An Unorthodox Strategy Guide to TO

[Velius 1]

Note: Depending on demand, I may make a better formatted and more detailed Google Doc.

 

-----------------------------------

Introductions

-----------------------------------

Hi all. TO veteran Longcat970 checking in under my 3rd alt.

 

Since 2011, I have seen my share of battle strategies ranging from cents-cheap to spontaneous E-Sports level.

I've seen squads of pre-rebalance Shaft M3's on Silence, solo/train Vamp-Isidas with 2-story or so cone angles on Noise, troll Hammers flipping enemies and allies indiscriminately, the Alpha Vulcan sending Mammoths into space, and of course, Ghosting.

 

I've seen unofficial clans using Xat chat rooms and Skyping for backup in 1000+ BF matches, thoroughly annihilating the enemy team when the M3'ed Captains showed up. And I've seen the random EN players who would team up and attack the flag all at once or change equipment by opening a new tab of TO, all with a simple team message.

 

Several years later, most of these strats have been rendered obsolete by rebalancing, content/QoL updates, and player trends. Then again, these updates bring fresh new tactics to the table. Alterations, stat changes and new turrets are the most obvious contributors that come to mind, but map revisions can be just as changing. Going deeper, even small, forgotten mechanics such as mouse controls, console commands, and the -pause- function could wind up in a team victory, speaking in extremes.

 

That being said, I wanted to compile a centralized list of strategies that I've picked up on over the years. May these tips give you some new perspectives (and potentially win more battles*!)

 

*Note that unorthodox strats carry an inherent risk to them; they are uncommon, after all. Be warned.

-------------------------------------

 

 

I. (Not-so) Basic Tips

1. Lobby - Choosing a Battle
   
   
   Mainstream - Choose the battles with your rank as the upper limit, so that the chances are higher to play with equally leveled equipment or lower.
   
   Unorthodox #1 - Choose your battles, AND take note of score dynamics, players' ranks, and clan tags.
   
   A.) The first team to accumulate points has the advantage, and therefore has a higher likelihood of overwhelming the opposing team at the jump start. Assume player count remains constant--nobody enters or leaves.
   
   B.) The more spread out the points are in a team, the more everyone is actually contributing to the effort, meaning the team as a whole is stronger. Be wary of teams that have only one or two players winning by a mile--they may not be able to carry the team once more players join the opposition. Remember, this is not TO 1.0 where you can pull off a one-man army stunt anymore.
   
   C.) Clan-tagged players have a somewhat higher chance of being kitted out at their rank. Chances increase the more clan members are in a single team, with the added possibility they have some form of battle plan in play.
   
   Unorthodox #2 - Same as #1, but within reason, join the losing team with the most suitable equipment for what you plan to do. If carrying hard (you are basically the vanguard), take a high-DPS turret, become a druglord, and prepare for the worst. If support, just wail away at the other team's MVPs with Magnums/Shafts and your team -should- make a comeback.
   

2. Lobby - Preparing for Battle
   
   
   Mainstream - Before entering a battle, go into your garage first and change your gear according to the map's geography.
   
   Unorthodox - More than likely, you have been eyeballing a particular battle if you're heading into your garage to change. By the time you come back, the battle will most likely be full if playing during peak hours.
   
   Instead, you should use that time to quickly analyze the battle and click 'Play' ASAP (preferably with an autoclicker). In non-PRO battles (and most PRO with garage on), you can always change right away if you need to, but you might also find that playing with "unsuitable" combos in some maps may actually be key to breaking a defensive line or fending off an assault.
   
   The reasoning behind this is that other players going by the "mainstream" strat will likely have gear tailored to that map's theme. e.g: Shaft, Railgun, Magnum/Thunder modules and turrets are abundant in Highways. Using a Smoky or even Freeze may be more effective due to lack of resistances, as a result.
   

3. Battles - General
   
   
   Mainstream - Use long-ranged turrets and light hulls in large maps, medium-ranged turrets and medium hulls in medium maps, and close-ranged turrets and heavy hulls in small maps. It's a no-brainer!
   
   Unorthodox - Stale, boring, and predictable. By that logic, we should have XP/BP/DR/etc. restrictions on certain maps.
   
   Diversity in battles is nice and interesting. I don't care if you show up in Kungur with Freeze/Fire and Titan or drop into Polygon with a Shaft and Hornet. I DO care if you're good with that combo, however. Anything less, and you're multing.
   

