The Art of RoboWar! (Out-dated.)

Note: This guide is now heavily out-dated, while much of the tip and information in the guide will still be useful, since the game got dumbed down to appease those who complained it to be too hard I gave up playing and updating this guide.

Thanks to all who voted this guide up and favourited it.

The Art of RoboWar is a guide which intends to help people better understand their own playstyles and where they fit into teamplay.
Original (also by me) can also be found on the official forums:
http://robocraftgame.com/forums/topic/the-art-of-robowar/edit/
and The Art of RoboWarshall continually evolve as feedback is given and as I too learn more techniques.

Introduction.

So you're here to fight a war with robots?!
There are lots of things to keep in mind and one of them if Profit!
If you don't make profit, you're not making war right!

Having a strong bot for WAR!!!
There are many ways to build a bot, but, you should make sure you understand the damage model enough to stay alive more than one shot, so here are some guides to help you be a better engineer for WAR!

The basics of Tri-force and armour!
How to Armour[robocraftgame.com]

Tri-force and Robo-core in more depth!
Tri-force Tryhard[robocraftgame.com]

Loosing too much armour on your smaller crafts due to gunbrella radiation? Look no futher!
Gunbrella Radiation.[robocraftgame.com]

Strategies and Tactics.

There are many, many strategies and tactics which you can use within Robocraft, so lets look at some of the most common ones....

Hit-and-run tactics
Move in, shoot, move out again as quick as you can, the most lucrative of the tactics used by players.
It's biggest weakness? Players using hit and run tactics without having knowledge of Guerrilla warfare or failing to communicate their intentions, and thus blaming all their team mates for failing to behave accordingly, communication is key for successful hit-and-run.
I was going to keep Shoot-and-scoot seperate but in Robocraft the two are so similar there is little point.

Charge!
A charge is when the players advance towards their enemy at their best speed in an attempt to engage in cose combat. The charge is the dominant shock attack and has been the key tactic and decisive moment of most battles in history.
The problem with the charge is how players are using it....
Currently its a "Drive that way and shoot! ROAR!" this is wrong...
A charge should only be used to attack bunkered up opponants (rail users for example) at the ideal time (so not round start!) but during relaod.
Please see video before Charging:

Infiltration tactics
Thruster bots, wall climbers and some fliers all show signs of attempts to use Infiltration tactics, where they sneak up behind the enemy and attack key targets in an attempt to dis-orientate and weaken the enemy, the failings?
Players are picking the wrong targets or are not letting their team know they are infiltrators...
If you have many fliers on your team and you're an infiltrator, you target SMG and Rails. If you have a lot of Plasma bombers, you target SMG, if you have a lot of SMG, you target plasma bombers.
(@__Wowie__ suggests) Make sure you have enough jammers to keep hidden they do stack!
Well you wouldn't want to be shot at would you? :)


Hull-Down[en.wikipedia.org]
Those fammiliar with the term may be confussed... "Thats a marine tactic!" but no its being used here... Bots with weapons on high towers are using Hull down tactics, they stay behind walls and small terrain, defending their hull and shooting over the top. Main issues? People with Hull-Down bots don't play Hull-down and instead charge.... making them tall targets.

Patrolling
Often done by fliers, they patrol from the objective to the enemy base and Spot the enemy and take a few shots, before heading back to their own objective.
Main issue? Often accused of not playing as part of the team, someone patrolling will often be found away from his team members, different from an infiltrator because they're specificly returning to their own teams capture point with intent to defend if needed. patrols are most useful to large platoons or guilds/clans when they get released.

Shock tactics
The most common form of tactics used by Platoons. "shock tactic or Shock attack is the name of an offensive maneuver which attempts to place the enemy under psychological pressure by a rapid and fully committed advance with the aim of causing their combatants to retreat." Very effective in Robocraft because the team are all doing the same thing... It's weaknesses?
You'll take a lot of damage or could be subject to infiltrator and hit and run fighters, not good when against people purposfully using Guerrilla warfare.

Plasma Bombers
Shock tactics from the sky! Just remember this about Aviator warfare:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3noZ3v9kEyM

All legit tactics and strategies, when used correctly in the team!

Looking for a team?!

Struggling to find people to team with? be sure to goto Robocraft.me one of the fansites for Robocraft! they have a good platoon finder too!
Platoon Finder![robocraft.me]


My suggestion:
People need to start taking things into their own hands and banding together in guilds/clans and discussing these battle tactics and testing them in platoons! Jump on Teamspeak and forums and discuss all this and get yourself a group that works well together.

