Tank Basic/Advanced
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[edit] 2142 Tank Basic
Note: Blue Boxed items are Advanced Topics
[edit] Basic principles
Firepower: main cannon 300m and under, F2 turret to 50m and under
Strongest attribute: zoom. Engage all targets with zoom with the exception of swing shots, the game physics decreases shot-deviancy when zoom is engaged.
Weakest attribute: Close Quarters (<100m) fighting (weak back, slow turning speed, slow acceleration/top speed)
[edit] Basic skills
- Be situationally aware enough to know where the enemy is, and in turn only expose your front to them.
- Be able to follow the road and look elsewhere -- use the CTRL key in Nekomata as in gunship
- Be able to drive backward without hitting anything based on the minimap (double-tap "C" key to look behind and double-tap again to face forward)
- Be able to estimate and compensate for bullet drop and shear of the main cannon shells (bullets not visible past 100m)
- Be able to engage without shields
- Be able to do evasive maneuvers without exposing your backside and limiting the angle of exposure to the sides
- Be able to lead buggies with HMG
- Be able to set move markers and engage based on Mini-Map alone, without visual confirmation
- Be able to know where all the Rorsches are, one shot to cripple it, then wait for it to become occupied before firing again
- Be able to see engineer projectiles and punch shields immediately before they hit
[edit] Smart Ideas
- Never have something behind your back. Always have a retreat route
- If you're not zoomed in to engage, you're doing something wrong. Zoom in & out a couple of times to gauge fast moving targets coming towards you
#1 reason tanks go down: tanks got too close #2 reason: tank didn't pay attention to PDS #3 reason: tank exposed its side/back
- Keep your repair tool always selected. Tanks don't encounter that many mines -- they do get hit by Rorsches/tanks/AT often and a split second can make the difference.
- Never run a single tank in a squad -- always have two for interlocking fields of fire. No single piece of ground armor can take on two tanks with interlocking fields of fire.
- For offensive games run just one tank per flag being attacked
[edit] Kit loadout
[edit] Most common
-SAAW/Pilum, bait & PDS
-SAAW: anti-gunship
-Pilum: anti-armour
-Bait: buggy doom mines/random mines
-PDS: buggy doom/gunship/enemy tank/Rorsches/infantry on ladders detection
[edit] Less Often
- Mines: to prevent buggy-doom
- IDS: gunner support to resupply the shells / easier to defend on buggydoom
[edit] Gunner Duties
- Need a SMART gunner: someone who can realize you're damaged (always watching the health bar) And always watching your back.
[edit] OFFENSE (small maps)
-In offensive games Tanks are to follow infantry pushes and act as a fall back point if the enemy rallies
[edit] Safe Loadout
Pilot - Support: IDS & EMP Grenades Gunner - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mine Bait - Keep your throwable items always out: ie, IDS always up, PDS always up and re-supply if they're shot off
[edit] DEFENSE (large maps)
-In defensive games Tanks are largely stationary so you can mine up a "safe zone" to prevent buggies from getting close
[edit] Safe Loadout
Pilot - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mines Gunner - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mine Bait (because of a game glitch a Motion Mine may "stick" itself to the tank and will only explode when the pilot gets out killing him/her - this does not happen to the gunner though) - Shoot at random buggies even if they're not interested in buggy-doom. - Keep your throwable items always out: ie, IDS always up, PDS always up, mines always out etc.
[edit] Predators
COs
- Threat: EMP and OS usually takes you out due to general immobility
- Defense: Try to stay mobile
Gunships
- Threat: one TV will cause burning, half a volley will finish you off
- Defense: pack a SAAW / be able to punch shields before TVs / use F2 to chase it away / pray for gunship pilots on your team
Buggy doom
-Threat: Pillum shot in the back will take 95-98% of your HP
-Defense: Pack a PDS, and use F2 -- main cannon is effective with a swing shot
Rorsches
-Threat: very accurate and very long range and fair amount of damage (diminishes over long distances)
-Defense: always take out Rorsches before they are manned. It takes two shots, and this is a long time so cripple the rosche first and wait for it to be manned.
