Guide The All-New Rugby Mode!

[Hex 11,520]

 

Greetings, tankers! Not so long ago, a new battle mode called "Rugby" was released. It mainly features a ball that randomly drops in the middle of the map and two teams, both of which share the same objective - to take the ball and capture it in the enemy base.

 

Needless to say, Rugby mode is gaining vast amounts of popularity, with the servers being flooded by tens of Rugby battles. It's already making a groundbreaking influence in the game as far as the balance between battle modes goes. Now, I shall take a look at the major concepts of this mode and also go over some of the tips and techniques you can use to ace a Rugby game.

 

 

- Essentials and Basic Components -

 

Essentially, as aforementioned in the introductory opening of the article, this mode is solely objective-based, that is to take a dropping object (in this case, a rugby ball) from the middle of the map and then try to capture it by driving or jumping towards a capture point somewhere in the enemy base. Note that unlike the popular Uplink mode in Call of Duty - which is basically the exact same thing - the dropping object in this game has a lot of possible spawn zones throughout the central area of the map itself; so you might need to take a drive in order to actually get the dropping ball. In a nutshell, no, the ball doesn't have any specific order of dropping on any zone, and with the zones being quite far apart in some cases, carrying out the objective can be quite tough.

 

Let's move on to the various components of this mode...

 

Gameplay:

I'd say the gameplay in Rugby mode is quite balanced, and simply fantastic as compared to other modes. It's unlike Team Deathmatch, or camping for short; it's unlike Capture The Flag, where people constantly attack or defend; and last but not least, it's also unlike Capture Points and Assault, where one team is basically just defending against an arsenal of raining lead.

 

In Rugby, both teams stay dynamic and keep moving towards each others' points at all times while supporting the ball carrier. However, since there are no real defined bases in this mode, any point in the map towards your side of the ball drop zones should be considered as your own base and defended from any approaching enemies. Remember, all of the attacking enemy players' sole objective would be to help the person on their team carrying the ball, so they will stay close to each other and use supplies, especially Overdrives!

 

Moving on, let's talk about passing. Passing a ball in Rugby mode is fairly simple. Just press 'F' (which is the default key for dropping an object, whether it be a flag or the ball) or any other key you have assigned for the drop function. However, do note that once you press 'F', the ball will go in the direction your turret is pointing, not the hull. So even if you're going towards the left but your turret is facing towards the right, the ball with go towards the right. If we talk about strategies, take the example of a Forest Rugby game. You take the ball, stay on the middle plateau, get as close as you can to the enemy capture point and then pass the ball to an incoming teammate from the right or the left. Quick and easy capture, no?

 

Interface Messages:

The mode, like all other ones, also feature interface messages, which are as follows:

• When the ball is returned to game, after either being thrown out of the map or landing on a kill-zone --

"The ball is in the game"

• When the ball is about to spawn after being returned or a capture --

"The ball will spawn soon" (along with audio cue)

• When a person picks up the ball after spawning or picking it up from anywhere --

"%Player% has captured the ball" (along with audio cue)

• When a person loses the ball after getting killed or self-destructing --

"%Player% has lost the ball" (along with audio cue)

• When the Red/Blue team successfully captures the ball by driving through the enemy capture point --

"Red/Blue team has scored a goal!" (along with audio cue: TOUCHDOWN!)

 

Drop and Capture Zones:

Now, let's take a look at the drop zone of the ball, as well as the preview of capture points.

Drop zone of the ball

Pretty basic, in my opinion. It seems like the drop zones is composed of many flavors of green, together with dashes of darkened areas, smudges and droplets in order to make it look suitable for such a game. What do you guys think about this design? I mean, the ball itself with the dotted boundary does look cool, but the light green color does sometimes makes it hard for someone to spot a drop zone from far away, especially when it is situated on a grassy area or when the angle is awkward or the drop zone passes through a corner of your screen.

When the server returns the ball, an image appears above one of the drop zones indicating the ball will soon begin to fall there. That's right, the point of falling is indicated. But remember, the point at which it falls is random. It looks like this:

When a person from a team picks up the ball, the ball appears above their tank in a constant spinning motion, so that it is easier to spot the ball carrier. However, if the person carrying the ball gets killed, the same image as mentioned above appears which is visible from all over the map, which indicates the location of the dropped ball.

 

The images for capture points for both teams are as follows:

However, if your view of the ball or the capture points are being blocked by some obstacle, let's say a building, a bridge or any other prop, these hovering symbols appear on your screen letting you know their locations:

 

   

 

 

 

- Tips, Tricks and Strategies -

 

Getting The Ball:

First and foremost, if you have been that clueless all along - which, probably doesn't mean anything because the chances are slim to none - here's how the ball looks in Rugby:

 

 

Cool, right?

