Quantum_Ranger

My problem is that (most of the time) I can't shoot what I can't see. As the train started to appear, I saw explosions at the rear. No idea where that fire was coming from, so I can't eliminate the source. After approaching the buildings, 2 infantry appear for maybe 0.5 seconds before they shoot and the train dies. There's not enough time for me to get a shot off to nail both of them, especially if driving up the tracks with the train. Oofda. I am far from the best player, but I am trying. I agree slowing the train engine or adding some HP would help. QR

Design and feel-wise, 8/10... for playability 6/10, so maybe 7/10 overall. Fighting through the rain and swamp is different, so have to give the developers credit for taking and existing map and making it feel quite fresh. Sorry Hana is having a bad hair day. Plot elements are intriguing, reminiscent of SH4. I agree Kopylov sounds a bit different in War than Plague. I have an older machine and I can see how the map is pushing the hardware to the limit .... more so than any other map to date. Of course, it might just be the server connection - had a bit of rubberbanding but at least I stayed connected. Definitely can't see the infantry at the end... our squad of randoms was actually doing pretty good and knocking out all the red stuff we could see, then suddenly there's a cut to the train blowing up and we lose. So I guess you have to have a good spotting vehicle in the right place. Vehicles without an AC or MG (such as NM142) are clearly at a disadvantage with all the infantry around... fortunately there are lots of others to choose from. DVC, QR

Agree, 2 sides to the coin - I suppose this reduces the "bait and switch" problem where I join the queue thinking I will get the current map, but then the maps change while the MM is working, and you wind up on a different map. I wonder if the less popular maps would become more palatable if the payout ratios were more uniform... Thanks to Haswell I do prefer the higher paying maps.... Of course to truly optimize payout one could just play SpecOps (Plague/War) and the rotation matters less. Definitely that would be nice. Otherwise we might be able to collaboratively build the rotation - if player A notices that Leviathan follows Ricochet after Cavalry, and player B notices that Perseus follows Leviathan after Ricochet, then you can deduce the likely partial rotation as ... Calvalry > Ricochet > Leviathan > Perseus... with enough players, you could construct the cycle without anyone having to sit through the whole rotation.

--- And we have lift-off! Time to check our loot... --- Loot? What loot? We spent everything on tiny decals that have no meaning... Haswell definitely scored big on the final re-rolls. Ignoring the ranks until the end was an excellent strategy... I like the idea of saving SpecOps crates 'till the next BP, or whenever one needs them to acquire something appealing. I do think the offerings in the shop are tiered depending on your net worth (some combination of BC / gold / stuff you own.) I never saw anything above T8 offered in the shop, so I wound up climbing the ranks to get the 195.... as my BC balance declined, the shop offers reflected my descent into poverty. Still managed to nab a Scorpion Kastet and a type 47 on top of everything else in the last 24 hours. One thing for sure is that the shop beats lootboxes by a mile.... nice to see what is available, and you can spend down to the last few coins. I left behind 9 coins at the very end. QR

Thanks for the inspiring analysis. A couple weeks ago I hit a wall grinding AW and had to take a breather for a few days... so my rationalization is that I was just grinding at my RL job instead of grinding AW.... so some of the RL $ accrued during that period could be allocated to AW, as if I had used those same hours for AW had I not overdosed on Gori. The coin sale helped... so now I have the Object 195, the Krizantema (meh), the boosts/gold/credits from the ranks, and enough surplus coin for some last-minute re-rolls. And you are very right - took the 195 on a test-drive to break in the crew and the 152 mm is definitely fun. If I wanted to use the 195 for Heroics, what would be the best retrofits? I am thinking breech and vision but appreciate advice from the wise ones who have been there, done that. DVC, QR

I think this stream of opinions is a testament to how challenging it is to design a good PvE map... I've mentioned this before, but perhaps we should have a map design contest where players could submit some neat designs... the best design(s) could then be brought into production. If we were going to modify maps to make them part of the storyline, I would suppose we could start with a really open map like Tsunami and put some more features on it. DVC, QR

