[UNOFFICIAL GUIDE]: My Personal tips to help you through rough waters (i think) :)

[GAMEPLAY TIPS 01]: SPEEDER

*Disclaimer: this is strictly a fan-made guide, in this case, mine. All discussion points are derived from my neurological perspective so feel free to disagree but please keep things in the proper context. So here we go...

Speeder is by it's namesake the fastest boat in the bay. They are also the most dangerous boats in the bay, any good speeder is a legitimate threat in all battle scenarios and must be dealt with immediately. It's the best, in my opinion, 1 vs. 1 boat. With their superior mobility, they can literally run circles around shooters/defenders until they sink without getting a scratch on 'em. It is still my favorite boat despite the fact that i'm primarily a shooter nowadays simply because it is the most fun boat to use.

Note also that i won't be discussing item or boat specifications in detail, there are more than enough threads on those already

• Essentials:
  • Turbo and Overboost - no self-respecting speeder will go into battle without equipping these two items. if you're having a hard time getting epics and legendaries, start with rares, you can buy your 1st one straight from the shop with gold. Keep an eye out for the turbo speed perks and overboost duration perks, they are just as important.
  • Swift - if you're gonna be a speeder, make sure to upgrade swift as much and as soon as you can
  • Brock and feelix - with the recent HP nerf on speeder, Brock's HP and shield skills will be a big help to your speeder's toughness level, feelix also has some nice HP upgrades and recovery upgrades (if you like bandages)
• Speeder roles: of course, with the exception of the trapper, all roles mentioned here are interchangeable during a battle, but knowing and recognizing these roles will also help you get a better understanding of your battle scenario as well as how your teammates play. Anticipating your teammates moves correctly can be critical to your success.
  • Assault - aka duelist. These are the certified badasses of the speeder class, they can take down any boat by themselves and can even take on 2-3 boats and still give them worked up. Their primary objective is to deal damage and/or sink priority targets (fixers and the unfriends' top damage dealers). to play assault, you must have a strong tesla shield and high HP, you're gonna get hit, durability is key to an assault speeder's effectiveness in battle.
    • Recommended red items: explosive cannon, carronade, big torpedo, flare gun, blast cannon, sniper cannon
    • Recommended yellow item(s): tesla shield, tesla bolt, frost blaster (if you're carrying torpedoes) (i won't be mentioning overboost and turbo here, as i said earlier, they are essential items and thus, assumed to always be equipped)
    • Recommended blue items: shields, bandage, rudder
    • Playing with assault speeders:
      • know who they are focusing on and support them, either by also shooting at their target or covering their flank.
      • if they are coming back to you for a strategic retreat, take a hit for them if you need to by coming in between them and pursuing attacks.
      • attack when they attack, make a strategic retreat if they fallback.
    • Best counters:
      • Frost launcher/blaster - freeze 'em and nuke em
      • mines - assault speeder like to get up close, dive in and out of enemy formations, placing mines around your team will either sink 'em or make them more cautious in their runs, making them easier to hit.
  • Scout - aka interceptors. the primary objective of a scout is to divide the attention of the unfriends and provide visibility on targets (this is very useful in maps with huge walls and other obstructions). Scouts get ahead of the pack and locate and try to locate the enemy early while trying to get off a shot or 2 to get the enemy's attention. Scouts should be very knowledgeable of the map and be proficient with finding different angles of attack. of course, anytime you have an opportunity to sink a boat, you do so, but in the absence of that, scouts have to draw enemy fire their way so as to relieve pressure from your teammates. if you're friends are attacking from 12 o'clock, you should try to attack you're enemies from 3 or 9 o'clock. Why not from the 6 (rear)? ideally, yes, but you will also be putting yourself in a very bad position and maybe too far from your teammates in case the unfriends will try to trap you.
