Let's Discuss Matchmaking

[Nicola_M 1,563]

I agree with the above, but also think more should be made of the GS rate.  At higher ranks there is a vast mismatch between Legends and lesser ranks.

Legend48's who have full M4 hulls, full M4 turrets and full M4 modules really should be in a league of their own.

 

If they have been in the game long enough to have accrued M4 of everything, then it is unfair for them to battle against anyone below their rank.

Example:

This week I was up against @seyhn, a Legend48 with every single module M4'd.  I was outclassed in every way - turret, hull and module.  It was slaughter. 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Nicola_M

[IsrvGod2 12]

I hope I'm in the right place.

I just finished a MM battle in Assault as you can plainly see I'm a Lt. General. After being killed 5 x's I hit the tab button and saw 8 Legends on my team another Lt. Gen. and lil ol me.

On the opposing team there were 7 Legends, one Generalismo, one Field Marshal and a Commander.

The latest update in October of 2018 is killing me(pun intended) I was up to 2.78 K/D ratio.

I have been slipping gradually every week.

At the current rate of K/D I will be below 2.00 in no time. If this trend continues I will have to leave the game.

Being a Premium player and buyer in the shop won't change anything.

Is there a possibility these issues will be tweeked in the near future?

Thanks for this opportunity.

[Viking4s 10,791]

I hope I'm in the right place.

I just finished a MM battle in Assault as you can plainly see I'm a Lt. General. After being killed 5 x's I hit the tab button and saw 8 Legends on my team another Lt. Gen. and lil ol me.

On the opposing team there were 7 Legends, one Generalismo, one Field Marshal and a Commander.

The latest update in October of 2018 is killing me(pun intended) I was up to 2.78 K/D ratio.

I have been slipping gradually every week.

At the current rate of K/D I will be below 2.00 in no time. If this trend continues I will have to leave the game.

Being a Premium player and buyer in the shop won't change anything.

Is there a possibility these issues will be tweeked in the near future?

Thanks for this opportunity.

At your rank now you have enter the Top league, the M3 and M3+ kingdom. So you are facing stronger opponent.

As you were dominating the M2 league with your strong equipment, it was normal that your k/d increased and that it was relatively easy against the other players. But going up in the next league means that you are not the strongest anymore, to maintian your k/d you have to build a stronger garage by playing and/or buying until you get M3+ equipment.

[FrozenRailgun 1,771]

I hope I'm in the right place.

I just finished a MM battle in Assault as you can plainly see I'm a Lt. General. After being killed 5 x's I hit the tab button and saw 8 Legends on my team another Lt. Gen. and lil ol me.

On the opposing team there were 7 Legends, one Generalismo, one Field Marshal and a Commander.

The latest update in October of 2018 is killing me(pun intended) I was up to 2.78 K/D ratio.

I have been slipping gradually every week.

At the current rate of K/D I will be below 2.00 in no time. If this trend continues I will have to leave the game.

Being a Premium player and buyer in the shop won't change anything.

Is there a possibility these issues will be tweeked in the near future?

Thanks for this opportunity.

I had the identical issue as you. My K/D is crashing too, but I will not leave the game.

[OKDad70 862]

I agree with the above, but also think more should be made of the GS rate.  At higher ranks there is a vast mismatch between Legends and lesser ranks.

Legend48's who have full M4 hulls, full M4 turrets and full M4 modules really should be in a league of their own.

 

If they have been in the game long enough to have accrued M4 of everything, then it is unfair for them to battle against anyone below their rank.

Example:

This week I was up against @seyhn, a Legend48 with every single module M4'd.  I was outclassed in every way - turret, hull and module.  It was slaughter. 

Another one. (rolling eyes)

 

GS means nothing. My Ricosck account has full M4 at Field Marshal (built up to it while Marshal).

 

Ricosck can equip a gear score anywhere between 1800 and 9300. It is meaningless. GS cannot help with match balance. GS is no indication of balance.

 

An M4 Wasp is the same GS as an M4 Titan. In most situations, the Titan is a much more formidable enemy.

 

All M4 turrets are the same GS. Some turrets are obviously worth a lot more than others, especially in the hands of skilled specialists.

 

Frankly, the equipment level isn't nearly as important as most people pretend. 

