MetalStorm Wingman User Manual - Unofficial: Tips and Strategy Guide

Upcoming Leaked Planes (Thanks 09Florovicj & [KAF] Tabby CaT)

2013-06-09T16:33:00.001-07:00

Upcoming Leaked planes:

NK-99 Quicksilver (Weapon class)
Re-skinned Hawken. It has same pattern a Hawken but its not desert camouflage but arctic camouflage colours.
Cost: 900 Medals
Stats:
+12% Cannon Cooldown
+12% Damage
+15% Agility
+10% Armour

MO-10 Condor (Defence Class)
Re-skinned Apollo.
Cost: 1125 Medals
Stats:
+14% Missile Reload
+6% Missile Tracking
+10% Damage
+6% Armour Regen

UT-37 Vindicator (Agility class)
Reskinned Juggenaut.
Cost: 1000 Medals
Stats:
+8% Critical Strike
+10% Damage
+13% Agility
+12% Damage Resistance

AT-77 Tundra (Agility class)
Reskinned Reaper.
Cost: 400 Medals
Stats:
+6% Damage
+8% Speed
+8% Agility
+5 Evasion

EY-20 Isis (Agility class)
Reskinned Hawken.
Cost: 20,000 Credits
Stats: (the stats were in a foreign language ill update you with them when I find out)
+2% Critical Strike
+8% Energy
+5% Agility
+8% Speed

EY-19 Anubis (Weapon class) yes it's another F-15. Cost: 20,000 credits
Stats: (Same here)
+5% Damage Resistance
+2% Missile Tracking
+6% Damage
+6% Evasion

These planes appeared in the hangar (these are the planes that will be added to the hangar to stay. They are not featured planes) Z2 realised and hidden them but a new bug happens. Wraiths became agility class and Nightwing Became weapons class. If you upgrade them its like a hybrid plane. The upgrades are seem to be gone but they are not at least in survival but if you upgrade it then it is invincible in VS.

Blue Coins more Abundanct These Days?

2013-06-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that in the past few weeks, you can often get up to 6 or 7 blue coins in a row if you are willing to play the 30 second videos. (note that I said "play" and not "watch"). Curious if others have experienced this? Perhaps Z2 is being a little more generous with the blue coins then before?

New Version Release - 5.1.1

2013-05-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't noticed anything different except for no lag in the few games that I've played so far. See anything new? How is it working for you?

Will LAG ever get fixed?

2013-05-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

I take it back AGAIN - it seems like lag was fixed for awhile and the game worked really well, however the past couple weeks, it has come storming back and seems to occur almost every game. Anyone else having this problem again?

~~4/21/13: I take it back - looks like lag has been fixed in the past day or so at least for me. Thanks Z2.~~

Has anyone noticed that since the v5.1 update, the lag for VS matches has become a substantial problem? Previously, lag would pop up now and then and your opponent would jump/disappear/hover as the Z2 servers labored to keep up the pace. Now though, it seems that lag occurs for every single VS match without exception. The lag occurs differently than it has in the past also. Now, it seems that the lag especially shows up when you make a kill - there can be a several second delay between missile impact and your opponent blowing up. There have been times when my opponent will then even get a shot or two at me during this lag time before he explodes!

Also, the agility class planes seem to have a particularly hard time with this lag - if I fly a weapons class plane, it seems that I have a much easier time hitting agility class planes. Most matches tend to be missile hurling slug fests, shooting at stuttering and jumping images of my opponent.

~~Curious how many of you have been experiencing this same issue? Hopefully it will be fixed soon, as it is seriously degrading the quality of VS game play.~~

You get what you pay for (in both cases)

2013-05-11T10:40:00.001-07:00

Well the big give-away has happened - for this weekend only you can buy the Apollo for the price of 1 credit -------- which is about what it is worth. A disappointing downgrade from the leaked version and not worthy of a review. I don't think that it is a good strategy on Z2's part to build expectations and then provide this piece of junk (no upgrades included either). I think that I'll just stick with the C-101 Annhiliator when I want to fly a low level agility plane - not going to invest a penny to upgrade this thing.

