Guide Underrated Combos: Sting Like a Bee!

[LOLKILLERTOTHEDEATH 1,921]

 

Hornet and Hammer. Quite often, this combo is disregarded to the superior combination of Hammer and Viking. Nevertheless, after eating many doughnuts which should have been Kaisdf’s trying out the combination, I managed to realize the enormous potential presented by Hammer and Hornet when paired together in a Highland CTF. As such, I decided to write the guide you are about to close in the next five seconds now reading.

 

 

Strengths and Weaknesses of the components

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hammer: Hammer is among the few turrets in the game which has almost entirely different playing styles and tactics with various alterations. Nonetheless, at any level, Hammer bears a high amount of damage as well as boasting some of the most potent impact force in the game. Additionally, another merit of Hammer is the quick turning speed, which can help counter Freeze users to a certain degree. The primary drawback with any alteration equipped is the reloading between magazines and rounds. The High capacity ammo clip somewhat remedies the former alteration, while the latter can be fixed through the use of the Duplet alteration. Another major weakness of Hammer is the pellet spread, which can mean that it is entirely possible to miss your shot at point-blank range.

 

                                                                         

 

Hornet: Hornet is a member of the group of hulls known as the light hulls, and shows said characteristics. Hornet’s most significant advantage is the fast speeds it can move it, which mean that it can quickly evade enemies, grab flags or attack an enemy and retreat. Another benefit of Hornet is its relatively small size, which affords it the luxury of venturing where other hulls cannot. As for disadvantages, Hornet’s HP leaves lots to be desired. This low amount of HP means that the user cannot engage in confrontations with most enemies and must resort to a more agile and stealthy combat style. Additionally, Hornet’s low weight means that when receiving fire, Hornet may be unable to turn or move thus and adequately be helpless. Hornet’s low weight also warrants caution when driving and firing, due to the high recoil.

 

 

                                            

 

Hammer and Hornet: when used as a combo: In this case, one gets either a formidable combination or a laughable combination. As previously mentioned, Hammer has high damage and turning speed, but struggles with reloads of most forms. When paired with Hornet’s high speed and small size, it is paramount for a Hammer and Hornet user to use stealth and speed to their advantage. Even with protections, this combination is not durable. If under attack by an enemy with high impact force, Hammer and Hornet may be rendered entirely useless.

 

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Lay of the land: In Tanki, there are only six kinds of maps- small and cluttered, small and clear, medium and cluttered, medium and clear and lastly, large and cluttered and large and clear. Examples include (respectively): Ping Pong, Hill, Highland, Polygon, Dusseldorf and Lost Temple.

 

Small and Cluttered: These maps are virtually impossible to find in Matchmaking, battles; however they are easily found in Pro battles. For these maps, protections against close range turrets is essential, but peek-a-boo tactics are quite relevant and can be your saving grace due to Hornet’s small size.

 

Small and clear: Once more, these maps are only found in Pro Battles. Here, Hornet’s speed is useless because there is nowhere to go or hide. Additionally, due to the increased difficulty in maintaining a high K/D, one should hide behind stronger teammates and flank instead of assaulting enemies themselves. Lastly, protections are highly advisable depending on the situation.

 

Medium and cluttered: These maps are generally not too easy to play on with Hornet and Hammer as the increased speed may cause you to keep bumping into walls and thus slowing down. Most of the time, using any form of ricochet is not going to work, which does render Hammer’s ability to ricochet one time useless. However, the far more deadly Ricochet’s unique ability also gets removed. Regarding protections, a single module protecting against a close-range turret and two protection modules which defend you from medium ranged turrets.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Medium and Clear: Unlike small and clear maps, these maps will usually have plenty of cover to hide, they won’t have nearly as many props as the “medium and cluttered” category. This means that (if the correct paths are used) Hornet’s speed can be used to a high degree of success, while the peek-a-boo tactic is still viable. Protections should be against a close, medium and long range turret.

 

Large and cluttered: These maps are also found only in Pro battles. In these larger maps, Hornet’s speed is invaluable, and the cluttered nature of the map means that a Hornet may pass through quickly and hide quickly as well, making it harder to hit with Railguns and Shafts. While Hornet sees an immensely more useful performance, Hammer loses its power due to Hammers relatively low range. Here, a single close, medium and long-range protection should be used.