4. Overlooked Features
   
   
   #1 - Mouse Controls - I can only assume most people prefer the keyboard over this as the turret rotation and camera delay feels rather clunky. However, the ability to look around with right-click while aiming in another direction allows you to trick the enemy into your FOV, especially with Shaft. Seriously, this thing was made for Shaft users--aim stabilization, dramatically increased view angles, trickshots, you name it.
   
   #2 - Ghosting - With all the complaints about Noise lately because of Magnum, I'm surprised I haven't heard of this tactic discussed at all, directly or indirectly. The premise is simple--have a teammate move in tandem with your "ghost" tank right before you respawn. For added effect, have an Isida train behind the covering tank. Granted, it's hard to wait and catch a specific teammate in the process of respawning, but if mastered, say goodbye to your flags/ASL point. Tricky to pull off when either tank is lagging.
   
   #3 - The -Pause- Button - I admit, I was exaggerating a bit about the pause button winning a game in the introduction, but it has its utility for Shaft users as well (yes I am biased towards Shaft). You can cancel sniping mode by simply pressing "P". Back then when there was no laser, I would abuse this function to fool enemies and snipe them in the back or go somewhere else. Still effective nowadays around corners and audio-sensitive players, but have a backup plan when you cancel a shot in a direct engagement.
   
   #4 - Camera Controls (Console) - Some TO youtubers have used this to enhance their productions, and you too can use this to enhance your gameplay (as a Magnum). To open the console, press Ctrl + Shift + K. To manipulate the camera, type in the following commands without the curly braces and enter a value for n. Higher values make the camera go faster, and lower values make the camera go slower.
   

    

   vars.set cam_vspeed {n} - Adjusts vertical camera speed when using the default Q and E keys.
   vars.set cam_maxmove {n} - Adjusts horizontal camera speed when moving or rotating the turret.

   
    

II. Equipment
 

1. Turrets - Another Look at General Stats

From what I've observed, these turrets are:
Mainstream - Railgun, Thunder, Magnum, Twins, Firebird
Common - Ricochet, Smoky, Freeze, Isida
Unorthodox - Shaft, Striker, Vulcan, Hammer
 

 

[Railgun] - The Minuteman
 

+ Mostly supportive mid-field gameplay, but a handful of them can act as any team's vanguard

+ Can hold its own at any range, though potential falls off as distance decreases.

+ Actually has its own gamemode, and a successful one too. A favorite of E-Sports

= XP/BP combos used virtually everywhere

- Widespread protection modules nerfs this turret without devs even stepping in

- Stock ver. and Alt2 damage is very RNG

 

[Thunder] - The Demolitionist

 

+ Good mid-field weapon, can hold off pesky light hulls very well
+ Devastating DPS when paired with another Thunder user or two

+ Alt2 can spread the damage around more frequently
= You will see them mostly on Hornets and Vikings in medium maps

= Alt1 converts it into a heavy smoky with more range (though no crit)

- Potential decreases with closer and longer ranges. Has to be just right

- Very common protection modules against it

 

[Magnum] - The N00B Tuber

 

+ First true indirect-fire weapon in TO with nigh-unlimited range

+ Stupid-high damage potential when nuking groups; excellent dispersal effect for strategic points

+ Mostly DPS support, but can rush in for a one-time kamikaze burst

= Goes with any hull, though mediums are more common

- Defenseless in CQC if opponent survives shot

- Automatically makes you a VIP target by H8TERS!!1

- Likely to get nerfed in the future, exploit while you can

 

[Twins] - The Berserker

 

+ Excellent 1v1 potential at close-mid range, average in groups

+ Can vanguard for offense and defense equally well; adaptive gameplay

+ Can knock off enemy's aim if skilled enough

+ Weapon of choice for drug wars

= Almost exclusively on Viking/Titan/Mammoth. Rarely on light hulls

- Somewhat mediocre burst damage necessitates medium and heavy hulls

- Stock ver.'s splash damage really hinders its CQC potential; SP alt is almost a must

- A tasty target for long-range turrets due to its flashiness and noise

 

[Firebird] - The Pyro

 

+ Basically dead if this thing sticks to you and your friends

+ Alt2 gives even higher DPS at the expense of crowd control

+ Can clean house pretty well as an offensive vanguard

= Increasingly more common on medium hulls rather than lights. (Medium meta confirmed?)

