Comments on: Artillery Guide by Tyraforce – Part 3

By: Mr_Ekshin

Mr_Ekshin — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 12:50:55 +0000

It’s a good guide. I read these in case there is something new I don’t know yet. There hasn’t been. Some minor points I disagree on, but most is solid.
I have written guides for my clans before, and I cover topics not covered here. I won’t share the info with the general public though. I have no wish to make strangers better SPG players. :p

Surprised you got a Kolobanov’s on an arty. I thought I was the only one (mine was a gimmick on my S-51 though). Must have been the GW panther sidescraping, yeah? It also reloads pretty quickly. ;)

I don’t understand the sentences, “When you are the last player on your team some players will hug you to prevent a win. Loading AP in these situations is generally a good idea but will get you reported for cheating.”

That paragraph is conceptually muddled. Are you saying they hug you as opposed to shooting? Is it supposed to be odd that they want to prevent a win? If you’re tossing in some levity or humor with the “cheating” comment, it’s out of the blue and reads awkwardly. :(

I use communication a LOT late game. Only tonight (30-12-2014) I noticed people actually paying attention. I helped pull out a win in my M12 on airfield with 6 kills only because the team was finally communicating. I figure that you’re responsible, so I thank you for that.

I just wish that I could change the “Negative” to say “No Shot”. I tried a mod for chat commands before, but it was a pain in the ass so I ditched it.

I’ll make one last point. Unicums are difficult targets to hit. Tomatoes are easy.

Did you all get that? Once again: Some players are “arty aware” and harder to hit than others.

So if you get hit by arty a lot, it’s because you’re… well, I’ll let you figure out which type of player you are. XD

By: Wonko the Sane

Wonko the Sane — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 11:18:25 +0000

Most of the arty hate is from “good” players, isn’t it?
Players who are quite ready to sacrifice any idea of teamwork in their hunt for better stats.
All of the counter play is possible, you are just unprepared to do any of them because you want to brawl to improve your WN8, W/R or whatever other stat you wish to pad.
Some people like being in a purely support role, trying to keep you alive by wearing down/killing the enemy, removing obstacles from your path (or at least making the enemy uncomfortable enough to think about leaving that spot) and generally trying to help the team win.
Your problem seems to be that it’s only enemy arty that really upsets you. Allied arty is just never there when you want it to be either, so you dismiss all of it as a class.
You hate it because it forces you to play more cautiously than you want to. It “spoils your fun”.
Newsflash: All the enemy tanks are out to get you, any one of which – be they “tomato” or “unicum” – is trying to spoil your fun.
You see arty as some sort of problem because it’s doing what it’s supposed to, making you think more about what you’re doing and slowing your progress.

Plus, it’s bloody difficult to keep the old stats up if you play arty, miss frequently and rely on your team to protect you.
Artillery is a “glass cannon”. It might have a huge gun but it can’t defend itself. All you have to do is get close enough and it’s an easy kill.
Getting close is the hard part.

Why not consider the presence of arty in a game as a “hard mode” rather than arty-free being “easy mode” (for good players).

Or is that just too challenging for you?

By: Atomic_Emu

Atomic_Emu — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:28:02 +0000

The group that brings money.
But that changes exactly nothing about my point.

By: Atomic_Emu

Atomic_Emu — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:24:02 +0000

“Arty allows counter play in a number of ways.”
Ok, let’s see.
“Counterbattery fire”
Only another arty can do that and nobody does it anyway.
“killing scouts”
If by “scouts” you mean “the whole enemy team”.
“scouting the arty”
Only after you get through the whole enemy team.
“timing reloads”
Nearly impossible when there are two or more arties.

Yeah, so many obvious ways that you fail to present a single valid one.

“However, most methods require teamwork. This is a positive feature that arty promotes.”
I don’t see how or why.

By: Atomic_Emu

Atomic_Emu — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 09:17:15 +0000

“Anything that shoots you when you cannot see it allows no counter-play, either.
(like a “camping” TD in a bush)”
Except said TD is far more limited by range and line of sight, meaning there actually are safe positions and ways to attack it.
Good job dismissing everything I said with absolutely no counter-argument.

By: mecha_bill

mecha_bill — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:45:28 +0000

Minor point. Arty allows counter play in a number of ways. Counterbattery fire, killing scouts, scouting the arty, timing reloads etc are only some of the ways. However, most methods require teamwork. This is a positive feature that arty promotes.

By: mecha_bill

mecha_bill — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:39:27 +0000

I agree with you but I believe that WG is planning on that to happen. They don’t want skill to become the only determinant of victory in the game. They want a large helping of luck, be it in the form of MM, RNG or arty, to keep the game unpredictable. Remember, their target market is casual players, not unicums.

By: mecha_bill

mecha_bill — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:34:12 +0000

Thanks for your input. It’s a POV I hadn’t considered before. Although even as a Yellow, I’m used to being targeted as well because I tend to play slow heavies and TDs.

By: mecha_bill

mecha_bill — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:22:13 +0000

This is actually a valid fear. One WG is keeping track of. However the increasing player base shows that the fear is currently unfounded. WG is all about tracking stats. That’s why the great arty nerf happened in the first place. In all likely hood, WG would take action long before the events you describe come to pass. I do agree that arty is particularly hard on good players (targeted by XVM) and top tiers, but I think that’s why WG introduced Team Battles and Stronghold modes. These are places for good players to go.

By: mecha_bill

mecha_bill — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 00:13:22 +0000

Arty is the blue shell although the comparison isn’t exact; the blue shell is dynamically granted during a game while Arty must be chosen before a game. But the effect is similar. Arty keeps the top players on their toes and not complacent because at any moment a 203mm equalizer could arrive to ruin their day.

I recommend other vids in the series. Specifically “Balancing for Skill” and “Counter play”. “Perfect Imbalance” is also good.