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Tanki Online - Catch the FlagCatch the Flag battles are perhaps my favourite of all the game modes in Tanki, although the other modes - Control Points, Death Match and Team Death Match can be great fun too. The main reason as to why I enjoy Catch the Flag games more is because it is a 'proper' team game, and if nothing else I am a team player.
Battles can have as few as just one person per team and while this can serve a purpose for the Daily Missions, they are not really all that much fun. A small map, such as Polygon, Boombox and Sandbox are best with four players in each team. These small battles are hectic and virtually non-stop until the battle finishes. The medium sized and larger maps such as Berlin, Barda and Skylark are better with teams of six or more. Because individual player skill levels range from very good to totally incompetent, battles can sometimes be very one-sided affairs so Tanki made an alteration to the Catch the Flag game mode to end a battle early if there was such a significant difference in the balance of the two teams. The number of flags captured will override the time limit on Catch the Flag battles, with different settings for each scheduled battle duration.
Catch the flag battles can be created by any player. My Creating Battles page shows you how. How to be a good team player >
How to catch a flagThere are a number of tactics employed to catch the flag which vary from sending in a single tank with full boosters and speed and simply 'smash and grab' and hope they can outrun the defending tanks. I have done this myself a few times and it is a buzz as you whizz past three or four static tanks that don't have time to think, let alone chase after you until it is far too late. This is a high risk strategy but I have seen it work many times, especially against defences that are poorly organised.
Another option is to attack the enemy base in numbers but do to do this effectively takes communication, but not everyone playing in the team will have the 'chat' option turned on, and if they have, may not understand the language used to talk. Sometimes, when you do have favourable numbers, your team can overrun the enemy base and it then becomes possible to take two, three or more flags in quick succession. To physically catch a flag, simply run your tank over the plinth and the flag will automatically attach itself to your turret. It will remain on your turret until you are either destroyed, drop it or when you take it to your base and drive over your teams flag position (with your team flag in place). Below is a short video clip I made to demonstrate how to take an enemy flag and capture it, as outlined above. Note that you do not have to put all of your tank over the plinth to take the flag or to capture it, as long as enough of your tank crosses over the plinth, you will collect and drop the flag.
If your teams flag has been taken while you are running the others teams flag back to base it will not be on the plinth, and you will not be able to finish the capture of the flag until your teams flag has been returned. In this case, you need to protect the flag any way you can. Get your boosters on, lay mines or simply hide behind anything you can hide behind - there is usually at least one building to hide behind, but not always. Hopefully you will have one or two team mates helping you out but you can not always count on it. Once your team flag has been returned, make a dash to your team flag plinth and as you drive over the plinth, the flag is released and captured.
You will be made aware of when your team flag has been returned by an on-screen message (at the top of the screen), and a sound that you will soon become familiar with. (Pic 1). Similar messages appear in the same part of the screen when the enemy flag has been captured or returned (Pic 2)
What to do when my tank is upside downThere will be times when you are racing to get back to base with the enemy flag and you fall foul of an obstacle, or are shot at and 'flipped' over on to your turret. When this happens there is nothing you can do to get your tank the right way up. In this case, if you have 'friendly' tanks next to you, drop the flag, and they will push you out of the way to collect it. If there are no friendly tanks nearby, keep the flag in your possession for as long as possible, and hope that a team mate will arrive before an enemy tank does.
The downside of catch the flag battlesMany players of Tanki are of the younger generation and as such do not really grasp the concept of teamwork and being a team player. As a consequence you will sometimes see certain players playing in the belief that the enemy flag is actually their flag, and only they are allowed to capture it. There is little you can do about this, other than to try and ignore it. Should you be playing a game and take the flag, then find yourself being harassed by another player from your team, you have a few options. The harassment is normally in the form of blocking your path on purpose, so you get destroyed by enemy tanks and they in turn try to steel the flag. Another 'trick' they might try is to flip your tank over, forcing you to eventually release the flag one way or another, then in turn try to steel it.
So what can you do?
Bandicam has a free version of their software that allows you to capture everything on your screen for up to 10 minutes. Just why some players behave this way is easily explained. If you capture a flag you score 10 points for each tank in the opposition team - 5 enemy team tanks = 50 points. More points scored in a game means more crystals awarded at the end of the battle. These points are also awarded to a player that returns their own team flag, and you will often see a mad rush to grab the flag when an enemy tank that was carrying has been destroyed. |