It was in March of 2012. The devs added twenty-two new perks…
We trained our crews as best we could.
Brothers in Arms. Sixth Sense. Eagle Eye. Intuition. Deadeye…
With such a variety, many have forgotten what concealment is.
TRUE concealment.
The time has come to remind you about it.
Explaining Mechanics Concealment (part 1)
Vehicle concealment is a heck of a science.
First off, here’s a bit of theory from our clandestine informer.
A vehicle’s concealment is affected by its type, dimensions,
special equipment and consumables, directives, and—of course—its crew.
For any vehicle, four concealment figures are distinguished.
First. A static vehicle.
Second. A static vehicle that fires its gun.
Third. A moving vehicle.
And fourth. A moving vehicle that fires its gun.
You can check the characteristics right in the Garage.
But what do they mean?
It’s all quite simple, really.
These figures are used to calculate the distance,
at which the vehicle will be spotted by the enemy.
Where fifty is the constant value
that shows the distance of the so-called x-ray vision.
Wow, easy! Let’s look at a specific example.
Say, the enemy view range is 450 meters.
In random battles, that’s an average value for Tier X vehicles.
And here’s a Bat.Chat, right from the factory—
without any concealment improvements.
The static tank will be spotted by the enemy at 383 meters.
If we move, they’ll see us at 400 meters.
Should we fire our gun, the enemy will detect us at 437 meters!
And if we shoot while moving, this distance will increase even further!
An important note: light tanks generally have an above-average view range,
while, say, Soviet heavy tanks are fairly blind.
Don’t try to remember all the numbers.
But knowing at least estimates can be useful.
In any battle, you have two simple helpers:
circles on the minimap and the range finder.
Using them is no simple task, but you can do it!
Case 1.
Start of the battle. You are driving to a flank.
An allied light tank detects an enemy spotter. You gotta shoot!
Yet, the distance is dangerously short: as soon as you shoot, you get spotted…
A sad, but expected demise.
Case 2.
A similar battle. A similar path.
But now, a blind heavy tank gets spotted instead of a light tank.
Take your time to aim and score a frag.
Even in this case, everything could have been different…
Let’s examine it from a different angle.
If the enemy has a fast tank,
it can get somewhere between you and your target.
You frag the heavy, the heavy doesn’t spot you.
But the invisible opponent does…
That’s why, instead of shooting, it’s sometimes best to simply stop
and wait for the enemy to drive to a distance that’s safe for you.
In general, use your head BEFORE a battle starts—analyze the team roster.
Think, where will the most dangerous enemies go?
As the battle progresses, check who hasn’t been spotted yet.
Figure out where they might be.
And don’t be shy about checking the popular bushes.
Allies are under long-range fire but there’s no enemy nearby?
A light tank must be close. Get to a safe spot and check the bushes!
The destroyed enemy is sure to appreciate it!
See your Sixth Sense triggering? Now you really must check that bush!
You don’t lose anything if you miss.
But if you hit your prey, the sense of your own greatness will overwhelm you!
Let’s get back to the theory.
You don’t have to be a genius to remember—
the tank is concealed most if it doesn’t move and doesn’t shoot.
Turret traverse does not affect concealment.
But as soon as the vehicle hull moves,
the concealment factor drops significantly.
For heavy tanks and SPGs, it drops by 50%,
for tank destroyers — by 40%, and for medium tanks it’s 25%.
At the same time, light tanks have a bonus—
their concealment remains the same whether they are moving or not.
But what rule comes without exceptions?
Certain light tanks still lose a quarter of their concealment when moving…
While some tank destroyers don’t!
Top-tier Swedish tank destroyers can turn and incline the hull in siege mode
without any loss of concealment.
At the same time, in travel mode,
their concealment drops as much as for any other tank destroyer.
The LARGEST exception — literally— is the Japanese behemoth O-Ni.
It is equally visible regardless of whether it is moving or standing still.
Hiding this beast in bushes is as hopeless as hiding a train in a parking lot!
Now let’s see how these rules work in practice.
Many players believe that if they drive slowly,
their chance of getting spotted is lower.
In reality, it doesn’t matter
whether you’re going full throttle or prowling in first gear.
You are equally visible for the enemy, because your vehicle is moving.
The only difference is the lead they need to take when aiming at you.