- You actually have to aim well with Alt1 on

- More than likely to go down first in a skirmish due to constant need for exposure

- Ally freezes can negate your DoT if they attack at the same time/after you

 

[Ricochet] - The Marine

 

+ Jack-of-all-turrets. Very versatile and adaptable at all but extreme ranges

+ Hybrid burst-sustained damage due to its reload mechanics. Choice of trigger happy/ammo scrooge

+ Can flush out and destroy Railguns, Shafts, and Magnums due to ricocheting shots and impact force

= Alt1 covers even more range faster at the expense of some DPS

- Defenseless for quite a bit of time after fully unloading shots

- Bad in drug wars due to lack of pure sustained DPS

 

[smoky] - The Scout

 

+ About as versatile as ricochet; good for mid-fielding. Vanguard capabilities are average

+ Unusually high impact force allows you to "parry" single-shot turrets such as Railguns and Shafts.

+ RNG crits can ruin someone's day quickly

- Dinky barrel makes aiming difficult

- Alt2 is very situational; could be made better with a range extension.

 

[Freeze] - The Ice King

 

+ Defensive counterpart of Firebird; excellent for flaggers and stragglers

+ A necessity for any pure defense strategy, especially in ASL and cramped quarters like Blue Noise

+ Can utilize cover better than Firebird due to freezing mechanics.

+ Possible to stealth kill your way into enemy base and back provided the map is large and dense with cover

= Still common on light hulls

- Alt1 will frustrate you with aiming even on level surfaces

- Priority target just under Isida for offensive teams; expect to go down quick

 

[isida] - The MEEEEEDIC

 

+ Invaluable support. The decisive factor in the majority of team battles.

+ Will melt enemies when making close contact

+ High and constant score gain from healing/attacking/capping

= Even mix of light hulls and medium hulls. When they go heavy, expect a drug war/stalemate

- Isida trains are difficult to pull off with randoms

- You are a shopping mall on tracks

- Good judgement required whether to attack in tandem with a teammate or heal them

 

[shaft] - The Hitman

 

+ Fully controllable burst damage. Can assassinate VIPs efficiently.

+ Invaluable in ASL blue teams due to long-range flag resets

+ Can snipe pixels of enemies' turrets/hulls if you're good enough

+ Mouse controls, when mastered, gives you aimbots and wallhax (not really, but close)

+ Uncommon sight in most popular maps; few people have protection

= Alt1 gives you classic arcade mode, Alt2 ups this thing from a M40A1 to a M95 at the expense of some quickscope damage

= Most commonly seen with mediums and heavies. Beware of light-hulled Shafts, especially those with expensive paints such as Emerald.

- In sniping mode, vulnerable to anything with an impact force higher than Vulcan's (can be negated with MCs)

- Stock ver.'s fast charge time can quickly drain your energy and leave you unable to snipe.

- You will hate people with Shaft protection modules for taking more of your charge

- Magnums, Ricochets and Thunders can flush you out into the open

- Limited parrying ability

 

[striker] - The Nemesis

 

+ More DPS than Thunder means better solo-ing ability

+ New and underrated means virtually no one uses protection modules

+ Receiving end of rocket salvo will have a very bad day

- Can barely hit anything moving past Hammer's range

- An exposure weapon much like Vulcan. But Vulcan actually does damage when exposing itself

- Salvo laser can easily be knocked off, even on a medium hull

- Guided rockets can easily be dodged when fired at certain angles, or against fast hulls

 

[Vulcan] - The Heavy

 

+ Twins, but sacrificing DPS for better range

+ Good for defending against incoming assaults and killing slow/stationary targets

+ Overheat mechanic can be used as antifreeze

+ Extremely effective against Repair Kit abusers.

= Alt1 gives you more flexibility in flat/open maps, and Alt2 allows you to constantly deal damage at the expense of more DPS. Combine both with a light/medium to run interference on druggers

- Exposure time and overheat mechanic necessitates medium/heavy hulls.

- Annoying half-gyroscope that hinders CQC and shooting while moving

- The least stealthiest turret due to its map-wide tracer rounds and loud firing/hit noises

- DPS is not the best to 1v1 a full hp enemy with

 

[Hammer] - The Bulldozer

 

+ Excellent burst damage will make enemies in your way vanish

+ High impact force can stagger or even flip enemies, delaying their respawn and taking them out of battle for longer

+ Can parry better than Smoky when in range

+ Single ricochet effect can turn the tide of a duel

= Alt2 is best suited for extended firefights where you know you will survive longer or for drug wars

- Alt1 is almost necessary to deal full damage outside of cramped maps, and even then, rotation suffers

- Limited tactical uses other than killing tanks and knocking them around

- Most protection modules are unfortunately included alongside mainstream weapons

 

2. Turrets - In-depth (WIP)

May add gameplay videos soon.