BC-13 Apollo

The second plane released this weekend is the Hades. A new weapons class plane with slightly higher boosts in energy and damage than the leaked version. It is good to see the SR-71 Blackbird incarnated one more time. The first time this was issued was as the Achillies as an overpriced defense class plane with lackluster specs. This time, Z2 has more accurately provided the plane with great speed and stealth.

D-66 Hades

The Blackbird was one of the most amazing planes ever built. A reconnaissance plane with no weapons, it was one of the fastest jets ever made. Able to go mach 3+ at 80,000 feet, it was able to go so fast and so high that no missiles could catch it. For quite awhile, the Blackbird was able to fly just about anywhere it wanted without fear of getting shot down.

Lets take a look at the ratings for the Hades:

Energy: 12% boost is middle of the pack - not a big factor for weapons class which has plenty of energy already as default.
Damage:14% boost is also middle of the pack but decent.
Speed: 20% boost is best in class (but still slower than agility class planes)
Stealth: 15% boost is best in class (but still less than a few defense class planes)

No agility boost will make it easier to be caught in a circling match, but overall, the speed, stealth and damage boosts make the Hades a formidable weapons class plane - the speed should help dodge incoming missiles and the stealth will make it harder for your opponent to lock onto you as you kick in the afterburners. Its also hard to resist the design of this historical classic!

Beautiful shot of a real life SR-71 Blackbird

Both planes have been added to the Comparison Guide and also to the Fleet at a Glance - check it out!

Apollo is the free plane

2013-05-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary!

2013-05-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Looks like a free plane will be available on the weekend of May 11th.

I also want to take a moment to thank Z2 for their work over the last 2 years. It looks like they have recently solved the lag problem - great job! Metalstorm Online is still the best 1-on-1 dogfighting game out there - keep up the good work!!

New Better Plane Comparison Guide!

2013-05-05T11:36:00.002-07:00

I've updated the plane comparison tables to show best in class in blue and best in fleet (all planes) ratings in gold. Also there are some ratings that are best in fleet without any boosts - those are in gold outline. Now you have an even better guide to decide which planes are right for your fighting style.

As bonus - I've also added the 2 new unreleased planes (with the leaked stats).

Click here to check them out!

Upcoming Plane Preview (thanks Sean for the posting!)

2013-05-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

Weapons Class
D-66 Hades
Energy +10%
Damage +12%
Speed +20%
Stealth +15%

Cost: 205 coins

BC-13 Apollo
Unknown class (Agility?)
Energy +10
Damage +6
Agility +12
Speed +9

Cost 30k credits

Both supposedly to be released on May 11th

The Stiletto - ready for a knife fight?

2013-04-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

F-301 Stiletto

Reaper shown for comparison purposes

Just as we saw over the weekend thru our Saudi connection, like clockwork, we have a new plane on Monday - the F-301 Stiletto. Lets take a look:

Agility: BEST IN FLEET (tied with the Reaper). What can you say but wow - this sucker will turn.
Critical Strike: 2nd best in class - nothing to get too excited about.
Energy: BEST IN CLASS for agility, although still a far cry from weapons or defense class energy
Lock Speed: First in class to have any boost in lock speed.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings including the Stiletto.

For agility class planes, I value AGILITY the most, therefore the Stiletto vaults up to be at the top of the list along with the Reaper. In my opinion, it comes down to which is better, this or the Reaper? Reaper has more damage, armor and speed. Is damage, armor and speed better than critical strike, energy and lock speed? I think so (especially speed) and will stick with my opinion that the Reaper is the best agility plane out there but of course, lets hear your opinion!

Thanks to the reader input, this plane is based on the Su-37. See some real-life picts of the SU-37 below:

SU-37

LM-22 Ares re-released

2013-04-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

A new agility class plane has been re-released modeled after The US Air Force X-29 experimental aircraft.

