Mechanics I've noticed so far mostly apply towards spotting. The obvious ones and likely most appealing for more experienced players includes the lack of a hit-skin and reliable penetration/damage numbers independent of RNG factors but those were already stated in the news post(s). Moving on, these are my observations of spotting mechanics:
Spotting works by Line of Sight [LoS]. This means that you will be able to spot and be spotted by any unobstructed view linearly from the viewer. In terms of visuals, tanks will always be rendered if any of your allies or you have a LoS on a target. Upon visual rendering, a target will be present and appear in the following situations: (structured by condition and result)
A. LoS is established (personally or by proxy) but no individual has their cursor on them. Target is rendered (visually present) but not marked by any HUD indicators. The following requires testing, but visually rendered targets are indicated with the directional arrow in zoom mode if they are outside of the field of view. They otherwise remain unmarked until condition B is met (see next point).
B. LoS is established and target has at least one allied force's cursor on them. In addition to tank rendering, the target is marked by the standard red HUD indicators for tank model, HP, & username for the entire team. Greatly beneficial for focus fire, but invites tunnel vision. Be wary of your surroundings.
C. No LoS by allied forces. Targets are not rendered. Not visible on screen unless previously spotted and the camo reset time (10 seconds) have not yet elapsed.
Important things to note:
- If a tank is visibly rendered (spotted and/or not yet reset camo), they are subject to the lock-on bounding box. Abuse this by scanning the far field where targets may be until you lock onto one. Then aim directly at them to light them up as stated above in condition B. This is viable for both zoom mode and 3rd person view.
- Camo can be turned off rendering skins outside of the name changing camos moot. Go to your settings to do so.
- Grass can be turned off allowing for less obstructions (visually), allowing you to more easily see targets (if you know what to look for and where).
- (requires confirmation. Heard from a WoTb clan discord server) PC players have the advantage of being able to lock on to a spotted target and stay locked on despite camo resets, so long as they do not move their cursor off said target.
- The mini-map does not reveal enemy forces under any condition. It is vital that you always check your rear and flanks, especially if you suddenly come under unexpected fire. That often means that you have been flanked by a number of enemies and that it may already be too late to react.
- Any moving object you see on screen that is not lit in green is a target. Light them up ASAP and shoot them.
My experiences and feedback so far from several dozen games:
I first ran a handful in my T49 and as expected, did horribly. This is in part due to the lack of soft targets (mostly heavies or armored TDs) and lack of HUD markers (skins & indicators). From this I realize that I am extremely dependent upon the hit-skin to sink any critical HE shot and that the lack of situational awareness (no minimap or obvious markers) severely hampers my ability to track viable targets on the fly. It is exceedingly difficult to track targets if you aren't even aware of the full scope of them. Having my fill of credit loss, i decided to use my T54 ltwt next.
The T54 ltwt performed beautifully. With the trollish turret and near excessive mobility, I could relocate on the fly and hull down, baiting far more shots than I would normally be comfortable exposing myself to. Due to the spotting mechanics, one can easily flank and ambush if you know how to utilize cover and inattentiveness. The best game of the run let me farm a little over 4.2k dmg.
The last main tank of the day is an autoloader, the T54E1. Similar to the ltwt above, I could be more opportunistic in baiting shots, having less worry of immediate retaliation due to being lit upon firing my first shell. Ambush tactics are a must with the 3 round clip and allow you to burn unwary targets in seconds. Being aware of ones surroundings are a must, however, as having hard cover between reloads and ready escape routes during firing runs are critical towards both damage dealing and survival.
My gripes with realistic mode so far:
- People are obtuse to the most severe degree. I've seen many an ally literally not see a tank 5 meters away from them. At the very least, a HUD marker denoting enemies within 25 meters (or some other reasonable distance) would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and don't even get me started on spawn campers thinking that they'll be able to take advantage of any of the exploits previously mentioned.
- The lock-on boxes are too easily abused from the on-set. Perhaps turning them off outside a certain range (300m) in 3rd person view would suffice.
- Camo and cover settings should maybe be locked rather than be user selected in fairness of the mode's intent.
- Only supremacy in realistic mode. That gets annoying fast when nobody is willing to cap or pay attention to the cap points.
Other than that, the mode has been pretty good so far. I'll post more if something comes up. For now, i've spent entirely too much time and effort into this one post.
~ TTFN and happy tanking.
Edited by j0nn0, 11 June 2019 - 08:16 AM.