    • Recommended red items: sniper cannon, missile launcher, standard cannon, torpedoes, flare gun
    • Recommended yellow item(s): tesla shield, tesla bolt, nitro, frost launcher
    • Recommended blue items: shields, bandage
    • Playing with scout speeders:
      • keep tabs on your scout's location, try to position yourself where you can quickly help if your scout is able to lure an enemy his/her way.
      • Maintain a different a different angle of attack from your scout, divide the enemies attention, take advantage of the windows of attack your scout has provided for you and the rest of your team
      • if your carrying arcing projectiles (missiles, mortars, napalms and firebombs), take advantage of your scout's visual range and fire at the enemy without being seen
    • Best counters:
      • frost and mines - all speeders hate these
      • if the scout is a bad shot or not making significant damage, ignore for the meantime and focus on the bigger threats
      • if you have fast boats with you, trap it and sink it ASAP
      • don't miss - try to get 2-3 good shots at the scout, most likely, it will retreat and regroup with its team
  • Support - aka noobs. support speeders are basically weaker versions of assault/scouts/trapper, they are not strong enough to go solo and/or take on enemy boats by themselves yet. if you have a speeder like this then try to stay with your team and provide support damage or debuffs. your mindset should be that of a follower, follow your stronger teammate's lead or support your top damage dealers' efforts. Intercept flankers and disable rushers. support speeders should focus more on map control, use items that can influence enemy movement to your team's advantage
    • Recommended red items: napalm, firebomb, mines, triple torpedoes, sniper cannon
    • Recommended yellow item(s): tesla bolt, frost blaster/launcher
    • Recommended blue items: shields, bandage
    • Playing with support speeders:
      • use quickchat to mark targets, try to guide their attention to where you want them to provide support
      • if you have more durable boat, make sure you are ready to come between them and enemy fire if need be, provide them a little protection and draw attention away from them whenever possible. the longer they stay afloat, the better your chances of winning.
    • Best counters
      • Frost/mines/torpedoes - kill 'em quick
      • low priority targets, but valuable targets of opportunity - these speeders won't hurt you much so you should prioritize their main damage dealers instead. the only exception, i think, are those using frost launcher, anyone using frost launchers is a high priority target, they can really cripple your team's movement and make everyone easier targets - not to mention more damage from mortars and torpedoes.
  • Trapper - aka AAF speeders. this speeder excels in map control. They usually can't kill a boat by themselves, but if left alone to their own devices, they can really swing the battle in your favor. in my book, there only 2 configurations for trappers - mine + any other weapon and napalm launcher with frost launcher/blaster (don't think about combining these two though, you would be helpless against other boats in 1v1 scenarios). smart mine/napalm placement can really help your team win battles comfortably. Trappers can seal entire passageways if they move fast or block enemy escape routes.
    • Recommended red items: napalm, mine
    • Recommended yellow item(s): frost blaster/launcher, nitro
    • Recommended blue items: shields, bandage
    • playing with trappers
      • try to remember where they place their mines and use these to your advantage, make it an escape route or as barrier between you and possible rush maneuvers. Try to lure enemies into their mine fields
      • if you have torpedoes, use your trapper's napalm to cover their approach, putting mines in the napalm area is a good tactic as well.
      • if you have mines/napalms as well, follow their lead and help them block areas faster.
    • Best counters
      • frost/mine/torpedoes
      • team movement - keep your team moving, don't stay in one area, you'll get pinned down and will be very vulnerable to splash damage attacks
      • Anticipate where possible trap locations will be set and beat them to it

 

(continuation...)

