Tips on playing carnage and Galahad

And for the tips part:
Carny - measure the rush ability / timing, so you have it at your disposal when it's needed most ("ohhh 「dookie」" moments)
Gala - learn to use corner-shoot ability; I would say it's often more useful than the shield itself. Wall corners don't really take damage/wear off and the shield is equally "useful" against splashy things.

Hi Spectre.
Thunder Carnage is incredible robot if used correctly. It has his limitations on some map but he can overall kicking 「bum-bum」.
My suggestions:
TC (Thunder Carnage ) is very strong 1vs1 but weak against groups so always pick one opponent and stick on it. He has low endurance in Open Space and against multiple plasma so you never have to rush. You have to take your time and position yourself in the best possibile spot to rush to the enemy when your mates attack. Flanking Carnage is a nightmare.

When to attack:
It always depends on whick bot you picked but a general rule of thumb: if you are in a group fight, wait until the enemy depleted a Round of his best weapons (Orkans / Tarans) and then rush on him. If you are going for the "lost wolf of the pack" get as closer as possible to him (using covers) and then start the attack rushing and dancing around him.

When to Shoot: If you are going for the kill and your pick is unware, never start shooting before 150 mt; there will be good chances that you will kill him before depleting your cartridge (slowing down your ability to deal damage in a short span of time). If you are moving to a cover or you are focusing fire on single bot with other mates you can empty your cartridge even at 400 mt.
If you fail to kill him on one rush or he notices you before the time hide again after you empty your thunders; Save your hitpoints for another fast dealing damage rush.
Inside the 60-70 mt no bot can face you equally. If you are against a shielded enemy and you don't have the space or time to flank him just clash him straight ahead. If you are in "clutch", your thunders will shoot from above his head, effectly bypassing shield. Keep in mind that thunders also can slighty damage shielded enemis even from distance, since part of the bullet hit the heads; it's important when you have to finish that Galahead with 2000 health but a lot of shield hitpoints.

When to activate Run:
You Run just after the spawning, to get a beacon and when you're about to start shooting. Don't waste it just to get close to the enemy. Also if you have to flee from unconvenient situations.

How to control the battlefield:
Every Bot fears the Carnage Thunders at short distance so your movements will affect enemy's. Use it at your advance to make him move on the side where he can also be hit by your mates.

Which are the best Enemy Robot to Pick:
I rarely hunt snipers. Trebuchet wreck you in few volley and tridents, used wisely, can deplete your shield in no time. Also they are always positioned on open space on the end of the map: not your best hunting Field.
You perform the best against Light Bots, Griffin and also Galahead because a lot of pilots tends to not watch their side making them very vulnerable to your side attack.
Leo, Lancelot, Fujin and Raijin can be a bit trickier since they have big health pool but they are manageble in the right situation.

Additional hints:
Thunder are very suitable to destroy energy shield at distance. Help your team or "cook" the picked bot before attacking.
Your Shield can protect you from all the annoying Hydra Griffin. Remember to Cover also you mates if you're advancing together.

GALAHEAD:
Not the best 1vs1 player but he kills you over the time, perform the best against unshielded bot.

As a general rule of thumb I tend to play not only to save my health but also to preserve a bit my shield. So if I do all the possible corner shooting when i can. You have to learn when to use your shield and when not: For example if you are against a rocket bot (you should never pick but sometime just happens)learn to remove the shield and gain that 20% boost on your speed and save part of shield health (it seems it also get depleted on par of your health). Same for aphids
Shield is against the plasma Weapons.

So, try to always pick plasma enemies but not another Gala or a Gareth (you waste your time and don't rack up damage pool).

Your faster than any other heavy bot and you have shiled to approach the location so you're very suitable to hunt snipers.
Don't underestimate plasma Griffin. You will probably kill it but he will depleat your shield in exchange. Same for thunder bot, keep your distance in that case.

when people see Galaheads with depleated shields they just smell blood. It's true that you're weak but don't kamikaze! Hide and let them chasing you, being reckless. Expecially if the chaser is the one that depleted the shield after a long shooting session, he would want the kill! Retreat and let do the others do your jobs. Change your playstyle and become a flanker: you're as fast as a light bot without the shield, imagine to be one.

Hope my suggestions will help!

Level 6/7 Carny is minimum, otherwise Ancile and health will lead to you being targeted and killed quickly...

