It's Time to Excel in: Shaft

[Towns 574]

Note: This guide is inspired by one of @Tidebreaker's Newspaper articles. So, I am sorry if it appears to be plagiarism. This is written in my own words. 

 

Ah, yes, Shaft. One of the most versatile turrets in the game. It's a sniper, a heavy plasma-gun, a "flag-chaser" AND a battle dominator, all in one. It has many different alterations, which brings near-infinite possibilities to the game! But did you know, that since Gauss came out, this weapon is almost forgotten? It's only used with the Rapid-fire mode alteration these days (which isn't that great, in my opinion). But did you know, that behind Shaft, there's an iconic mechanic - sniping. This is the first true sniper in the game, dating back to before the glory days of Tanki Online. So, let's wander down the "gates of Shaft" to show you what Shaft really is about.

 

Let's all sit back, relax and go down the timeline of Shaft. It all begins in June 29, 2011. Shaft is officially "on sale" and available for purchase. It had a super powerful sniping shot, even more powerful than today! You don't even want to know how powerful the sniping shot was (brokenly OP!). Nothing else happened to Shaft until August 18 in the same year. Shaft became visually shorter and the Champion and Acid paints now give protection against Shaft. But, the devs were working on re-balancing Shaft as well, and in September that year, re-balancing for Shaft was finished and the "legacy Shaft" got removed from all garages (also the players who bought the Legacy Shaft got refunded). With it came new features, including:

- Simplified control (it became easier to use)

- Arcade shot (185 damage per shot, super powerful!)

- Changes to sniper mode (possibility to stay in sniping mode as long as you like, removed black filling and other visual effects). 

 

The next day, the owners of that version of Shaft (1.1 Shaft) got the crystals refunded and Shaft got removed and added back. Amendments were made in October 17. That's all for 2011.

A lot of visual stuff got implemented for Shaft in 2012, but the "first direct turret change" (damage etc) was when a bug that caused Shaft to fire maximum damage after it immediately spawned got fixed (in May 24). A lot of changes to the Shaft scope (nothing interesting) happened.

February 13, 2013 came with a "patch" of an auto guider for Shaft and Railgun, which seems to be an aimbot for it. Also, the Veteran paint got 20% protection against all turrets, now including Shaft.

You sick of these updates? Here's a good one for you: December 4, 2014, Shaft got its laser, which is one of the most game-changing updates for Shaft.

Fast forward to 2016, Shaft got its first alteration: "Assault Emitters", which seems to be present-day Short Band Emitters. Don't worry, these "Shaft updates" will end soon! 

February 2017, Shaft's arcade shots now have decreasing damage over distance. This came with the removal of Isida's "vampirism effect". A lot of Magnum protection modules released in March 23, 2017 had Shaft protection. They were good "anti-camper" modules, especially Griffon T-H. Ok, time to flip the script! 

April 10, 2019 - Rapid-fire mode added for Shaft - the most disappointing update IMO for Shaft, since Rapid-fire mode is overused. (lol) 

Balance changes for the Heavy and Light Capacitors alterations, making them more OP, happened in October 5, 2019. That's all! That's how we went from Legacy Shaft (1.0 Shaft) to 2.0 Shaft. 

 

Ever wondered about some Shaft techniques? Here are some! 

The first one is the most simple, you find an enemy, you scope the enemy and kill them. Can be used with any Shaft except for Rapid-fire mode Shaft.  

As for the second one, it's a bit harder. You see an enemy, you start to scope AWAY from them, but make sure you can see them. When you have them right where you want them, put on some Double Damage and watch yourself get another kill! Can be used with any Shaft except for Rapid-fire mode and Heavy Capacitors Shaft.

The last one is the trickiest, make the enemies run into the scope. This can be ineffective some times, but sometimes it works. This requires a heavy level of skill, tactics and reaction time. Can be used with any Shaft, but it's incredibly difficult. I suggest only do this one if you have more than 250 hours of Shaft playtime in total and are extremely skilled at sniping.

 

Good Shaft combos and for what modes they are most effective in?

Shaft + Short Band Emitters + Any medium-weight hull + Booster - The increased damage from the Short Band Emitters alteration and from the Booster drone stack up to 330% extra damage than regular arcade shots! That's a massive 3300 damage per average arcade shot at M4 (Mk8)! Absolutely insane! And that's not even the maximum damage! This is effective most in any mode except for Team Juggernaut when you're hunting the Juggernaut. Also, the arcade shot reload at Mk8 is 1.875 seconds with this combo! That's gotta pack a punch! Skill level required: Turn turret, know when to use Booster (Skill level 1 - very low)

 