Very impressive and inspiring. I was wondering myself as to how to manage the BP endgame. I managed to grind through to the MSTA-S (which was my original objective) but discovered that I have about 70k BC left after that... I don't really want the Krizantema because I already have a Stalker. So, a few questions: 1.) Do the coin boosters carry over through to the next BP? I might go up the ranks if the boosters carry over, but if they don't, that's clearly pointless. 2.) How many rerolls did it take to find something nice (commander or prem tank greater than T8?) I have been watching the daily refreshes for 80 days, and have yet to see anything higher than T8. 3.) Is the Object 195 worth buying BC for? (I am thinking not, but those who have driven it might be able to offer informed opinions.) Overall pretty satisfied with this BP (Kurganets, Shilka, MSTA-S, and yes, a York), so whatever else happens is icing on the cake. DVC, QR

Just received the PSP Zubr as a contract reward vehicle, and recently started grinding the Centauro 105. Aside from the prem credit bonus, I don't see much difference between the two now that we are post-0.33 balance. Yeah, the option for the missile turret is OK, but if the ATGMs are -worse- than the NM142, why bother? I suppose the rate of fire upgrade would make a difference, but that will take 500 more contract missions to unlock? Eeek. Not seeing many of these on the battlefield, so maybe that's an indicator that this TD is destined to be gathering DusT?? DVC, QR

On 1/20/2021 at 7:49 PM, Haswell said: But why are the BMPs lumped into that list as well when they are perfectly fine? For the BMP-3, the AC capacity was buffed just slightly. It's nice to have an option to use the AC instead of spamming ATGMs all day. The BVP-M80A with the Foka turret really eats ammo, so it needed a bigger magazine to be worthwhile. Not much sense to have high DPM if there isn't enough M. Not qualified to say much about the others, although I agree the LAV-150 is a head-scratcher. Never had to hit the Q key on that one. DVC, QR

Yes, I am curious about this. You can't be shooting (with the same weapon system) while reloading... and I don't like to break cover until I have a shot ready (or close to it.) So if the interval between shots is a fixed interval for everyone, it penalizes slower weapon systems, while if it is some percentage of reload time, it would penalize those with reload time buffs.... Put another way, ignoring XP and credits for a moment, is AFV better to farm BC or MBT? DVC, QR

Don't forget the legions of infantry heading towards the M1A1s with their hands up!

I have Ioannis up to MSgt and he is a good spotter in AFVs; the bonus is just a few yards, but sometimes that's all the edge you need. The promotion system beyond LT is going to have me grinding a bunch of secondary people now, too, so will have to move Rashid, Rachel, and Phil up in the next phase.

So what counts as effective combat time? [BCs are awarded "for each minute of effective combat", plus multipliers for winning and being at the top of the team list.] I figure it is some combination of shooting/reloading/moving/spotting/damage dealing, but can't quite figure it out. And it seems like mech infantry can deal damage, but don't really contribute to effective combat time by themselves. For example, I have no idea if takeover time contributes to effective combat time... so at the end of a match, is it better to sit on the cap, or look for that last straggler tank (which might be movement, but not active combat, particularly if someone else finds the straggler way far away from you.) DVC, QR

I really like the commentary here. Perhaps the harbinger discussion is a bit different than the spotting retro discussion. The issue of timing is one I hadn't consciously thought that much about; the combination of where to be when is very helpful. I am still struggling to do better on maps like Zero Hour and Raiding Party because there is a lot of driving around, so maybe less room for error if you have a slower tank and want to be in position on time. We get some information about positioning from watching replays, but it's harder to optimize timing by observation. This is much more productive than the frustration often vented in global chat, where people complain about being teamed with a bunch of noobs that do not understand the map. Newer players like me are indeed trying (and dying repeatedly) to figure these things out by trial and error... so wisdom from the masters is very welcome. DVC, QR

What's the best way to manage a large inventory of tanks? In the beginning, when all I had was progression vehicles, it was easy - grind up the tech tree, and the finished vehicles pretty much go into reserve unless they have good retrofits and generate good income. Then I got a few prems, and I would keep a high-tier prem to farm credits, so I could afford more progression vehicles. Now I have a bit of a strategic problem - I have more nice tanks than I can play in 1 session, and some less-than-nice tanks which might get better through grinding... but grinding the progression tanks is starting to feel more like a chore when there are other more fun vehicles to play... unless I have a BP mission to incentivize the grind. At the moment, I have a few progession vehicles that I just haven't played in awhile, so their tech trees are just stagnating. I even have some prems (like the Sabra) that I haven't played for more than a couple missions. Is there a good strategy for deciding what tank one should play over another? And long-term, is there a real payoff to grinding up the progression trees aside from tank collecting? And what do I do with all of this locked XP (considering my gold supply is rather limited)? Thanks for advice, DVC, QR