• Popular speeder configurations:
  • Frost-torp "glacial torpedoes" - or to be more specific, frost-big torpedo combo. if it connects, it is the strongest combo in the game right now. highest damage i've seen was 6,800 damage with frost in 1 shot. if you don't like the slowness of big torps, swift is still a very deadly alternative.
    • Using this configuration
      • if you have a tesla bolt with you, you can make a perfect lock on your target with stun, frost, torp combo sequence... only thing left to do is to not miss. best to do this to isolated targets
      • in case of closely grouped enemies, if you have good HP, one good attack run at the center of the formation can ruin your unfriends' day. be patient and approach from the blind side, you're enemies will be screaming WTF when you hit them.
    • playing with glacial torpedo users
      • provide covering fire for them, they are quite vulnerable when making their attack run since they have to focus on lining up their torpedoes properly leaving them very easy to hit.
      • if you have frost blaster/launcher with you, try to use it on their target so they can skip the frosting part and go straight to firing their torpedoes.
      • try to keep your enemies clustered, pin them down with map control items if you have them so even if you're teammate misses with their torp, it might still hit someone else
    • Best counters
      • focus fire on these suckers, they are too dangerous to leave alone
      • frost/mine/torpedoes
      • nitro - if you're a speeder/enforcer/fixer, this is the best counter to frost-torp, you have to time it very well though
  • the blacktail special (flare gun + blast or explosive cannon) "flaming cannons" - popularized by the legendary blacktail, this is easily the most popular configuration until the recent frost buff.
    • using this configuration
      • best to bring a tesla bolt with you, tesla shield would complement this combo better than a nitro
      • for maximum damage potential - always use flare gun first before firing the EC/BC. 1 FG shot, 1 EC/BC shot and 1 follow up FG shot will usually finish off most yellow boats.
    • playing with flaming cannon users
      • if you have cannons with you, take advantage of burning targets (just make sure, you have selected burning damage boost skills on bhurt as well as equipped the right perks)
      • if you have incendiaries with you, keep the fire burning on the target your flaming cannon user is focusing on.
    • Best counters
      • frost / mine - icing speeders is always a good move, flaming cannon is a mid to close range combo, good mine placement will usually help you thwart their efforts to sink you.
      • having good bandages will also help you survive and keep you alive long enough to fire off additional rounds before going down.
• Notable configurations
  • double grenade with nitro and rudder - i've only seen 1 speeder use this configuration to great effect and boy is it devastating. Very very very annoying
  • Explosive cannon and grenade combo - very versatile combo and lots of splash damage potential, use the grenade 1st and if it burns, the EC will get a huge damage boost.
  • frost berta combo - the highest damage i've personally seen this combo do was around 5,000++ damage, pretty devastating and unlike glacial torpedoes, you can do it effectively from a safe distance. main disadvantage of this configuration is the long cooldown of the berta and the berta is so hard to use on yellows plus shields can completely negate this attack combo.
  • double carronade - just so devastating. best way to counter this is to sink them before can get close. i've seen this do 6,000++ damage in 13 seconds.
  • frost missile + sniper/blast cannon - this was more popular before the cooldown and projectile speed nerf on missiles.
  • mine + explosive cannon - very versatile setup, good offensive and defensive balance. players using this combo need to have a lot of patience to set up their traps.
• least recommended items
  • mortars - just doesn't serve a speeder's purpose
  • gear lube - can't see any use of this item on a speeder
  • weak mines - just don't, for the sake of humanity, don't put them on your speeder.

so how is it? Did i miss anything? Hope you guys like this...

Cheers

 

iguess i issed out the part about not going into battle with weaker ships. No wonder i have dropped from 1100 to 500 just from using a mk2 speeder not a mk4 shooter.

The Don'ts:
If you've got a ship of a certain mk level, then never, ever enter a battle with a ship of lower level. You will just end up dragging yourself and your team down. Don't equip anything on those ships, then you won't get quests for them either.

 

but yeah the bertha and frost launcher is good but i would not recommend it on a speeder that can only equip that one item as the cooldown would mean u have to wait long. It is a pain if u miss. Unless u have ether weapons for back up, u will find yourself losing infamy. Same goes for the frost torpedo. I tried out both which worked at the start until i realised that other speeders used cannons that wrecked me a lot. Also helpful if u have rare or epic items. DO NOT GO OUT WITH COMMON or UNCOMMON ITEMS. you will probably lose lol

 

Wow!!! That is something you can call a proper guide!!! Great job!

 

A speeder can properly assault when it has a good tesla shield, and its only possible to equip one at mk6 (and mk4) without sacrificing yellow slot. So, scout+support is good strat until mk5 i think...

