+=====================+
| N A K M A C H I N E |
+=====================+
Nakmachine guide by Exploder (edb_mail@yahoo.com)
Tha Nakmachine is my favorite tank in Gunbound. It requires a bit of
skill, practice, and tactical thought to use properly. But if you put in
the effort to learn it, you'll be rewarded with the double threat of
great bunging potential and awesome damage output.
+================+
| Quick Overview |
+================+
Advantages:
- Great damage output
- Excellent bunging potential
- Good staying power
- Tactical versatility
Disadvantages:
- Poor movement and climbing
- Below-average SS attack
- Does not gain 5% healing bonus for living tanks
- Requires practice to use effectively
+============+
| Statistics |
+============+
Type: Hit Machine
Firepower: Great
Defense: Good
Health: Average
Movement: Poor
Climbing: Poor
Shield: None
Weapon 1
Max Damage: 190
Delay: 820
Angle Range: 40
Type: Single Explosive Projectile
Weapon 2
Max Damage: 300+
Delay: 850
Angle Range: 40
Type: Single Explosive Projectile (Penetrates land)
SS Weapon
Max Damage: 300
Delay: 1320
Angle Range: 40
Type: Single Explosive Projectile (Ignores everything but tanks)
The Nak is a metal tank. That means it's affected strongly by JD
(Cakebot)'s secondary and special attacks. It can take an above average
amount of punishment, and can deal out a huge amount of pain.
Since it's a machine and not a living creature, it doesn't benefit as
much from healing items. It has no shield, so the Mage's SS attack is
not as much of a threat.
Even though the Nakmachine is a spider, its movement and climbing are
quite weak. You should try to avoid rough terrain, since it's easy to
get stuck in a seemingly navigable crater. On the positive side, the Nak
has the best tools of any tank to deal with intervening land.
The Nak is the only tank that fires out the back. This has absolutely no
tactical effect since any tank can face either direction at will, but it
does look cool.
+=========================================+
| Primary, Secondary, and Special Attacks |
+=========================================+
Primary Attack
--------------
It's just a typical single projectile. It does very nice damage on a
direct hit, and digs pretty well if you land it right in front of your
opponent. It's good for long range fighting since you can do quite a bit
of damage, while messing up their angle with near misses. Remember that,
as with all tanks, you will do more damage if your angle is within the
solid green area, compared to the outer transparent green part.
Secondary Attack
----------------
The "signature move" of the Nak. It flies just like the primary attack,
but it does not detonate on impact. Instead, when it hits the ground it
continues in the same direction horizonally, but it begins to curve
upward as if gravity had been reversed. It detonates when it exits from
the ground. This is useful in many situations, which I'll detail later
on. The damage for a direct hit with this attack is among the highest
non-SS attacks of any tank in the game.
SS Attack
---------
I find this to be only rarely useful. It's a single projectile that does
below-average damage for a special. It completely ignores land, only
detonating on a direct hit with a tank. Mainly I use it when there's land
in between me and my almost-dead target, and there's a gap in the
intervening land (otherwise I'd use the secondary attack instead).
+==================================+
| Using the Nakmachine effectively |
+==================================+
The Nakmachine is fairly effective at long range, with its damaging
primary attack. However, it is a holy terror at close range, since the
secondary attack can be used reliably, so that's where you want to be
when possible.
Long Range
----------
You'll want to use your primary attack at long range. If you and your
opponent score direct hits every turn, you will win against most tanks
since the Nak's damage is above average. But watch out for Mages and
Turtles.
The reason the Nak is only fairly good at range, though, is its very poor
movement and climbing. It's fairly easy for your opponent to either put
you in a hole you can't climb out of, or damage the ground in such a way
that you are unable to get the proper angle to fire back at him. So if
the opponent has a lock on you, it's best to aim your primary attack just
in front of them instead of going for the direct hit. You can destroy a
lot of land this way, and hopefully kill their angle before they do it to
you.
Especially if you're fighting against an excellent long-range tank (Mage,
Turtle, Grub), it can be a good idea to teleport next to them. Very few
tanks can survive a melee fight against the Nakmachine. The best time to
teleport is right after they use their SS attack, or a Dual item. That
way they won't get two attacks in a row on you after you teleport.
Short Range
-----------
This is where the Nakmachine shines. Get right next to the enemy, set a
fairly high angle, use about an inch of power (you'll have to practice to
judge it right--you want it to hit the ground right at the near edge of
the enemy tank), and let loose with your secondary attack. It will
tunnel a short way into the ground, come up under your victim. If you've
judged it right and get a direct hit, you'll nail them for 300+ damage,
and drop them into a sizeable hole, with you on the edge at the top.
On your next turn, since you have your shot worked out, use a Dual, and
do the same thing. Now they're down 600+ more damage, and in a very deep
hole. Often you will have bunged or killed them by this time, if they
were already hurt.
What if they get the first attack and drop you into a hole instead?
