Welcome back to the Spider Tank Showcase! This week we’ll be taking a pretty sharp turn away from the pew pew of Crosssbow from last edition. This week we’re blasting through one of the bigger hunks of metal in the arena – The Maul!
Maul is a heavy Body, though it’s lighter than the biggest boys out there like Titan, Plate or Tracks. This large bulk provides you with an incredibly healthy amount of durability and Energy, but doesn’t slow your movement to a crawl like the biggest Bodies out there do.
The Warrior
Alright, we wanted to start off with originality… but we just can’t pass up the chance to revisit The Warrior build. Maul was, after all, originally released with the Bouncer. It’s a very classic combo.
The Maul’s bulk allows you to line up your shots a little better to get the best bouncy goodness. Since each ricochet with a Bouncer deals more damage than the last, shots that chain are the paydirt on this one.
Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.
Maul gives you the maneuverability to make sure you can exploit weaknesses you spot while holding a Bouncer. It’s bulk lets you focus solely on getting your shot off, as you can easily shrug off a hit or two.
The Sentinel
This one is similar in theory to The Warrior, but utilizes the Sniper Rifle to get the most out of Maul’s toughness. Sniper Rifle is deadly from a distance, but lining up the right shot can occasionally leave you exposed.
With a Sniper Rifle, a heavy Body like Maul can easily occupy a choke point in the battle. Control access to part of the map, and you open up your allies to do all sorts of fun shenanigans. The point isn’t so much to not get hit… more to make them pay for wanting to hit you.
Long-range support doesn’t mean out of the action.
In the above clip, the Sniper Rifle has occupied a crucial junction just in front of the teleport. From here, its teammates are able to exercise control over the repair kit above and freely move around the map and only leave one quad where the enemy is safe.
The range on a Sniper Rifle is long enough, that no one can threaten the Maul for long. Even if they can, they have to be in the open to do so… and it only takes two or three clean shots to bring them down.
The Berserker
This last combo isn’t for every Pilot. For The Berserker build, we’ll use Maul alongside Carver. The bulk of Maul allows for you to shrug off the first few hits before your blade finds home, and the high Energy lets you play flexibly with Abilities like Relay Drone and Speed Boost.
You’re going to blow up a few times on this build… more than a few, in fact, while you learn to use it. Patience is the key. When you see your opening, zig and zag as you’re able to. Remember though, the zig towards your enemy. If you get hit a few times, that’s ok. Just kill them before they kill you.
Slice and dice time!
Maul is just heavy enough to ignore full frontal damage for a second or two. That’s often what you need to pin in the enemy with your sword. Keep them running from you. You want to be patient and wait for the right opening, but if you play scared you will lose. You’re a gigantic tank with a sword on top of it… they should be scared of you!
That’s Maul, Folks!
That’ll do it for our 25th edition of The Spider Tanks Showcase! Did we miss your favorite build with Maul? Did we choose one that you think is amateur hour? Let us know on Discord!
Next week we’re giving the Tank combos a rest for a bit, as we’ll dive into Stealth Abilities in the arena. Are you super sneaky? Have some good clips of your deceptive dominance? Let us know on Discord or social media for a shot to be featured in the next Spider Tank Showcase!
We’re back, and this week we’re Crossbowing another amazing Weapon off our list of spotlights!
Welcome back to another Spider Tanks Showcase! This week, we’re exploring a Weapon design plucked from Earth’s distant past to unleash a wave of destruction on the arena fitting of the new millenia!
This week is, in fact, all about the Crossbow. This medieval warfare tool was originally outfitted on an archaic weapon of war called a “batmobile” in the early 24th century. Clever Earth scientists though quickly developed this into an easy to carry hand weapon, and the Crossbow was born as the height of modern destruction. Today, the Weapon has been revamped and retrofitted for Tanks throughout the Planetary Union.
The Crossbow is an extremely long range Weapon. The longer it is charged, the further it goes and the more damage it potentially does. That’s not to say it can’t be deadly at close range, but short pull backs only result in half the damage of long shots. All shots from the Crossbow pierce opponents though, so you could always fire that long shot through the adversary in your face to your real target to take out two birds with one bolt. Look out though! Whenever you charge the Crossbow, your movement will be massively slowed!