Shaft + Heavy Capacitors + Titan/Dictator + Booster - Since the Heavy Capacitors boost the sniping shot's damage by 25%, and Booster boosts the Double damage by 200% (which makes it 300%), it brings the total sniping shot damage to a maximum of 16706 damage. This is useful to 1-shot the Juggernaut in Team Juggernaut and Solo Juggernaut, since the HP on both versions of Juggernaut is 16,471 damage at Mk7 (there is no such thing as "Juggernaut Mk8" due to a programming bug preventing micro-upgrades from correctly applying). Skill level required: Learn how to control a slower moving scope, know when to use Booster (Skill level 3 - moderate)

 

Shaft + Light Capacitors + Hornet + Booster/Driver - Sometimes you don't need massive damage to dominate battles, instead here's a combo that can be used as a high DPS output - 2475 DPS without Booster, crazy? Yes, it is. This is a very high-skill cap alteration that requires you to know how to control a fast-moving scope, know when to snipe and when not to and also you need to know what will happen (will an enemy Gauss come, will the target opponent move behind a building etc). Examples of extremely skilled users of Light Capacitors are @Tidebreaker and @TheCongoSpider. Tide used Shaft for 6 months and went from Major to Commander. The charge time for a "full shot" is 2 seconds, and the damage reduction isn't that much compared to normal Shaft anyway . It's best used in any mode except for Team Juggernaut and Solo Juggernaut. Skill level required: Learn how to control a hard to control item of equipment, what will happen from a certain point, when to fire and when not too. (Skill level 5 - extreme)

 

Shaft + Rapid-fire Mode + Any hull + Booster - As you may know, there is something painful to go up against. That thing is Rapid-fire mode. It's crazy annoying, extremely abused, and something that doesn't need nerfing, but removal (in my opinion, anyway ). Not much to say here, really. 3 rapidly-fired, "regular damage" arcade shots fired with a 0.5 second interval is extremely crazy. But once you add Booster to the mix, it gets extremely chaotic. You don't even want to know. This is a versatile alteration that has the potential to dominate battles of any mode, including PRO battles. Skill level required: Turn turret, know when to use Booster (Skill level 1 - very low)

 

Shaft + Any hull + Any drone - We can't forget stock Shaft, can we? Because of the fact that stock Shaft is extremely versatile, this is basically as fun as you make it. Not much to say here, but, this is for tankers who HATE alterations of Shaft. Skill level required: Varies on playing style (Skill levels 1 - 5: Very low skill to extreme level of skill required).

 

I was going to do an interview with Tidebreaker, but his timetable was packed, so I couldn't make an interview with him in the time required before this article was going to be posted. Error 404: Interview Not Found (alright I'll stop now).

 

Protection modules: Of course, for the last part of the interview, I do the full list of protection modules and their "usefulness" with Shaft. The grading system ranges from F (most useless), to S (most useful and essential)

 

Fox (Firebird protection) - This isn't really recommended due to its rarity in battles these days, but it can be used as a defense against those annoying players who use Compact tanks to try and dominate battles at all costs. However, it has to be heavily upgraded before you start to see actual results. Usefulness rating: C (DPS and afterburn is incredibly annoying to everything)

Badger (Freeze protection) - Much like Firebird, this isn't really recommended, but it's optional due to the freezing effect it makes it harder to scope in on somebody in either sniping or arcade shots. Usefulness rating: B to C (freezing effect is as annoying as Gauss if you use Shaft)

Ocelot (Isida protection) - The one module you don't need at any ranks. Isida is extremely rare, but more appearances occur in around Master Sergeant battles, although the number of appearances isn't that much. You pretty much never need this, as Isidas will almost never actually attack but keep on healing their teammates. Usefulness rating: F (easily the most useless module in the game)

Wolf (Hammer protection) - Ok, we're stepping more into Duplet/Dragon's breath/Slugger territory. It's incredibly common at all rank brackets except for Recruit - Staff Sergeant, because you know, that's the big point for Smokies and the starting point for Thunder. Incredibly useful because Hammer is annoying. Usefulness rating: B (Hammer is annoying)

Panther (Twins protection) - What can I say except you don't need this? It's a bit more common in higher ranks because of the Stable plasma alteration but it's not really recommended. The DPS output from Twins is so low, this is nearly as useless as Isida protection, but you don't need this. Usefulness rating: D to F (seriously, it's not worth it)

Lion (Ricochet protection) - Ricochet is incredibly rare, but powerful. Although it has a much higher DPS output than Twins, it's not that used, so it's as good as Fox protection is. Even at high modifications, it has the problem of not feeling like it does anything to help you. Only recommended for parkour (but who uses Ricochet in parkour XD). Usefulness rating: C to D (Ricochet is hardly ever used)

Dolphin (Smoky protection) - Since Smoky is incredibly underrated, it's also not much used. This may also be due to over 50% of all mid-rank players having at least 15% Smoky protection (but that's not much for you). It's strange if you'll see it unless if it's a Recruit battle. It has the exact same problem as Lion. Usefulness rating: C to D (Smoky is forgotten after Recruit)