That's no problem for the Nak! Here's some ASCII art to demonstrate the
proper response:
<->
(ooo) <--- Enemy Tank
##### ####|################
##### ######|################
##### #######|################
###### ######/#################
###### ######|#################
###### ######/##################
##### ######/###################
###### ####/###<-- Path of #2 Attack
###### ####/#####################
##### ##-/######################
##### You *_O -/########################
###### /||\ ##########################
##########################################
##########################################
##########################################
You just face whichever side the enemy is on, and let loose a #2 attack
with low power (again you need a little bit of experience to judge it
properly). If you did it right, it will fly upward and nail your enemy
from below. This is also a PERFECT time to use a Dual item, since you're
hitting the enemy from below (very important--I'll explain below).
Using the Secondary Attack Properly
-----------------------------------
The secondary attack only takes 30 more delay than the primary attack,
which is great. You can use the best attack for the situation without
worrying too much about your delay. Almost every other tank's secondary
takes 100 extra delay.
It has the same weight as the primary attack, meaning you can aim with
the primary and then switch to the secondary and it will hit the same
spot. But when it hits the ground, instead of detonating right there, it
starts to "burrow". I think of it as "reverse gravity" while it's
underground...instead of curving down, it curves upward.
This means that the underground curve is dependent on two things (at
least--I don't know about wind)...the angle it hits the ground at, and
the speed. If it hits the ground at a shallow angle (near horizontal), it
will travel a long way before it comes back up. On the other hand, if you
make a very high-angle shot, then it'll go almost straight down and come
almost straight back up.
It detonates when it comes out of the ground, only. It has nothing to do
with hitting a tank or anything else. And it will pass right through
tanks if it hasn't hit ground yet. If it comes out of the ground directly
under a tank it can easily top 300 damage.
When using the secondary attack with a Dual item, it is entirely possible
to top 700 damage. But this is ONLY possible when using the proper
angle. The proper angle is straight up from below. Here's the reason
why...
Assume that the first shot is a direct hit on the enemy tank. BAM!!
300+ damage, and a big hole in the earth all around him. Now, before the
second shot arrives, the enemy FALLS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE HOLE, like so:
###################
##############################
######################################### *_O
############################################ /||\
################################################# ###
############################################### ##
############################################## #
################################--------------X #
-------############------------/############### <-> ##
#######\----------/############################# (ooo) ###
#####################################################X########
#####################################################|########
#####################################################|########
#####################################################|########
#####################################################|########
Remember, the secondary attack detonates as soon as it exits from
underground. Notice the difference in the detonation point of the second
attack for a horizontal and a vertical angle of approach. If your shot
is coming mostly horizontal when it hits, then you shouldn't use a Dual.
The second shot won't do more than 50 damage. (Note that this is an
excellent way to attack a tank, just not a good time to double up).
However, if the angle is close to straight up, then definitely use a dual
and watch both shots score a direct hit. Also notice how deep the hole
will get! Look at the position the Nak is in to see why it's so deady at
very short range.
+=========+
| Bunging |
+=========+
For anyone new to Gunbound, "bunge" means to cause someone to fall off
the screen, by destroying all the land below them. You get a 100g bonus
for bunging someone, to make up for the 100g kill bonus that you don't
get. (Unless you kill *and* bunge them, in which case you get both
bonuses!)
Along with the Raon Launcher and Bigfoot, the Nakmachine is among the
best tanks in the game for bunging. We're talking about the secondary
attack here. The reason is that it hits the enemy from below, so you can
get direct-hit damage, plus full land destruction effect. Attacks that
hit from above usually destroy very little land on a direct hit, and
conversely do very little damage if they miss slightly and thus dig a
lot. Other attacks are very prone to leaving the enemy on a small bit of
land which ends up being shielded by their body.
Let's say the enemy is positioned on a thin strip of land like so:
#### <->
####### (ooo)
##################################
##################################
########
######
Now, with a normal attack, such as the Nak's primary attack or just about
any other attack in the game, you can either miss slightly and destroy
the land near (but not directly under) the enemy. Or you can hit them
directly and not destroy much of anything other than their health. The
enemy tank acts as a shield for the small bit of land that is actually
holding them up! But if you hit with the Nak's secondary attack, it goes
straight through the enemy tank, and probably right through the thin
strip of land as well. When it comes out the bottom side, it blows a big
fat hole for the hapless opponent to fall through.
And if you can execute the dual-secondary attack diagrammed above, you
can drop them through a very sizable chunk of land in one turn, in
addition to inflicting crippling damage.
+======================+
| Item Recommendations |
+======================+
I always use the same loadout:
Teleport
Dual x 2
The Teleport is a necessity for the Nakmachine since its mobility and
climbing are so poor. It is also extremely useful for getting into very
close range where the Nak can simply demolish almost any other tank.
I also carry two Duals because they are so deadly when used with the
secondary attack. If you manage to create the right situation (see
"Using the Secondary Attack Properly"), you can finish just about anyone
with two double shots.
+=================+
| Closing Remarks |
+=================+
The Nakmachine, in the hands of a skilled player, is one of the strongest
and most versatile tanks in the game. It can hold its own at long range,
and at short range it is simple devastating. It is one of the best tanks
for bunging, and is unique in its ability to do heavy damage and destroy
a lot of land at the same time. Take the time to learn its nuances, and
it'll serve you well in almost any situaton.