 

Large and Clear: Once again, these maps are only found in pro battles. Hornet’s speed remains the greatest asset of the combo, although it’s slightly less useful as there are fewer objects to hide behind, unlike in the “large and cluttered,” maps. Due to Hornet’s low HP, it is highly recommended that a user avoid the main path from one side to the other if travelling from one side to the other.

 

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Roles that can be played in a CTF match:

 

Hercules: Not much to be said here. This is the stereotypical form of an attacker. This role involves a user using Hornet’s quick speed and Hammer’s high damage to ambush enemies, and leave a trail of destroyed tanks in your path before escaping quickly. There are many routes which can be taken. However attention should be paid to the courses which are either mined, closely watched or have many defenders guarding them as Hammer’s reload speed and Hornet’s low HP will prevent this. An attacker should also be creative in their entries; with a Viking, it might not be possible to jump over the ledge and onto the flag of the red team. However, it is very much possible and advisable with a Hornet. One thing to steer away from is using the conventional path (the vertical line from base to base) as this will expose your Hornet to much attention and potentially fire, which should be avoided. This role is ideal for veterans of Tanki, as it requires precise driving and firing, for even a single missed shot can have severe ramifications. If you prefer a slightly more laid back role or one which can instigate your enemies, read on until the next one!

 

Bumblebee: Yes, I’ve named it after Bumblebee from Transformers In essence, this person is a sapper, stationed relatively close to enemy lines. Just like a bumblebee is notorious for stinging, a Sapper utilising Hornet and Hammer should cause chaos and irritate enemies. This role means that a player is helping out if your team flag needs to be retrieved, if your teammate is carrying the enemy flag to your base but receiving heavy fire or if a teammate is on the verge of destruction. The primary objective of a Bumblebee is to destroy as many enemies as possible. To make this strategy even more efficient, consider ramming enemies into walls and trying to push them around. Doing so is likely to frustrate your enemies and prevent them from focusing on people carrying flags but instead taking out their rage on your Hornet. The ideal locations for this role, are quite near what I call the “main” path. Hiding on either side of the walls of the blue and red base (depending on which team you are on) or behind cliffs is ideal. Although it may seem clear, one must be completely hidden for this tactic to work, while also changing positions periodically to avoid enemies from consistently killing you.  I wrote this article to say just the following phrase: Sting like a bee! In a nutshell, this role is for those who like to support all-out assaults and have a knack for annoying enemies and dishing out damage if you prefer something where you are close to your teammates, perhaps the Joker’s for you.

 

Joker: This role is somewhat similar to the Bumblebee, in that you are trying to irritate and destroy enemies. The critical place the Joker differs is that you are doing things at random. I don’t mean you are trying to parkour, kill enemies and then repetitively jumping off cliffs. The Joker is supposed to irritate enemies, but instead of just being restricted to irritating enemies and helping teammates, you fight randomly to avoid anybody from analysing your tactics and developing countermeasures. For example, the Joker should be the kind of player who’s willing to go deep into enemy territory to destroy a player who has planted too many mines. Regardless of the task, the Joker always leaps before looking and is more than happy to get killed in the process. This role is for the brave and the bold. If you want to play things safe, consider the (somewhat counter-intuitively named) Berserker.

 

Berserker: The Berserker is the exact opposite of what it sounds. In Viking myths, Berserkers were warriors who (through the power of rage) would fight aggressively to the end. In the context of Tanki, these players are defenders with the desire for crystals and a taste for victory flowing through their veins (or arteries, not sure). While the Berserker may be invincible in spirit, Hornet can take a minimal number of hits, and as such, it is recommended that a Bersker takes cover after firing every shot (unless using the Duplet alteration, in which case the magazine should be used). The ideal way to do this is to hide in a location from where you have a clear and unobstructed view of the flag, but there has to be plenty of cover. Once an attacker arrives, stay as hidden as possible while burning through your ammo. If your enemy somehow survives the barrage of hits you deliver, try to block their path through parking your tank in front of them horizontally (this maximises your surface area, meaning that to get past you an attacker will have to take the longest possible turn). Ideally, users should have drones such as the lifeguard drone (to revive you if your tank gets destroyed as delivering a single shot can mean the difference between victory and defeat) or the saboteur, which will allow the user to plant surplus mines to at least disorient incoming attackers.