 

3. Alterations (WIP)

[Firebird]

 

+ Extends max damage range by 65%/73%/77%/80% of min damage range (M1/M2/M3/M4; calculations from Firebird page)
+ Good for mediums and heavies who lack the speed to chase targets consistently

+ Gives an extra edge against stock Firebird and Freeze users, especially if fighting at tip-to-tip range

- Reduces cone angle to a pitiful 6 degrees

- Major frustration when firing while rotating/moving, especially against faster moving targets. Need to spray in one direction for ~1 sec to register hits

- The slightest inclines will cause you to miss, let alone a 1 tank height difference even if you rock yourself up

- Very bad crowd control and target juggling

- Not recommended for light hulls, unless you like pain

 

Recommendation: From my experience, this is a bipolar alt. You can have tons of fun roasting enemies over longer ranges like the classic Firebird, or tons of frustration when your cone doesn't connect and register damage.

You'd think the extra max damage range combined with the speed of a light hull would mean no escape for the enemy, but a couple innate flaws with light hulls make this a terrible idea. Light hulls have a slight upward tilt while moving forward, which reduces your effective cone angle of 6 deg. When you begin to accelerate or make a sudden stop, your tank bobs up and down at even greater angles. Guess what happens when you encounter the enemy while in any of these movements.

 

Not saying this alt is impossible to use on light hulls, but it definitely requires meticulous attention to your movement (and the enemy's) if you want to make your cone connect ASAP. On mediums (except Dictator) and heavies, the upward moving angle and bobbing isn't as pronounced, and thus they have a better time utilizing the extra range. Go for this alt if you main either class of hulls, but know that this alt is a luxury alt (or challenge, if you're into that).

 

 

+ Will allow you to go from well-done to flaming charred

+ Max range doesn't really matter as much as you will be primarily relying on DoT mechanic and absurd heating rate

+ Excellent for maps where engagement time is limited (cover-dense maps)

- 5 sec -> 3.33 sec of fuel means bad damage spread potential

- Freezes (ally included) and Isidas will -really- gimp your DPS. Repair Kit abusers can cancel DoT if allowed to hide.

- Bad in battles of attrition (e.g. drug wars), limited potential in groups

 

Recommendation: In small skirmishes and melee 1v1, this is an excellent alteration to have on board. The heating rate and temperature limit is so ridiculously high that range doesn't matter if you want to deal hefty amounts of damage (though of course it is a bonus if you can stick to the enemy). All it takes is a second to reach full burn damage as well, making this crazy good in flash engagements. No wonder people tout this as a direct upgrade to Firebird.

 

The main caveat of this alt, however, is in its greatest strength. In compressing that 5 sec sustain into a 3.33 sec "burst," most of the active damage is transferred over to the DoT. While perfect in a vacuum, anything that removes the burn effect will also negate that damage potential. Additionally, that 3.33 secs of incineration won't last you against a group that can spontaneously RK/Freeze/Isida itself back up. In such cases, you'd be better off with a stock Firebird that can continually dish out punishment for 5 seconds straight.
 

[shaft]

 

 

 

 

+ Primarily tailored for those who frequently follow-up nonlethal charged shots

+ Additional damage boost increases likelihood that your follow-up shot will destroy the enemy

+ Decreases time-to-engage for light hulls by one shot, provided you have enough MU's

- Slightly increased reload time between arcade shots and sniping -> arcade, similar to Thunder at same M and MU level.

- Stock version can parry Railguns and other Shafts better due to faster reload

- Makes Shaft worse at handling multiple opponents at close range, even if they are critically damaged

 

Recommendation: If you plan to quickscope a lot, chances are you're going to leave someone at near-critical. In those cases, this Alt will be your best friend. On the other hand, you may want to stick to the stock version if the enemy team is infested with Railguns and Shafts and/or you are fighting in a squad, as 1) Deflecting hits and surviving is more important than getting a killshot and 2) You can react faster to critically damaged enemies.

 

 

+ For experts who know what they're doing... and campers, of course

+ Significant increase in max damage allows you to one-shot the heaviest hulls at your rank even without full MU, as well as defeat moderately protected mediums (20-30% protection)

+ Slow charge buildup means you're not wasting energy for lighter and more damaged targets; better damage control

+ Laser opacity and zoom level builds slower, allowing more time to plan your targets

+ Slower horizontal aiming is just a nice padding on top when aiming over long-extreme distances

- Sacrifices some quickscope damage potential

- Not advisable in smaller maps/CQC due to rotation penalty in sniping mode

- Slower-paced sniping may not be as appealing to some

 

Recommendation: Why this alteration gets the shaft all the time even from other dedicated snipers is beyond me. I'm guessing these are the people who never really took the time to explore the unknown and just go off of what the paper says.