Okay i have seen wcorgi's video, so based on that i can tell that i do not like this combo. It's heavy damage, but its more relying on how your team plays.

Okay, these are my favorites. However one thing all speeders should keep in mind is when you a fixer in your team they should all act as scouts, because fixer can repair your damage (unless you have selfish fixers in your team)

Sinklair adds around 3% HP too
I would look out for burnice too to improve agility

 

@yellowocean i read most of it but didnt see this in the guide

As A Speeder Do Not Suicide or Rush Into Group Of Ships
You Are Not Invincible And Speeders On Unfriend Team Can Take You Out Easily
If You Are Ready To Rush In To kill A weak target be sure to get some back up (preferabely fixer) You can run back to if you fail to kill said unfriend

Well This IS All What I Think Should Be Added But nice Guide

 

How a player plays in actual battles is entirely up to him/her... please don't be so quick to judge a speeder as suicidal if that speeder dies early, a lot of times its just an honest mistake and/or the enemy made some pretty good lead shots to take out that speeder.

speeder playing with different boats, that's for another topic... formations

 

@yellowocean thanks for input
but im stating the suicide issue cause i have seen more and more suiciders
[Wont Be Named] Goes Into Group Of Enemies And Sits There Every match while shooting his 1 tier2 rare sniper he has dropped 2000 from 3158 infamy as a mk5
i dont critisize

 

Oh that is bad, i haven't seen that type of behavior in a while now so that is quite troublesome. best thing to do is report that player... we have replays to prove it now. as it is now, there is no full-proof way to avoid players like that, just suck up the loss and move on and hope that player ends up on the unfriends side for a change

 

What an amazing post! Thanks, YellowOcean, you're awesome! I'll read it, reread it and my game will get better thanks to you! =D
There's one thing I'll keep doing "wrong": I will continue to play with all boats because I love them all lol

 

My friend, congrats to your work, great tips for many players out there...

 

thanks, man, please feel free to share as well, you know i'm not primarily a speeder so i might have missed some things

 

you didn't

 

[GAMEPLAY TIPS 02]: SHOOTER

*Disclaimer: this is strictly a fan-made guide, in this case, mine. All discussion points are derived from my neurological perspective so feel free to disagree but please keep things in the proper context. So here we go...

The shooter, the first boat everyone uses and for some, the last boat that they'll ever play with. This sluggish boat painted in a not so subtle shade of red that's screaming "shoot me, shoot me". Yes, the most popular target in the bay, But for what it lacks in mobility, it more than makes up for in firepower. with it's ability to equip a maximum of 5 weapons, it outshines all the other boats in the damage department by at least 2 weapon slots. This boat does not carry yellow or green items so a player must rely on smart weapon usage for offensive combinations. For its defensive capabilities, the shooter has the 2nd highest (next to defender) base defense/armor rating and its ability to equip a decent amount of blue items will help it stay afloat long enough to inflict a lot of hurt on unfriends. The shooter is also the only boat, in my opinion, that can effectively equip any combination of all 19 available weapons.

• Essentials:
  • Turbo - this should be the 1st item on your list that you should seriously invest in right away. As a minimum, try to get your hands on a rare right away, an epic would be best, you won't need legendaries for this one. a level 41 or 42 epic turbo with epic turbo perks can max out your shooter speed on all MK levels. At lower levels, one might argue that HP buffs are better, however, without a decent turbo, your shooter will be extremely vulnerable to mortar fire and AOE incendiaries. And with the absurd number of frost users nowadays, having a turbo is even more crucial to your shooter's longevity.
  • Big shield - it is never too early to start building one. Again, if you can't get a hold of epics or legendaries, rares should be the minimum. Keep watch for the shield HP perks, you're definitely going to need it.
  • Crew members: bhurt, mortimer, sinklair, bhurnice, blastian - determine what your primary damage dealer will be and prioritize the corresponding crew member for that item. Take note that bhurt and mortimer have some nice shooter HP upgrades in their skill trees.
  • brock and swift - you have to allot time for training these two... you'll need them both at par with your captain level to keep upgrading your turbo and shields. Swift also has some nice all-boat speed upgrades you will be needing.

