[Vehicle] Tanking Careers: A penny for many of your thoughts....

Empire Specific (ES) Tankers

- Magrider lovers & haters: Why do you love / hate the Magrider? And for the haters: What is holding you back from getting over your obstacle of hating it?
The Magrider is a pretty good tank when used correctly, just be sneaky and stealthy and boom, everyone hates you.
- Prowler people: Why do you love / hate the Prowler? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
Never, not for any reason go for close 1v1 fights if you can avoid it.
Search cover you can shoot over, deploy, watch your environment and make the enemy tanks shiver behind their cover.
- Vanguard people: Why do you love / hate the Vanguard? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
A true heavy tank, heavy, slow, moves like a snail.
A snail with damn huge gun on its house, waiting to blow shells through your armor.

In general:
Enemy tank?
SHOOT IT!
Enemy infantry?
SHOOT IT!
Enemy aircraft?
SHOOT IT!
You are stealthy?
DON'T SHOOT FOR SAKE, WAIT TILL I GOT CLOSE!

General Questions

- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?
I love driving.
For one reason, there are not many tanks to gun on as a lonewolf.
If there is, is usually is a newer player, you are better of getting a tank yourself to cover him then.
- What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?
No skill no win.
You can allways outskill an enemy.
You can allways kill a fully certed and dual gunned Magrider with your HEAT Lightning and Skygurad, you just have to be the smarter player.
Never give up.
- New Players: What do you look for when you tank? Zerging with a zerg; AV fights; AI fights; something else?
Well, I have over 1000 hours in PS2 (but I'll stil reply, hue).
Zergs are boring.
Enemy zergs, that's where a real tank belongs.
Flank them, get behind them, kill them.
Also shoot infantry when you see it close to you.
- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?
"I want to kill everybody in the world."
Now serious:
I like tanks because they are fun.
Farming in a tank is what I find boring, going for real fights, that's the spirit.
Also allways keep an eye open for your teammates, you often can save them.
- Expert Players: How has your tanking career progressed over time? Do you focus on one or two aspects now that differ from when you started?
Enemy tanks?
Time for AP!
Enemy infantry?
Time for HE!
Both?
Time for HEAT.
Enemy air?
AP AA, best AA.
- Unless you're running with a gunner you know, what are the first things or ground rules you establish with new gunners? (Ignore this if you solo or don't take on new gunners)
STOP SHOOTING AT THAT ENEMY 300 METERS AWAY YOU FOOL!
Be so kind and wait for me to get behing him, would you?
Also don't shoot friendlies, otherwhise you have been in my tank for the longest time.
- Soloers: Why do you prefer to solo?
Because noone ever gets into my top gun for some reason.
Sad, I spent several thousand certs into my top gun.
Tanking with me anyone?
- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?
Hahaha, Lightnings...
The base is only 4000 meters away from the Warpgate?
Time for an MBT drive.
No ressources?
Infantry is fine for waiting time.
- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?
You never stop learning, so never stop playing because you just got rekt.
The next MBT just waits to be pulled, go get it!
- If there was one thing or two things or even some advice you could tell your armor-newb-self about Tank tactics and strategy, what would it be?
Go for long range combat if possible, the one who knows his gun better has the advantage.
Also never go into 1v1 fights with an uncerted tanks, staying with someone else for the beginning is fine.
Or just search a nice person to gun for to get certs.
PRO TIP: The first two repair tool certs are pretty cheap but helpful, go get em!


You are allways welcome in my tank on Cobalt, no matter which faction!
If you make mistakes, you learn from them.
If you are bad, remember, everyone begins at zero.
If you get angry, take a pause from tanking and play some infantry.
If you get rekt, return and try again.
If you get rekt again, choose another fight and learn from your previous mistakes.

And allways remember: An obvious tank is a dead tank.
Stay sneaky!

Love this! I'm adding it to my advice section. Thanks for posting.

Great responses, thank you Jake.

