What to buy? Which is better?

[E_polypterus 2,374]

3 hours ago, KamiGT said:

Can I get some opinions on the viability of Smoky at the Legend rank? I have an m1 smoky in my garage currently, and I am considering buying mk7 at the sales on the Fourth of July. I have 449K right now, and I plan to MU it also (all the way to m4 probably). I would use it with Titan, Viking, or Hornet.

Here are the benefits I see with Smoky currently:

• It doesn't appear to be a turret which many players use protection against.
• It has relatively strong dps and great range.
• I have experience with it on my alt account.
• Going as far as checking update history, it has almost no changes in the past few years.
• It seems to be quite well rounded against most opponents, and pairs well with all my mk7 hulls.
• It doesn't suffer from a lot of the problems which Thunder does these days.
• Instant hits.

Here are the cons I see:

• It's a very expensive endeavor to buy and MU a turret because of the MK system.
• I already have Thunder mk7 with like 13/20 and sledgehammer.
• Possibility of more protected tanks than I thought in battle. 

Anyway, once again, any feedback is helpful.

- KamiGT

Smoky is a very fun, versatile turret. But the thing is there are a lot of users who use smoky protections.

[D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S 432]

8 hours ago, KamiGT said:

 

Can I get some opinions on the viability of Smoky at the Legend rank? I have an m1 smoky in my garage currently, and I am considering buying mk7 at the sales on the Fourth of July. I have 449K right now, and I plan to MU it also (all the way to m4 probably). I would use it with Titan, Viking, or Hornet.

Here are the benefits I see with Smoky currently:

• It doesn't appear to be a turret which many players use protection against.
• It has relatively strong dps and great range.
• I have experience with it on my alt account.
• Going as far as checking update history, it has almost no changes in the past few years.
• It seems to be quite well rounded against most opponents, and pairs well with all my mk7 hulls.
• It doesn't suffer from a lot of the problems which Thunder does these days.
• Instant hits.

Here are the cons I see:

• It's a very expensive endeavor to buy and MU a turret because of the MK system.
• I already have Thunder mk7 with like 13/20 and sledgehammer.
• Possibility of more protected tanks than I thought in battle. 

Anyway, once again, any feedback is helpful.

- KamiGT

Smoky is my most used turret by far as you can see from my profile, soon gonna have it Mk8, and I've racked up many hours on it through the ranks. Ive gotta say, especially with Incendiary Rounds, this turret can do so much work in almost every map. It's viable at all ranges with the exception of maybe melee but even at that distance the fast fire rate means you can easily take on splash & long range turrets, only turrets I'm scared of on a map are when fires/freezes/isidas manage to get close. 

Not sure why everyones going on about smoky prots - I only ever see 1 or 2 maximum at the start of a game, but as soon as I climb to the top of the leaderboard a few of them will usually switch midgame which I find hilarious and also a massive sign of respect. As you said it works great with all 3 of your Mk7 hulls, which just so happen to be my Mk7 hulls as well, what a coincidence lol, but if you wanted a bit more stable platform than Viking for a medium hull, Hunter would be a good pickup (although I still prefer Viking for the speed and the crazy OD :P) 

7 hours ago, BloodPressure said:

 

Smoky is a neat turret, it has not undergone much changes throughout the years and its everyones first turret, so every player has some bond with it. I used Smoky on my main account for many years, but since I started this account I didn't feel the need to play on my bigger account, so I haven't played with Smoky for a long time. 
I mainly used the Stock version and the augments HPAS and AR, together with Wasp, one of my all-time favourite combinations. 

So I haven't played with smoky anymore since and I am not that up-to-date with the turret. But based on what I know, I tried to make clear as many of your points as possible:

Upgrading Smoky from mark 1 will cost you 433 000 crystals, not taking into account the costs of micro-upgrading. You are most likely better off buying a kit that has Smoky included since you get both a hull and Dolphin-module with it as well, all for a lower price. 