Arms and Armament Field Guide

This field guide is to give you the reader a basic overview of Arms and armament, and how to use them! Links lead to the robocraftwiki!

Guns!

There are currently three types of weapon which you can equip on your bot, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so use them wisely!

SMG's![robocraft.wikia.com]
The Subatomic Machine Gun is a rapid-firing close- to medium-range weapon that deals consistent damage to the enemy. The SMGs boast better maneuverability, higher fire rates, and lower prices at the cost of lower damage. Variations of the SMG include a front mounted version, which costs less but has a restricted firing cone, and a top mounted version, which is more costly but has a wider firing cone, but if fired in bursts or single shots, it can be surprisingly effective against those dots in the sky, this is also known as "tap-firing!"
Take note though! Equip 6 of these for maximum efficiency; adding more SMGs will not affect its rate of fire although your weapons will shoot in an erratic order so, it might get a little more difficult to hit an enemy. However, adding additional guns will allow you to retain the maximum fire rate even after taking damage.

Plasma Launchers![robocraft.wikia.com]
The Plasma Launcher is an artillery style weapon that launches a plasma projectile that creates an area-of-effect explosion on contact with a solid object. Beware the recoil, rotation speed, and the fact that the turret's rotation strength can actually unbalance or flip small vehicles!
The Plasma Launcher also has a unique firing style. All the launchers will fire at once, then enter a recharge cycle. The recharge is indicated by the raising blue bars in the reticule. When the bars turn gray, the launchers are ready to fire again.
Remember: Shooting while moving increases the spread of your weapon. Use this to your advantage by creating a large blast radius when you are firing from a long distance!
Firing under a bridge at enemy units crossing it will allow your explosion radius to damage them, even though the bridge is in the way!

Rail Cannons![robocraft.wikia.com]
The Rail Cannon (a.k.a. Railgun) is a highly accurate projectile weapon that fires a single projectile at the enemy that penetrates through armor. Rail Cannons automatically charge after firing, but pressing 'R' or the Middle Mouse Wheel reloads if there are still shots remaining in subsequent Rail Cannons. Its accuracy is greatly reduced when moving. After this charging period, all other Rail Cannons charge almost instantly. By holding down the right mouse button, one can zoom in on a target to hit it more precisely. With its extreme damage per shot and high single shot accuracy, it to excels in long range engagements and anti-armor engagements. The Rail Cannon's range extends even further than the rendering distance. When at least one Rail Cannon is charged, a laser beam appears in the cross-hair, allowing the user to determine the direction of the Rail Cannons. Recoil can be an issue for smaller craft, as firing a Rail Cannon creates significant recoil compared to Subatomic Machine Guns.
These weapons have undergone a lot of changes! It is advised you practice with one before taking it into WAR!

Equiptment!

Electro Plates.[robocraft.wikia.com]
The Electroplate or Shield, is a regenerating form of light protection for your craft!
They're complex to place well but are very rewarding to hit and run play styles as the recharge means that you can charge again an still take more shots!

Rectifier.[robocraft.wikia.com]
This handy gadget is most useful for flipping your bot to an upright position!

Jammers![robocraft.wikia.com]
The single most important part of any stealth based bot! These Radar jammers will assist in stopping you showing up on the enemies maps, and remember as mentioned before, more means better! Equip more than 2 for optimal use!

Radar![robocraft.wikia.com]
This gadget will help you detect enemy bots not wearing enough Jammers! Very effective due to the volume of people who choose more firepower over one of these!

The Receiver![robocraft.wikia.com]
(At the suggestion of @Fat_Digester)
The receiver! Quite possibly the single, most under used gadget in the game! Which is its biggest weakness because the more poeple who use them the more information will be shared in your team!

Wrapping up.

Bot Classifications!
(Thanks to @Zeblote for un-intentionally providing this for me.)
When spotting assuming you have your sound on you will hear a bot lady tell you the classification of the bot.
I'm not 100% certain how the specifications work, but we do have a list!

Plasma Drone
Plasma Bomber
Plasma Hover
Plasma Tank
Rail Drone
Rail Flier
Rail Hover
Rail Tank
SMG Drone
SMG Hover
SMG Tank
Interceptor
Gunbed
Scout


Thats it:
The War is over?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYbjYndKRkM

Tips from other players!

(Disclaimer: The below texts are hints tips and guides provided by other players.

A Guide to Infitration

Submitted by: GoodLookenGeek

Here’s my solo tactic. First, note that I have a hover bot that is all terrain and has S-type SMG in T3, that’s fast enough to dodge plasma and rails, or at least ensure it’s only a glancing blow. And the last battle I fought last night, I got 9 kills and 5 times as much CPU destroyed. So I can be sure this works well. Although it is adapted to my play style.