Incidentally, I realized that new players do not call zergs zergs. So asking them if they look for a zerg to play with is actually counter-productive. None of the folks over on the reddit thread responded to that part either. Only intermediate and experts responded.

Glad to hear you got to take a new player through a wild ride. I enjoy running with the brand new folks because they usually haven't learned any bad habits and are willing to learn to do things smart, or rather, to give experienced players a chance to show them what smart means to them.

These posts are exactly why I love the armor community. First let me thank all of you immensely for your enormous write-ups. It sounds like you all have a huge wealth of knowledge and experience to share.

I hope you change your mind about reddit, at least in the general sense. My harasser sub - http://www.reddit.com/r/harasser/ has had an enormous positive impact on the community across all servers. I believe the armor sub will be twice as great at least given that the armor community isn't nearly as niche. If you love tanks and armor combat, and continue to share your experiences, we'd love to have you.

I will agree with you about the planetside reddit. It is full of way too many complainers, but then it's is a good way to get everyone together in an internet community. And besides harasser and armor subs, I can't think of a better way to honor the vehicle community in this game. Hell SoE did away with the vehicle forum. So what's a vocal vehicle freak to do?

Thanks for your feedback and comments.

Folks, I will be launching the armor subreddit soon. In the meanwhile it is still a work-in-progress.

Empire Specific (ES) Tankers
- Vanguard people: Why do you love / hate the Vanguard? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
Everything the Lightning is, the Vanguard isn't. It's slow, bulky, tanky, what have you. I've no interest in using it.


General Questions

- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?
Driving, although with the Lightning, you don't have much choice in the matter. I (used to) drive Harassers and would drive a hypothetical 2 man Lightning/3 man MBT.
- What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?
Loadouts and cert levels mean most fights are either free wins or at least in my favor, even before taking positioning and "skill" into account. They're easy to hit, and worth a lot of certs, too.
- New Players: What do you look for when you tank? Zerging with a zerg; AV fights; AI fights; something else?
Fighting a tank Zerg with some cover. The cover is mandatory. Hossin good, North Indar bad.
- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?
Flanking, sneaking around, sniping Sunderers and stuff. Killing vehicles and toying with LAs.
- Unless you're running with a gunner you know, what are the first things or ground rules you establish with new gunners? (Ignore this if you solo or don't take on new gunners)
I only pull Harassers when my friend is on to gun them, so N/A.
- Soloers: Why do you prefer to solo?
If you mean 1/2 tank, then I don't do this since Lightnings. If you mean drive around alone, it's in part playstyle (sneaking in a group isn't all that sneaky) and in part a disinterest in "organized" play in general.
- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?
It's nimble, low profile, and fast. Also, it has fantastic visibility in third person.
- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?
I haven't learned much, but it took me a while to get into the tank game, so I already knew quite a bit going in. Most of the things I do aren't really tank specific (flanking, etc.) Dodging LAs is a skill I picked up playing as an LA prior to starting my tank career.

Empire Specific (ES) Tankers
- Prowler people: Why do you love / hate the Prowler? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
I love prowler's raw dps which is great when you learn to get accurate enough to reliably hit both shots. one thing i'd like to get better at is target leading while in lockdown at long range (i learned the other way around, non-lockdown accuracy first so my usual tanking doesn't suffer)

- Vanguard people: Why do you love / hate the Vanguard? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
Vanguard is a great brawler and decent artillery piece. i hate how i see vanguards behave most of the time as TR too many aren't aggressive enough and just sit far away and use the vanguard shield as a clutch save instead of using the vanguard to it's greater strength. When i play in a vanguard i tend to play as aggressively as when i fight in my prowler need to dial it back a bit to account for the speed and handling difference between them that i rely on for escape.

General Questions

- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?
I prefer driving over sitting on the gunner slot, plenty of chance you can sit there for a while and not find any suitable targets for the driver's secondary weapon if it isn't AV or mixed AV/AI effective

- What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?
It's a less you are dead right now before firing a shot cause of lag/cheese or headshotting and doesn't rely so much on twitch skills and it relies on general accuracy, if you are in a lightning you can get instantly dead from MBTs with a gunner but it's so much rarer then in infantry combat.

- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?
Killing enemy tanks by stealth, straight up fighting or being sneaky with tank mines.

- Soloers: Why do you prefer to solo?
far too many pub gunners are 'hit it because i see it, i don't know what this weapon is supposed to do or if it is doing any damage, i'll keep firing anyway' this is the greatest weakness any tank can suffer especially when sneaking it's a big stream of look over here free tank kill by flanking it from behind! I have killed a few tanks when the enemy gunner has no brains and the enemy MBT is an easy kill because the tank has the default gunner weapon or an AI weapon.

- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?
lower profile, easier to use terrain to make the enemy miss, high speed with racer, use in tandem with AV mines to make quick work of the occasional MBT that i have no idea of any way to flank undetected, skyguard makes a ok close range defense of other vehicles when aircraft aren't around to shoot at. HE on a lighting is good for fire support of other tanks and infantry when attacking protected positions and reducing the enemy's outgoing fire.

- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?
that pub gunners are a liability, other vehicle drivers especially harassers think they own the road and that their speed shouldn't mean they have to move out of sunderers and MBT's way when they are screaming down the road at max speed.
- If there was one thing or two things or even some advice you could tell your armor-newb-self about Tank tactics and strategy, what would it be?
Flanking and stealth are key, if you are in a stock MBT or lightning your only real shot against certed enemy 1/2 tanks is being backed up by a high rank repair sunderer, their repair rate can make likely defeat into a victory depending on how skilled the enemy is.

My main advice to tank drivers in general is to get a feel for the drop of your AP main gun first till it's mentally automatic, then adjust for when you are using HEAT/HE, prowler drivers learn AP drops and leading before you touch lockdown, learn lockdown leading when you have lockdown maxxed. you want your standard aim for mid-close to be high and then work on lockdown.

having best aim in lockdown is meaningless if you can't fight at mid-close range against flanking and straight up fighting

Ah, as I wrote I've been away from PS for a while, so I haven't stayed in touch with the "recent" new things on the PS-reddit (and subreddits). I'll be sure to check them out

<3 Magrider, but its not a tank, not in the traditional sense. Its more of a skirmishing vehicle than a tough bruiser vehicle.

Probably my least favorite tank. Standing still and farming has never been a favorite of mine.

All around vehicle, Tough, Strong, and a great ability. Maneuverability, while worse than the magrider, isn't honestly that bad.


General Questions

- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?

Magrider: Gunning
Vanguard: Driving
Prowler: Driving

- What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?

I built my Magrider to fight tanks (its just not as good as the others at kiling infantry). Its fun to sneak up on them where they don't stand much of a chance.

- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?

Support. As with all vehicle the goal of a tank is to support the infantry in their push to secure a base objective. If that support happens to be blowing up infantry farming tanks, suppressing infantry or wiping out sunderers then so be it.

- Unless you're running with a gunner you know, what are the first things or ground rules you establish with new gunners? (Ignore this if you solo or don't take on new gunners)

Uh I'm usually happy just to have someone in the gun, I don't tend to tell em much because my PTT for proximity is too far away from where my hand is.

- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?

They are faster, are at their peak with only one driver, cost less resources (and thus run out less), can be pulled from more areas, can fit into areas the other tanks cant, and in a lot of cases I think 2x Lightnings can take on a fully crewed MBT if they coordinate well.

- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?

Not to treat the Magrider like a tank. I've been using it like a harasser (flanking, hit and runs etc.) and for the first time I think its actually starting to work better for me than the vanguard.

- If there was one thing or two things or even some advice you could tell your armor-newb-self about Tank tactics and strategy, what would it be?

Basically to stop treating the Magrider as a tank.