Orka (Striker protection) - You might want to consider this. The amount of Strikers in battles these days are massive. Their alterations don't help either, I mean, why would someone use Uranium now, and more importantly, why does it exist? Usefulness rating: A to C (it depends if Striker is a big problem to you or not)

Shark (Vulcan protection) - You might also want to consider this. Have you seen the amount of Vulcans in battles lately? It's a bit annoying, I know, and with Vulcan protection, you can make Vulcan no longer annoy you! Usefulness rating: A to B (depends if Vulcan is a problem to you or not)

Grizzly (Thunder protection) - Tanki "butchered" Thunder. But it doesn't mean Thunder will be out of battles anytime soon. You might still need it. It's not much of a problem now, just common. Usefulness rating: Varies on rank

Falcon (Railgun protection) - You might also want to consider Falcon protection as one of your main protections these days. Railgun's alterations are now overused, and campers that only come out of their spot to shoot you don't help. Rail protection is a last resort if this is a problem, though. Usefulness rating: A (especially in Legend battles, because that's when a lot of XP/BP players are usually from.

Griffin (Magnum protection) - Essential these days as a "first weapon", so you need protection to stop this madness. Viking-Magnum is extremely powerful and Magnum protection limits their chance of killing you even lower. Hornet is more powerful though, for its own reasons. Usefulness rating: S (essential, since Magnum is super overused)

Owl (Gauss protection) - Essential since this protection against this "new" turret is one of the only limits to Gauss and splash damage. Could be rendered useless due to Hornet, keep in mind that. Usefulness rating: S to B (Hornet renders all protection useless)

Eagle (Shaft protection) - Why not fight Shaft with Shaft protection while using Shaft? It's less useful, because there are less Shafts this day, because of Gauss, so that's good (kind of). I can't think of any direct reasons why Shaft protection is essential (oh no, have I ran out of ideas?). Usefulness rating: C (less people use Shaft to this day)

Spider (Mines protection) - Not really useless, but not even close to essential, either. Saboteur could be used a lot of times, and Camper is extremely painful to deal with (because 6 second reload when the tank is at 100% health). I would say those little guys can be like battling Godmode_ON with Mk1s and expecting to win sometimes. Usefulness rating: B (Think about it, buy it if mines are super annoying to you)

 

So, the best protection "set" is Griffin - Owl - Falcon (regardless). Note: Hornet's overdrive negates (ignores) protection modules, so try and be careful, please. 

 

"Anyway, that's the end of this guide! If you liked it, please react with like, if you found it extremely helpful, please react with thanks and please share your overall feedback in the comments. Ok, see you around!" - Towns, March 8/9, 2020

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

Edits:

- Minor spelling edits 

- Grammar edits 

 

Approved.

 

It's probably been forever since you saw me approving AWS articles, but here I am. My first reaction to reading this article was one of awe and wonder. You managed to break down a 15,000 word guide that I made and make it even better with a comprehensive analysis of Shaft's history, combos, tactics, and even focused on the protection modules. I do feel guilty for not being able to contribute to this in the form of an interview, but there'll always be another chance.

Good job, pal. You truly deserve it. Keep on writing!

[Sacrifice 2,278]

I am more than pleased to see a picture of shaft in this guide. It definitely added to the format. Just one little advice, avoid using colors too excessiviely. Rainbows are appealing but symmetrical layouts really add a formal look to the guide. 

NOTE: If I was not broke right now, I might have upgraded my shaft to m3. 

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

2 minutes ago, Sacrifice said:

NOTE: If I was not broke right now, I might have upgraded my shaft to m3. 

Mk3?

[Sacrifice 2,278]

1 minute ago, Tidebreaker said:

Mk3?

Opsies, I meant mk7. I tend to forget that we have advanced to the future. I am an old school person you see ;_____;

[Towns 574]

2 minutes ago, Sacrifice said:

I am more than pleased to see a picture of shaft in this guide. It definitely added to the format. Just one little advice, avoid using colors too excessiviely. Rainbows are appealing but symmetrical layouts really add a formal look to the guide. 

NOTE: If I was not broke right now, I might have upgraded my shaft to m3. 

I would say I did what you said about adding "color" to my guide but I think I understand why it might be too much. And that picture was Shaft XT with the HSV color changed. Also I would've done a guide on Gauss but I have much less experience with Gauss (I've only had around 40 total hours with Gauss compared to around 100 with Shaft)

[Benefactor 6,888]

OK, so I wasn't seeing things when I was testing out the Lifesaver drone - it actually saved me from a Shaft shot (+Booster+HC) of 15,000 dmg while not wearing any Modules and DA was off.

[programisti2 0]

Towns

Hi thanks for such a in depth tour.

Here did you mean that sniping is bad idea with Rapid-Fire Mode?

Quote

The first one is the most simple, you find an enemy, you scope the enemy and kill them. Can be used with any Shaft except for Rapid-fire mode Shaft

Edited November 16, 2020 by programisti2
added authors name