Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

[tom]

I know there are probably 500 threads about this already, but...
This round the tractor flakking seems to have begun, and I have already lost 4 ticks worth to it...and i've been online for 3 of them. Theres pretty much no defence against them with any route other than robots...they ARE simply OVERPOWERED. Please nobody say they are not, because they clearly just are. It isn't particularily difficult to use them, and they are pretty much unstoppable.
I'm puppets, so losing land is not really so much of a problem to me, but its just incredible how they were not reduced in armour last round, atleast something had to be done after last round they just pwned...maybe azzer didn't notice?

 

[Bunion]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

The amount of tractors I sent at Azzer last round after he got kicked from his alliance...

I think he knows their power

 

[CLem]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

Grow up, puppet route is not designed to deal with Armour.... *yawns* if you have puppets you won't be moaning, I never teched tractors and combines and I had nearly 8mil of each the round I played puppets.

 

[f0xx]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

If you cannot deal with tractor incomings and you are a puppet, then the problem is in you, not in the unit.

 

[cervantes]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

Guilty as charged, I am one of the tractor users

Having played as a solo before, i have to say that it really is hard to defend versus tractors, no matter what route you play. There are not that many units available that target INN and do a lot of armor damage at the same time.

I might be wrong, but I always thought the reason for the huge armor rating is that a few would survive in case you get killed during your sleep, so you have at least some troops left to grow some seeds (same for the combines). Now, that injury is in place, this is no longer needed and we could lower their armor a bit, dont you think? I mean their purpose is clearly not to use them as flak in attacks I would assume, but to allow you to spend less on gardies and harvies and of course the now futile reason stated above.

But if it won't be changed, then, well, I will continue to use them as heavy INN flak as well, but I could definitely understand if they are nerfed a bit, I even support this idea.

EDIT:
i think this tractor problem, that is being discussed in the past few rounds, is just a reflection of the real problem. Too many solo players! Back in the old days there were hardly any solos in high ranks, and nobody was forced to use tractors that much but to use LET units to gain land from hostile allies. But ever since the Pure Solos came to power, tractors runs became fashionable...

 

[Tim]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

I might be wrong, but I always thought the reason for the huge armor rating is that a few would survive in case you get killed during your sleep, so you have at least some troops left to grow some seeds (same for the combines). Now, that injury is in place, this is no longer needed and we could lower their armor a bit, dont you think? I mean their purpose is clearly not to use them as flak in attacks I would assume, but to allow you to spend less on gardies and harvies and of course the now futile reason stated above.

In fairness, if you think of all your other units/techs...

You start off with wheelbarrowers and can develop geo phys thieves. Other stealers such as Thief or Stealth Geo can then be developed.
Protestor players begin with hippys and they can then develop gurus/news vans etc which are better at what they do.
Military players' first unit is private, but they go onto develop other, better units.

Why should gardeners be any different as a tech? You use them as flak but can upgrade them to a better unit for a price...

 

[cervantes]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

True Tim, but with for each better and stroner unit you gain there are several counter units around. the tractors on the other hand are really hard to block or even to kill. And even if you take a away a bit of their armor, they are still much better than the gardeners, in terms of gardening and also in terms of survival, so you would still gain a more valiuable unit after you teched them.
I dont say make them completely harmless, but maybe a little weaker, because I really dont see the point anymore why they should have so much armor. Right now you just need to throw them at someone and you will land. Well, a bit exagerated, but you get the point.
With the gardeners, you at least have to calculate how many you need, but with the tractors not even that is required. thats what is so annoying about them...

 

[Enrico]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

The trick to stopping tractor-flaking is to remember that you don't need to kill/block the tractors to stop the guy landing, just the stealers: Layered defences!

 

[Iamsmart]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

I dont htink layered defences is going to do you any good? Care to explain that for someone who doesn't understand?

 

[pinpower]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

yeah i was thinking that...layered defence is needed sure...but i dont understand:

remember that you don't need to kill/block the tractors to stop the guy landing, just the stealers

i dont get that bit? maybe im being stupid...

 

[Garrett]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

it's possible to block thieves out from under the flak of tractors. (or any layered flak attack)

that's what he's elluding to, layer yourself so you have the most possible chance to take out the thieves.

 

[Iamsmart]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

I understand that, but I dont understand how layering yourself is going to work to an advantage to achieve that.

 

[f0xx]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

Do we have to go through the same thing over and over again every round?

It was explained in details how to stop a tractor incoming in another thread. With some routes its easier to do it (like gurus and SOs), with others its not so easy, but it is still possible.

Masses of hippies and yobs will always do wonders against tractor incomings.

 

[cervantes]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

But you will need really tons of hippies then, no?
Because if I send 10m tractors and 500k geos, that means the hippy/yob will target to 95% the tractors, which means only 5% actually fire at the geos. And since you need about 10 times more hippies than geos to stop all geos, you will need in this example 5 mio hippies actually firing at the goes. which means you will need 100m hippies total.
Or am I wrong?

 

[f0xx]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

On paper yes, but if the people who whine in this thread would play a bit with the ratios rather than whine every time they get flakked with tractors, they will find that it is not needed that much actually.

Yes, I will repeat it again, with some routes it is almost impossible tractors to be stopped, such routes are the striker route, the vampire route and some other routes which are not very popular, but this does not make the tractor unit overpowered. Not to mention that it is basicly useless against alliances, it is damn expensive and they have a huge ETA penalty.

 

[Iamsmart]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

f0xx, link me to the explanation please, I haven't played the past 2 rounds.

 

[f0xx]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

For every route it is different, there is no formula which guarantees not losing land, but here is the basic explenation for stopping tractor attacks with SO route.

 

[Iamsmart]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

I think I just go for impossible

/me grumbles at stuipd 15mil tractors

 

[DarkSider]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

Why is loosing land to tractors would be a problem for you ? You bribed 6 mil of them, you can use them to get that land back easy. Basicly you got free ar mod which let you live so far and you still complain

 

[Iamsmart]

Re: Tractor Flakking Is Ridiculous

You aren't talking to me are you?