Derped

Empire Specific (ES) Tankers
- Magrider lovers & haters: Why do you love / hate the Magrider? And for the haters: What is holding you back from getting over your obstacle of hating it?
The Magrider is a wonderful gunning platform, a joy to drive and ride, and the smoothest shooter of the bunch. It is the weakest tank - the lowest armor and the least damage output. It is the strongest tank - taking prey when they are most vulnerable, from places of greatest advantage, in ways that cannot be defended. It is also not a main battle tank; once this is realized, acknowledged, learned, its true nature can be seen - whether you are behind the main gun, or in its sights.

- Prowler people: Why do you love / hate the Prowler? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
It hits like a truck. The Vulcan amplifies the terror up close, and Anchor amplifies it at range. Prowlers are also the best ground source of firepower a single player can wield, the greatest force-multiplier for solo drivers while also leaving the second seat open for dealing with aircraft or infantry. I suppose this is fitting for the TR - throwing resources around to magnify the punch of a single soldier much more than other tanks.

My accuracy while moving could use some work, as would be my ability to double-tap aircraft. I've had the least experience driving the Prowler of all MBTs, and while a lot of principles are not new, the behavior of the main gun is a different thing to control.

- Vanguard people: Why do you love / hate the Vanguard? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
This is the tank. This is the tank that can cover and provide cover for a group of infantry, rockets be damned, and keep on rolling. It repairs faster from armor hits, and the main gun (despite its lackluster sustained DPS) -feels- like a massive wallop. And if and when a Vanguard gets by a formation unseen… well, fireworks grand and beautiful ensue.

AA wobbling is something I’d like to get better at. Also, I could use more practice at throwing myself off cliffs to nail stuff directly overhead, though that isn’t really a pleasant maneuver.

General Questions
- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?
I prefer driving, if only for the sensation of moving around. Not to knock topgunning, there’s still plenty of fun to be had there, but you’re still glued to someone else’s *** for the duration… which is great, when you’re eating or half-afk or otherwise not all-hands-on-deck. But driving... there's a weight to every motion you make.

-What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?
The deliberateness of it all. A tank is durable, but it has much less cover to work with and cannot scoot in and out like infantry - when it exposes itself, it stays exposed for a good moment while the engine spins down and back up again. Every shot counts - hits are devastating (to most targets, at least), but you pay much more dearly for misses than with most anything else. Tanks traverse the gamut of Auraxis’ vast terrain, and fight in and over places most everything else ignores. I’ve had incredible rolling shootouts around structures and formations that may have never seen any other action aside from the rare repair-landing or royally-lost sniper.

- New Players: What do you look for when you tank? Zerging with a zerg; AV fights; AI fights; something else?
I’m not new anymore, but this is still a question I can answer, at least pertaining to zergs - they’re a mixed bag. Farmfests are boring, and usually only a good use of time for the small portion of the armorzerg who have the choice positions or otherwise know what they’re doing. For the rest of the horde, well… the biggest killer of Auraxian tanks is boredom. That said, some zergs can be immensely fun, but this depends on location, density, and opposition. When these factors do align, there can be good action on the outskirts. I tend to scout first, see if and where there’s stuff going on, maybe roll a Lightning or Harasser to test the waters. In some cases, a Lighting fits better than an MBT because what action there is demands agility - as there’s already more than enough firepower to go around.

- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?
Tank hunting, Sundie hunting, AA support, and, as a last resort, putting shells into people who want to take their infantry 1v1 with a tank. Most of my time is spent prowling for other tanks, undefended sundies, targets of opportunity. Skirmishes are a good source of fun, especially defensive actions. Zerging can be good, if done right with the right conditions, as mentioned above.

- Expert Players: How has your tanking career progressed over time? Do you focus on one or two aspects now that differ from when you started?
I wouldn’t say I qualify, but I like the question. At the start, I paid a lot more attention to infantry, at least with regards to trying to kill them. Really, though, they tend to be more trouble than they're worth, and dull to fight. Sunderers are really the AV tank's objective-target, though given some of the recent changes and upcoming features, the devs do not think this should be the case?