 

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Tactics: Needless to say, a multitude of tactics may be utilised here to ensure success. Following are a few that I find to work for me. These are not roles to play, but just strategies to rack up kills.

 

Peek-a-boo: This tactic fits in with every role, except for the Joker maybe. The idea here is to hide behind a well, and if an enemy gets to close, to fire a shot (or two if the user has the Duplet alteration equipped) and then retreat into cover, only to repeat the strategy. Most of the time, enemies will easily spot you and proceed to attack you, so finding an area which is well supported by teammates or is littered with props can aid in survival.

 

Circle-strafing: Yes, I realise that this tactic is only for Freeze users; however it is still viable. Hornet’s high speed combined with Hammer’s high turning speed means that if done correctly, it is possible to emerge unscathed. The most significant limitation here is Hornet’s low armour and low weight. If an enemy is using a turret with high impact force or damage, the user circle-strafing may be knocked out of the circular path or be destroyed.

 

Blind shooting: Yes, I know. “But LOLKLILLERTOTHEDEATH, you said this section is about killing enemies, how can firing blindly do that? Hmph?” When I say “Blind shooting” I do not mean that you should shoot a wall at random and expect a kill. This tactic is particularly useful against a horde of enemies. To use this technique, you should find to walls reasonably close together, and hide behind one. Then, go from the first wall to hide behind the second wall while firing as many shots or magazines as possible, and then continue to repeat as you see fit. The reason this is the optimal way to deal with enemies is that hordes of enemies mean lots of ammunition being fired at your somewhat fragile Hornet. If you shoot and hide, Hornet’s high speed may let you hide from some enemies or at the very least distract your enemies from players attempting to steal the flag.

 

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Types of shots: No, Tanki has not decided to in fact add different kinds of shots to Hammer. When I say types of shots, I mean the different ways you can fire to achieve unique results, such as causing chaos or making enemies miss. These shots will not work every time, and they depend on a good many things going correctly. If you manage to master these different shots, you can be a force to be reckoned with. 

 

Good luck next time: This type of shot is geared towards making an enemy miss. To perform this trick optimally, try to shoot at the corner of an enemy’s hull when they look to be about ready to fire a shot. While this is not likely to work on heavy hulls, It can make your enemies miss their shot, saving you a great deal of trouble. Nonetheless, this trick will probably not work efficiently on a Twins or Freeze user. Nevertheless, the next method does work on those pesky, close ranged defenders.

 

The Consider driving lessons: This shot is nearly identical to the previous shot, with one significant difference. This type of shot can be tricky to pull off, but if you manage it, you will be able to escape enemies attacking you. To do this, wait until an enemy is near a prop, and once the enemy is near a prop, fire at the enemy in a way such that your shot lands on the corner of their hull. Which side? Well, make sure it lands on the same side as the prop. Not only will this trick put some distance between you and your enemy (in the case of Hornet), it will also disorient them and let you escape should you need it.

 

The Captain America: This shot is more of a last-resort kind of shot, although it can be used however the user should desire. If you find yourself near enemies around a corner when you have little hope for recovery, try to ricochet your shot off the wall to land a hit. The tank you fire at will realise that you hit them and proceed to attempt to engage you. At that point, start moving away from your enemy while shooting back.  

 

The Half and Half: Before I describe this shot, I should add that this is the most difficult shot to master, and even then it’s effectiveness is somewhat questionable, although if it does work out, you look and feel great. The only time this shot should be used is if you are near a prop with sharp corners and two enemies approaching you. In this case, make sure your turret is pointing towards the corner of the wall and fire. If you do it right, your pellets will be split in half, and one half will go to the right while the other goes to the left, damaging both enemies.

 

Still not sure what I mean? Take a look at the images below!

