Vehicle Concealment Rating

Vehicle Concealment: What is it? How does it work? How do I improve my concealment?

In World of Tanks, concealment comes in two forms.  The concealment rating of your tank and the added concealment you could take advantage of through the use of terrain features.  For the purpose of this post, the discussion will primarily be about the raw camo values of the tank, not the concealment in the form of in-game terrain.

What is a concealment rating and how does it work?

A concealment rating is quite wordy to define in a sentence or two.  The basic premise is it's a tank's percentage-based penalty applied to the view range of enemy vehicles.  

For example...

Say your tank has a concealment rating of fifty percent.  This would mean that an enemy tank with a view range of 500m, without taking terrain features into consideration, would only spot you within 250m.

However,

That's not considering the 50m of free view range every tank is automatically equipped with. 

An Analogy 

The formula that World of Tanks uses to calculate the distance at which you will be spotted is the following...

When I was initially introduced to this formula, I found it difficult to understand what I was looking at as a whole.  Sure, I understood what every individual component of the formula meant.  But what I didn't understand was why it was there and how it all came together to make sense.  I hope the following analogy will provide the same clarity it did for me.  

Say you live in a country very similar to the U.S. where your currency also happens to be American dollars.  Except in this country, there is an annual flat-rate tax of 25% on every individual's income.  (For any young readers who are not familiar with what taxes are, taxes are the cost of living in a particular country.  They are different for every country you would visit.)  However, there is a catch.  The first $5,000 you make isn't taxable.  This means only the money you make after your first $5,000 that year would be subject to the 25% tax.  

You are a salaried worker expecting to make $50,000 in gross income(before tax).  How much money in take-home pay do you expect after taxes are factored in(net income)?

Let's work through it together.  Of the $50,000 you are expecting to make, you know that $5,000 of it is untouchable by the government.  That leaves $45,000 to be subject to the 25% tax.  How much money are you paying towards taxes?  

Expected Gross Income: $50,000 - Untaxable Income: $5,000 = Leaves you with $45,000 subject to tax

Taxable Income: $45,000 * Rate of Tax: 25% = Taxes owed to the government: $11,250   

Because you now have your expected taxes and gross income, you can estimate your net income for the year. (net income is the money you have left after your taxed gross income)  

Net Income: $38,750  

Tying It Back

For the sake of the analogy, you are the government.  Your vehicle's concealment rating is the tax on your enemy's view range.

1. The enemy view range is the $50,000 they are making prior to your concealment tax.  But you still need to figure out what you are allowed to tax.

2. You figure out how much of their view range is being taxed by your concealment value.  The taxable view range is the enemy view range minus the 50m you automatically get spotted within.

3. Here you are finally taking your vehicle's concealment into consideration. The tax percentage.  You are finally penalizing your enemy's taxable view range.  (The reason there is a "100" in the denominator is being able to express the concealment value as a percentage.  Within the in-game garage you will find the "/100" expressed as a percentage symbol as it equates to the same end result.)    

4. Instead of figuring how much taxes are owed to the government, focus on the enemy's taxable view range you are claiming with your concealment rating.  After figuring how much you took, subtract that from their gross view range and you land on what's left, their spotting distance, their net income.    

It Doesn't Stop There

Your concealment value continues to vary.  It all depends on what you're doing in battle at that moment.  The variability is defined by several scenarios.

1. Idling

2. Shooting while Idling

3. Driving

4. Shooting while Driving

Idling, not moving your hull, will allow your tank to maximize its concealment value potential.  In the case of this Lorraine, Idling will allow it to obtain a concealment value of 20.32%.  (Your vehicle's concealment will not go any further up from here without the use of in-battle foliage.) 

Driving, moving your hull but not shooting will be the stage down from idling.  In the case of this Lorraine, driving will bring its concealment down to 15.99%.

Here are when things really take a toll on your vehicle's concealment.

Shooting while idling.  This means that your hull is sitting in the same place but you are opening fire.  In the case of this Lorraine, its concealment value drops to 4.02%.  And last and certainly least...

Shooting while driving.  This one is self-explanatory.  In terms of concealment value, this is your worst-case scenario.  (I'm not counting the 50m auto spotting mechanic)  In the case of this Lorraine, its concealment value drops to 3.17%.    

Covering All the Bases

How do I improve/maximize my concealment though?

Four Things...

Training your crew, buying the right equipment, using the foliage, and playing smart.

All of which will be covered in posts later on. (the use of foliage is coming next)

Keep whupping ass