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!