[edit] Prey
Infantry
-use splash damage -- wait for infantry to get close to cover behind their back
-it is very difficult to hit infantry on open ground -- look for ways to reflect damage off cover/armor/ground
-watch and listen for cloakers -- hard to spot them but they need to de-cloak before RDXing.
-at 100+ meters, everything looks the same: make sure you are not shooting friendlies -- check the map or focus on the target until the color shows (enemies take longer to show, friendlies not so much)
Walkers
-Keep your distance, and have a retreat route.
-Always try to keep 100m between you and it ... even if it doesn't see you. Walkers are fast, can traverse ugly ground, have faster shields and larger firepower. They also usually have gunners and can encircle you. It's a good idea to keep them at 150m+ at ALL times, and immediately begin retreating when that is not true.
-- Use interlocking fields of fire to scare/destroy a walker quickly
APCs
- APCs: do NOT underestimate their EMP
- APCs have enough armor to EMP, move in, punch shields, EMP again, bail 2 engies and take you out. Be careful. Engage at range.
- APCs are large, bulky and easy to hit, though, shooting at the front is nearly useless
[edit] Common TG Practices
- Start a tank squad if you're going to be tanking -- most SLs who want to hit flags want all their people with it.
- Armor support is hard and takes SL-Tank co-ordination. I've rarely seen it work, and I personally think it's more trouble than it's worth
- Don't start 8 Tank squads -- combine into one squad that does awesome things
- Spread out so that you get interlocking fields of fire, so that whatever you engage can't "run away for cover"
- Spread out so that you help each other out with buggy-doom squads
- Don't bother to shoot buggies with F1 ... it does nothing. Switch to F2
- Destroy empty buggies/rorsches/vehicles on enemy flags. You don't attract attention to yourself, and you stop SLs and buggy-doom squads
[edit] Tank Formations (up to 3 in a squad)
These must be practiced and fluent and are used offensively, defensively and in transit or full stop Standard: Linear, tank width apart. V: Center Tank (SL) in advanced/retreat position. Right-Lead (Inverse for Left-Lead): angled advance/retreat. Perimeter: Tanks will surround a quadrant (with the target in a corner of the quadrant) but never more than 90 degrees from each other to prevent rear-attack. Lock-Down (for maximum of 30 seconds due to enemy CO): Tanks side to side Cause: Enemy tank formation/gunship(s) Alternate shields with repairs (at least one shield is always on -taking turns - with engineers tending to the unshielded)
[edit] Demos
- Demo F2 shooting at an enemy gunship with friendly SL otus to show its health as it decreases -- color it as a deterrent, and not a sureshot
- Demo gunship TV missile on enemy tank -- expound the importance of keeping 4 selected all the time, not MMB
- Do a circle around an engy with the Nekomata -- expound that tanks die to smart people who know how to take side shots
- Look for back-side shots on enemy armor. People get silly and expose their back sides in APCs/Tanks/Walkers because there is no one within 100m. This is your hunting ground. 1-2 hundred meters.
[edit] 2142 Tank Advanced
[edit] Introduction
The underlying topics that will be covered in this class range from running with a dedicated gunner in a single tank squad all the way through to running up to three tanks in a squad applying trained formations.
[edit] Gunner Duties
When choosing a gunner to run with, you will need someone who is proactive in determining the needs of the tank and is willing to place the needs of the Tank above their own survival. Someone who can realize you're damaged by always watching the health bar and always watching your back. However this is not a one-way system as the mark of a great Tank pilot is knowing how to protect your gunner-engineer from any unnecessary dangers while they commit to their duties in maintaining your Tank.
As a Squad Leader you need to be vocal at all times as your engineer is not a mind-reader, a great partnership can be described as each person completing the limitations of the other and some basic guidlines you can pass to your gunner while you prep for the game are:
1) I need you to be looking behind and at either side of the tank all the time, if I need you to look forward to assist me I'll let you know. 2) Keep watching your PDS to ensure you can re-attach it the moment it gets blown off and warn me if my IDS is also destroyed. 3) If you want to get out to repair let me know first so I can properly position myself to reduce your risk of injury. 4) If repairing in the middle of an engagement and you get killed you must inform me immediately so I can retreat through an escape route and await your re-spawn. 5) Keep watching the health bar at all times - there is a sporadic glitch that sometimes happens where-by I'll get hit but there is no audible strike to listen for.