Sledgehammer has slightly more reload than Smoky, but also more damage. However, Sledgehammer loses damage over distance and its projectile travels rather slowly. Not to forget that Thunder has splash-damage while Smoky has the unique feature of dealing critical hits. Besides, Smoky has a larger arsenal concerning augments than Thunder so you can try out different ways to play with smoky. 
To remind you, Incendiary Rounds and Autocannon are mainly used in the high-ranks, hence Heat Resistances/Immunities are not uncommon. I am not sure when I say that not many tankers equip Dolphin modules nowadays, but I can tell you with certainty that Smoky-protections are not that common, especially compared to Grizzly-modules, so I am convinced this is not something to worry about. 

However: developers have spoken about turrets receiving changes in projectile speed - Thunder and Vulcan have gotten this change in their firing-mechanics: next up is Smoky. So even though you can enjoy the instant-hit feature of this turret at the moment, it is going to be removed soon. Leaks from the Russian Wiki stated that the newly added projectile-speed of Smoky is going to be 500 m/s, which is a lot faster than Thunder, Vulcan and arcade-Gauss. When this update is taking place is not known, but it can be assumed that Smoky will function differently compared to the version you know today. To what extent this update is going to change Smoky or affect its augments is unknown as well, but you can compare it to the update Thunder has undergone. 

This update, along with like everyone having 40%+ Grizzly at Legend (including myself which just adds to the point) was the final nail in the coffin that put me off Thunder, which used to be my fav turret since getting it in the old "medium m2" kit with prodigi and emerald paints (oh what I'd give to go back then). Made the switch to smoky after getting the Paladin kit (which used to have protections against Fire, Freeze AND Twins, not just Smoky as it is now #TERRIBLEUPDATE) and never really looked back. I'll still use Thunder every now and again if I need to play Siege for a mission or if I notice the enemy team has a lot of Dolphin modules but not so many Grizzly, but this is like less than 5% of my matches.

If they change Smoky to projectile I might just quit tanki lmao as I love this turret so much if they ruin it like they did Thunder its probably gonna be the final goodbye

 

On a separate note, I'm currently sitting on a fairly large pot of crystals accumulated and it'll be enough to get my Smoky, Twins, Viking, Hornet and Titan all upgraded to Mk7-20 from where they are now. After finishing these, which of my current Mk7 turrets would be best to MU up? 

Edited July 2, 2020 by D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S

[sharifsahaf 656]

16 minutes ago, D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S said:

Smoky is my most used turret by far as you can see from my profile, soon gonna have it Mk8, and I've racked up many hours on it through the ranks. Ive gotta say, especially with Incendiary Rounds, this turret can do so much work in almost every map. It's viable at all ranges with the exception of maybe melee but even at that distance the fast fire rate means you can easily take on splash & long range turrets, only turrets I'm scared of on a map are when fires/freezes/isidas manage to get close. 

Not sure why everyones going on about smoky prots - I only ever see 1 or 2 maximum at the start of a game, but as soon as I climb to the top of the leaderboard a few of them will usually switch midgame which I find hilarious and also a massive sign on respect. As you said it works great with all 3 of your Mk7 hulls, which just so happen to be my Mk7 hulls as well, what a coincidence lol, but if you wanted a bit more stable platform than Viking for a medium hull, Hunter would be a good pickup (although I still prefer Viking for the speed and the crazy OD :P) 

This update, along with like everyone having 40%+ Grizzly at Legend (including myself which just adds to the point) was the final nail in the coffin that put me off Thunder, which used to be my fav turret since getting it in the old "medium m2" kit with prodigi and emerald paints (oh what I'd give to go back then). Made the switch to smoky after getting the Paladin kit (which used to have protections against Fire, Freeze AND Twins, not just Smoky as it is now #TERRIBLEUPDATE) and never really looked back. I'll still use Thunder every now and again if I need to play Siege for a mission or if I notice the enemy team has a lot of Dolphin modules but not so many Grizzly, but this is like less than 5% of my matches.

If they change Smoky to projectile I might just quit tanki lmao as I love this turret so much if they ruin it like they did Thunder its probably gonna be the final goodbye

 

On a separate note, I'm currently sitting on a fairly large pot of crystals accumulated and it'll be enough to get my Smoky, Twins, Viking, Hornet and Titan all upgraded to Mk7-20 from where they are now. After finishing these, which of my current Mk7 turrets would be best to MU up? 

meh id say gauss or shaft .

[wolverine848 13,097]

3 hours ago, Tidebreaker said:

However, that has been delayed indefinitely for some reason, so there's no way of knowing when that'll take place.