Missile Tracking 6%. Second in class to the Iron Fang

Agility 13%. Toward the middle of the agility pack. Reaper and Stilletto are tops at +15%

Energy 10%. Lower portion of the agility pack

Lock Speed 5%. First in class tied with Stilletto (no other agility class planes have this boost)

Overall impression is that this is a missile shooters plane. Good agility class stats with missile tracking and lock speed boosts will result in better missile hits. The energy boost is a good bonus also. Overall I like the stats and all the boosts are good ones. No speed boost, but you can't have it all and agility class is already plenty fast.

Real-life pict of an X-29

Version 5.1 Released

2013-04-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Version 5.1 has been released. Let hear how it performs for you. Hopefully better than 5.0.

Of note - I've been getting about 20-30 spam comments per day so the commenting process has changed a little. You can still comment anonymously, but you'll need to type in a word for verification. Sorry for the inconvenience. Other options are that I moderate all comments (which can cause a significant delay in your comments getting posted, or I could end the use of anonymous comments which I would prefer not to do).
Well, it looks like somebody is still having too much fun adding spam comments to this blog, even with the word verification. So, from now on, all comments will be moderated (which means that I will take a look at them and approve before they show up. I'll try to do this 1-2 times per day so if your comment doesn't show up right away, it should at least show up before the end of the day. I'm guessing that you all would rather proceed that way instead of reading 20-30 comments about porn websites or random jibberish added each day.

Lugg

The Real Cost of Upgrading your Plane in Version 5

2013-03-28T15:44:00.001-07:00

Cost of a fully upgraded plane in version 4.2:
Total Cost = Cost of Plane + 13,900 credits + 162 coins
Lets assume that you earn the credits and buy all the coins:
Typical cost for a plane: 205 coins = $9.10
Cost to fully upgrade plane = 162 coins = $7.20
Total cost if you paid for it all in version 4.2= $16.30

Cost of a fully upgraded plane in version 5:
Total Cost = Cost of Plane + 13,900 credits + 2165 medals
Lets assume that you earn the credits and buy all the medals:
Typical cost for a plane: 205 coins = $9.10
Cost to fully upgrade plane = 2165 medals = ~500 coins = $22
Total cost if you paid for it all in version 5 = $31.10

Difference: $14.80 increase = 91% increase

Talk about inflation

Yes, you can earn medals, just like you could earn coins, but any way that you look at this, its a fleecing. My recommendation is to have one favorite fully upgraded plane in each class and just enjoy the game with those planes. The concept of a "hangar" full of planes is great for Z2 but not so good for your wallet. Lets hear your thoughts.

VS Match Appears to be Fixed

2013-03-18T19:19:00.000-07:00

It appears that Z2 has finaly fixed the VS Auto-matches. At least for me, I've been getting very quick matches this evening. Finally!! How is it working for you?

Upgrade Guide Updated for Medals

2013-03-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

A common mistake that many beginners make is not upgrading their aircraft. I remember when I finally saved up after weeks to buy my Thresher. I was fired up and went and took my first flight, expecting to demolish my competition with my speed and agility. Much to my surprise, I lost my first 3 matches with my Thresher, all to lower skilled opponents! Unfortunately, the dirty little secret about these jets is that when you buy or save up credits to finally get a plane, you are really only half way there. To really compete effectively and have a satisfying experience, you will want to eventually fully upgrade your plane.

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is much more beneficial to fully upgrade a plane than to fly a "better" plane that is not upgraded.

For this reason, I recommend that a beginner stick with one or two planes and focus on upgrading them. This will cost you credits and will also cost you ~~coins~~ medals. Keep in mind Tapjoys offers of free coins - they really are a great way to avoid shelling out cash. Next mothers day, order some flowers thru FTD tapjoy and earn 251 coins!