Added damage is just a nice bonus, but the hidden gem here is the slower charge time. This alt is perfect for blue ASL where every other flagger is on double armor and you're forced to camp a single point anyway.

In most standard team battles, I find the burst damage from quickscopes isn't that important -- having enough energy left is. Equip the stock version however when dealing with counter-Shafts (like in Highways). In those scenarios, being able to burst the other down in the shortest amount of time is crucial.

 

 

III. Modes and Map-specific Tactics

(WIP; Current focus.)

Edited December 22, 2017 by Velius
Removed bunch of enters at bottom

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

Approved.

 

Good stuff! I always wanted something like this, was planning on doing something like this in future. :x

 

Keep it up!

Edited December 19, 2017 by Marc

[Musa 5,352]

OMG so long

[lukey0 27,543]

Shaft:

= Most commonly seen with mediums and heavies. Beware of light-hulled Shafts, especially those with expensive paints such as Emerald.

Was that a throwback to ShadowVisions? Just curious. 

[Imok-Urok 67]

I must commend you on your guide. Very informative. I've been playing Tanki a little longer than you, but still learned a thing or three. 

 

You mentioned Ghosting. 

I haven't seen Ghosting used effectively in a very long time. I remember a very difficult battle on Noise CTF. (This was way before Magnum was even a twinkle in the Devs eyes). We were Red and losing. Blue had mostly Rico and Rail with Twins doing cleanup duty. That was the first time I had seen Ghosting in action. Mammoth went first with DA activated. Hornet ghosted first and then Wasp. They went up the short wide tunnel ramp. He didn't stop to shoot. His mission was to get the other two to the flag. They got to the second tunnel ramp. Mammoth stopped and loaded a RK. Meanwhile, Hornet and Wasp separated from Mammoth making Hornet spawn and loaded a DA. Wasp still ghosted. They followed Mammoth up. Hornet got Wasp on top of the flag and separated and started helping Mammoth clear out the nest. Wasp spawned and loaded either a SB or a DA, I forget. He ran with the flag and made that long leap of faith. We did that a few times to even up the score.

 

Blue was accusing us of cheating and some of Blue team left. Since the score was tied, we promised not to do that again....and we didn't. I don't know if our actions disorganized Blue (they didn't seem to play as well) or if it was the lack of 2 Blue players. They got one more flag, but we still won by a good margin. 

 

Those were the good ol' days when it was possible to make in-game battle plans. Everyone spoke the same language. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Imok-Urok

[splitterpoint 10,986]

Shaft on mouse controls is something I use all the time. It's so much better than the traditional controls. Holding the right mouse key makes your laser to stay still while you can move the view around.. radical view increase and all the bonuses of hiding the laser are there.

 

Shaft is a true sniper weapon that limits your gameplay to some degree. I think the alterations make Shaft too specialized. There are more fast hulls driving around. The big fat heavy ones usually stay put in the base. My Shaft deals 3000 damage at max which is enough to kill small and medium hulls.

[a7x_Pedro48 13,999]

Very good guide so far. Interesting tip for Shaft and the pause button.

[CooperO 7,956]

Moved from Game Discussion section.

 

Nicely done!

[Viking4s 10,791]

 

Hey, this is actually pretty good. I'd highly recommend you instead post your article in the AWC Section where you can receive some quality feedback from Reporters. :)

 

And then would you link it back to Game discussion topic?

2 main reasons, traffic in AWC is low and audience is tailored to writing, while in game discussion it's about game, it does not stop to a comma and  typos.

Edited December 19, 2017 by Viking4s

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

And then would you link it back to Game discussion topic?

2 main reasons, traffic in AWC is low and audience is tailored to writing, while in game discussion it's about game, it does not stop to a comma and  typos.

Already moved. :(

 

It's most suitable place is here, in the AWS, as it is a guide, not just a simple analysis. 

[ThirdOnion 4,898]

why is shaft unorthodox

[Viking4s 10,791]

Already moved. :(

 

It's most suitable place is here, in the AWS, as it is a guide, not just a simple analysis. 

The purpose of a guide is to help, the more people see it the better. no?