Shame.  

[wolverine848 13,097]

3 hours ago, Tidebreaker said:

accurate, and easy to learn

UM... not really...  on either count.

[KamiGT 143]

Thank you everyone for all the detailed and considerate responses!

Couple different things I wanted to say. First of all, Smoky is actually 333k from Mk1 as far as I can tell from its wiki page. I would be buying on a 30% off sale, so that comes out to 225400 cry (I am not starting from Mk1, I have Mk 3). Also, thanks for all of the module information guys. In addition to this, I would be running Smoky stock, so that negates possible issues with the heat immunity or resistance. Mostly worried about dolphin modules because of this. My biggest fear is definitely becoming either over-protection from Smoky (aka what happened to Thunder) but more so the fact that they could add a projectile to Smoky. I'm with Darkness that I would probably quit if they do this (probably won't be playing much TO in college anyway so...). Hopefully that indefinite postponement is actually indefinite.

Tidebreaker, personally I don't really like striker. I find it unwieldy, and to me it's similar to Magnum where it just feels out of place with the way I play the game. However, after reading your response I will at least give it a try on the test server because I believe it may have potential to be one of my favorites like Smoky, and seems to be a meta sleeper type.

 

For anyone else reading this thread, please respond to my original post because I would like to keep getting more opinions on this subject.

[Blutaar 1,904]

6 hours ago, D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S said:

 

I wouldn't say Smoky's upcoming update will deteriorate the weapon, instead I think gameplay will become more interesting. Thunder's update didn't result in a bad turret, they are still present in large numbers and the Grizzlies in battle show this as well. Its augments got a unique and interesting switch too, and it is for sure that Smoky's augments will change as well. According to my own prediction, it's likely that Assault Rounds and High-Precise Aiming System will get an increase in projectile speed, while Autocannon might get a further decrease in speed - just like Thunder's Subcaliber rounds and Sledgehammer. 

What I am trying to say is not to frighten yourself with the possible downgrades of the new Smoky, things may turn out okay. Just like Thunder; even though it got a large impact in its mechanics, it didnt keep people away from using it. I myself am quite interested in the update and will probably use it on my main account again. Not to mention that projectile speed is a realistic aspect of a universal turret, but that wont enlighten your pain

[The-Operator219 88]

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

[D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S 432]

On 7/2/2020 at 11:50 PM, BloodPressure said:

I wouldn't say Smoky's upcoming update will deteriorate the weapon, instead I think gameplay will become more interesting. Thunder's update didn't result in a bad turret, they are still present in large numbers and the Grizzlies in battle show this as well. Its augments got a unique and interesting switch too, and it is for sure that Smoky's augments will change as well. According to my own prediction, it's likely that Assault Rounds and High-Precise Aiming System will get an increase in projectile speed, while Autocannon might get a further decrease in speed - just like Thunder's Subcaliber rounds and Sledgehammer. 

What I am trying to say is not to frighten yourself with the possible downgrades of the new Smoky, things may turn out okay. Just like Thunder; even though it got a large impact in its mechanics, it didnt keep people away from using it. I myself am quite interested in the update and will probably use it on my main account again. Not to mention that projectile speed is a realistic aspect of a universal turret, but that wont enlighten your pain

Changing from a hitscan to projectile will almost definitely deteriorate gameplay - having to lead shots with Thunder at range on moving targets is difficult at the best of times and infuriating at the worst. Unless the smoky projectile is almost instantaneous but not quite, no doubts that switched to projectile can be considered a nerf. 

As for the augment switches, all those are doing is either fixing a problem that wasn't previously there i.e. slow projectile speed, or exacerbating that problem in return for some benefits. It would make sense if Sledgehammer slowed Thunder projectiles down and Subcaliber made them hitscan again, but that isn't the case - they're all projectiles still. 

I'm sure "realism" is pretty low on the list of TO developers, so that point doesn't need to be addressed. Whilst things may turn out okay, I simply don't see the need for the Smoky firing mechanism to be tampered with - are we seeing complaints about unbalanced smoky hitscan? No, so if it ain't broke why fix it? 