• Shooter Types: with the multitude of weapon combinations you can use on your shooter, you have to take note of one key word when building your shooter - versatility. Offensive versatility is very important for any shooter, equip too many mortars and you will be easy pickings for rush attacks. equip too may incendiaries and you might be sunk way before your enemy burns to death. using all cannons might be effective in some cases but it defeats the purpose of shooters as whole. My take on versatility is for my shooter to have a balanced loadout - at least 1 weapon that goes over (mortars, missiles, mines), at least 1 weapon that goes under (torpedoes) and at least 2 weapons that go straight (cannons, railgun, flare gun). Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations, the most important thing is to determine what works best for you and your style of play. Bear in mind that the shooter's main role is to deal damage, lots of it. if you are not effective in doing so, then you are not doing your job as a shooter. unlike speeders/enforcer/fixers who can influence battles without dealing that much damage all the time, shooters are basically useless if they can't deal adequate amounts of damage (adequate meaning within the average damage of all 10 players involved in the battle).
  • Precision Shooter - aka marksman. This type of shooter is distinguished by two weapons - the sniper cannon and the railgun. This shooter excels in dealing massive burst damage to a single target. Players using this setup should be proficient in long distance shooting, meaning a steady right thumb or in my case, a steady right index finger. this type should be able to deal effective and accurate damage from 35 distance and up, all its weapons should have that minimum range.
    • Recommended red items: sniper cannon, rail gun (mandatory), long range mortar, missile launcher, torpedoes, fire bomb (with range perks)
    • Recommended blue items: shields, bandage, gear lube
    • Playing as a Precision shooter:
      • keep your distance, as i have mentioned above, all your weapons must have long range capabilities (35 distance and up). this doesn't mean you will be camping and hiding. you will need to maintain direct visual contact with your target to be effective, but keeping your distance means you have lower chances of being hit in return.
      • if you have more than 50% HP, keep yourself visible to the enemy to gain attention, your allies will quickly be focused-fired on if you keep yourself too far or hidden from the enemies' view, allowing yourself to be seen gives the enemy group another target to fire upon and lowers the chances of them focusing on a single ally.
      • take note of your allies who went ahead, take advantage of their position and visual range, this will allow you to fire your shots without being seen immediately (very useful at the start of battles). your weapon range goes farther than your visual range, keep that in mind when you have allies who like to scout ahead.
      • as with your role's namesake, precision is key to your game, so as much as possilbe, stick to one target and try to blast them to oblivion as quickly as you can. however, always keep an eye out for other targets that are at the brink of sinking. teamwork is always important so try to support your teammates efforts specially if a target has been marked.
      • in the case of rush attacks or enemies trying to get close to you, have your escape route ready for a tactical retreat and ready your point-damage weapons to ward off your attacker.
      • try to keep a wall or any obstruction near you where you can retreat to if needed, to take cover if you find yourself being focused on.
      • be proficient with the lock function, locking on to targets will help you avoid last sec distractions and maintain your fire on your target.
    • Playing with precision shooters:
      • assist your marksmen with visual range if you can. they will tend to stay back so it is up to you to scout for targets or lure them into your marksman's range.
      • call out targets, if your marksman is good, he/she will follow your lead and focus on that target.
      • precision shooters (if built properly) should be quite proficient in defending themselves from a single rusher, multiple attackers will however mostly like spell doom for your marksman, be ready to help when needed.
    • Best counters:
      • as with actual warfare, best counter to snipers is another sniper. it will come down to who is more accurate.
      • in the absence of a counter sniper, raining fire on a precision shooter is a good way to keep it scrambling and make its shots less accurate.
      • rushing them would also be a good tactic, but not alone, good marksmen can handle a single rusher quite well.