One thing that many players are not aware of is that once you buy a plane, all upgrades for that class of plane are the same from there forward (although you do have to upgrade each plane separately unfortunately). There are 3 upgrade trees, one for each class of plane. Also, all upgrades cost the same, no matter what class of plane you have. The map of upgrade costs are as follows (UPDATED FOR version 5.0 now showing the medals required instead of coins):

Upgrade Tree as of 3/16/13

As you can see in the cumulative totals on the right, if you want to get ALL of the upgrades it will cost you 13,900 credits and ~~162 coins~~ NOW 2165 MEDALS as of the version 5.0 update. That is over 500 coins (if you buy the medals). You can earn them, but it will take a LONG time to earn 2165 medals.

As for upgrade percentage boosts, they are identical for each class of plane. The only difference in fully upgraded planes of the same class are the initial increases that are advertised when you buy the plane. For example the only difference between a fully upgraded Thresher and a fully upgraded Annihilator is the advertised numbers as seen below:

Here is the table of upgrades for each class of plane that you can expect if you receive for a full upgrade of your plane:

Upgrade Table per Plane Class

You can see how the weapons class planes focuses on weapons related upgrades, agility class planes on speed, acceleration upgrades... and defense class on armor. It took me awhile to learn how this works but.thanks goes out to WarWolf[Beta and Floris for some of the postings that I've found that help explain this!

Metalstorm 5.0 is Released

2013-03-17T12:04:00.003-07:00

Z2 has launched Metalstorm Online 5.0 as of this past friday. At first glance, it looks like there are several fairly big changes.

1. Multiplayer matchmaking is supposedly improved. From the looks of Z2s facebook page, the matchmaking is off to a rough start with many players waiting ... and waiting... Hopefully there really is some improvement here once they work out the initial issues that they're having. From what I've read in some of the forums, this should be a big improvement in removing most of the hackers in this game! They have switched to a new server which may cause auto-match waiting delays until things settle. This morning I had to try a few times but eventually got a vs match so maybe it is improving.

Note from the CEO

2. Boosts have been removed. I didn't see the problem with boosts - added a little variation to the game, but alot of players didn't like them. They are no more!

3. New Currency. "Medals" have been added. Oh great, now we get to keep track of credits, coins and medals.

Now I'm sure that the use of "medals" will enhance the playing experience of the game right?? Doubtful. At first glance, it appears that all upgrades are now credit and medal driven which could be good since you can earn medals quicker than coins. But the amount of medals needed for the upper level upgrades look very excessive. See the following info from one reader (thanks for the post!):

From my calculation, it now takes 1865 medals + credit coins to fully upgrade a plane. (correct me if wrong) It use to take 160-170 blue coins to fully upgrade a plane and now they're like asking 450 blue coins for the 1800+ medals...? Like wtf?

On the good side, all you have to worry now is to save blue coins just to buy new planes (and/or buy coin missiles meh).

Places to find medals:
Campaign - 10 medals per stage (only tested the first two. I received no medals when I didn't complete the three missions for the stage)

Versus - none, or 1-15 medals; 5 medals/game on average(?). This is based on winning all my matches and I usually received them every 3-4 matches with different opponents.

Survival - the best place to collect medals, esp. if you can reach wave 20.
When I reach wave 20, I usually gain 35 medals on average at 80% chance (sometimes it doesn't reward you). So far, I've experimented and received 15-20 medals (similarly around 80% chance) when I gave up sometime in between 13-19 waves.

Thanks again - great post!

4. Additional bug fixes, crash fixes, stability and graphics improvements ... I hate when developers add this line (which is pervasive). It is just lazy. Give a few examples as to what your talking about here. At least list one example of what bug you fixed, what crash situation you fixed, what stability issue that you fixed, what graphic improvement that you made. Else don't mention it at all.

Overall, version 5.0 does not get me very excited. I find it a bit discouraging that Z2 again is looking at new ways to fleece its players. Getting rid of hackers is great and long overdue, don't get me wrong, but where are the cool new capabilities? New campaigns?

Lets hear from you guys - Are you seeing less hackers in vs matches? Are there bright spots to version 5.0 that I'm missing?