[D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S 432]

10 minutes ago, The-Operator219 said:

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

Battle pass is by far the best value for money in this game, IF you have the time to commit to it. If you are only able to get 10 tiers or so then it probably isn't worth it, and you would be better off buying crystals on a discount weekend/event sales or purchasing a product kit with equipment normally unattainable at your rank for crystals. A tip if you are going to invest any money into this game - buy your tankoins in Russian currency - they are far far cheaper that way and even if your credit card supplier slaps you with a foreign transaction fee, this will almost always be outweighed by the savings you made on purchases over 399 rubles (about $5)  

[Blutaar 1,904]

24 minutes ago, D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S said:

Changing from a hitscan to projectile will almost definitely deteriorate gameplay - having to lead shots with Thunder at range on moving targets is difficult at the best of times and infuriating at the worst. Unless the smoky projectile is almost instantaneous but not quite, no doubts that switched to projectile can be considered a nerf. 

As for the augment switches, all those are doing is either fixing a problem that wasn't previously there i.e. slow projectile speed, or exacerbating that problem in return for some benefits. It would make sense if Sledgehammer slowed Thunder projectiles down and Subcaliber made them hitscan again, but that isn't the case - they're all projectiles still. 

I'm sure "realism" is pretty low on the list of TO developers, so that point doesn't need to be addressed. Whilst things may turn out okay, I simply don't see the need for the Smoky firing mechanism to be tampered with - are we seeing complaints about unbalanced smoky hitscan? No, so if it ain't broke why fix it? 

Never stated adding projectile speed won't nerf the turret, I only mentioned that the added speed might not turn out that bad. Again, 500 m/s is noticeably fast, I won't take any conclusions in what sense Smoky will deteriorate. 

Main reason projectile speed is added is because it is more realistic (I shouldnt mention that word, did it anyways) for a projectile to travel properly instead of having an instant hit, just like Thunder and Vulcan received that feature, for Smoky is still a normal tank-gun

[D.A.R.K.N.E.S.S 432]

9 minutes ago, BloodPressure said:

Never stated adding projectile speed won't nerf the turret, I only mentioned that the added speed might not turn out that bad. Again, 500 m/s is noticeably fast, I won't take any conclusions in what sense Smoky will deteriorate. 

Main reason projectile speed is added is because it is more realistic (I shouldnt mention that word, did it anyways) for a projectile to travel properly instead of having an instant hit, just like Thunder and Vulcan received that feature, for Smoky is still a normal tank-gun

So other than "realism" in a game with bouncing plasma turrets and ice-throwing vacuum cleaners, realism is now the priority? 

Other than that, still don't see any reason to switch Smoky to projectile. I guess we'll see how it's affected if it does end up happening.  

[jeffr_PRO 53]

On 7/5/2020 at 1:33 PM, The-Operator219 said:

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

Umm just don’t waste ur money on this game, simple.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

On 7/5/2020 at 10:33 AM, The-Operator219 said:

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

Do the bulk purchase you were talking about. Since you can only play 1-2 times a day, it's not worth buying the battle pass especially since it lasts for 2 weeks.

 

PS: your alt account looks more prepared for higher ranks than your main.

[cosmic666 1,055]

On 6/30/2020 at 5:40 PM, coconuttree said:

So I have defender drone upgraded to 95% additional power. But with the incoming nerf it's gonna go down to 43%. Is it even worth it to spend to upgrade it anymore? Or should I go for something else?

I think I should just complete my module collection and completely upgrade defender by the time I reach legend using only 50% sales.

Any inputs?

Reckon that's the best course of action since they nerfed the crap out of it.

[The-Operator219 88]

24 minutes ago, DieselPlatinum said:

Do the bulk purchase you were talking about. Since you can only play 1-2 times a day, it's not worth buying the battle pass especially since it lasts for 2 weeks.

Thanks, I appreciate the actual advice instead of a soapbox about the state of the game.

24 minutes ago, DieselPlatinum said:

 

PS: your alt account looks more prepared for higher ranks than your main.

Second/Third time's charm.

