Unboxing Ares

[Person_Random 4,991]

Hello Tankers! After a bit of a delay, Ares was released. Finally, we’ll get to cover all the facts and figures about this hull! Let’s dive in! ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TNK00-00000-03MB?-4?WD2-S2VXI

Here we are with a complete review on Ares. Of course, we’ve all been busy and haven’t gotten to test Ares as much as we wanted to, but here goes. Let’s start with a quick visit to the Garage.

 

  First Impressions

I have to say, when I opened the garage, my first reaction was “Wow”. The designs were aesthetic and smooth, giving a very modern look to this new hull. The little hover engines were especially well-styled, and the metallic hints and attention to detail really contributed to its appearance.

Lookin' snazzy!

The cost wasn’t too bad, not that I paid too much attention to them. As it turns out, it came to around the same costs as Mammoth, which definitely wasn’t too bad. Not bad. Ares also came right between Titan and Mammoth in terms of speed, weight, and some other good stuff. So far, so good, typical of a heavy hull.

Then the hard part came: trying on a turret with Ares. I had Railgun equipped at the moment, and it just looked plain silly with Ares. The rest of the turrets didn’t look much better, but in the end, I decided on pairing Ares with Ricochet. With that all checked out and done, I headed to battle.

Aramid and Driver did their best to save face, but Ares and Thunder just couldn't get along.

 

 In Game

Unfortunately, my first reaction to Ares in battle was quite negative. I couldn’t find out how to somehow right myself, stuck driving sideways. After a quick toggling of the mouse control settings, relief settled back in and I rejoined the battle.

Throughout most of it, I was easily shot by Gausses and taken out by Firebirds and Freezes with no chance to retaliate with Ricochet. In short, Ares is an easy hit for melees and a huge target for longer-ranged turrets given its shape, and being a short-range turret, you need to respond fast and accurately in order to fend off any attacks. Other short and melee range turrets returned similar results, showing that for the most part, Ares is just not compatible with shorter ranged turrets.

On the other hand, longer-ranged turrets like Railgun and Shaft had some better synergy with Ares. The harder part was just trying not to accidentally move while trying to snipe or aim and reveal my location to opponents, but despite that, it was much easier to respond to enemy shots with clean snipes. Looking at the score and star difference in those first two battles, it’s easy to conclude that longer-ranged turrets are definitely much more optimal when working with Ares.

Of course, after that short half-hour drive around Tanki, there were some concerns about Ares’ mobility. Despite the fact that Ares basically prevents you from flipping upside-down, I couldn’t help but wonder why Ares was… so… slow. It was just like driving in a tub of maple syrup! For a hull that didn’t need to deal with everyday problems like friction, it should have been at least a tad faster.

Another issue was the fact that it needed severe assistance getting up steep ramps in maps like Cologne and Yorkshire. While it had its little quirks in moving around, nothing was as bad as navigating just one ramp. Trying to make my way up to the top level of Cologne was nearly impossible; most of the time, the hull slipped and gave out halfway through, and when I had made it up, almost a full minute had passed, which was definitely frustrating.

Overall, though, it was a mostly positive experience with Ares, especially when Overdrives entered the equation.

Sacrifice shows off his classy lookin' Ares - he's ready for the catwalk!

 

 Overdrive

The first time I used my Overdrive was out of something like a last resort - I had just made it up the ramp in Cologne and a pesky Firebird was spitting flames in my face. Immediately, I received the healing effects and did a tad bit of damage; if I had aimed that better, I definitely would have had a better shot. In the next battles, with some practice, my Overdrive handling improved considerably, allowing me to experience its full power.

Obviously, the Overdrive is pretty nice, quite potent without the ability to be easily exploited for quick gains like Hornet. I especially enjoyed the healing effect, for after months of getting accustomed to Zero Supply, this was a step back to those good old days, getting some well-needed health with each overdrive.

 

 Mobile

There’s very little that needs to be said about mobile. Ares is truly beneficial for any mobile player as the controls are much more intuitive. With this change, our team experienced much higher scores using Ares than prior to using the new hull. It’s obvious: Ares is very mobile-friendly and perfect for a quick game.

