# Tank Battle Tips: Idle, Firing in Place and Moving Compared

> Tank battle tips from 9 Treadstorm runs on level 1: with no keys the base fell in all 3 runs within about 110 seconds; moving and firing scored up to 1240.

- Source: https://yesthisgame.com/blog/tank-battle-tips/
- Published: 2026-11-12, updated: 2026-11-12
- Author: Yes This Game (the team that makes the games on the site)

## Key takeaways

- On level 1, one player, the base fell in all three runs where we pressed no keys, at about 82, 106 and 104 seconds.
- Firing in place lost the base in one of three runs and scored 0, 420 and 570.
- Moving and firing scored 1240, 420 and 210, but lost the base in two of three runs and up to five lives in one.
- Two idle runs still scored 220 and 210 points without a single shot.

**The first tank battle tip is not to wait: in [Treadstorm](https://yesthisgame.com/treadstorm/) level 1 the base fell in all three runs where we pressed no keys, after about 82, 106 and 104 seconds.** Moving and firing scored the most, but it also cost lives, so aim before you rush.

## How the game works

Treadstorm is a tank battle seen from above. Your base sits at the bottom of a brick maze and enemy tanks drive in from the upper edge. You drive with the arrow keys and fire with Space. A counter on the right shows the enemy tanks still to come, a counter on the left shows your lives, and the game ends when the base is destroyed. Enemy tanks marked with a star leave a bonus behind, and the Game Info screen lists what each bonus does, including one that adds a life and one that destroys all enemy tanks on screen.

## What we measured

We played level 1 on Normal with one player, in a test browser at 1280 by 800 pixels with software rendering. We tried three methods, three runs each, for about 100 seconds per run. With *no keys* we pressed nothing. With *fire in place* we tapped Space about every 0.4 seconds without driving. With *move and fire* we held arrow keys in a repeating pattern, about 0.7 seconds each, and tapped Space. We read the game state every 10 seconds, so the times below are rough.

*Runs on level 1, about 100 seconds each*

| Method | Base fell | Score | Lives lost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| No keys (3 runs) | 3 of 3 (about 82, 106, 104 s) | 0, 220, 210 | 0, 1, 2 |
| Fire in place (3 runs) | 1 of 3 (about 75 s) | 420, 570, 0 | 1, 0, 0 |
| Move and fire (3 runs) | 2 of 3 (about 47, 57 s) | 1240, 420, 210 | 5, 2, 2 |

Small samples from one test browser, with a blind script that did not aim, so the numbers are rough and a human player would do very differently. Time is game time counted from the start of the level.

![Bar chart of Treadstorm scores after about 100 seconds: no keys 0, 220 and 210; fire in place 420, 570 and 0; move and fire 1240, 420 and 210, with red marks where the base fell](https://yesthisgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/treadstorm-score-by-method.png)
*Score for each run, with a red mark where the base fell.*

## Why idle runs still scored

Two of the three idle runs scored points, 220 and 210, and lost a life or two. Nobody fired. The Game Info screen has a page on collisions saying that a crash destroys both the player tank and the enemy tank, which fits the points we saw, though we did not watch each crash. It is not a plan, since the base still fell every time.

## 4 tips that follow from the numbers

- **Do not wait.** With no keys, the base fell in all three runs within about 110 seconds.
- **Fire while you move.** The highest score, 1240, came from a run that did both.
- **Do not only fire in place.** One run scored 0 and another reached 570, so the shots depend on where the enemy walks.
- **Watch your lives.** The most active run lost five lives in 100 seconds.

## Where to try it

Try it yourself in [Treadstorm](https://yesthisgame.com/treadstorm/), alone or with a friend on one keyboard. For a different kind of shooting game, [Rustwalker](https://yesthisgame.com/rustwalker/) is a first-person robot shooter.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does the base last with no input?

In our three runs it fell at about 82, 106 and 104 seconds on level 1.

### Does firing in place work?

Partly: the base fell in one of three runs, and one run scored 0.

### What scored highest?

A run that moved and fired reached 1240 points.

### Can you score without firing?

In two idle runs we got 220 and 210 points without pressing a key, most likely from enemy tanks crashing into ours.

### How do I start a level?

Click a level, then tap the screen while the level name shows.

### Can two people play?

Yes, on one keyboard: W A S D with Space and the arrow keys with Num 0.

## Games in this guide

- [Treadstorm](https://yesthisgame.com/treadstorm.md): Play Treadstorm online: defend your base, shoot enemy tanks in brick mazes and play alone or with a friend on one keyboard.
- [Rustwalker](https://yesthisgame.com/rustwalker.md): Play Rustwalker online: pick a walking mech in the hangar, fit weapon modules and destroy all targets in a desert mission. Needs a keyboard and mouse.
- [Rangerush](https://yesthisgame.com/rangerush.md): Play Rangerush online: swipe to run through blue and red number gates, grow your crowd and head for the brick wall on a snowy forest road.