 

• Siege Shooters - aka the arsonist. This shooter excels in map control and area damage. Its favorite weapons are napalm launchers, firebombs, and mines. flamers favor open spaces with low obstructions in between. They can quickly block an enemy's routes and discourage rush attacks with their mines and napalms. although firebombs dissipate after contact, their large radius is very effective in forcing enemies to move where you want them to. these shooters are the bane of fixer formations and can quickly deal massive damage to multiple enemies. Furthermore, with multiple incendiaries at their disposal, burn damage boosts will feast on the unfriends' boats. Good mine placement can turn the tide of battle in an instant, and is still the best deterrent against rush/dive attacks.

• recommended red items: napalm, firebomb and/or mines (mandatory), you have to have at least 2 of these 3 weapons, cannons (with burn damage perks), torpedoes
• recommended blue items: shield, bandage, gear lube (gear lubes would be very useful for this role, since faster turret movement can help you fire your incendiares in multiple areas quickly to box in your unfriends)
• playing as a siege shooter:
  • as with the marksman, it is best to keep yourself at the back of the formation, use your scouts to determine enemy movement and place your incendiaries and/or mines accordingly
  • if you have allies with frost launchers and blasters, keep watch of where they are firing those frosts and use it to maximize your incendiary hit rates (take advantage of the fact that battlebay ignores the laws of physics and allows fire & ice to coexist and boy is it deadly)
  • if you have a torpedo with you, use your napalm to cover your torpedoes so that enemies won't be able to easily see its approach. mines are also excellent to combo with napalms.
  • for map control lead your napalm/firebomb shots properly, unless the target is frozen in place, never aim for the center of the target, aim for where you want them to go, if you want them to move back, aim your weapon in front of them so that when they see the red marker, they will instinctively move back.
  • you won't be sinking ships early in the game (the biggest drawback of incendiaries - they can't kill quickly), so focus on map control and supporting your teammates while constantly chipping away at your unfriends' HP.
  • when using mines on a shooter, it would generally be used for defensive purposes, having said that, try to place them around your team's formation or to protect your flank which will also double as an escape route if the enemy breaks through the front.
• playing with a siege shooter:
  • take advantage of their incendiary weapons and maximize the damage potential of your cannons, prioritize burning targets
  • lure enemies into mine fields, it might not hit them but it will definitely slow down their movement, making them easier to hit
  • if you have frost blaster/launcher with you, try to freeze those caught in the middle of a napalm
  • siege shooters, on the average, carry only 2 point-damage weapons, there are some who only carry 1, thus, leaving them very vulnerable to rush and dive attacks, keep your enemies away from them as much as you can.
  • take advantage of the napalms, mines and firebombs to box your enemies in a cluster, even with a fixer among them, cluster formations are very vulnerable to concentrated fire, one good mine or big torpedo blast in the middle of that cluster can quickly decimate their ranks.
• best counter
  • as mentioned above, siege shooters are usually vulnerable to close combat tactics, take the battle in close proximity and they'll be easy to sink
  • if you don't have a fixer with you, it would be best to try to take them out first
  • give them a taste of their own medicine, that will get them scrambling

to be continued...

 

What kind of shooter do you use?
AND long range mortar vs missile, which one do you prefer (i know the obvious answer but still)

 

i haven't finish my shooter section yet but i'm basically a precision type... my standard configuration is double SC, RG, Missile and Big Torpedo. all of my weapons can hit you from 40 distance and up and it's pretty handy up close as well so i'm very comfortable with it. i don't have good alternatives availlable as of the moment but i'll try out different combinations soon.

As for your second question... it has to be missiles all the way. it has more than twice the potential damage vs. long range mortar, it has much faster projectiles so it is more accurate against yellow boats. the long range mortar is a good weapon, the best mortar in my book specially when you max out it's projectile speed upgrades on mortimer. The only advantages it has over missiles, i think, is it has better splash damage potential than missiles and the LRM is better at hitting over walls. But for a shooter setup, i'll always go with missiles.

 

Looking forward to the enforcer guide!

 

thanks for the support... it's gonna take a while, but i will complete all the boats and more...