 

 

 

 

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Alterations: As I mentioned before, alterations can play a massive part in specific turrets, and Hammer is most certainly one of those turrets.

 

Duplet: This is by far the most common alteration. What the Duplet alteration does is take your regular three rounds and turn it into two rounds, while making the time between rounds zero. In Nerf terms, this alteration allows you to “slam-fire.” The benefit of this alteration is that your enemies have no respite from the damage you inflict upon them, and thus they can’t wait for you to finish and then use a repair kit as they might not survive. The drawback to this alteration is that if you’re out of both or a single round, you need to reload to a full magazine of two. It is worth noting, however, that pressing the spacebar once will not fire off both your shots. Due to the ability to inflict the damage of two shots in the time needed for one, the Duplet alteration is a must-have.

 

Slugger: This alteration makes the vertical and horizontal pellet spread far lower while lowering the turning speed of Hammer by 70%. That is to say, that the pellets from your shot will have a much smaller distance between them, even at higher ranges, allowing for more long ranged combat. At first glance, this alteration can be deemed extremely helpful as longer ranges might help mitigate unnecessary damage from enemies through utilising Hornet’s speed. The lower turning speed can be problematic if you do have to engage enemies at closer ranges. If you can manage with turning your turret slower and prefer longer range combat, this alteration may lend itself well to your skill. The use of this alteration depends upon the user’s playing style. As such, this alteration is not a must-have but rather welcome addition to any garage.

 

Adaptive reload: The most pricey of all the alterations for Hammer, this alteration adds two rounds to your clip for every enemy destroyed while making the reload time for your full clip longer by 20%. The benefit of this alteration is that Hornet is fast, which means you may be able to catch up with and destroy enemies, adding two rounds to your clip. The biggest problem is the game mode. This alteration appears to be geared towards Death Matches, where everyone is an enemy and therefore finding enemies is no trouble at all. In a team-based mode such as Capture The Flag, this is not the case and the time between rounds and the even higher time between clips may prove to be debilitating. As such, this alteration is recommended only for collection purposes for a CTF lover.

 

Dragon Breath: A bit of a misnomer, because as evidenced clearly when Bilbo Baggins met Smaug the dragon, Dragon breath does not burn; it stinks! This alteration should be called “Dragon Fire.” this alteration gives your Hammer the ability to inflict after burn alongside your regular damage, akin to Firebird. You still have your regular damage with some extra burn damage factored in. The more pellets you land on your enemy, the more damage you inflict. The drawback for this alteration is that the pellet spread is increased by 20% (both vertical and horizontal) which means that your pellets will land further from each other. The primary application for this alteration is for players who love the peek-a-boo tactic or the Captain America shot. As such, this alteration is a must-have for players who play more stealthily, but it is a welcome addition to a player who’s more aggressive.

 

High-Capacity Ammo Clip: This alteration had its golden age before the release of the Duplet alteration when it could unleash five potent shots. This alteration makes your clip almost doubly large, at a total of five rounds per clip, but the time taken between each shot increases by 10% and the time taken between each clip increases by 35%. For users who may remember fighting against this somewhat overpowered alteration, it was two things: A nightmare, and virtually never sported on any hull spare Viking. While the former might make the alteration formidable, there was a highly logical reason for the latter. After using calculus including the Taylor series and the Zeta function regularization some basic mathematics, it becomes evident that firing 5 shots with the alteration takes a grand total of 16.75 seconds, while firing 3 shots with no alterations, waiting for the clip to reload and then shooting another 2 shots takes only 14 seconds, with firing 6 shots without the High-Capacity Ammo clip alteration taking 15.8 seconds. Essentially, it is easier to fight without this alteration as 6 shots can be fired without the alteration in the time it takes to shoot 5 shots with the alteration. Combined with Hornet’s low HP, the increased waiting time can be debilitating to a user. As such, this alteration is recommended only for collection purposes.