Step 1: Hunt fliers from a safe and elevated area, and keep aware that more may show up later, meaning I can only safely attack for a long period of time when no fliers are around. Even with speed hover tanking.

Step 2: Look for good targets. Use the map, ensure that you are attacked by the fewest angles as possible, yet you can attack them from as many places as possible.
A: In use of cover: never come out of the same spot, or any clever foe will just aim at that spot before hand. (Shoot-and-Scoot. - Grid.)
B: In picking targets: Target the weakly armored ones first if you can, they will be either faster, or have more firepower, meaning they will charge you, or just keep their DPS longer then you and win. Target foes that pop out of the same spot, this way you can aim and shoot faster, then hide again as soon as they find you or the plasma almost hits you.
C: Stay aware: Have a radar or two, never stop looking for planes, hover high to get a good view of those that come.

Step 3: This is more for fast hover play style then the others. When your foes are mostly crippled and destroyed, you many want to find a ally with very little speed and a lot of armor and firepower. Such as, a gunbed. Then, probably damaged, you will be a smaller and unpredictable target even to yourself, you can target and hover over plasma tanks, giving the gunbed or gunbeds support. Gunbeds also make a good shield against rails. You can also speed tank them. (Teamplay, just try not to block off your robo-shields form of retreat if he gets in trouble. - Grid.)

A: OH NO, A LEFT OVER GUNBED D: plasma gunbed: I usually just dodge plasma gunbeds and their low RoF, which are best killed by tunneling to the pilot seat, keep that RoF low. (Keeping RoF low is an SMG term, it means don't hold your mouse button down and just shoot, you need to tap your fire button form more accuracy at distances or on a specific spot, when you hold down your fire button you're shots will spread out hitting a larger area and missing your target. - Grid
B: SMG gunbed: First, what’s its weakness?
I. It’s slow: Good, finish off the wheels and capture their base, if the gunbed is defending, wait for ally help, if you’re all alone, take out his radar and surprise him over and over with weak shots from many angles.
II. It’s badly armored: Try and sneak behind to get to the armor weak points, then go right for the pilot seat, or shoot under the guns.
III. It has weak firepower: Just shoot the guns and ensure that his armor and speed are worthless. Be careful though, don’t confuse this with a all rounder, guns are made to contain the blast of their own shot, so they are tough.
IV: All rounder: Evade him if possible, either using maneuverability or good max speed. Then as always, surprise him, target his radar or have lots of jammers. (Jammers stack too remember! - __Wowie__) Then using your speed, continue to target which ever is best for the scenario. Wheels if you wish to cap, firepower if you have a tanky or are tanky with good gun protection, or armor if you have a lot of firepower and can get to the pilot seat or can shoot under the guns. Or can hit a weak spot.

C: rails with 6 little guns. More of a worry if you speed tank like me, a few careful shots and a fast railgunner can pose a threat. More shots for a better chance of hitting small weak points, rather then doing a lot of damage to one weak point. I’m assuming you have no ally or taking down the rail would be easy.
I: Try and bait: If the rail-gunner is not used to speed tanking, it may be possible to make it waste a few shots. I would advise doing this as a last ditch effort.
II: Spiral approach: Using cover as your aid, if the target is closer, it may be possible to force the turrets to shake too much as they must move too fast to get a good shot.
III: Long distance defender: If going for cap is impossible, and the target is far away, then I have no idea, help.

[Davedunno]

@awesomelam26, not necersarily fast, more often than not, obviously depending on the games balancing, it's about the glass cannon having a large damage out-put over health and speed. :)

[DomeDistributor]

or also called glass cannons-- a more generic gameing term for something that is fast, does a lot of damage, but can take no damage

[FerwynaTTV]

oh okay, thanks for that ^.^

[Davedunno]

@InfiniteFinitude They're hit and runners, they move in fast and do damage then run away before taking damage, often called thruster sticks .

[FerwynaTTV]

the vehicles that use lots of thruster and have high tier weapons, what would they be classed as?

[Davedunno]

@Rinkashime999 I am often updating this guide, I try to do full research before adding new sections to make sure everything is in place, is there anything in specific you need to know?

[Rinkλ]

pls can you add more advanced stuff since i allready knew this!!!

[milk]

anyone who wants can add me "flocz_de" , can play all tiers!!

[FerwynaTTV]

BLACK ADDER! BLACK ADDDERRRR! xD

[Davedunno]

@The Guy with The Hat, I added this with the SMG as an also known as, thank you. :)