Upcoming Plane Release Schedule

2013-03-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Liu Howard for posting. Below is the upcoming plane release schedule. These are all re-releases. Links have been made to the plane reviews on this site to allow quick access. Start saving those coins for your favorite:

03/11~03/17 R-19 Cost: 205 coins
03/18~03/24 WM-10 Cost: 180 coins
03/25~03/31 TK-44 Cost: 205 coins
04/01~04/07 FireFly Cost: 205 coins
04/08~04/14 NV-7 Cost: 205 coins
04/15~04/21 LM-22 Cost: 205 coins
04/22~04/28 E-41 Cost: 160 coins
04/29~05/05 F-301 Cost: 205 coins
05/06~05/12 M-53 Cost: 205 coins

Make Way for the Helix

2013-03-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

P-33 Helix - Red White and Blue

The Helix has been re-released .

As we look at the Helix, we see that we have a plane that is tied for BEST-IN-FLEET in Missile tracking - tied with the Liberty. Damage will be same as the Hawken (thats a good thing). Outstanding Lock Range (not quite as good as the Eagle but close) and lock speed that is the same as the Hawken. Overall, a formidable Weapons Class plane. Missile tracking especially is a potent stat - more kills and less misses.

At 180 coins, it is a decent plane but honestly, I am at the point where I really don't see the point in buying plane after plane. My advice is to perfect your skills with the planes that you have and then fully UPGRADE a select few planes. Buying the plane of the week is really not going to improve your skills.

As you can see, of course, we have another re-skinned Hawken here. The skies have blackened with all of the re-skinned hawkens flying over the metalstorm landscape like swarms of locust.

Have You Been Banned?

2013-02-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks it seems that Z2 has made a concerted effort to identify hackers and cheats and ban their accounts. To this, I say its about time! I've played against cheaters and hackers with pumped up planes way too many times (after awhile you can tell pretty quickly if a plane has been hacked, am I right?).

From what I've seen, there have also been some innocent victims that have been banned. Some claim to have only hacked their image and not modded the plane stats (you know the players - they have their own mug as their image or some other non-standard image - Jim Careys come to mind). I feel a little bad for these guys but not too much - if you download a hacked version of the game, you should not be too surprised if Z2 shuts it down, even if you aren't "using" all the cheats (how does Z2 know if you are using the cheats or not? If you have a hacked version that is capable of pumping up your planes, your account should be banned, plain and simple). So lets hear from you. Have you been banned lately? Vent away!!

Missile Parameters Corrected

2013-02-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have noticed that the missile stats have changed in the recent update. Below is a table that compares the old stats (that have been outdated for quite awhile) with the correct stats. The column on the far left are the old stats that were visible in the game. The middle column (from Z2 forum website) and the far right column show the correct parameters. Green dots are placed next to values that have changed.

Thanks readers for straightening me out on these! (I was thinking that they had actually changed the missiles performance here) Click on image below to enlarge.

Missile Stat Update (Click to Enlarge)

BTW, sorry for blocking out the capability to do anonymous comments. It had gotten to the point that this blog was getting multitudes of spam comments per day. If you'd like to comment, you can still easily do so, it just takes a very quick login process with blogger or using OpenID.

Adder has been Added! Does it Add Up?

2013-02-19T19:17:00.002-08:00

CN-13 Adder

It looks like Z2 has been gettin busy again with our favorite game. Besides a software upgrade and the firefly, Z2 has also just released the CN-13 Adder. Another of the favorite Agility Class but this one is a credit charge of only 20K. Lets take a look at the stats:

Energy: +12%: 4th in class
Damage: +8%: 4th in class
Speed: +12%: 2nd in class (tied with several)
Armor: +6%: 3rd in class

Overall, not a bad plane for 20k credits. Its not a class leader and no agility boost for an agility class plane is a negative to me, but the armor and speed aren't too bad. Nice paint job. Does anyone know what the symbols say? Lets hear your thoughts!