[cosmic666 1,055]

On 7/5/2020 at 6:33 PM, The-Operator219 said:

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

Just 1 thing you are wrong about the new MK system, it has left many players with sub standard equipment compared to those fortunate enough to have had maxed out M2 gear in their garage after it was implemented.(some WO5 players can have MK7 gear, while others have only MK4 / 5)  Plus it does no favours for many players with the unbalanced MM, adding to their already big disadvantage.  And the fact you can now acquire every single MK7 at lieutenant colonel rank if you have the funds (cash) to do so. Sorry no diversity here, just OP versus UP. One last thing, when they introduced the new MK system they neglected to tell anyone the impact it would have on players regarding the upgrades on any of their kit in the garage, just like many of the important patch updates they have brought out, it was done on the QT. Welcome back to TO.   

[F41TH 483]

On 7/5/2020 at 11:03 PM, The-Operator219 said:

Howdy fellas. Some of you might remember me from here, I used to frequent the forums more than I played the game itself. I've been recently getting back into the game after kind of following it for a while, and so far I've been liking the new MK1-7 system because it encourages more diversity in your garage without worrying about your gear being underpowered. However, I may have gotten a little out of hand with buying turrets and hulls on my alt here: https://ratings.tankionline.com/en/user/HRT-219

 

I'm low on repair kits but have enough new toys to play around with to keep me satisfied for a while, so what I'm wondering is this: With my budget of 10 IRL dollars, should I get the battle pass and just tryhard until I have more stuff or bulk-purchase supplies with a ton of crystals? If it helps I mostly play on Sunday/Monday since I have work the rest of the week and I'm usually too busy to play.

welp, welcome back. i'd suggest not to invest rn. just wait for a better opportunity.

also, why do you use Rail-Titan???

[Blutaar 1,904]

8 hours ago, F41TH said:

welp, welcome back. i'd suggest not to invest rn. just wait for a better opportunity.

also, why do you use Rail-Titan???

EAS works really well with it. However the main reason I would use it is for the nostalgia... ahh...

[The-Operator219 88]

9 hours ago, F41TH said:

welp, welcome back. i'd suggest not to invest rn. just wait for a better opportunity.

also, why do you use Rail-Titan???

It's a really good support/defense build that can reliably damage people at any range, and people underestimate it because of some bizarre notion Titan is slow.

[sharifsahaf 656]

1 hour ago, The-Operator219 said:

It's a really good support/defense build that can reliably damage people at any range, and people underestimate it because of some bizarre notion Titan is slow.

Of course titan isn't slow .psst are you kidding me ? i mean use wasp with speed boost and think to myself -damn it's so slow .wish it was as fast as my titan so i could go vroom vroom and capture the flag before anyone realizes what im doing

[xgamer932 0]

What are the best turrets and hulls to get at first lieutenant? I have about 190 000 crystals saved up and I am waiting for the next sale to buy a bunch of stuff.

[KamiGT 143]

First of all, good work using a relatively small amount of supplies. I'm fairly certain you've hit the drugging/buyer ranks by now, so it must have become harder to compete without drugs. 

The turrets and hulls I can recommend (for any rank essentially) are:

Hunter, Titan, Viking, Hornet

Smoky, Shaft, Ricochet, Firebird.

There are a bunch of nuances which I didn't mention here, but that's what I think right off the top of my head. Protections may be a good investment too.

[Viking_Thunder_EN 120]

Hi guys! Thanks to some premium, saving tankoins and lucky container openings, I have 220k crystals, hornet heat immunity and incediary band vulcan augment.

I currently have hornet mk7-1; railgun mk7-1, thunder mk7-1, viking mk6-6, wasp mk6-7.

Do I:

1. Buy vulcan and just use vulcan + hornet?
2. Continue upgrading my stuff?

[Gauss-Hornet 489]

12 minutes ago, Viking_Thunder_EN said:

Hi guys! Thanks to some premium, saving tankoins and lucky container openings, I have 220k crystals, hornet heat immunity and incediary band vulcan augment.

I currently have hornet mk7-1; railgun mk7-1, thunder mk7-1, viking mk6-6, wasp mk6-7.

Do I:

1. Buy vulcan and just use vulcan + hornet?
2. Continue upgrading my stuff?

The Hornet-Vulcan + Heat Immunity combo might be nerfed soon, now that it's been the meta for quite a long while. I would advise against buying Vulcan at full price. Also, see whether you're comfortable using the turret and are not buying it just for its current OPness.