 

Ricosck was my third account. (Second is strictly Smoky-Hunter.) I started it because Ricos Suck! (Particularly so when one hasn't developed skills yet.) {Ricosck has become my primary account because of the problems imposed on Viking and Twins, and I recently bought Premium on sale for it, but I spend no cash money on any of my secondary accounts except this (and it is my primary now).}

 

I was upgrading Viking, but focusing on saving up my crystals. The Boar kit (currently 152350 crystals, obtainable from Warrant 5) suited my needs. As soon as I had the crystals saved, and the rank, I got it and started upgrading. I was fully upgraded long before I reached the rank of Marshal and was able to improve to M3. My fully upgraded M2 equipment was quite capable of dealing with the M4s of Gismo and Legend. Fully upgraded M2 equipment had me finishing battles anywhere from first to last, that is still true with fully upgraded M3 equipment. 

 

As OKDad70 with M4 Twins-Viking, as well as Ricosck with M4 Rico-Dictator, I mostly find myself in battles with high-level Legends (as high as level 109), and the biggest factors are playing style and skill, with dumb chance and random luck mattering more than equipment level. I've finished battles as the utterly dominate player, and I've also finished after being totally whooped. The dumb-luck factor and how important it is in the majority of battles is something I've complained about in these forums often.

 

Again, equipment level is not the key. Skill and style and matchup of opponents, those are the important factors. GS is meaningless.

 

Another factor on high-level Legends: How many levels do you think are required to have multiple M4 hulls, turrets, and protections? Drones are pricey, but 200,000 experience per level, and 40,000 crystals for each rank-up. How many crystals are typical per experience point? The current leader board of top 100 has GOR_VRAM (Legend20) with 212,315 experience and 715,404 crystals earned. Gor has Premium, so double crystals and extra experience, but I suspect most players with millions experience and active daily will be forking out a few bucks every few months for the frugal Premium.

 

The maths work out at over 3 crystals per experience point, skewed as it may be for a single player for a single week, with Premium; still, Gor earned three-quarters million crystals in one week. Isn't that enough to obtain any M4 turret, hull, or protection (not counting speed-ups)? Gor was able in one week to afford any M4 upgrade desired. Obviously most players are not playing enough to obtain a new Legend level in one week, but it seems clear a Legend level is more than enough for a new M4 item. I suspect most Legends above Level 5 have pretty much the garage they want and use. I assume most of them spend crystals on upgrades and new items with most sales. I assume most high-level Legends do not maintain surpluses of millions of crystals. Of course, I suspect by about level 25, there just isn't much left to spend crystals on. If I recall correctly, Maf (Legend16) has mentioned that he has 50% protection on all 14 modules. What else can a player need? (Of course, that is a driver for the Devs to keep introducing the next new thing.)

 

Repeating the bottom line, GS is meaningless for balance.

[Nicola_M 1,563]

Again, equipment level is not the key. Skill and style and matchup of opponents, those are the important factors. GS is meaningless.

Oh silly me, for thinking that me being repeatedly slaughtered by a Legend48 with full M4 Wasp, full M4 Rail (plus alteration) and full M4 twins module at 50%, and no doubt a fully M4'd drone (he had every single purchasable item) was not at all due to his excessive equipment level vs mine, but down to mere luck.  His.  All of it.

 

Nothing whatsoever to do with the fact my equipment sucked by comparison, that due to the fact I haven't been in Tanki as long as a Legend48 has - and thus haven't earned the crystallage he has - I can't afford to even buy the overpriced module against him, let alone the 450,000 crystals for each module to put me on a par with him.  And that's not even taking into account the just-shy of 94 days it would take to get there even if I HAD the crystals.

 

Nope, nothing; just all bad ju-ju on my part.  The entire mismatch between my equipment and his can be explained away as mere swamp gas.

^_^

 

If GS can't be used as a yardstick to separate the ridiculously-overpowered from the mediocre then maybe there should be a roulette wheel on the forum we can spin, in order to determine who our opponents should be.

Alternatively, I have a cup of used tea-leaves if anyone wants to read them and use those results instead.

 

GS may not provide a better match between opponents, but mere luck doesn't explain the current abortion either.

But it's funny how all the "luck" disappears the very moment Legends+ come over the horizon.

 

It's time Legend1s to Legend109s (e.g.) were in battles restricted to Legend level only, because even against players just one rank below Legend can mean a chasm of equipment difference.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Nicola_M

[OKDad70 862]

I hope I'm in the right place.

I just finished a MM battle in Assault as you can plainly see I'm a Lt. General. After being killed 5 x's I hit the tab button and saw 8 Legends on my team another Lt. Gen. and lil ol me.

On the opposing team there were 7 Legends, one Generalismo, one Field Marshal and a Commander.

The latest update in October of 2018 is killing me(pun intended) I was up to 2.78 K/D ratio.

I have been slipping gradually every week.

At the current rate of K/D I will be below 2.00 in no time. If this trend continues I will have to leave the game.

Being a Premium player and buyer in the shop won't change anything.

Is there a possibility these issues will be tweeked in the near future?

Thanks for this opportunity.

Viking4s nailed it.

 

Plus, there is also the fact you are a sniper. The higher the ranks, the better able opponents are at dispatching snipers. Magnums are particularly hard for Shafts to deal with. Further, the longer players have played, the more likely they have acquired good Shaft protection. One eventually gets fed up with being spawn-killed by far-off Shafts.

 

In my experience, snipers like to lose. If you insist on Shaft and sniping, you will have to chose between K/D and helping your team expeditiously. Don't get me wrong, snipers can make the difference in a match, but the ones who just camp and watch for the easy shots, not so much.

 

You have enough experience on Smoky that I'd encourage you to work on your skills with it. Don't get the speed (autocannon) alt. If you are a precision shot, the standard setting is your friend, and the assault rounds can keep rails from ever hitting you. The cryo rounds seem to me the best alt if you get away from standard or assault rounds.

 

My son (Donut70) is (was, since his duties keep him from playing nowadays) a Smoky specialist. He routinely proved the value of it, despite the constant malign. If you are a skill and strategy player, the Smoky is the best turret.

 

If you prefer Shaft, well, you have two kits open to you:

 

Centaur

Hornet М3, Shaft М3,

Mars, Eagle M3 

338 107 crystals

 

Sniper

Viking М3, Shaft М3,

Needle, Eagle M3 

447 300

 

If you prefer sniping, the Viking is probably better. If you can learn to fight melee (with distance), the Hornet is probably better, but as is, light hulls are at a significant disadvantage. And since you already have the M3 Viking, the Centaur is your obvious choice, even if you never use the Hornet.

 

Oh, disclaimer: The garage no longer offers me kits, so I cannot see which ones are current. (There might be a wiki page for it, but updates are sometimes weeks behind with things that change on a regular rotation.) So, check your garage.

 

Finally, you are in the right place to voice your thoughts on the subject, and I hope you get better feedback than I'm offering, but the match making system is not the problem you are experiencing. You are just at that middle hard spot.

[cyborg11b 95]

I am SO FED UP with MM. Star-month, OK. Everybody likes the bonusses, so do I. But how can anyone expect to collect stars if you get dropped into battles with 3 or 4 minutes left to go, time after time ? If this is not enough, the battles I get dropped into are mostly populated by legends and issimo's. This has happened to me 4 or 5 times in a row now. I am really sick of it.
Devs, do you read this ? I hope/suppose so, but probably very low on your to-do list.
:angry:

[OKDad70 862]

Oh silly me, for thinking that me being repeatedly slaughtered by a Legend48 with full M4 Wasp, full M4 Rail (plus alteration) and full M4 twins module at 50%, was not at all due to his excessive equipment level vs mine, but down to mere luck.  His.  All of it.

 

Nothing whatsoever to do with the fact my equipment sucked by comparison, that due to the fact I haven't been in Tanki as long as a Legend48 has - and thus haven't earned the crystallage he has - I can't afford to even buy the overpriced module against him, let alone the 450,000 crystals for each module to put me on a par with him.  And that's not even taking into account the just-shy of 94 days it would take to get there even if I HAD the crystals.

 

Nope, nothing; just all bad ju-ju on my part.  The entire mismatch between my equipment and his can be explained away as swamp gas.

^_^

 

If GS can't be used as a yardstick to separate the ridiculously-overpowered from the mediocre then maybe there should be a roulette wheel on the forum we can spin, in order to determine who our opponents should be.

Alternatively, I have a cup of used tea-leaves if anyone wants to read them and use those results instead.

 

GS may not provide a better match between opponents, but mere luck doesn't explain the current abortion either.

Not when it's recurrent and repetitive.

Nicola, sarcasm does not become you. Did you even read what I wrote?

 

Long range Rail versus short range Twins rarely falls to the Twins. Look up OKDad70 and tell me I don't know what I'm taking about when it comes to Twins.

 

You indicate you have 50% protection against Twins. Huh? How much protection against Rail? None? Not my fault. Not Tanki's fault. Rails have been blasting you since your first day. Why didn't you ensure you had adequate protection?

 

 

Field Marshal Ricosck has a full set of M4, and 14 protections with over 30% (Rail protection at 43%). As an engineer, I can afford to spend some money on the game, and I used to. OKDad70 has a solid garage which included about $100-$150 per year for three years. I stopped spending money on Tanki, and I've been playing Ricosck almost exclusively lately. I talked myself into springing for Premium for Ricosck during the last half-off sale, but I never spent money on Ricosck before. Frankly, not being able to fight Rails is nobody's fault but your own.

 

Ricosck has M4 Ricochet and Dictator. OKDad70 has M4 Twins, Thunder, and Vulcan, and M4 Viking and Titan. I assure you, with any combination of that equipment, I can clobber high level Legends, but I also get clobbered plenty. The biggest factor is skill!

 

I'm being redundant, but I want it clear: The most important factor is skill.

 

The second biggest factor is playing style, and some styles stack up badly against some equipment. I brawl. I want to get in close, push you around, and gaze into your eyes as I crush you. That doesn't always work out well against long range weapons and players with the appropriate skills to keep me at some distance where my plasma is less effective.

 

The third important factor is luck, yes, dumb luck. If you are out skilled and overmatched in style, well, too bad. You ain't getting lucky today.

 

However, what explains Ricosck dominating a better team in a Rugby match? Just dumb luck of being in the drop zone every spawn and getting the line to the enemy base every time. Why? No idea. I do greatly thank the Isida that kept me healthy much of the time, and the other player who was actually working toward scoring while the rest of the team was doing whatever it was that gave the opponents such good stats despite a five goal loss.

 

Such extreme dumb luck is rare, but it is all too often the only thing that matters. It is just dumb luck whether I get on the team that scores seven in under five minutes, because I could just as easily be on that losing team, beaten in under five minutes.

 

Finally, while I'm sure you've never had the opportunity to see me write it before, I've repeatedly offered suggestions for balance, and repeatedly explained how impossible it will be to achieve. Therefore, I have repeatedly requested Tanki abandon the emphasis on match making. Routine balanced battles are a pipe dream. Tanki needs to allow nonprivate pro battles open to more than 12 players to qualify for the perqs.

 

I fully agree that MM is broken. It is totally broken, and there is no hope for fixing it in the current system. Tanki needs to quit requiring it for missions and other perqs.

[OKDad70 862]

[…]

 

It's time Legend1s to Legend109s (e.g.) were in battles restricted to Legend level only, because even against players just one rank below Legend can mean a chasm of equipment difference.

Regarding your complaint about Seyhn, you describe it as though you were fighting 1v1. I hope not. And, you are complaining (if I understand) about match making. MM battles are always 8v8. (Well, of course we know they are sometimes 8v5 or even 9v6, but those are mistakes that Tanki is supposedly fixing.)

 

In an 8v8 battle, each team will almost always have at least one Rail or Thunder. Almost always one Firebird or Freeze. The other turrets make regular appearances, but protection against Rail, Thunder, and Firebird are paramount requirements. Some matches need other protections, but those three are indispensable in ones garage.

 

So, I find myself baffled by why you were so affronted by Seyhn. Consider this: If Seyhn equipped Twins in that or the next battle, do you think things would change? With your 50% protection against Twins, I would hope so. It is another example of why GS is so meaningless.

 

Another thought, for pro battles, Field Marshal Ricosck can make battles with range from Legend to 3-star, default is 2-star to Gismo. Seems fair to me. In pro, of course, I could tighten the range, but for MM, the typical rank spread is not a problem. (Yes, sometimes the rank spread is a problem, but is a small part of the gross problems MM has.)

 

I've explained above why I think Marshals can hang with high level legends. It is only self-serving to want to exclude Legends from battles. I consider it unfair for 1 and 2 stars to have to face ranks above Commander, but 3-stars and up have the access required. Prior planning can adequately address the likely equipment differences.

 

Considering experience also doesn't help. Sure, no one has more experience than the Legend109, but I have 4.5M experience across my six accounts. Playing as 2LT Sarek_V, I still have the huge advantage of four-years' experience. That is a factor that simply cannot be accounted.

 

No, Legends should not be excluded from playing with other players who have M3 equipment available to them.

[Nicola_M 1,563]

 

 

You indicate you have 50% protection against Twins. Huh? How much protection against Rail? None? Not my fault. Not Tanki's fault. Rails have been blasting you since your first day. Why didn't you ensure you had adequate protection?

 

Read my post again.  It was Seyhn who had full m4 everything - turret, hull, alts, module (including twins module, he had them all).

Up against me with m4 viking, m4 twins (can't remember which alt I was using that day) 40% rail mod (which was useless to the point of pathetic).

He killed me I think it was eight or nine times in one battle.  It wasn't 1v1 but it may as well have been.  It was a Brest CP.

 

Clearly I should just give up the idea of MUing turrets and modules as the equipment thang is all foofoo.

Shall just load up M0 Hunter (albeit with luck-laden XT skin) and the rest of it and rely on the tealeaves...

Edited January 20, 2019 by Nicola_M

[Nicola_M 1,563]

 

So, I find myself baffled by why you were so affronted by Seyhn. Consider this: If Seyhn equipped Twins in that or the next battle, do you think things would change? With your 50% protection against Twins, I would hope so. It is another example of why GS is so meaningless.

 

No, Legends should not be excluded from playing with other players who have M3 equipment available to them.

If Seyhn had equipped with Twins i would still have been outmatched.  I don't have twins module as - like them all - they're overpriced and what I do have I'm having to spend crucial crystals MUing; I've now got Hammer module up to 40% so at least I'm immune to the duplet scourge. But vulcan and ricochet are a vulnerability to those modules are first on the list for available crystals. 

Striker is an absolute pain the in ar$e but I have no module against those and it's guess what, nearly 1/4million crystals to buy and twice as much again to MU so I really don't need to encounter multi-level Legends with everything off the shelf bar the salesgirl.

 

Yes MM is definitely broken.  And the issue will remain even when it's been removed and multi-level Legends continue to whip lower ranks from here to next week.

The problem existed before MM came into being.  It will continue to exist long after MM has gone if its cause continues to be misdiagnosed.

 

This was M2 me February last year, being hammered by an M4, prior to MM.  MM as a fix is not working. 

And it won't be until someone accepts that skill and luck have little to do with the fact that historically TO has consistently put players with outmatched equipment up against players with far greater equipment they should not be up against.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Nicola_M

[OKDad70 862]

Read my post again.  It was Seyhn who had full m4 everything - turret, hull, alts, module (including twins module, he had them all).

Up against me with m4 viking, m4 twins (can't remember which alt I was using that day) 40% rail mod (which was useless to the point of pathetic).

He killed me I think it was eight or nine times in one battle.  It wasn't 1v1 but it may as well have been.  It was a Brest CP.

 

Clearly I should just give up the idea of MUing turrets and modules as the equipment thang is all foofoo.

Shall just load up M0 Hunter (albeit with luck-laden XT skin) and the rest of it and rely on the tealeaves...

Well, Nicola, I did read your post. It seems to me you were saying you had 50% Twins protection, which I assumed was because you don't equip the stable plasma alteration.

 

I find 40%-Rail protection to be more than enough to clobber Rails. I don't have problems with Viking or Titan and my Twins. I don't have problems with Rails with my Rico-Dictator.

 

Your sarcasm is not helpful for anyone.

 

I can't suggest anything but working on your style and your skills. Your equipment and their rank is not your problem.

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

R.I.P to all the Colonels out there who get placed into battles with a Legend in them.

 

[Nicola_M 1,563]

Well, Nicola, I did read your post. It seems to me you were saying you had 50% Twins protection, which I assumed was because you don't equip the stable plasma alteration.

 

I find 40%-Rail protection to be more than enough to clobber Rails. I don't have problems with Viking or Titan and my Twins. I don't have problems with Rails with my Rico-Dictator.

 

Your sarcasm is not helpful for anyone.

 

I can't suggest anything but working on your style and your skills. Your equipment and their rank is not your problem.

I have all of the alts for twins - Standard, Plasma Accelerator, Stable Plasma and Heavy Plasmagun.

I use different ones for different maps and, more specifically, who I'm up against and battle mode also plays a part.

 

I'll re-evaluate your suggestion if/when I have the same level of equipment as Seyhn and still finding multi-level Legends a problem.

I suspect I won't, and there'll be a direct correlation.

 

TO can change MM all it likes, but the core problem remains.  If even players are in denial about it, what hope have the devs?

[OKDad70 862]

I have all of the alts for twins - Standard, Plasma Accelerator, Stable Plasma and Heavy Plasmagun.

I use different ones for different maps and, more specifically, who I'm up against and battle mode also plays a part.

 

I'll re-evaluate your suggestion if/when I have the same level of equipment as Seyhn and still finding multi-level Legends a problem.

I suspect I won't, and there'll be a direct correlation.

 

TO can change MM all it likes, but the core problem remains.  If even players are in denial about it, what hope have the devs?

Nicola, I'd offer some help if I could, but my 4.5M experience tells me equipment isn't significantly important on average. Yes, in a given battle, it can be the determining factor for things like one team with all long range and the other all short range and other imbalances inevitable in the way Tanki is matchmaking.

 

However, across six accounts, with OKDad70 playing fairly diversely over the years (and each of the other specialized on certain equipment), I think I've got a clue. Is this your only account? Do you have significantly more than 1.3M experience?

 

Rank matters, but only so much. Equipment usually doesn't matter enough to be a concern. Just keep fighting and saving and make wise decisions, mostly buying during big-discount sales.

 

Look at X-O. X-O really is good. I look at X-O as what I intend to be. X-O has 2.28M experience on that account, not counting possible others. Given that I have double that experience (total), I have to admit X-O is better than OKDad70, and better than Ricosck. Maybe by the time I have 2.3M experience with Ricosck I'll be better than X-O, but not today. If we opposed each other, it would be with roughly equal garages, but I doubt I'd come out ahead in the wins column. That is the nature of competition. And it wouldn't matter if I was playing the OKDad70 account or the Ricosck account. 

 

Now consider TURBO_FENIKS. I've played him a couple of times, and I couldn't tell a significant difference from other players. I assume 23.3M experience gives Feniks the edge. Given those stats with Wasp-Firebird, yeah, very good player. I presume Feniks likes speed and a flash-and-dash style of play, hit and run. Feniks has a lot of hours with lots of equipment. I started playing multiple accounts because it was easier to start over and specialize on something different than to get rank-appropriate equipment and learn from scratch against players who know their equipment. Variety was fun. (The way things are now, it takes too much time to keep one account growing to be able to play multiple accounts enough to keep any skill on those; so I don't.) Look at Feniks' achievement list. That is an exceptionally good player, and again, I couldn't tell a significant difference in battle. Such advantages as Feniks obviously has show up long term, not specifically in most battles.

 

That's all I got. Maybe there is something useful for you in it.

Edited January 21, 2019 by OKDad70

[Nicola_M 1,563]

Rank matters, but only so much. Equipment usually doesn't matter enough to be a concern. Just keep fighting and saving and make wise decisions, mostly buying during big-discount sales.

Well my plan as of now is not to spend any further time or ££ on TO, logging in just to spend crystals on MUs in sales.

Then when crystals run out, do a few days to accrue enough for the next sales event, and then get the hell out.

The rest of the time leave the account dormant until such time as I'm on an equal footing with everyone else, equipment-wise.

 

Doing missions and all the rest of it is just noise.

Out.

[Pyre 3,485]

R.I.P to all the Colonels out there who get placed into battles with a Legend in them.

 

Look who is doing 2nd best on the red team...

[GorgoBlesk 831]

Plus, there is also the fact you are a sniper. The higher the ranks, the better able opponents are at dispatching snipers. Magnums are particularly hard for Shafts to deal with. Further, the longer players have played, the more likely they have acquired good Shaft protection. One eventually gets fed up with being spawn-killed by far-off Shafts.

 

In my experience, snipers like to lose. If you insist on Shaft and sniping, you will have to chose between K/D and helping your team expeditiously. Don't get me wrong, snipers can make the difference in a match, but the ones who just camp and watch for the easy shots, not so much.

 

You have enough experience on Smoky that I'd encourage you to work on your skills with it. Don't get the speed (autocannon) alt. If you are a precision shot, the standard setting is your friend, and the assault rounds can keep rails from ever hitting you. The cryo rounds seem to me the best alt if you get away from standard or assault rounds.

 

My son (Donut70) is (was, since his duties keep him from playing nowadays) a Smoky specialist. He routinely proved the value of it, despite the constant malign. If you are a skill and strategy player, the Smoky is the best turret.

 

If you prefer sniping, the Viking is probably better. If you can learn to fight melee (with distance), the Hornet is probably better, but as is, light hulls are at a significant disadvantage. And since you already have the M3 Viking, the Centaur is your obvious choice, even if you never use the Hornet.

Incendiary rounds are best Smoky alteration because incendiary crit deals much higher total damage than standard crit.

 

Since the Smoky has got 50% weak damage, it is the most OP turret after Duplet Hammer and Thunder. It is effective at any range. I often kill enemies across the map with my M2 Titan Smoky.

 

Shaft arcade shots are useless due to low range and 25% weak damage and you need full energy for sniper mode. I stopped playing Shaft after that stupid nerf.

 

I consider Hornet and Viking as bad for sniping because they are too flat and their aim is too easy to knock. Wasp is good only with Rail.

 

Best hulls for campers who also attack are Titan and Hunter. They have ideal height. Mammoth is too slow and Dictator is too high for close range fights.

[Nicola_M 1,563]

Look who is doing 2nd best on the red team...

Not quite the same thing.  The Legends in that battle have especially poor garages for Legends.

And their K/D is lower than mine.

I'd be ecstatic if every Legend I was faced with were like that.

[GorgoBlesk 831]

Oh silly me, for thinking that me being repeatedly slaughtered by a Legend48 with full M4 Wasp, full M4 Rail (plus alteration) and full M4 twins module at 50%, and no doubt a fully M4'd drone (he had every single purchasable item) was not at all due to his excessive equipment level

It is just a Wasp. It has only 2000 HP, my M2 Titan has 3250 HP. I have M2 Smoky, he has M4 Rail. I have slightly more DPS. I can ruin his RK while I can fully repair while he reloads.

 

Guess who would win? I have more health, more DPS, I do not use Rail module, he probably does not use Smoky module.

 

Ok, you can say that he will camp and use peek-a-boo. Well, I am a good sniper and I can take care of such Rails. I can shoot him just when he peeks, knock his aim and cause him to miss.

[Truthteller 4,204]

It is just a Wasp. It has only 2000 HP, my M2 Titan has 3250 HP. I have M2 Smoky, he has M4 Rail. I have slightly more DPS. I can ruin his RK while I can fully repair while he reloads.

 

Guess who would win? I have more health, more DPS, I do not use Rail module, he probably does not use Smoky module.

 

Ok, you can say that he will camp and use peek-a-boo. Well, I am a good sniper and I can take care of such Rails. I can shoot him just when he peeks, knock his aim and cause him to miss.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Truthteller

[Nicola_M 1,563]

Ok, you can say that he will camp and use peek-a-boo. Well, I am a good sniper and I can take care of such Rails. I can shoot him just when he peeks, knock his aim and cause him to miss.

Good luck with that.

He's quick, never stands still while he's reloading.  Though I note he's now using Viking M4, but with Wasp he wiped the floor with me.

I probably only managed to land two shots on him in the whole battle, not enough to kill him.

[Pyre 3,485]

Not quite the same thing.  The Legends in that battle have especially poor garages for Legends.

And their K/D is lower than mine.

I'd be ecstatic if every Legend I was faced with were like that.

Indeed. Thats why it isnt always so bad to be playing higher ranks.

[wolverine848 13,097]

R.I.P to all the Colonels out there who get placed into battles with a Legend in them.

 

It's getting silly.

 

hard to complete missions and get multiple stars when A) enemies 8 ranks above you are killing you and B  ) you are also competing for Stars and top-3-winner missions with team-mates 6-8 ranks above you.

 

The fact that teams may be balanced in no way helps you with multiple stars and harder missions.