- Unless you're running with a gunner you know, what are the first things or ground rules you establish with new gunners? (Ignore this if you solo or don't take on new gunners)
Spot everything, shoot what I shoot. I’m actually pleasantly surprised at how many randoms I get who know this already. That said… my tank tends to be near-constantly in motion, so I suppose the randoms who get in have already passed a skill check of sorts - not catching my bumper with their face.

- Soloers: Why do you prefer to solo?
I do a lot of 2/2 play, but I also solo fairly often, even with friends. Two main guns operating together have more combined firepower and are much more dangerous to the greatest threat to a single two-man tank - aircraft. This also allows more double-flanking maneuvers in small engagements, or kiting tactics. The downside is coordination and getting separated at inopportune moments… but some of this can be overcome with experience.

Even when I’m not rolling with a friend or group, I like to find randoms in my area and shadow them, either to cooperate or use them as bait. That said, if I do find myself confident in their abilities, I’ll be the bait when needed.

- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?
Resources, but not in the way above. A Lightning is a cheaper method of testing the waters in a particular fight while leaving an MBT in immediate reserve. A Harasser might be cheaper-still, but is much less able to take opportunities and make them count. And a pair or small pack of alert Lightnings working together can bring down MBTs, even MBT groups. It's also more-able to cross-country moderate distances to find new action, or just cheaper to discard.

- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?
I wish I had branched out into all three factions a bit sooner. Right now I have all three tanks at operable levels, though my Vanguard is most-complete, Magrider close second, and Prowler a bit lacking but still more-than-functional. I tend to be the sort of player who plays a lot of different roles, and Planetside 2 is, sadly, hostile to my playstyle, insisting that my equipment remain lower-grade if I want to do more than one thing over and over. That said, I like the variety of armor available, each with their own tactics and capacity to spec into different approaches to combat (stealth, survivability, AA, artillery, infantry support); though too often world-design is hostile to some of these roles, and likewise some of these tools give up too much to be not-markedly-more-useful in their designated role.

- If there was one thing or two things or even some advice you could tell your armor-newb-self about Tank tactics and strategy, what would it be?
Jungle more. Jungle wider. Snipe engaged targets - you don’t have to risk yourself to get the kill if you can simply assure their death with a safe shot or two. Stay away from infantry, they aren't worth it.

- Please share anything else you're inclined to that comes to mind; or ask any questions to the participants of this thread.
Tank combat in PS2 is fun, responsive, and (compared to infantryside, at least) not severely marred by latency issues on either party's end. Probably one of the best selling points for this game - its the aspect I can most-recommend. It's mindful, tactical combat. It's what I came for. It's what friends came for. It's much of why we play.

Hey everyone....do you have any advice for Lightning players:

As a Lightning, what are some tips you'd suggest when fighting Vanguards, Prowlers, Magriders and other Lightnings?

Against other Lightnings, if you're running AP then you have an easy time against Skyguards, Viper, and HE Lightnings. HEAT Lightnings are slightly more dangerous, but if you hit your shots and don't expose your rear then it's also fairly straightforward.

It is a little dangerous to try to flank aware enemy Lightnings because they can turn relatively quickly. When enemy Lightnings try to do that to me, what ends up happening is that I simply rotate in place and my speed of rotation can keep up with their speed of driving in circles around me. This means that the enemy is a larger target with their side armor exposed, while I can keep my smaller front towards the enemy. Additionally I have a more stable firing platform compared to them.

Ramming enemy Lightnings can cause them to miss, allowing you to gain a DPS advantage. It's not a great tactic, but if you can't escape and are caught in a bad situation, it might turn the tide. I've used this technique to be victorious as a Skyguard Lightning against Viper Lightnings before.

As with most tanks, the initial reaction of most Lightnings when taking damage is to back up... even if the damage was coming from the rear! Flanking enemy Lightnings (as with most tanks) is very useful to get those first shots in, and occasionally you'll have enough time to throw in a second shot before the enemy tanker has figured out where you are.

