Retro - Loadout, Observations and Admiration

"In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yeah, I just did that. I started this post about the Retro with a corny line about speed. But it is fitting. Most people seem to have an intense dislike for the Retro, but I love it. A lot. Aside from the CK Shooter and maybe the Ghost, it is my favorite ride. The speed boost is so much fun. You burst onto the scene and then disappear as quickly as you appeared. In certain games, like Capture the Flag, and on short maps like the Airplane Crash, the Retro is deadly. It's time from one end to the other is a killer.

The really great thing about the Retro's speed is, it can handle it. When equipped with even more speed, the Retro doesn't spin out like the Mantis or the Ghost and it doesn't roll over when cornering like the Shooter or the Dozer. It is an inherently stable vehicle. It's biggest concern is its armor - or lack thereof.

I used to use fire on the Retro. It was good, but it meant that I had to get close to vehicles thereby exposing the Retro's weakness to the other vehicles. Bounceback missiles make the Retro flop and all it takes is one to spell doom for the Retro. So, I got away from the flamethrower on the Retro and never looked back and my Retro is one of my stronger "little" cars. My Retro's current loadout is one I don't think many people have, but when I changed it to this loadout, I noticed an immediate difference in how successful I was with it. It is one of my 3 vehicles with a loadout that I have always considered "SECRET" because it worked so well (the other two are my Demolisher and Shooter). Try this out and I promise you will love it.

Here is my current Retro loadout:

- T4 Missiles
- T4 Capacitor (increases capacity by 97)
- T4 Window (increases armor by 1,000)
- T3 Window (increases armor by 700)
- T4 Melee
- any consumable - I prefer the incendiary rockets, but right now I have the high-impact (bounceback) rockets because they are cheaper

This loadout gives my Retro 3,052 in armor and 425.5 in Damage. This armor boost is huge because it doesn't come with much armor and its speed will help you avoid a good deal of damage. The high energy (50) means that you likely won't be caught in a situation where you can't fire and you can inflict a lot of damage while passing by, chasing or running away.

The T4 Melee is crucial because you can inflict a lot of collision damage on top of the collision damage you already inflict as part of the Retro's passive ability (ignite enemy for 4 seconds, dealing 30 thermal damage each second). Plus, if you use your active ability to collide, that is an additional 100 collision damage. A T4 Melee on the Retro can be very damaging to opponents. Make sure that if you want to focus a lot on REPEATEDLY dealing collision damage, it is not against a vehicle that has bounceback consumables. Otherwise, you may be flopping like a fish while missiles hit you or you could be pushed off the board by bounceback kinetic weapons. One collision against such vehicles, and then get out of dodge, should do well for you. If there are no bounceback consumables, then collide away!

Despite the Retro's passive ability, I think the Retro is best utilized in stick-and-move or hit-and-run maneuvers instead of an aggressive close-quarters attacking style combat (unless you are able to effectively circle your enemy). One cool thing about the Retro's active ability speed boost is its ability to jump ridiculous heights and lengths. Timed correctly, you can cover a lot of ground and effectively leap over obstacles or opponents (and, in the case of the Iceberg map, leap ON obstacles). At the same time, however, the Retro easily jumps off the ground and floats at the hint of the slightest bump, thereby making it sooooo vulnerable to getting picked off. You have to watch those bumps and jumps because the minute you are airborne, you are vulnerable.

The other key thing about the Retro's active ability is when you use it, make sure all 4 wheels are on the ground. If you hit the active ability and your car is not fully on the ground, you will waste it and not even notice the ability's effect.

One last note on the Retro and its loadout --- for fun I once equipped it ONLY with speed. It went so fast it was ridiculous. It was easily killed because of its low armor, but the speed boost combined with all speed components meant that it flew across the board so fast I expected it to be equipped with wings. I once got the flag and returned to my base before the opponent even captured my flag. It was only a Pummeler, but still - it was a sight to see.

Break that Retro out of the closet and stretch its legs with this loadout. You'll be glad that you did.