Skewering the Competition
When you’re playing as a Crossbow, you want to prioritize your ability to maneuver and achieve good position in matches. This isn’t to say that you always need the fastest Tank, but any bulk you add into your build should serve your positioning. Obviously, a Titan with a Crossbow won’t need to scramble and run from opponents as often as a Flea, so that could mean you get more shots off with time to line them up.
A Crossbow on a heavier Tank can give you some versatility in both the range you use it and how you maneuver.
The learning curve on Crossbow can be pretty high for most Pilots, so don’t get discouraged if you have trouble with it early on. Its single projectile style and massive range require you to hone your ballistics instincts a bit. When both you and your target are zipping across the arena and you’re firing halfway across the battlefield there are a lot of variables to account for. Eventually with practice, however, you’ll be able to shoot from the hip and time your bolts well to lead targets.
Whether you choose a small or bulky Body, you’ll need to account for those drawbacks with Abilities. Crossbow isn’t totally helpless up close, but if you’re a medium to large Tank that’s unable to quickly put distance between yourself and your opponent you may need to consider a defensive Ability for those “Oh $#*&!” moments. Shield Drone, Reactive Plating or even a quick Relay Drone can be extremely valuable to buy you a moment to regroup.
Combatting Crossbow
When you’re up against a Crossbow in the arena, it can be easy to feel like nowhere is safe. The range on the Crossbow is very long, but you can minimize the danger they pose by understanding how they exploit the weaknesses of opposing teams.
Grouped up enemies are paydirt for a Crossbow. Every crossbow-wielding hunk of metal in the arena would love to make a Tank kabob out of all three members of a team while they’re grouping up for a Heal Zone or on the Command Point. When you are close to your opponents, shift your attention to the enemy Crossbow to make sure you aren’t giving them any easy opportunities. While your team is scattered, they can only concentrate on one of you. While grouped, they can ruin your match pretty quickly.
With the enemy team all spread out, this Crossbow doesn’t stand a chance.
The best way for a Crossbow to hit opponents unaware is to line up long shots laterally. Often in matches, a firing line develops where both teams are squaring off on either side of some imaginary barrier. While more straightforward Tanks are lobbing cannonballs and laser blasts at each other across the line, however, an enemy Crossbow will often sneak off to the side.
Attacking diagonally across the field like this allows the Crossbow to potentially hit more enemies and makes misses much more likely to find some chassis behind their intended target. Don’t ignore the Crossbow in these situations… it can turn the tide of battle very fast.
When you get close up on a Crossbow, don’t think they’ll be an easy kill. Short charges do indeed do considerably less damage on a Crossbow, but that doesn’t mean all short shots do. A fully charged bolt can still do full damage point blank, which could easily mean a one shot kill for a small Tank in a Crossbow’s face.
Crossbow Tactics
When you’re playing Crossbow on a team, you need to remember that you depend heavily on the other Pilots with you. You’re not carrying a 1v1 Weapon, even if you can pull it off sometimes.
While a Crossbow leaves something to be desired solo, it does complement other long ranged Weapons very well. A Crossbow can lend much needed mid-range support to a Sniper Rifle or Railgun.
Snagging kills with Crossbow often depends on catching opponents when they are distracted. Look for opportunities where enemy Tanks are clearly paying attention to your allies. Catch opposing Tanks en route across the battlefield when possible. If they’re looking at that repair kit, they may not see your bolt zooming towards them as they come around the corner.
Never underestimate the power Crossbow can have for zone control to benefit your team. This may result in your kill count ending up lower than your allies, but that’s not always a bad thing. If your enemies know that you are covering a particular angle of approach with a deadly rain of bolts, you’ve successfully controlled their movement. If you can effectively limit opponents’ options for much of the match, that’s usually far better for your team than a kill or two along the way.
Pew Pew Power
Crossbows are a very unique Weapon in the arena. They can take practice to be truly deadly, but in the hands of a master they can unleash unparalleled destruction. In this age of high tech weaponry, never underestimate the little analogue arrows sniping from the corner of the arena.
