The Basics

Everyone has to start somewhere! Some players have been around variants of this game for over 2 decades (various projects have been trying to recreate the feel of the original since it was shut down in 2010), so don't feel discouraged starting out since the learning curve for operating the tank turret and manuvering with skill takes a lot of practice and time. The community is very helpful and willing to teach newcomers to the game, so ask for help if you're struggling to find your treads (a little game humour).

1. When you first enter the game, you'll be in a chat room known as the Control Center. Just type to chat. At the top of the screen there are various buttons. Click the Arenas button. Select an arena type, then click OK to enter the arena. There are many types of arenas, but the basic three are Total Wars style, Impulse Wars, and Phoenix Wars. Within each of these categories exists a "Beginniner Mode" here your rank must be lower than a Lance Corporal (1,000,000 combined points from all game modes)– Review the Game Rankings.
   • Total Wars/Regular Play allows full selection of tank types and equipment configurations and this version is Rezarus at its best. Choose and play in Beginner or Practice to learn the ropes. A variant called "Laser Wars" also exists, here it's regular/open style play limited to Jackals and PK4 Lasers in a standard loadout configuration that can't be modified.
   • Impulse Wars/Missile Wars is a variant in which everyone plays the same tank and carry only impulse missiles. Impulse missiles do not damage opponents but instead give them a good shove. Force opponents into ramps or off catwalks to kill them. Rezarus has introduced new gameplay to Impulse Wars, allowing for turbo. You can perform a surprise attack on an opponent by turboing into their hideout, or quickly escaping when out of missiles or damaged and needing access to a recon. Another new enhancement is an Airshot Bonus of 2k points. If you see an enemy tank flying nearby that's airborne, if you shoot and hit them, even if they don't die you'll be awarded a 2k bonus for having great aim! Note: the enemy must be airborne for several seconds before getting airshot to qualify.
   • Phoenix Wars/Missile Wars is another variant in which all players use the same tank, but can carry both phoenix missiles and rockets. It's a fast action game, but you'll drive more than fight at first. Rezarus has added new gameplay to this mode as well, allowing for an Airboost. To use it you'll be limited to carrying only 2 missiles (enough to still kill an enemy tank), which provides a quick "air juke" while airborne to avoid getting hit. Note: You'll need to release the rocket key and have at least 10% left of your rockets remaining to use the feature.
   
   
2. Once you've chosen a game mode, you will see a list of the available maps. Find one that has an opening on one or more of the 4 teams (or 2 if playing a 10v10 map) and click on that team's button. Many maps support 20 players (4 teams of 5, or 2 teams of 10), however larger maps can support 28 players (4 teams of 7) or even 40 players (4 teams of 10).
3. You are now at the Tank Selection screen. Near the screen's top center, choose a tank by clicking on the arrows on either side of the tank. Use the default weapons for now by pressing the Load Config button. Enter the city by clicking on Enter Arena button.
4. You are in your team's base. All tanks that are your color are on your team. Don't shoot them or you'll waste your power (friendly fire is currently not allowed in any game mode, so you will not be able to damage them). Stay with your team and shoot the enemies.
5. In the upper right corner is your radar. You are in the center. The little squares are recons used to repair and recharge your tank. Missiles will show as moving white dots on your radar as well (lasers do not show on your radar). To use a recon, drive over the square pad and hit Enter (you'll see a Green "R" in the top right of your screen, or a Red "R" if you're on an enemy recon). You have a special team "base recon" where you can reconfigure your tank, as well as gold/yellow recons out in the field of play (in some maps). You can only use recons that are white, gold/yellow or the same color as your team. Enemy recons will drain your power.


6. Control + F5 toggles a display that shows all the players within the arena.
7. To talk in the arenas hit / for arena chat and ' for team chat. Press / and start a message with /handle to Private Message another player that's online.

The Controls

The key to getting good at the game, is by memorizing the keyboard config. Learning to operate the turret and tank movement simultaneously is the skill that will pay off the most, outside of learning to shift shields for Total Wars/Laser Wars. Check the screenshot for the current keyboard layout to get a feel for all the controls that are at your fingertips, or make changes to optimize the way you play.