Turrets, turrets? Before skills? Over skills?

I've been playing a different style lately. When you start out, 350 bucks is enough to afford two Long Shots and two ShaveIces, which plugs the four available nodes for any map (barring Steel Peel which can't use Long Shots). I've been placing these turrets down, not leveling my skills, pushing bot lanes hard and returning only to upgrade my turrets -- typically Long Shots first, for the HP boost, then ShaveIces, then the moneyball turrets third.

I've had some really positive experiences with this. Wondering if anyone else has been playing with a focus on turrets and noticed a difference. I know a lot of people think turrets are worthless, however, I had a game on Lazer Razer and we were being pushed HARD, but my turrets were holding the enemy up along with the rest of our team, though they were making progress. Because we couldn't seem to break their contain, I decided to push the other lane as hard and fast as possible into their own base as a counter attack. Lo and behold, they had ZERO turrets -- their level 1 Rockit Turrets were never upgraded and had been easily dispatched previously, never replaced. Waltzed right into their moneyball and halted the offensive entirely.

So if anyone wants to give it a try, put your feedback here!

I think it would be a valid strategy if there was no juice involved. Unfortunately the first juiced Assassin will rampage at least 2-3 turrets and you're left with no upgraded talents and no turrets.
The definitive caracteristic of talent upgrade make them much better spend. Also, the better you become, the better the use of talents->more money-> more turrets later. Turrets are only defensive, passive and do not generate income. I guess a half way talent upgrade is a moment where strategically it might be necessary to build a turret. And of course all the way till end.

Nice forum name.

Anyhow, I think you have to know to use what your upgrading. Don't upgrade fly for assault if you don't know anything that requires extended fly time. Don't buy a longshot for the moneyball circle.

If you see the enemy has a mess of turrets and 3 supports on them, then buy juice. If you see both sides have enough turrets and bots/map-control are the target, then buy skills. If you see that your base has no turrets and/or an enemy taking advantage, buy a turret you know you can defend and make operate to keep the block.

Assuming you know how to defend a turret (even competitive teams have trouble with it, but usually a single juiced enemy doesn't take down a turret if you have an available charge, grapple, bomb, ice trap, ect... and some teamwork)

I'm not sure why you think this. Turrets can be offensive if placed correctly, particularly if it's a hacked shave-ice in the front of the base, or a rock-it in an open area. Longshots are particularly effective at getting kills, especially when fully upgraded and hacked. Kills got with your built turret(or if you were just the last person to upgrade it) will net you cash. Shave-ice don't give cash, but then they make killing other pros markedly easier, especially when hacked in the front as its effective area will be both in the base and a bit into mid, allowing you some advantage in the battle. I've found spunky cola is a great map for turret strategy, though I seldom get the chance to try out new things as everyone just builds rock-its. I've found a 3.3 Rock-it hacked in the open area on the far side of your base is great, while a 3.3 Shave-ice in the middle front makes it difficult for the enemy to do much of anything in the middle area. In a pinch, the left moneyball nub can be made a laser blazer to keep the bots at bay while you push enemy pros out of your area.

Turret strategy in that map alone is deep, and underestimating it in any map is unwise.

I love getting to a base early and seeing a bunch of level 1 non-rockit turrets

easy money and juice

I sometimes put a lazorblazor to replace spunky cola moneyball turret. I wait for the n00b that broke the rokkit to come along the back ledge and try to taunt. His body flying off the edge of the map, shattered by my gauge-stick, is always a pleasant reminder NOT to **** with ME.

Well, you are right. But i was rather answering the question asked of what to do early in the game: turrets vs skills. So yes, turrets kill, bring some money and are effective fully upgraded, but not in the first 5 minutes of the match. Nobody gets killed by a lvl 1 turret.
So I would still first invest into skills, farm some bots and pros, reinvest into skills, re-farm and then choose to build or still reinvest. Going too fast for turrets puts you under risk of getting them smashed anyways and leaving you skillless, unable to properly generane income and unable to rebuild turrets. You're stuck in the begining of the game facing a mid or end-game skilled oponents.

Don't buy turrets.

Go outside your base and kill stuff instead of playing simcity.

If you push your bots non-stop you will never need turrets.

I think turrets need to be rebalanced
They die too easily, they cost A LOT and they do not do all that much sadly

Even a 3.3 + heal from support can't survive long if focus fired by an assault or gunner with mortar, it's just a matter of time before I die from his or someone else's fire or he just out-damages my heal.

I play mainly support (too low fps i can't see S@#t so I can't aim) and if I prioritize building turrets over skills I end up with poor Skill build and allot of dead turrets

While I struggle to keep one lane alive the other one dies and bots flood
I either play with bad teammates or I am a bad teammate

Rockit turrets need longer range
lazer blazer need cost cut
Shiver - MOAR health
Long range ... they are kind of OK

And I noticed that the LazerBlazer Heals/Over Heals SOOOOOOOO slow ... and dies so fast ... that can't be OK. Also if a turret is in the read the health bar fills slower then when in the green ...

p.s. Probably made a tone of errors but ... for a non-native English speaker I think it's OK

Excepting if you use them offensively to secure your win and maintain the front line by having a buffer against players getting through to your bot spawns, annihilator, juice machines, and spawn.

The fact being turrets will both help you defend in an even match and help you keep your advantage in an uneven match. By this I don't mean skill level disparity but who has the advantage. Turrets are basically pointless on grenade though. They can be completely outranged quite safely, and a single firebase can make it even more impractical to defend them. It's also very sniper friendly and has that one firebase spot near the bot spawns that's extremely frustrating for any class except the support to deal with. I've never really liked that map, even playing as a mobility focused assault. It seems to have some design problems when it comes to lines of sight and defence. The only turret of apparent use on that map is the longshot; on steel peel they're useless. Why gapshots can shoot through the ceiling of steel peel and longshots can't I have no idea.

I think there are uses for turrets.

Against a lot of teams, building a lvl1 rokkit and hacking it to 2 at the entrance to the middle on spunky, will keep both bot lanes out the base and also keep pros off the opposite wall since it can reach them. Then, upgrade it to 2 asap, and 3 when given the chance.

What I do on spunky:

1) place firebase behind soda can just through the tunnel, so it can kill bots and guard the opening and bridge area. enemies may be setting up firebase under the bridge or behind their base's corner, so make sure to destroy/airstrike them.

2) bot money goes torwards lvl1.2 rokkit on the corner nub facing the middle bridge opening.

3) bot passive to push bots

4) rehack firebase, or place on your side of the tunnel

5) upgrade rokkit to 2.2

6) remember to rehack firebase, or if it died, place it on your side of the tunnel instead and hack it

7) upgrade hack to 3, and hack rokkit to 2.3

8) build longshot or shaveice on nub just outside your moneyball glass. make sure your firebase is still up and hacked to guard from the tunnel, wether its on enemy's side behind soda can, or your side just next to turret nub.

Hint: Remember to keep an eye on bots and pros on your team, and enemy firebases. Airstrike firebases when you can, and push pros and bots with hhgun while you pass between the corners of your base, and watch your bot spawn.

If you're playing support, most of the time every dollar you put into turrets would be better spent on gapshots.

Yeah recently I've noticed that Gap Shots kill enemy turrets Very Very fast ... i'ts insane

Once a team notices gapshots, their sniper, tank, assassin, or assault can start killing them off of spawn.

They stop becoming profitable, they are only good in unpredictable bursts.