Instead of previously earning small amounts of battle score and experience (10-50 score), we reported scores of around 130-200 points. Sweet earnings!

 

 Last Word

Overall, it is a pretty great hull, though, of course, if it were to be released on Tanki’s birthday, it would have been awesome. Now that it’s out, it’s giving mobile players a helpful feature to facilitate gameplay. But it doesn’t mean it’s all mobile as playing on a computer did not make Ares any harder to use (provided that you disable mouse controls). There definitely were a few concerns about its strange mobility and compatibility with shorter-ranged turrets, but other than that, it was definitely an exciting new addition to the garage.

 

 Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
+ Relatively easy for both mobile and PC users	- Doesn't fit with any other turrets
+ Quite hard to flip over on your own	- Not very compatible with shorter-ranged turrets
+ Powerful but not overpowered overdrive	- Sometimes harder to navigate

 

 Ratings

Price: B
Not bad, but Titan was a bit cheaper...
Looks: C-
By itself, definitely good-looking, but it didn’t fit with any turret, which was definitely quite frustrating.
Mobility: A-
Kind of slow, hard to navigate some places, but hey, no more embarrassing upside-down moments!
Synergy: B+
Works best with longer-ranged turrets, shorter-ranged turrets are at a disadvantage.
Overdrive: A
Definitely the best part of the hull, beneficial for the individual tank as well as the team.
Overall: A
Ares is a great hull, though of course, if you want to buy it, the best idea is to try it on the test server or a low account and buy it during sales for the best effect. Enjoy!

Oh, and if you noticed that there was a special treat, well, you may have also noticed the two question marks. Hint: the letters/numbers are two the of the following: HULL ARES 2020.08.14. Good luck!

Huge thank you to @Sacrifice for those awesome shots of Ares (and the mobile screenshot). Lookin' sharp!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And that’s it! Hopefully you get a better sense of how Ares is as a hull before you buy it (or maybe you’ve already bought it, in that case, before you embarrass yourself in battle for not being familiar with it). Thanks for reading, and see you around later!

[Person_Random 4,991]

Ahem... Ares has been out for a while now, and if you're still on the fence about buying this new hull, well, we've got the perfect piece for you. Join us here as Person_Random gives the lowdown on this new release. Enjoy!

*coughs* Oh, and did I mention the hidden treat?

[E_polypterus 2,374]

Cool article : )  Ares does look cool but it doesn’t really fit my play style... and also there’s the fact that I don’t have enough crystals to buy it : /

Edited September 19, 2020 by E_polypterus

[Matt_Black 203]

You forgot to mention that it's not possible to rock the hull backwards and forwards to throw your shots so you are stuck with the auto aim for up and down. Not great for turrets like rail or striker and quite poor on maps with lots of elevations.

Also has great acceleration for dodging shots. 

I didn't bother about strafing sideways just drove it like a normal tank but it's possible to pull off some slick moves akin to sliding Hornet around but without sliding to a stop. 

Works well with Vulcan and twins though.

Zips along with a speed boost nicely.

[Person_Random 4,991]

4 minutes ago, Matt_Black said:

You forgot to mention that it's not possible to rock the hull backwards and forwards to throw your shots so you are stuck with the auto aim for up and down. Not great for turrets like rail or striker and quite poor on maps with lots of elevations.

Also has great acceleration for dodging shots. 

I didn't bother about strafing sideways just drove it like a normal tank but it's possible to pull off some slick moves akin to sliding Hornet around but without sliding to a stop. 

Works well with Vulcan and twins though.

Zips along with a speed boost nicely.

I probably didn't test it out for very long, so I probably didn't notice these points about it. Thanks for the input!

[Sabrytoun_Superman 677]

That is a great article, but i just have a question: Are you the nub on these pictures? .Naah I am joking I know that this is you.Talking seriously, great article, continue like that !

[zeta421_RU 1]

 

veroy god