 

Can a link/transfer to the game discussion can be created then?

[Velius 1]

Was that a throwback to ShadowVisions? Just curious. 

Yep ;)

Funny that on my main, I have the exact same combo as him. Still remember when he was an M1 Hornet/Shaft on Forester way back in the day.

 

why is shaft unorthodox

It really boils down to three interrelated reasons:

1. Standardized map list - A good chunk of non-PRO maps are medium sized and often open. Not exactly the main problem now that a map overhaul is partially done to add extra space and cover, but these maps for the most part are still not optimal Shafting grounds for the average TO player who stays in the base taking potshots at the enemy. Other turrets/combos are seen as better and more efficient in some maps, but this further reduces Shaft's usage, and more importantly, lessens weapon diversity + dumbs down battle tactics to "who is the most drugged up and MU'ed."

    

2. Learning curve - Shaft definitely has the potential to be one of the more complex weapons that TO has, if not the most. But potential is just that, potential. You can sit around casually camping with Shaft and that's okay, but if you want to be competitive and win matches more often then you have to Git Gud^TM  and learn Mouse Controls + basic positioning + psychology (yes, that's right, psychology).

   Unfortunately, most players plateau at Level 1: Camping, then everyone complains on both ends of the shot.

    

3. Stigma and General Unpopularity - Shaft gets a bad rep for being a camper's weapon and still does even with Magnum thrown in. When people take a dump on a turret (and its alterations) for being boring, annoying, and difficult to use, it really kills usage.

   Add to this the near-propagandist appeal of Railgun and Thunder by TO themselves and you effectively have a siphon in place.

[kaisdf 3,320]

This is fantastic, but for some weird reason I get the impression that you main shaft...

 

I use most of these, the clan tags are something I hadn't thought of though. Is hammer really that niche?

 

I. 4. You also cancel shaft shots by double tapping "Enter" - been using that tactic since '11

 

Edit (and this is all opinion): I don't really like how shaft works now. Say you don't move out of cover enough, you enter sniping mode, and by the time you realise, you've fully charged. You leave sniping mode so you can move, and you face an astonishing reload time. 

 

That combined with the addition of the laser means that shaft is a very hit-and-run turret. You camp in one place, get a kill, and relocate to the other side of the map. Whereas beforehand, you could find a good spot, and you would stay there.

Edited December 19, 2017 by kaisdf

[Blackdrakon30 2,943]

I must commend you on your guide. Very informative. I've been playing Tanki a little longer than you, but still learned a thing or three. 

 

You mentioned Ghosting. 

I haven't seen Ghosting used effectively in a very long time. I remember a very difficult battle on Noise CTF. (This was way before Magnum was even a twinkle in the Devs eyes). We were Red and losing. Blue had mostly Rico and Rail with Twins doing cleanup duty. That was the first time I had seen Ghosting in action. Mammoth went first with DA activated. Hornet ghosted first and then Wasp. They went up the short wide tunnel ramp. He didn't stop to shoot. His mission was to get the other two to the flag. They got to the second tunnel ramp. Mammoth stopped and loaded a RK. Meanwhile, Hornet and Wasp separated from Mammoth making Hornet spawn and loaded a DA. Wasp still ghosted. They followed Mammoth up. Hornet got Wasp on top of the flag and separated and started helping Mammoth clear out the nest. Wasp spawned and loaded either a SB or a DA, I forget. He ran with the flag and made that long leap of faith. We did that a few times to even up the score.

 

Blue was accusing us of cheating and some of Blue team left. Since the score was tied, we promised not to do that again....and we didn't. I don't know if our actions disorganized Blue (they didn't seem to play as well) or if it was the lack of 2 Blue players. They got one more flag, but we still won by a good margin. 

 

Those were the good ol' days when it was possible to make in-game battle plans. Everyone spoke the same language. 

So true. I used to be a "Plague Ship" as I liked to call it, where I would do that with my Mammoth M2 and Twins to ferry up all sorts of teammates into the Red base of Noise. As soon as I died or reached the top of the tunnel in their base, one or two teammates just jump out and strike hard. In no-supply games of Noise CTF, it's pretty hard for the Blue team to escape it's base, so ghosting is one of the most consistent tactics I could think of.

 

 

As a fellow person who endorses the use of Shaft in a strategic and non-camping manner, I fully support this article.  :ph34r:  

[N3tralRE 282]

This breakdown of Tanki strategies is lit!  I especially like your succinctness.  Keep it up, Velius!

Edited December 20, 2017 by N3tralRE