 

Anyways, the most important thing to do in this mode, is to, well, acquire the ball and then, not lose it. Keeping the possession of the ball will highly increase your chances of winning, and remember, a team which gets the ball but then loses it every single time is both ineffective and useless, and going nowhere but towards a loss. Now, since the mode is new and popular, people go for the dropping ball like its a Gold Box, so it does become a little weird trying to take the ball and thinking "No, this is definitely not a box containing some crystals dropping on me". Owing to this fact, the best you can actually grab the ball as its dropping is to apply some good old hunting tactics, like going in late, jumping on someone, or by just using Dictator. If however, the map you're playing on is big and no one has spotted the active drop zone other than you, it becomes as simple as just driving through the ball, going on your way and speeding through the enemy capture point.

 

Getting the ball from an enemy is easy, but since the literal objective is to capture the ball, people on both teams will protect the ball carrier like there are some seeds being carried to Svalbard, guarding him or her with supplies, Overdrive, Isidas, you name it. Flanking is the best tactic you can use, which is to surround the incoming enemy attack with members from your team, making it easier to deal the most damage and hopefully, get the ball.

 

Passing:

Passing is one of the best features of this mode in my opinion, and its absolutely fascinating how you can pull off some amazing plays using this feature. Take the example of a Forest Rugby game, once again. In Forest, the middle plateau is filled with drop zones for the ball, so most of the action is bound to happen there. Skirmishes, all out fights and intense moments all occur here, while the defenders face a hard job of stopping anyone from jumping down this middle area and onto the capture point, which if you didn't know already, are located in the valley on the opposite sides.

 

Since this tactic is used by many, the defenders get used to it and have no problem in shutting down the attacking player. With some extra defense, it becomes impossible to capture the ball without using some tactics that involve passing. What could be that tactics? Remember, you can't capture the ball by throwing it into capture point, you have to manually drive though it. So some tactics like using the ramp to throw the ball into the capture point won't work and it will definitely result in losing possession. However, a smart way would be to go over the middle area, jump off from the ramp and then pass the ball onto a teammate coming from the valley either from the right or the left side. This will catch the entire defense team off guard, and give your teammate an easy capture.

 

 

This tactic also works in other maps where it is very hard to capture the ball without use of passing it back and forth between two players. It is risky, but if you pull it off, you might have accomplished the best play in the game.

 

Teamwork, Coordination and Other Skills:

Similarly, this mode depends upon many other factors, such as teamwork, coordination, timing, skilled and controlled play, and so on. You can't just keep getting the ball and driving through the capture point because this would get you killed almost every single time. Using the same tactic every time renders the whole process a failure. You have to mix up the methods of scoring with the help of your teammates.

 

Thus, apply some tactics, some strategies, pass the ball, coordinate your attacks and basically, have fun while playing the battle!

 

 

- Strategic Look at Maps -

 

We have already discussed Forest, now let's take a look at some other maps that offer Rugby mode and see how well can you perform in them, along with what strategies could be used and basically just theorize what plays could one pull off in them.

 

Kungur

 

 

Yorkshire

 

Year 2042

 

 

Tribute

 

 

Rio

 

 

Similarly, you can use these tactics in other maps as well and who knows, make your own as well. After all, this is recent addition, and a lot of space still has to be explored.

 

 

That's it for now tankers, go play Rugby battles and share your experiences and opinions. Feedback is more than welcome, so make sure you comment below!

 

Also, if you're looking to enter in a special contest themed with Rugby mode, check out the announcement by clicking here.

 

See you in the battlefield!

 

[Hex 11,520]

Tankers, here's a review and a guide on the brand new Rugby mode fresh off the press. Enjoy the read!

 

If you feel confident in your skills, enter the four-day-long special contest!

[Musa 5,352]

Nice

[You.Have.to.die 519]

Innovative, engaging, informative and looks professional. I really enjoyed reading this guide and it will certainly help tankers play in the rugby mode.

[Mr.Eswar 188]

nice

[Dyslexia 7]

I mean, very helpful guide, but I wish everyone would actually read it, understand it, and use some of its great strategies. We would have much more fun and dynamic rugby matches. :v

[Best_of_thunder_2015 1,354]

Just make freaking video. This is all about the basics. ;-; 

[JustSomeCanuck 17]

 

Getting the ball from an enemy is easy, but since the literal objective is to capture the ball, people on both teams will protect the ball carrier like there are some seeds being carried to Svalbard, guarding him or her with supplies, Overdrive, Isidas, you name it.

 

 

Any article that mentions the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, I approve.

You should read about it if you've never heard of it. It's quite fascinating.

[Hex 11,520]

I approve.

*bows in utter respect*

[a__Star 76]

Very useful

[ThirdOnion 4,898]

Passing is extremely important in Rugby. But sadly everyone tends to just hog the ball and get themselves into poor situations. It's much better to pass the ball to a teammate rather than die and leave it to the enemy.

[Hall_of_Famer 2,124]

Massacre toughest map for RGB