Summary
- The Tank is the fifth troop to unlock in the game. It is unlocked at Headquarters level 11.
- The Tank has the second slowest movement speed of any troop but has high health, high DPS per unit (but relatively average DPS for the space it takes), and long range.
- Each Tank costs two Gunboat Energy to deploy.
Visual Appearance
- The Tank is a blue robust armored vehicle with a turret, main gun and large muzzle brake on the barrel. It is equipped with black caterpillar tracks each held up by two large road wheels and two smaller sprocket wheels. The tanker is a red-headed woman in a blue uniform with a small blue garrison cap.
Offensive Strategy
- If used properly, Tanks in large numbers are almost unstoppable.
- Tanks + Medics (Full Guide by TheCoolBoss) can be a very effective strategy because Tanks have high health, enough to withstand otherwise lethal damage from some defenses (notably Sniper Towers) whist Medics constantly heal them. Once all the high-damage defensive buildings, such as Cannons and Boom Cannons, are destroyed, the Tanks are practically invulnerable.
- Tanks can also pair well with Scorchers as they will be able to perform better with Scorchers absorbing the majority of enemy fire.
- Grenadiers are also effective with Tanks, as they can destroy front-line Cannons safely. With luck, they can also destroy Boom Mines. However, both units have low DPS and high capacity, so typically you can't have enough to properly finish an attack.
- Pvt. Bullit's strength against defenses usually threatening Tanks and his short range can create great synergies. His Taunt ability could buy them significantly more time to neutralize such defenses.
- Using Tanks requires you to have high-level Artillery and Barrage and a good amount of Gunboat Energy, as Tanks require them to deploy, whist Artillery and Barrage are necessary to clear out threatening defenses. Optimally, you should have some Gunboat Energy Statues to assist.
- When Artillery and Barrages become too expensive, a good way to take out Cannons safely is to Shock Bomb them and then Flare your Tanks to it. The Cannon will be quickly destroyed before it can attack.
- If Shock Bombs also get too expensive, when Tanks are nearing a Cannon, a 'micro' strategy can be used with Smoke to destroy the Cannon(s): place a Smoke so that all Tanks that would be targeted by the Cannon are protected, then, when the smoke clears, all Tanks will fire at once, destroying the Cannon quickly (unless the Cannon has enough health to survive this). To make this work perfectly without taking damage from the Cannon, it should optimally face away from your Tanks, such as during the very brief rotation period the Tanks will immediately destroy it.
- Take advantage of the Tank's long range to destroy economy and support buildings to get the crucial Gunboat Energy you need, making sure to keep out of range of nearby heavy defenses.
- When using a Tank army, use Flares to move away from Boom Mines, or trigger the Boom Mines using Artillery, Barrage, or Critters.
- There is usually no need to worry about Cannons or Sniper Towers on the other side of the Headquarters, as they will be unable to reach the Tanks.
- If a space is between a Boom Cannon and the Headquarters, and your tanks are on the other side, they are out of its range.
- Flamethrowers and Machine Guns are generally no threat due to the Tank's high range - the Flamethrower can't reach the Tank at all, whereas Machine Guns often have to hit Tanks at maximum range, greatly reducing its accuracy. However, Tanks may accidentally wander into these defenses if a misplaced Flare was deployed or if there are too many Tanks present.
- Your biggest enemy against Tanks is time. They only have a mediocre damage-to-size output and a quite slow speed, so if the enemy Headquarters is deep enough inside the base, the Tanks may not be able to push through. In this aspect, Shock Launchers are also a significant threat, delaying Tanks enough to ruin an attack.
- In the case you run into a front-loaded base (where most or all defenses guard the shore while the economy is in the back), deploy tanks to one side and throw an Artillery shell on a leading bunch. The extra damage will allow Medics to follow close behind continuously while the Tanks make their way around the side of the base under Smoke Screen. Note this will only work if two scenarios are true; the Medics are not damaged while on the shore and/or the Artillery does not destroy your Tanks instantly.
- Triggering Boom Mines by allowing your Tanks to tread over them during this smoked flanking maneuver is also an effective way of making sure Medics stay close behind.
Defensive Strategy
- High-level Boom Cannons, Cannons, and Sniper Towers can boost your chance of surviving a Tank raid. Keep them somewhat spread out so that they cannot be shocked with a Shock Bomb together and one Barrage cannot damage all of them.
- Doom Cannons are also adept at stopping a tank raid, because they have extreme range and will usually destroy Tanks outright, effectively countering any Tank-based strategies.
- Carefully spread out your Boom Mines across your base to ensure that Tanks cannot easily maneuver around them.
- Protect your economy and support buildings as much as possible. Tank armies need the Gunboat Energy they receive from destroying them to power their Barrages and Artillery shells needed to destroy your Boom Cannons and Cannons. Running out of Gunboat energy can quickly spoil the whole attack unless important defenses have already been destroyed.
- Shock Launchers are a vital defense. The long stun time and the Tank's slow speed may lead to an attacker running out of time in an attack.
- Wisely placed Shock Mines can effectively stall Tanks for a very long period of time. So ensure to place them where Tanks are prone to drive over.
Upgrade Differences
- There are no visual changes between levels, but each upgrade increases the Tank's hitpoints (by 7.8%), DPS (by 9%), and training cost (by 1,000 gold).
Trivia
- Tanks were invented during WWI, initially as an infantry support vehicle to absorb enemy fire and reduce allied casualties, and remained in use ever since.
- The iteration in Boom Beach, however, serves the opposite purpose, being a moderately armored fire support unit.
- You can have a maximum of 24 Tanks in a complete set of fully upgraded Landing Crafts.
- Before 5th of December 2013, Tanks did not require Gunboat Energy to deploy.
- It is very strange that the tank only has one crew member or appears to only fit one member, as most real tanks have a crew count of 2 or above. This may be ascertained by the fact that the Tank cannot fire on the move and has a short delay before firing once stopped. This allows time for the driver to switch from the drive controls to the targeting controls during that time.
- The Tank's artwork underwent several changes. It was initially depicted with a male operator until 2014 April 24.
- The Tank is the first troop to receive a Skin.
- Promotional material indicate the Tank does have at least one lever, a number of gauges, some switches, red buttons, and gas petal for acceleration.
Skins
Statistics
Unit Size |
Training Time |
Movement Speed |
Attack Range |
Attack Speed |
Headquarters Level Required |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 24m |
Slow / 150 |
Long / 8.2 Tiles | 3.5s | 11 |
Warships
Rank |
Level |
Reserves Size |
Upgrade Tokens |
Tech Level |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | 28 | N/A | 5 |
2 | 7 | 34 | 86,500 | 10 |
3 | 10 | 40 | 115,500 | 15 |
4 | 14 | 46 | 169,000 | 20 |
5 | 17 | 52 | 240,000 | 25 |
Total | 611,000 | 75 |