The CN-13 Adder has been added to the Comparison Guide and also to the Fleet at a Glance - check it out!

Z2 Goes Retro - Wingman Name is Gone

2013-02-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

There was an update over the weekend to version 4.3.2. I can see 2 major changes: First, Metalstorm Wingman has reverted back to its old name of Metalstorm Online (which was the original name back in 2011). Dang - I need to dig up my header file and rename this website! Curious if anyone notices any different feel in gameplay? Many loyalists felt that the Wingman update was never as good as the original Metalstorm Online (MSO) version.

Second change is the bundle packages available for purchase - you can get a bargain if you buy planes/weapons together. Buy one vympel, get one free (you get the idea).

Lets hear from you all - how do you like the update?

Is there a Firefly in your Future?

2013-02-17T13:04:00.000-08:00

Firefly

The Firefly has finally lit up our screens. This plane has been leaked at least twice in the past, latest being last November. Lets take a quick look at the stats:

Damage: +10%: Tied for Second in class behind Striker
Agility: +12%: Lower/Middle of the Agility pack
Critical Strike: +6%: First in class
Missile Reload: +10%: First in class tied with Sparrow

We have another agility class plane that wants to be a weapons class plane when it grows up. With boosts in critical strike, missile reload and damage, the Firefly can be looked at in two ways:

1. An agility class plane with mediocre agility characteristics but with weapons boosts
2. A low-level weapons class plane with lots of agility and speed.

The mix may be pleasing to some players that want a little bit from both classes, although you don't get the best of either class.

The Firefly has been added to the Comparison Guide and also to the Fleet at a Glance - check it out!

The Widow is back in Town

2013-02-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Originally priced at 180 - the Widow now costs 205 coins

Well, it looks like Z2Live has gone and brought back the Red Widow which should make some of you readers very happy. This beast has always been one of the best of class in the weapons genre. Originally released on 2/3/12, the "Red Widow" has excellent Missile Reload and Agility and solid damage boosts also. Throw in +5% critical strike and this sucker is a tough plane to beat. The only thing that the Red Widow may be lacking is missile lock speed. Critical strike rating increases the probability of getting 2X damage on a hit.

See the Red Widow perform in the YouTube video below:

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings including the Red Widow which has been added.

You may recognize the Red Widow as the plane of our beloved VARGAS in the campaign.

The Red Widow, just like the Marauder, is based on the real life F-35 Lightning.

Real life shot of an F-35

Underbelly of an F-35 with weapons bay doors open

Click here for more real life picts of the F-35 Lightning

The Wobblin' Goblin is Re-Released

2013-02-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

WM-10 Striker

Alas, a long time favorite of many fighter fans has finally been added to the MSWM lineup. The WM-10 Striker is modeled after the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, nicknamed the Wobblin' Goblin in its early years due to flight control stability issues.

Lets take a look at the stats:

Damage +12%: This is Best in Class for Damage, overtaking the Sparrow by 2% and similar to the Sparrow, is comparable to lesser weapons class planes in the damage category.

Agility +13%: In the middle of the pack, but only 2% behind Reaper and Stilletto which are both tops in fleet for agility.

Speed +12%: Tied with 3 other planes for second in class behind Reaper which edges it out by 1%.

Armor +7%: 2nd in class behind Wasp and one of the few agility class planes to have armor upgrades.

Overall, once again, Z2 has pushed the envelope and produced a top agility class plane that is one of the best in class. Identical boost categories as the Reaper (which has been my favorite agility class plane), the Striker is slightly behind Reaper in agility and speed, but packs more damage and has better armor than Reaper. I think that I still like Reaper better since I value speed and agility the most for an agility class plane, but the Striker is a great plane also and has considerable more style than the boring F-4 based Reaper skin. A great new addition to the fleet, although kinda funny that the stealth fighter has no stealth.

The Striker has been added to the Comparison Guide and also to the Fleet at a Glance - check it out!

The Striker is based on the real-life F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter.