Capture the Hill! Today is all about the classic game mode that definitely is more complicated than most realize — King of the Hill!

Welcome back to the Spider Tanks Showcase! Today we’re going to be diving into a classic game mode in the arena where two teams square off in the ultimate turf war.

That’s right, today is all about King of the Hill. The idea of this game mode seems pretty basic — control that circle. There is often a little more to it than that, however, and there is a wide array of strategies that Pilots employ successfully in battle.

King of the Hill Summarized

TLDR⬇️: Control the point by getting in its radius. Don’t let the enemy in. Blow up all who oppose you!

If you’re interested in a more technical description of how the rules work for King of the Hill, check it out below. If you feel caught up on the fundamentals, read on!

Whoever can possess the Control Point in a King of the Hill match will continuously receive points from it every second until the other team takes control. This scoring is interrupted, however, if an enemy is in the Control Point’s radius.

An enemy team will move control of the point towards themselves when they are in the radius. Two Tanks in the radius will have more effect than one, but adding a third does not increase how fast you can take control.

If an enemy Tank is not in the Control Point’s radius, control will rapidly move back to the team currently in control. This can be accelerated by a friendly Tank entering the radius. If no one is controlling the point it will not move after leaving the circle unless prompted by an enemy Tank.

Offense Vs Defense

One of the biggest keys to successful strategy on King of the Hill is a Pilot’s ability to adapt to the challenges at hand. What may be successful while the point is firmly in your control probably won’t work when you’re trying to take it back from the enemy.

Offense

While you’re trying to regain control of the Command Point from the enemy team, the difference between a winning and losing strategy is often down to the timing. If you’re not in control of the pace of combat, then the enemy is. If they are in control of the pace and the positioning then it will be a long match for you.

When your team attacks the point, you need to overwhelm the defending team and ruin any defensive plans they have. This means tactics like scattering healers and artillery, focusing fire on vulnerable targets, or approaching from different directions to thin out their fire.

Not every team is perfectly practiced and coordinated with each other, but it doesn’t take much to get used to what your teammates are likely going to do after one or two assaults. Attacking together is often the most important thing to remember on offense in King of the Hill.

Defense

On defense, your job is in some ways the same but very different. While defending, you necessarily control the positioning advantage. Every Control Point out there has arena features and obstructions around it that make for defensible choke points. Use these.

Think about how the enemy is likely to approach you and how you respond. As we said above, they’ll be looking for ways to confound your defenses. Think about multiple scenarios. Are you going to run to the south to provide covering fire unless that Flamethrower is close by, or are you going to bait that flame in and throw a grenade behind the pillar?

Your battle is also about timing on defense. Even if you or your teammates are destroyed, as long as you can successfully slow the enemy down until reinforcements arrive you’ll keep the point. Find ways to dull enemy attacks from one side or to separate opponents. Chase them away from their objective… or make them chase you. It’s not about kills, it’s about keeping that point.

Knowing Your Role

What makes King of the Hill so distinct from other game modes is that it’s nearly impossible for one person having a really good match to effectively carry their team. On the other hand, it’s a game mode where someone can easily be incredibly effective without super high damage… or even really good aim!

The Duelist

If you have single target damage dominance, single out one defender or attacker. If you can harass them enough you’ll distract them from their plan even if you don’t kill them. This will work particularly well for straightforward, linear Weapons such as Triple Threat or Cannon.

Be relentless and hound your targets. Keep them occupied so your other team members can do their jobs.

The Gnat

Even if you don’t think you can take any of the other team one on one, that’s ok. It’s not about kills. It’s about winning.

If you position correctly and use Abilities wisely, you can be so annoying that you may get multiple enemies trying to gang up on you. This creates essential openings for your allies.

The Behemoth

You are the vanguard. You’re heading for the point. This one may not go so well for your kill/death ratio, but that’s ok. Your job is to stay alive and contest the point, whether that’s by dodging or sheer force of bulk.

On offense this will mean aggressively attacking the Control Point, on defense it’ll often mean interrupting when the enemy tries to.

The Rear Guard

You help your team by staying out of trouble. Whether you’re a Brambler hurling thorns at the enemy or a healer providing much needed relief, you do your best work when you’re not under threat.

You not being threatened by an enemy means that at least one of your team is being threatened by more than one, so make it worth it and act as a force multiplier.

Keep Watching the Point

Regardless of what role you fit into when the shooting starts, remember the point is… well, the point. You’re trying to get the enemy away from it so you can control it. Don’t get so caught up in fighting that you miss opportunities to snag control of the game!

Arena battles are a team sport, and that’s especially true in King of the Hill. Hopefully with the knowledge you’re now armed with, you can always be an asset to your team… whether it’s two strangers from the queue or your highly disciplined tournament team.

Keep your eyes on that prize and don’t get exploded too often.

Good luck out there Pilots! We’ll be back next week with a spotlight on Shrouded Shrine. Have tips or tactics on this tightly packed arena in the jungle? Make sure to shoot them to @Spider_Tanks on X, and you may even get featured in your next Spider Tanks Showcase!

Did we miss big things in this King of the Hill breakdown? Let us know in the comments!

Happy Tankiversary to all, and to all a good fight!

While the old Earth word “Oktober” means nothing on our current ECS calendars, we still mark its passage to this day.

To ancient Earthites, the last day of Oktober was a barbaric and brutal celebration of mortality in an attempt to appease the gods of their primitive death cults. For us, it was a rebirth for a human race unable to survive our own machinations and destructive tendencies. On the 31st day of Ten each rotation, we celebrate the foundation of the Council of Migration and our deliverance from the inevitable fate that our shattered world left us.

That’s not all though. On that same day centuries later, humanity experienced a new rebirth. We undertook a project of collaboration and kinship that had never been experienced before throughout The Earthen Cluster. We are speaking of course about the great Tank Olympiad.

Lovingly referred to as Spider Tanks by all the citizens of the Planetary Union, this great endeavor continues to foster cultural connection, diplomatic ties and economic prosperity among all of the children of Earth.

Tomorrow is the highest of holidays in the Planetary Union. All citizens are encouraged to take part in the celebration of our legacy as a people and our greatest institution — the arena!

We hope everybody has a great time in the arena this year. We’ve got some great prizes lined up thanks to a generous sponsorship from the United Pilot Federation! The UPF — Are You Winning Yet!?

Happy Anniversary!

Has it been a year already, Pilots? Maybe it’s the concussive force from the rockets, but time just seems to fly by!

One year ago tomorrow, on October 31st 2022, Spider Tanks officially went live on the Gala Games Platform. Since then there’s been the introduction of new features, such as:

• Drop Pod V2
• Expanded P&E stats
• Freecam mode
• Revamped report system
• Killfeed UI upgrade
• Tutorial
• Daily & weekly missions
• Custom Pilot contracts
• Custom Pilot criteria
• Custom VP split for Pilots and Captains
• Supercharge
• Ability selection pre-match
• VP info after match
• Idle, victory and defeat animations
• Destroyable objects and dynamic environments
• And much more!

We’ve also had some great events, like Tanksgiving, May Mayhem, Arachnid August. Heck, you guys even fought off an extrasolar invasion! Tons of people have streamed Spider Tanks from around the world, and the community has participated in and crafted a culture of tournaments and community competition.

Above all, you all have battled your hearts out… and for that, you have our hearts.

Since launch, 1,458,244 matches have been played on the live server. That is a lot of explosions, fires and bullet holes. Next year, let’s try for 10 million!

Tankiversary Achievements

We’re going to ask you to do something for this anniversary we’ve surely never done before… win! That’s right, it’s time to get out there and rack up those wins. We’ve got two separate sets of weekly benchmarks for you this time around. They look pretty similar — but we think you’ll like them 😉.

Each week offers a separate set of supply rewards, and a potential 250 Honor if you clear all the goals.

Totally separate from these weekly rewards, if you can manage to get to 150 wins total between 9am PT, October 30th and 9am PT, November 13th… you’ll get a free Common Halo Prop!

Bigger, Badder LiveStream

We’re excited about a year of Spider Tanks, and excited to see where the next year can take us. We want to get in on the fun with the community, so we’ll be running a livestream starting at 9am PT and running all the way through 10pm PT on October 31st!

Expect to see tons of folks from around Gala Games popping into the stream, even some that you don’t see very often! It is a day of multiple celebrations, so put your Halloween costume on, get a personal supply of candy at the ready, and let’s play some matches!

A Perfect Gift

No one is going to pretend that it was a perfect year in the arena… but we do want everyone to have a perfect anniversary so we can all enjoy ourselves and burst into a next year that takes us to so many better places!

We thought really hard about what the absolute perfect gift for such an auspicious occasion would be, then it came to us. Can you guess it? Ha! Way off.

This isn’t just us resetting you to a perfect reroll so you can go do it yourself. That’s lazy gifting for a day like this. No, we’ll be actually GIVING you a perfect upgrade on every Tank part you own. That’s right. It’ll just go perfectly up one level.

This will take awhile for us to do though, as there are quite a few Tank Parts with some arena scars. We’ll start the operation today, so some may get their present early. We’ll let you know on Discord when everything is wrapped up.

Notably, this will essentially reroll any saved upgrades you have, albeit one level higher. The operation will reroll you to perfect for free and then upgrade it for free, so you’ll end up with a random upgrade option at the next level. Even if you lose a perfect you were sitting on, however, you’re still getting a perfect upgrade out of it.

NOTE: This will only affect Tank parts on GalaChain. Parts on Ethereum cannot be upgraded and thus will be missed.

Welcome Back Supercharge!

Supercharge has been reactivated in the game!

Its mechanics have been adjusted slightly to accommodate for emission mechanics changes since it was last active. In the old system, Supercharge would grant 5x your first win VP each win. This made the risk/reward MASSIVE and caused a lot of pressure on Pilots.

With the changes to the economy that were implemented earlier this year, it just made much more sense to look at Supercharge again and reevaluate where it should be to be both fun and useful for Pilots.

Now, Supercharge instead grants your first win VP if you win for five matches, regardless of how many wins that part already has accumulated that day. It can also now only be used once per Tank part per day. It cannot be used in teams, and Supercharged parts may not be deployed in Drop Pods.

The cost has been adjusted accordingly so that it lines up with the potential reward of Supercharge. It is a dynamic price, and it will change with many different factors that also play a part in how much VP boost your Supercharged part can potentially give.

(firstWinOfDayItemPlayer*1000*breakthroughRate*nGames)/(vpToSilkRatio*earningMultiplier*adjustedHonorMultiplier)/(arachniumToSilkRatio)

Let the Battles Begin!

The event actually started this morning. What are you waiting for!? Go win!!!!

This message was brought to you by the United Pilot Federation. The UPF — Are You Winning Yet!?

Time to get a move on! Today we’re focusing on Abilities that let you dominate with positioning and maneuvering.

Hello Pilots, and welcome back to the Spider Tanks Showcase!

Today we wanted to do something a little different than usual. We’ll be zooming in on two Abilities that often feel like two sides of the same coin, yet have far different applications and strategies.

Today we’re focusing on movement Abilities, but we’ll start working our way through other Abilities available to Pilots and hopefully show you new ways to square off against the competition.

So strap in, brace yourself and get ready to go FAST as we zoom through everything about Speed Booster and Relay Drone!

Movement Abilities and Strategy Overview

Obviously, positioning is incredibly important within each and every match. Even on game modes where you aren’t necessarily fighting over an objective location, you are still whirring around in the chaos of battle and trying to defend against three other Tanks. Obstacles, bottlenecks and cover so often decide the match.

Both Speed Booster and Relay Drone get you an extra burst of movement to get where you need to go, and most Pilots will have a favorite between the two.

Many Pilots mistakenly think that Relay Drone is strictly a surprise skill and Speed Booster is for augmenting movement, but that’s not always the case. Each has their own unique advantages and situational dominance.

Speed Booster only costs 4 Energy, so it can be used pretty frequently… even by little Tanks with very low Energy regeneration. It has a long duration with a steady boost, which can allow you to put some distance between you and a threat or run down a Tank that’s the same Speed or slightly faster than you.

On the negative side, however, it’s very noticeable when you are using it and a skilled enemy will account for it. On larger Tanks, you may not get enough acceleration to change much since they’re so slow to start off. Finally, while you may be cranked up to super speed, that doesn’t mean you won’t have to run all the way around an obstacle if the enemy uses the map to their advantage.

Relay Drone costs 6 Energy, which necessitates it being used far more sparingly than Speed Booster. It will, however, give instant results. Since you can teleport independently of obstacles, you can use this Ability to instantly escape an oncoming threat, or sneak up on a Tank that thought they were safe. For large Tanks that may take 15+ seconds to cross the entire arena, even at high costs a Relay Drone can mean not always being behind the action.

For its drawbacks you obviously have the Energy Cost. For a smaller Tank, six Energy takes a long time to build which will put Relay Drone out of the question if you need readily available utility from your other Ability. Even for medium and large Tanks, six Energy is going to be a sacrifice. Jumping the gun could mean death, so your timing has to be right. To further complicate this balance, you’ll be unable to shoot for a split second after teleporting.

It’s not that either ability is overall better, but that they each have situations that they’re superior for. Need to jump away from a flame across a pit of lava? Relay Drone. Need to relentlessly pursue your target? Speed Booster.

Which situations you want to be prepared for depend on the specific battle as well as your skills and preference.

Offense in Motion

Positioning is just as crucial for the other team as it is for yours. Well timed movement can compromise all their planning and wipe their squad quickly if executed well.

Both Speed Booster and Relay Drone can bust up bunkers and do serious damage to the enemy team, but they are separate tools with separate strengths.

Speed Booster offers you sustain and consistency. Most Tanks can keep up Speed Booster a good chunk of the match, so if you want to go in fast and stay fast, Speed Booster is probably the answer. What Weapons the enemy is using also can play a big part in this, because you can dodge much more effectively with Speed Booster. If the enemy is using linear Weapons like Cannon or Bouncer and you decide to come up close, you better be able to dodge what they’re going to throw at you!

Relay Drone, on the other hand, offers you a potentially game-changing effect in a one-and-done burst. You can jump right over defenses the enemy is behind and have a quick shot, or you can hop over them as they flee to unexpectedly meet their path. Unlike Speed Booster, Relay Drone only gives brief visual cues to your opponents. If you think you can beat their reaction speed, Relay Drone may be the best way.

Beyond each skill’s strengths, it should be mentioned that just having extra movement Abilities around creates a noticeable net benefit for your team, even if only as a deterrent. Once the enemy sees that you’re not afraid to use that Speed Booster to zip away or pop over to their healer with a Relay Drone if they rush, they’re likely to rethink their plans.

Any time that you can create doubt and confusion in the enemy is great. Three and a half minutes isn’t very long. Even a few seconds off balance for a team can totally shift the outcome of the match in your favor.

Mobile Defense

While Relay Drone and Speed Booster are regularly used to put more pressure on an enemy or separate foes to pick off isolated targets, they’re just as valuable defensively. If you’re already in a fast Tank, you shouldn’t just think of your Speed Booster as a ‘zip in for the kill’ tool. It’s also an excellent ‘get the hell out of here’ tool!

Even a Medium Tank can quickly become the fastest on the battlefield with a Speed Booster. Sometimes the best option really is to run away and regroup.

Relay Drone likewise has a pretty impressive array of defensive applications. First, there’s the ability to counter a Relay Drone with a Relay Drone. Flame pops in on you uninvited? Teleport away and gun them down from safety. When using Relay Drone to flee from danger, you can easily put obstacles between yourself and the enemy so they can’t easily catch you with just a second or two of movement. You’ve now turned a moment of disadvantage to advantage.

You don’t always have to be just fleeing from immediate danger to use Relay Drone for extra defense. Think about those moments where all six Tanks are lined up fighting for one bottleneck. You see an enemy moving towards a hole on your team to flank. Relay Drone saves the day again! You can instantly restructure your defensive formation to account for threats.

Move on Out!

This concludes today’s Showcase, but there’s plenty more to explore in the arena!

Next time we’ll be looking into the King of the Hill game mode. Send us your strategic advice or epic clips to @Spider_Tanks on Twitter or Discord for a chance to be featured in the next edition!

Attention Pilots! Increased rewards for inviting new players to the arena are here!

Do you like explosions? Do you like free Tanks? Do you like at least one other human being?

Well then, you’re going to love the new and improved Spider Friends!

That’s right! Spider Friends is back better than ever. We’ve revamped the system and even upped the rewards for prior participants since the rollout of the Spider Friends system.

Referrers have already received their free Components and a critical Honor boost, and soon they’ll get a shipment of free Tank Parts for helping spread the word of the arena.

Celebrate friendship with the new Spider Friends referral system!

New Spider Friends Incentive Details

Just as before, the system rewards users for referring new players in multiple tiers. You can get your unique code to refer new players at https://app.gala.games/social. Each player who signs up with your code will need to achieve 10 wins before they count towards your total.

Tier 1: Refer One Friend

Common Captain’s Hat Prop

Tier 2: Refer Five Friends

• Common Maul Body
• 100 Honor (New!)
• 1000 Bolts (New!)
• 10 Arachnium (New!)

Tier 3: Refer 10 Friends

• Common Bouncer Weapon
• 200 Honor (New!)
• 2000 Bolts (New!)
• 20 Arachnium (New!)

Tier 4: Refer 25 Friends

• Common Tiger Hero Tank
• 300 Honor (New!)
• 5000 Bolts (New!)
• 50 Arachnium (New!)

Tier 5: Refer 50 Friends (New!)

• Rare Tiger Hero Tank (New!)
• 300 Honor (New!)
• 10,000 Bolts (New!)
• 100 Arachnium (New!)

Spider Friends Drawing (New!)

Each two referrals who achieve 10 wins will get you an entry into the Spider Friends Drawing, where one lucky Spider BFF will win an Epic Tank combo!

Please note again that all new rewards have been granted to previous participants in the Spider Friends program as well. Enjoy — you deserve it! This includes drawing entries, and next month’s drawing will reflect all referrals up to that point since the introduction of Spider Friends.

Let the Friendship BEGIN!

So what’s up Pilots? You feeling friendly yet? HumanEmpathyBot37v4.2Σ1’s conclusion was that at least 78% of you would feel a deep longing to go experience thrilling yet isolated destruction in the arena with other human friends.

This, of course, is the desired outcome. Your Planetary Union needs you to go forth with compatriots and unabashedly destroy the hard work of Union factories in the arena for the benefit of Union factories. Fun is highly encouraged.

As humans are widely theorized to be naturally social animals, cooperation and mutual bloodlust in the presence of another human with whom you already share a close bond should be enjoyable and elicit positive chemical releases within the human brains involved. The addition of rewards will hopefully further encourage both destruction and recreation of multiple humans together!

Grab your unique code at https://app.gala.games/social today and shout it from the rooftops! If you lack a rooftop, electronic communication will suffice.

Best of luck human Pilots and human Pilot friends!

Share the destruction. Share the love. Share Spider Friendship!