General tips on selecting protective paints in Tanki Online

 

In Tanki Online (play it now!) there’re dozens protective paints each having unique set of resistances. So which protective paint to buy? In this small article I’ll give you some general tips on how to select a good paint.

First things first – are cheap protective paints worth of buying?

I personally find no sense in buying paints meant for protecting from tier 1 weapons. But still if you want to get a good protective paint and save crystals (which looks like mutually exclusive requirements) – buy Swamp paint for 500 crystals. It is good not only in terms of protecting your tank from enemy Twins guns, but it also provides great camouflage on many Tanki Online maps. Hence buying Swamp paint is a good investment, especially if you play with Twins in Deathmatches.
Being a low-rank tanker you may find useful to buy paints without resistances for the sake of camouflaging your tank. Green paint is great in terms of camouflage, but there’re other paints great for both camouflaging your tank and good look. Like standard White paint that is good for camouflaging your tank on winter maps.
Forester, Savanna (and Urban) paints are good for most Tanki Online summer maps. Because those fancy spots on these paints give additional advantage in terms of camouflage. And Desert paint is great for Desert and Iran maps.

How to select good protective paint for your tank?

Selecting good protective paint is tricky, though there’re some general advices:

What’s your tank gun? It’s always good to have protection from your own tank gun. Every tank gun has its own advantages and drawbacks. You can always use the advantages of your own gun and the drawbacks of your opponent’s gun to win one-on-ones dogfights. But what if you both have similar guns? By having a protective paint from your own tank gun you’ll get a huge advantage over your opponent in Tanki Online. It’s especially good idea to buy a protective paint from your own tank gun for Thunder users. Because of self-damage. What tank hull you use? Selecting good protective paint is also dependent on the tank hull you’re using. E.g. you don’t really need protection from Ricochet if you’re using Hornet or Dictator hulls, because of huge physical effect on your tank by Ricochet plasma balls. Either way you’ll not be able to properly attack and even retreat under enemy fire. If you want to get good resistance from Isida for your Hornet don’t count on paints having only 20% of resistance (e.g. Rustle paint) – because of an error in computation it’s not working properly in Tanki Online (and Isida M3 will inflict 100 hp damage, which is enough for killing Hornet M3). What's your role in CTF games? If you’re using Hornet and you’re a caper, consider buying protective paint from long range tank guns like Railgun, Thunder and Shaft. And vice versa – if you’re a defender and you’re using Viking or Mammoth tank hulls, buy yourself a protective paint from close range weapons like Freeze and Ricochet. Turnkey solutions on selecting protective paints in Tanki Online! If you’re a low-rank tanker buy Swamp paint. It’s cheap and effective. Paints worth 5000 crystals are maybe the best in terms of quality-price ratio, providing good low-cost protection. These paints are very good to start with and will give you sensible advantage over enemies. Prodigi is maybe the best protective paint for campers playing with Railgun + Dictator package. It is also good for Railgun or Thunder turret + Viking M3 package. In case you’re short on crystals try Tundra, though its effectiveness is questionable. If you’re a caper and you’re using Hornet remember that your speed and agility are your best protection. Having Corrosion, Prodigi, Emerald and Jade paints to protect you from long-range weapons is also handy. Defenders on Viking and Mammoth tank hulls should consider buying protective paints from close range tank guns like Freeze and Ricochet. I personally vote for Zeus, since I believe that Ricochet is more dangerous. Most of the time it’s a good idea to play Ricochet with protective paint versus Freeze and vice versa (sorry for my Latin!) If you’ve got a stable tank hull like Viking or Mammoth course. If you still can't choose which protective paint to buy, consider buying the most expensive paint you can afford from your own weapon.