Just discovered that there are upgrades to the Kurganets in the workshop that start at 80 matches... so I need to grind it some more to max it out. Even in its current state it's getting a few blue stars on the right maps... and I am far from an expert player, so it's the vehicle, not me. DVC, QR

^^ This means you are a really good manager!!

Thanks for the advice and strategies to get the Kurganets-25... so now the question is what should I save my BC for going forward?? Haven't seen any offers for vehicles > T8, but it just occurred to me that the shop probably doesn't issue offers that you can't afford. So maybe the offers will get better once my BC balance goes up now that I'm not buying Kurganets parts anymore. Are there any T9 or T10 vehicles being offered that are worth having... perhaps something more useful than the MSTA-S? [Already have the ZTQ-15, but not much else...] Thanks in advance for suggestions, DVC, QR

Finally unlocked the Kurganets-25 last night; it was a good New Year's present. It may have its limitations, but to me it is the most fun vehicle I've played with straight out of the box. Definitely a better feeling than the usual, "OK, need to break it in and it will improve to meh after the crew is level 4 and I throw in 3+ million in retrofits." The Bulat is interesting; I used them to overwhelm the APS before launching a Kornet. Having 8 in the launcher also makes the damage divisible among targets. The pen on the AC is what I wished the Bofors on the Type 89 IFV would be. I suppose that opinions are relative to other choices you might have in your fleet. As a newer player whose other TD's are the T7 Centauro 105 and the T7 NM142, the Kurganets is a thrill. As much as we rant on the dev team, I am thankful that they designed and built this, and constructed the shop to make it accessible to the mortal [below?] average player. DVC, QR

OK, grinding away at the NM142. Got the BP challenge for Faraday damage which makes it as good a time as any to work through it. Do the improved breech retrofits improve rate of fire on the ATGM launchers, or just guns? There seem to be a few retrofit modules that claim to improve ATGM accuracy, do these help? Obviously needs help with vision, so I figure I will need to add optics. Thanks in advance for suggestions... DVC! QR

Any chance that this vehicle can get a 7.62 machine gun? It's a shame I have to use ATGMs to kill infantry and secondaries.

Overall, a decent start for a new mission chain. I can see how it appeals to casual players. I see the mission reward has been reduced to a plat crate instead of a SpecOps crate, so it's commensurate with the effort/difficulty. I only got stuck once on a pile of rubble, but was able to get un-stuck by shooting some HEAT rounds at the rubble. The map rewards mobility. It's actually kind of fun driving around with the ZTQ-15 with the nifty suspension. The tank slide is fun, have never had to use my brakes before on other maps, but it does help control descent if someone spins out in front of you. Mech infantry here and there help knock out the homicide contract mission. There are enough for everyone on the team to kill at least one, even if you are tied up in the back of the platoon. Agree with wishing corridors were wider, but this isn't really that different from the early SH chapter corridors. The problem is that the corridor bends a lot, which slows down travel, especially after respawns. I can understand how a couple hairpin turns can be fun and help make the map feel bigger (like the locomotive section of Onyx) but the tortuosity here is a bit annoying. For whatever reason, I am not hearing the English voiceover, but doing OK just following the mission map. I kind of miss hearing Hana Buric's voice right now (<<Oh, Magnus!>>) QR

Yep, had the same client/server mismatch error, had to delete game and re-install. 4 hours and I got to play 1 match before heading to bed. Totally apocalyptic. At least I got my daily login bonus. QR

Wish we could trade parts ( I know, it would break the economy, so it won't happen.) But if you are short just 1 part, it would be great if you could receive it from a friend. The 5 for 0 parts is really sad... if you are spending RL money, you should get at least 1 part. At least with Commander Smiley we can say no before committing cash. QR

+85 degrees elevation - could be good against aircraft, helicopters, and UAVs. If only we had viable GLOPS at T4... QR