Options reply is very informative. The Carnage is one the most versatile Bots out there as you are effective with it at any range depending on your load out.

Thunder Carnage = ambush close range
Trident/Zeus Carnage = ambush medium range or medium range support

Treb Carnage (not recommended) = long range with speed to get to position. Very situational and map dependent (Yama or springfield)

For the love of War Robots don't ever mount a double Zenit. That is absolutely wasting the carnage's abilities.

+1 on that. A level 3 Carnage is way too slow, and a Thunder Carnage relies on its ability to get close and sneak up under cover, ideally from behind. At level 7 it has speed 38 (63 in rush mode), at level 9 it reaches its top speed of 40 (66 with rush), and you need that to close in. Any sensible player who sees a Thunder Carnage approaching will back off, to let it not get into 100m distance.

Here is what I'd suggest with the Galahad. I am not a Thunder Carnage fan, but I consider myself pretty proficient with the Galahad.

Noticed that you said your Galahad's shield always gets busted. The Galahad's shield is it's lifeline. Protect the shield and it will protect you. Try to conserve it by corner shooting as much as possible. The biggest mistake I see with common Galahad players is they thing that they are invincible. Although the Galahad's shield can take a big beating, a 1-1 with a Plasma Griffin is enough to make the shield into toilet paper. Corner shooting with the 2 Magnums is impractical but it will leave you with zero shield damage. I would cornershoot with all the weapons, for better firepower.

You have to learn what your enemy is when playing the Galahad. Find a nice angle to cornershoot if your opponent is in Plasma. Hover around the 270-300m range to bait, if your opponent is in a Death Button setup and be ready to backpedal if you are good. Or you can just stay in the 320-350m range for safeness. For midrange, learn how to jump from cover to cover. A Galahad can withstand 2 salvoes from a Trident Carnage but only 1 from a Trident Fury. For the common Orkan Magnum setups on Rhinos, I would turn your shield towards the Rhino user, and run backwards from it.

Your biggest enemy is another Plasma Galahad. I have not developed a set strategy that works most of the time in fighting them, but I found that having a better angle on them to bust their shield works well.

Also, a level 5 Galahad cannot backpedal. Upgrade it to level 6.

that's because if other trebuchet users are anything like me, te first thing they do when they see a group of reds at the start of the game is spam that target lock button. If they see anything with a blue health bar, its generally a carnage; or it used to be... till those damn ancilots came about . Anywho, if you want to avoid trebuchets in your carnage, just keep a very close lookout for those glowing yellow lights, and if you can do anything about it, stay out of their LOS. If you inevitably need to cross open ground, wait a few seconds for them to pick another target. When their lights are dull, then is your time to move.

if you play a carnage alot you should have freaking nightmares about trebs, you'll get used to it XD

Orkans are fun on a Galahad, but plasma is more efficient. Galahad's biggest concern is splash weapons; the worst of which are orkans. In order to hit a target with orkans, you have to put yourself in range to get hit by orkans.

There's also the advantage of laying down an almost non-stop stream of fire with plasma. Using an orkan gets you a quick rush of damage, followed by 20 seconds of hiding while you wait for it to reload.

Running an orkan/mag setup on anything but a Rhino makes no sense to me. You can only be partially effective against either type of shield. Best to go full splash or full plasma and choose your targets based on what you're armed with.

I have two Galahads, and I sometimes run one plasma and the other ork/aphid. The ork/aphid is a lot of fun, but requires a totally different play style. It is a menace for enemy Plasmahads.

Here's the drawback: Galahad is hands-down the best plasma bot in the game. I realize that statement is subjective, but there's very few people who will argue with me on that. With all the anciles out there now, I won't head to battle without 2 plasma bots in my arsenal.

Also- Orkans are better in pairs, and aphids work better when they're on the top of a bot, instead of the side. So, I put my orks and aphids on my Griffins and keep my Galahads armed with plasma.

If I want to change things up and have some fun, I'll run the ork/aphid Gal. However, if I'm playing to win... 2x Plasmahad all day.

This is so true.  If only we could turn off that darn ancile.  I want to blend in, move along, don't mind me, nothing to see here... until its click-click-boom time.  The ancile gives the game away too quickly....

That said, patience is key with carnage.  Other than that one guy at 1000m with the treb who will keep you target locked for the whole game, most other bots will watch you warily for a short time, but eventually, they will forget about you once they start engaging your teammates.  Then you can throw them their very own shotgun surprise party.