave up long ago after only 1 hour on it.

[arnav0506 2,777]

Splendid article!

[Coat 2,280]

Hahaha. Acha he

[TakeAShower 300]

Arguably, striker has the highest Damage-per-shot. Even doing minimum damage every time, it will still deal more damage. (3100 at M4)

[Truthteller 4,204]

Arguably, striker has the highest Damage-per-shot. Even doing minimum damage every time, it will still deal more damage. (3100 at M4)

I said per shot, striker takes multiple rockets to deal high damage. 

The turret which does highest DPS is Isida. 

[GuidoFawkes 2,361]

Arguably, striker has the highest Damage-per-shot. Even doing minimum damage every time, it will still deal more damage. (3100 at M4)

even if you count maximum damage for each of the 4 seperate shots from a salvo as one shot the total would only be 3880. M4 shaft with heavy capacitors does 3900 in one shot. i fail to see your argument.

[hishamyas 364]

Amazing article I enjoyed reading it, now that you've improved my knowledge about shaft and hulls which fit it I would like to thank you!