Vantage

Wiki › Classes › Tier 2

One fast, heavy, accurate bullet and a wider view. It's the only level-15 class that lets you win fights from outside the other tank's range, and it opens the biggest branch in the tree.

Stats

At 0 stat points. Bullet speed and range include the global bullet-speed and range multipliers.

Tier	2
Unlock level	15 (3,488 score)
Upgrades from	Recruit
Upgrades into	Level 30: Nightfall, Shepherd, Sighthound, Snare, Sledge
Barrels	1 (longer than a Recruit's)
Reload	0.95 s between shots (1.05 shots per second)
Bullet speed	662 px/s
Bullet range	595 px
Bullet damage	12.4 per bullet (+3.88 per Bullet Damage point)
Bullet penetration	3 (every 7th shot: 6)
Spread	±0.4°
Recoil per shot	3× a Recruit shot
View	1.125× view multiplier (the whole Vantage line keeps at least this)
Drones / traps / turrets	None
Body	Max HP ×1.071. Top speed 209 px/s at level 15, 82 max HP at level 15

How it plays

Vantage is about distance. Your bullet travels at 662 px/s, nearly twice a Recruit's, and it flies 595 px before it disappears. Every other tier-2 class stops at 331 px or less. That gap of about 260 px is your whole game: if you stay inside your range and outside theirs, they can't hurt you and you can hurt them.

You pay for it with fire rate. One shot every 0.95 s is slow, so every miss is expensive. The spread is only ±0.4°, so your bullets go where you aim. Lead moving targets, because even a fast bullet takes most of a second to cross the full range.

Every 7th bullet you fire has double penetration, 6 instead of 3. Penetration doesn't add damage to the first thing a bullet hits, but a bullet's damage falls as its penetration gets used up, so the charged round keeps its punch through shapes or drones in the way. Count your shots when you're lining up something important.

The view bonus is easy to forget and it matters. You see more of the map than a Duet or Rattler does, so you see them first. Use it to pick fights, not just to shoot.

Recoil is 3× a Recruit's per shot. Firing pushes you back noticeably. When something charges you, keep shooting: the recoil is carrying you away from it.

What it beats and what beats it

Vantage beats anything that has to walk towards it in the open. Duets, Rattlers and Recruits all have to cross 260 px of your fire before they can reply. It's good against shapes that are hard to reach, since you can farm from the edge of a crowded area.

It loses up close. At short range the Duet's 4.9 bullets a second beat your 1.05, and the Rattler's spray doesn't care that you're accurate. Rearguard is the real problem, because it's faster than you and can close the distance you rely on. If something fast is already on top of you, retreat while firing and let the recoil help.

Building your stats

• Bullet Damage first. Each point adds 3.88 per bullet because Vantage multiplies damage by 1.55, and on a slow gun every shot has to count.
• Reload second. Going from 1.05 to close to 2 shots a second at 7 points is the biggest improvement you can make to your damage output.
• Bullet Speed a few points. On this class each point adds about 99 px/s and about 89 px of range, because the class multiplies bullet speed by 1.8. More range is more safety.
• Bullet Penetration a few points if you shoot into crowded areas.
• Movement Speed with the leftovers, so you can hold your distance.

Plan ahead. If you're heading for Shepherd, your three bullet stats turn into Drone Speed, Drone Penetration and Drone Damage when you upgrade, so they aren't wasted. If you're heading for Snare, Bullet Penetration does nothing for traps. Skip it.

Where it leads

Vantage has five level-30 choices, more than any other tier-2 class, and they play very differently.

• Nightfall if you want more of the same: longer range (728 px), harder hits and an even wider view.
• Sighthound if you want to keep the range but fire more. Two stacked barrels, alternating.
• Shepherd if you want to stop shooting and command eight drones instead.
• Snare if you'd rather control space than chase people. It lays traps.
• Sledge if you want one huge, slow shell that does 28 damage and throws you backwards.

Common mistakes

• Fighting at the other tank's range. If you're close enough to get hit by a Duet, you've thrown away the only advantage you have.
• Spraying. You fire about once a second. Aim every shot.
• Not leading. At long range your bullet is in the air for most of a second. Shoot where the target is going to be.
• Forgetting the recoil. Firing while you chase slows you down 3× as much as a Recruit's shot does. Fire when you want distance, not when you want to catch someone.