For most MBTs, try to observe them first before you engage. Figure out if the top gun is occupied. Try to guess if they are tank-hunting or happily bombarding infantry.

In general even against a healthy 1/2 MBT the only way to win is to get rear shots. This isn't so difficult against MBTs because they tend to be slow. Wait for them to be distracted and vulnerable and then engage. With a 1-2 rear shot advantage with AP chances are good that you'll win.

If you can't flank, then try for long-range engagements. Here the smaller target that the Lightning shows is an advantage as it is more difficult for the enemy to hit you. Move a bit in between shots to make it harder for the enemy MBT to zero in on you. Kills are unlikely, but you can at least force the enemy MBT to pull back. Then you can close in and following their smoke to finish the job. Possibly the crew will even be dismounted!

Lock-down Prowlers are always a nice target, particularly if they are distracted. My favorite locked-down Prowlers are those who are bombarding long-range targets or ones that are surrounding a base. Their panic works to your advantage, because although they technically have the DPS to kill you most Prowlers will instead do an emergency undeploy, wanting to turn their tank to face you. This means that not only do they lose their DPS against you, they also are temporarily locked in to a vulnerable position. That's more on counting for the operator to panic though, but most Prowlers I've come across will make that fatal mistake.

Magriders are the most dangerous to Lightnings because they can pop out of nowhere. Most of the times when I've been ambushed it's been a Magrider who has come over a mountain that I thought was protecting me from a flank. In those cases I would recommend running away (still only partially successful against the maneuverable Magrider), but as an emergency suicide tactic you can always try going under the Magrider by driving right at it. This can allow you to pop out the other side and deal rear damage, either causing them to panic or take significant damage (not so useful against 2/2 Magriders). You can also run under them to buy yourself more time to run if the Magrider was very close to you already.

Vanguards are the easiest to evade (and you'll have to do so if they are attacking you) and the easiest to chase down. Rear hits are important because the Vanguard is just as vulnerable in the rear as any other tank (as opposed to being stronger to the front and sides than other tanks). Without their shield, Vanguards are slow and vulnerable and simply can't get away from you quickly enough.

If you run stealth, a good tactic is drive right up the bum of an enemy lightning and then start shooting, most people panic and drive backwards, only the be able to do nothing. You can even do this in a harassser.

If you're engaging enemy MBTs, you need to check if the top gun is occupied and what gun they have on the main. If the MBT is 2/2 don't even bother unless someone else is also attacking it. 1v1 you're going to loose and loose hard. Is the MBT 1/2 but has a AP cannon? It's a risky attack so you're best off getting rear shots if you can before he knows you're there. HE tanks are generally easy pickings for AP lightning.

Empire Specific (ES) Tankers

- Magrider lovers & haters: Why do you love / hate the Magrider? And for the haters: What is holding you back from getting over your obstacle of hating it?
LOVE the Magrider.. Swagrider.. once I figured it out, it is amazing. The MOST fun driving vehicle in the whole game.
A different play-style, closer to the enemy.. most fragile of the MBTs.. but worth it.

- Prowler people: Why do you love / hate the Prowler? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
An amazing amount of fire power going down range with incredible reload speed... I do not use Anchor Mode.. don't like to be pinned down.. love the double barrel/double fire.. AP is very accurate, sniping ESFs and what not.. lots of fun.
But Magrider is still more fun.

- Vanguard people: Why do you love / hate the Vanguard? What is something you would like to learn or develop?
Got one of these.. too sluggish, too slow, .. packs a huge punch.. if you can land the shot.. otherwise long wait for the next round.. FEELS the most like a tank.



General Questions

- Which do you prefer: gunning or driving, and why?
Driving.. I tried gunning for others, but quickly discovered I was sitting in a suicide box.. or driver didn't know where to do, or could not figure out that he got us in a tight spot, surrounded by AV infantry.. bad experience.. numerous times.. I gave up.