[edit] Deployment
There are several factors to bear in mind before deciding how best to deploy your Tank squad in any given senario, these factors include:
- What tank are you using - PAC or EU
- The size of the map you are about to play
- The name of the map (the layout) you are about to play
The next step is designed to be a collection of generalizations designed to give you a basic theory on how to approach these criteria when planning for the game ahead.
-The PAC tank can be used more aggressively than the EU Tank due mostly to its manoeuvrability that can assist it in making lightning strikes against your target where as the EU Tanks may need to be played more cautiously in that respect. Where the EU Tank trumps the PAC Tank is in the area of stability you have in taking a shot becuase the PAC Tank has the tendency to buck and swerve even on slight gradients.
[edit] Offensive Tactics
- An Offensive strategy is more conducive to small maps where infantry is able to react more quickly due to less travel distances for them and so they have more of a presence when trouble hits. This frees-up your Tank to be more mobile in engagements and take the offensive - Closely follow infantry pushes and act as a fall back point if the enemy rallies against them.
[edit] Safe Offensive Loadout
--Pilot - Support: IDS & EMP Grenades --Gunner - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mine Bait - Keep your throwable items always out: ie, IDS always up, PDS always up and re-supply if they're shot off
[edit] Defensive Tactics
- Conversely a Defensive strategy is more conducive to large maps where infantry is unable to react more quickly due to more travel distances for them and so they are caught-short when trouble hits and struggle to get back in time before their flag falls to a cloaker or FAV rush etc...
At this point Tanks are largely stationary so you can mine up a "safe zone" to prevent buggies from getting close and set up in an easily defended area to "snipe" and use the distance to your advantage if possible.
[edit] Safe Defensive Loadout
--Pilot - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mines --Gunner - Engineer: Pilum/SAAW PDS & Mine Bait (because of a game glitch a Motion Mine may "stick" itself to the tank and will only explode when the pilot gets out killing him/her - this does not happen to the gunner though) - Shoot at random buggies even if they're not interested in buggy-doom. - Keep your throwable items always out: ie, IDS always up, PDS always up, mines always out etc.
[edit] Tank Formations (up to 3 in a squad)
These must be practiced and fluent and are used offensively, defensively and in transit or full stop. I have 5 listed here however if you wish to add to this at any point then that is entirely up to you, a word of warning though, if you make too many you may run the risk of confusing your squad.
1) Standard Formation (column or line): This is a linear formation, generally a tank width apart from each other and the Squad Leader will take the central position .
2) Vee Formation (advance or retreat position): Once more with the SL in the center the member tanks will position themselves slightly ahead or behind the SL Tank
3) Diagonal Formation: this exposes the flanks of all the tanks in the formation but also frees-up the firing arcs in a certain direction perfect for striking a target for offensive purposes but too open to be considered defensive for your squad and should not be too prolonged.
4) Perimeter Formation: the Tanks will surround a selected quadrant of a target area (with the target in a corner of the quadrant) but never more than 90 degrees from each other to prevent rear-attack. Again this can't be sustained for long periods of time and can only be entirely successful if combined with an infantry push.
5) Lock-Down Formation: Only attempt this for a maximum of approximately 30 seconds due to the dangers associated with the enemy Commander - the Tanks form-up side to side and use interlocking shields to defend against persistent enemy barrages. Engineers are ordered out of the tanks and repair religiously from the rear.
Side-note: Do not get precious about which gunner gets in which tank, too much messing around can cost precious seconds.
[edit] Training Senarios
- Run through "Tank Formations" 2-3 minutes for each trainee.
- Run through Gunner Duties combined.
- Run through senarios on how the Squad Leader would handle prepping for the start of a map
[edit] Credit
This material was written by INSUNABULA and edited for the wiki by Smachin007.