If you’re not driving anywhere, but the vehicle is sliding off a hill,
its concealment also drops.
Even if you’re not driving or sliding anywhere…
but simply got in the way of an ally,
who—in their innocence—pushes your vehicle, concealment also drops!..
And with it, your chances of survival!
But let’s get back to the theory.
Back to the theory, yes.
We didn’t tell you about vehicle concealment when you fire your gun.
By the way, concealment drops dramatically!
For light tanks, it’s about 4 to 5 times,
while for artillery and tank destroyers, it can drop by as much as ten times!
The larger the vehicle’s dimensions and gun caliber, the more concealment drops.
A muzzle brake on the barrel increases the concealment drop effect.
Important thing here: it’s your vehicle’s concealment that drops,
not the spotting range of your vehicle.
But an example is better than just words!
Let’s take three SU-152 destroyers. Tank destroyers, of course.
The crews, the equipment, and the consumables are the same.
None have any concealment improvements.
The only difference is in the guns.
They are the howitzer, and two 122-mm guns—mod. 1937 and 1944.
The latter two have the same caliber, penetration, and average damage.
The difference is that the mod. 1944 gun has a muzzle brake.
Now let’s take the observer tank and see what distance it spots the opponents at.
The Pershing has a view range of 400 meters.
It’s enough to spot the first tank destroyer at 392 meters,
the second—three meters closer,
and the last one— even closer, but by a meter or so.
While static, all the destroyers get spotted at 342 meters.
Conclusion: gunfire has a very sharp negative effect on vehicle concealment,
but the effect of a muzzle brake on it is miniscule.
Another thing: wounded or stunned crew don’t affect vehicle concealment.
At the same time, if a vehicle is on fire, its concealment drops significantly.
In other words, while the vehicle is burning,
it’s as easy to spot as a bonfire.
All right, we know how to impair concealment.
Now to the improvement part!
There are a number of means to increase concealment.
The best of them is to max the Concealment skill for the whole crew.
With it, the initial concealment factor will increase by approximately 1.8 times.
The Brothers in Arms perk will add to concealment as well,
and Improved Rations or Improved Ventilation
will make your vehicle even more stealthy.
Directives and improved equipment will pretty much max out your concealment.
But you’ll have to spend Bonds to get them.
At the same time, the easiest and cheapest method
is to mount a Camo Net and apply a camouflage.
The net becomes effective three seconds after the vehicle stops,
while camouflage works at all times.
And here’s a little lifehack!
To increase the concealment factor, you only need to paint the hull.
Applying a camo to the turret and gun is just for looks.
Remember: the effect of Camo Net and camouflage
is directly dependent on the vehicle type.
If camouflage is useful in all cases,
the Net is a lot more complex since it uses one of your equipment slots.
Mounting it at the expense of a different piece of equipment
is only reasonable for tank destroyers and some light tanks—
if you prefer to hide behind bushes and stand in one spot a lot.
Otherwise, it’s best to use the slot for something more useful.
Now that we’ve pumped up the concealment of our tank destroyers to the max,
let’s get back to Minsk and conduct another experiment.
This time, all the destroyers have the same guns.
…Shots are fired, and what do we see?
Concealment, Brothers in Arms, Extra Rations, Ventilation,
Camo Net, and camouflage only give an advantage of 23 meters
compared to an absolutely stock tank destroyer.
Improved equipment and directives add a little extra,
but only a couple more meters.
So, why even bother improving all this concealment?..
We’ve already told you that concealment drops drastically when the gun is fired.
But what happens if the gun remains silent?
The destroyers are stationary, the tank gets closer and closer,
and what do we see?
The stock SU gets spotted at 342 meters,
while the pumped-up destroyers are only found when within 220 meters.
Over 120 meters of difference along an unobstructed straight line!
This results in the opportunity to shoot first, cause extra damage,
have a higher survivability rate, and get a higher rate of victories!
Nothing to think about! Concealment must be improved!
And remember: Even if you maxed out the Concealment skill!
Even if you hid in bushes and no one’s seeing you!
Even if you are sure that in this spot no one will EVER spot you…
You still want to make sure that a not-so-smart ally
doesn’t get between you and the enemy…
Next time, we’ll talk about making a ninja out of your tank using trees and bushes.
If you want to know more, give this video a like
and leave your question in the comments.
That’s all for today.
Use the game mechanics and win more!