- What do you enjoy about fighting tanks?
I hate walking around... OMG.. I have to run all the way over there.. ??? no way. Once I figured out how to drive Lightning and MBTs.. there was no turning back.

- New Players: What do you look for when you tank? Zerging with a zerg; AV fights; AI fights; something else?
When I was new to tanking I was just trying to figure out how to drive and shoot at the same time.. that was long before we had the current quasi gun stabilization.. tanking was a bit different then

- Intermediate players: What role do you like to fulfill while tanking?
Sundy support in Prowler.. make sure our Sundy stays alive.. cover fire in base attacks.. keep enemy air busy, sniping infantry getting too close to our troops.
Magrider.. team up with any other Mag that is going after any enemy vehicle.. sliding in front of a friendly vehicle to take an incoming round/missile that was intended for them, but they are on fire and I can take that DPS.. saving my squad mates..
Surprising enemies by coming over a ridge where no other tank can come from.
do Lightning count as tanks? Skyguard... get out of MY airspace.. not looking for the kill.. but seriously ruining enemy air's idea of a great ground attack.. that they have to break up because I got a stream of bad ideas coming their way..

- Expert Players: How has your tanking career progressed over time? Do you focus on one or two aspects now that differ from when you started?
You play different in the 99th hour of tanking, and even more different in the 199th hour, than you do in your first 50 hours. After 200 hours in a tank, you begin to see things you never saw in the first 20 hours. It takes time to learn, never mind time to earn the certs to max-out your vehicle.
The first few hours is more: holy crapola I got 3 kills.. yippieeeee.. Now its more : Oh no, I totally missed that 10th kill, could have had that MAX and his engi.. but no, I had to miss that shot.. should have known he was gonna go left.. Its far more of an after game analysis of what went wrong.. Experience is priceless.

- Unless you're running with a gunner you know, what are the first things or ground rules you establish with new gunners? (Ignore this if you solo or don't take on new gunners)
When I get a random gunner, and he or she keeps firing right out of the warpgate.. at nobody.. just plinking away into the tundra.. I kick them out. The others I send a chat to let them know that I run Proxy Radar. to look out on the minimap.. some I can tell know it when they see it.. they aim the secondary at dots on the minimap. always thank them for gunning.. especially the ones that can actually hit and kill

- Soloers: Why do you prefer to solo?
Its not a preference.. it just hard to find gunners most of the time, its not a choice.. I prefer gunners. I can guarantee my gunners a bunch of certs.. but I can also guarantee you some boredom.. Be prepared.

- Apart from reasons such as working on directives; a lack of resources; not being connected to a tech plant and not having your gunner logged in; what are some reasons you prefer to run Lightnings over MBTs?
Skyguard.. after I get my Magrider shot up from under me, nowadays at least. .. I ran a lot of Lightning in my Vanu.. all cannons., all I ever did there. until I discovered how to drive a Magrider..

- Looking back at your career as an armor player, what are some things you wished you learned when you started off that you think could have dramatically improved your progression or enjoyment of planetside 2's MBTs?
My first tank, Vanguard.. HEAT.. I was grinding to get the certs to finally afford Racer 3.. It was going 60KPH.(racer 2). and I thought, OMG, with Racer 3, it m u s t go extremely fast.. Oh hell no.. Racer 3 just added 6KPH to it.. I remember being ticked off.. All that effort for a measly 6kph.. ??

I can not imagine having done it any other way. First Lightning.. NC and Vanu.. finding out that the Vanguard is not my cup o' tea.. then watching lots of videos on the Prowler.. grinding thousands of certs as engineer, repairing everything in sight to earn the certs to max out racer on it.. then i found out i can really drive that hamburger looking thing.. and I can hit targets with it, from far, far away..
all that experience boils over into the Magrider.. I can not imagine only knowing the Magrider and then trying the Vanguard for the first time, or the Prowler.. they are completely different animals. The progression line of appreciation was perfect for me.