 

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Protections: In most previous articles regarding turrets and hulls, there have been numerous suggestions about which protections should be used and when. For example, Inferno was a favourite in Island and Emerald was a favourite in Polygon. Then, during the disintegration update modules such as the Badger-TA became popular. Now, users have the flexibility to utilise whichever protection modules. For that reason, the ideal way to go about this would be to hit the speed boost and race around the enemy base, trying to discover which turrets are being used by the enemy and then equipping your protections based upon three factors: Firstly, which turret is the most common. Secondly, which turrets do you have high protection/ any protection against. Third, Which role do you intend to play? The first factor is more of one size for all kind of solution so that you have maximum protection against as many enemies as possible. The second factor should be considered because if your enemies are M4 Railgun users, and you have a 10% resistance to Railgun, it will not be of any help to you. The third factor is crucial to consider. If you are going to be the Joker, expect to run into longe range turrets, and players who colloquially “camp,” if you are going to be an attacker, mine protection, as well as protection from Freeze and Magnum, may be essential. One thing to keep in mind for a Matchmaking battle is the low time, and so this whole process should last anywhere from 15 to 65 seconds.

 

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Conclusion: Hammer and Hornet are very ferocious and even highly effective combination if utilised correctly. Remember to try and find how you fit into your team (Whether you’re a Hercules, A bumblebee, A Joker or a Berserker) and try to master the special shots as they may save you when it counts. Make sure you leverage Hornet’s speed and small size for maximum benefit and take some time to do some recon and deduce which turrets you need protections against.             

 

 

[Positive 1,137]

Nice guide! very interesting. 

[Pyre 3,485]

Waw nice, very detailed!

[Legacy 754]

Hornet easily gets wrecked specially in MM battles tbh it would be better with Hunter but good article  ^_^

[FrozenRailgun 1,771]

Do Hornet-Shaft plz.

[loginci 877]

This article is quite helpful for players, especially for beginners ^^

 

Although I know much about MMs, I will use this article!

[Person_Random 4,991]

Rotation.  Um... let's see... I have a hornet m2 and hammer 1.9, might try it out!

[Guest]

This article is quite helpful for players, especially for beginners ^^

 

Although I know much about MMs, I will use this article!

Thank you!

 

Waw nice, very detailed!

Thanks!

 

Do Hornet-Shaft plz.

I would do Hornet Shaft, although a Shaft guide came out recently and also Shaft isn't too much of my style. 

Nice guide! very interesting. 

Thanks!

[Person_Random 4,991]

Photoshop though... oofer

[Jeges-Masina 41]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!!

This guide is so fun to read and freakin' awesome!

I hope you will make one more like this with twins/any_hull!

 

Keep up the great content!    :)

Edited March 16, 2019 by Jeges-Masina

[Jeges-Masina 41]

I wanna see what guide would you make about the Big PlasmaGun Alteration especially, hope you will include it.

[niki1232 30]

 I will never be able to do with the Hammer

[B.E.K.A.THE_DARK 0]

BUT WHATE DO YOU DO IS HACKER

[B.E.K.A.THE_DARK 0]

but what do you do is hacker

[Dark.Angel 63]

I think hammer viking is better than hammer hornet overall. If speed is needed, hammer wasp is better ( i think). Wasp M1 and viking M1 are cheap and unlock early, and wasp M2 is better than hornet in speed AND health.

[Guest]

I think hammer viking is better than hammer hornet overall. If speed is needed, hammer wasp is better ( i think). Wasp M1 and viking M1 are cheap and unlock early, and wasp M2 is better than hornet in speed AND health.

Hammer and Viking are probably better for most players. The problem with Wasp is the low weight and Hammer's high recoil, which can be problematic. 

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!!

This guide is so fun to read and freakin' awesome!

I hope you will make one more like this with twins/any_hull!

 

Keep up the great content!    :)

Thanks! I would do Twins, but the slight problem with the turret is that I struggle to think of many different ways I might build the article up.

[Savagenesss 1]

Make dictator - Vulcan Pleasee    :DD

[Guest]

Make dictator - Vulcan Pleasee    :DD

Thank you for your suggestion! I tried to write a guide for that combo in the past, however I just could not do so as I simply don't understand how Vulcan is to be used.

[snipershot301 6]

i am racking up them kills thanks to this guide.friend me.i am snipershot301

[TankiNoob2000 231]

Nice one my friend