- If there was one thing or two things or even some advice you could tell your armor-newb-self about Tank tactics and strategy, what would it be?
Grind certs.. lots of them, be a gunner first.. spend a hundred hours as a dedicated gunner.. to learn where to go, what to do, and what not to do.. Then take lots of hours to watch videos on the tank you want to use. Even the old ones.. they all have something to teach. Spend all your certs to get the cannon you want and attach yourself to other tanks .. help them kill their targets.. you learn a lot by being around other tanks. It takes time to max out the important parts.. zoom, ammo, reload, racer, and the utilities you prefer. Know that it will take a lot of time before you get decent at it. don't say tanks don't do this or that, or OP this one and nerf that.. unless you have at least 200 hours in one particular MBT..

Hey everyone - Just want to say thanks again for the responses and feedback. I've included some of your responses in our Armorpedia - on the Planetside Armor subreddit. This is a newly created sub to give a home to the tank community and promote positive discussions and development. Come check it out. http://www.reddit.com/r/planetsidearmor/

I just read a good portion of this, and I'm surprised that there's nothing on Viper Lightnings. Are these universally hated for some reason?

Not sure. I can tell you that the tankers I've built relationships with are all MBT players, and only pull Lightnings when they don't have a tech plant or they want to do stealth work while they wait for their usual gunner. Meaning, no one is doing it because they have a desire to be in them. Now I only know a handful of tankers to begin with, but this is my experience.

As for Lightning literature, we did manage to get some Lightning players to write some good stuff in The Armorpedia: http://www.reddit.com/r/planetsidearmor/wiki/armorpedia#wiki_lightning - but comparatively speaking to the MBT sections, it is more barebones because of where our focus has taken us throughout our armor careers. I've also found it difficult to find a Lightning player who 1) had the skill and experience that MBT authors did, (nuances, tactics, strategies, map knowledge, environment knowledge, player psychology etc.....) and 2) wanted to be authors to share their knowledge and experience. Not being Lightning experts, we're not really poised to say more about them, except what we have. As for Skyguards: This is a great guide for stealth skyguard players which will be added to our Armorpedia in future.

If you're looking for help with Vipers or lightnings in general, I'd ask here and on http://www.reddit.com/r/planetsidearmor/ -- thankfully the Armor player community is a lot more grounded I think than say the air community. Maybe, the fact that they're in slower vehicles makes them less irritable. Either way - PS2 Tank players need a home too and there it is.

In almost every game I play, I prefer to attack from long range. Thus, the Prowler is the perfect tank for me. If you have a sharp eye, a steady hand, and a cool head, you can headshot infantry from render range. The only thing I don't like about the Prowler is how big it is. Seriously, this thing has a really fat @$$. As for what I'd like to learn or develop, I'd like to be able to coordinate more closely with other Prowlers to set up a good ambush or an enemy armor column. Can you imagine a convoy traveling through a valley when all of a sudden they realize they have a wall of tank mines blocking them in front and Prowlers on both sides?

Driving. I use my Prowler like a siege tank so I can out range almost everything I shoot at. That being the case, there isn't usually much for the gunner to do except take pot shots at aircraft with a Walker or try to snipe with a Halberd.

Winning. Specifically, winning against someone who, had you not caught them in a disadventageous position, would have had at least an even chance of killing you.

Long range siege tanking. I'll take shots at almost anything I can hit (which is usually render range).

I have no rules for gunners except for taking every shot they can get; I'm a siege tanker, not a stealth tanker.

If you're in a lockdown Prowler, equip a Walker and STAY AWAY FROM SPAWN POINTS. If you're doing siege tanking right, your natural predators are aircraft and infantry. You can usually dissuade aircraft with the Walker, but I find the best way to keep infantry away is to make it inconvenient for them to get to you in the first place.

Same as above: equip something that can do AA and STAY AWAY FROM SPAWN POINTS.