Improving map & situational awareness

Check minimap

Checking the minimap is a quick way to get info of your and the enemy team.

It doesn’t have full details, such as the specific tank names, elevation differences, but it gives a very useful general picture of where each team or tank is on the map, without needing to rely on the camera.

Its very useful for keeping track of enemy movements while still focusing on the battle situation that’s right in front of you.

Look around in battle

Turn the camera around in battle at various points, since you can’t know exactly who is where, and which tank is what just by looking at the minimap.

There might be an allied tank that looks like its right behind you on the minimap, but they might be separated by an obstacle, or above/below you on a different area.

Looking around just gives useful info for who is around you and how whether or not they can get to you easily, and of course which tank they are (since the minimap only shows the tank class, not the tank name).

Only look around when there’s time to do so, since it would delay your reaction time is you’re looking around, and not in front when an enemy appears.

Leave sniper mode after shots

Entering sniper mode to take shots is good practice, it lets you aim in on weakpoints better and ensures that you don’t hit a red area (which you can’t see when out of sniper mode).

However, staying in sniper mode limits your situational awareness, since your camera is zoomed in much closer than the normal 3rd person camera, and your vision is more restricted. This is especially the case when auto-zoom activates on mobile, or using the closest zoom on the scrollwheel with PC devices.

Why do this?
Leaving sniper mode to look at your surroundings, even if just for a second, and even if not turning the camera around, will give you a lot more awareness than staying in sniper mode. You’ll be able to clearly see if there are allies or enemies in close proximity to you (such as to the sides or behind you), or if there are any tanks which are right next to you that you didn’t notice.

This can happen especially often in sniper tank destroyers, especially if you aren’t checking the minimap much and are stationary in one position. Sometimes enemy tanks might flank you and be unspotted until they are right next to you, but its harder to notice is you’re in sniper mode, only focused on the tanks that are in front of your gun.

Look at enemy tanks when they are spotted

In battle, tanks will get spotted that are not directly in front of you, so you can’t see what tank it is. You can see what tank type it is by looking at the minimap, but that’s not very informative if there are multiple of that tank type in the battle.

Turning the camera to look at the tank that just got spotted tells you the exact tank and where they are. This lets you know which other tanks are not spotted, and gives you definitive info on the tank that is spotted.
(Some tanks have more dangerous guns or other capabilities, which is why its good to know exactly what tank is where, at least roughly.)

Notice the 3 circled enemies on the minimap above. In this situation you only know that there’s 2 heavy tanks and a medium tank, but turning the camera tells you which exact tanks they are, letting you know what other tanks to expect in other areas of the map.

Keep note of the last known position of tanks

Tanks only remain spotted for 10 seconds after they leave the spotting range of you or your allies. Just having a rough idea of where they were on the map and how much HP they had can really help you in later game scenarios. Even just glancing at the minimap or turning the camera for a second when they are spotted can give you a very useful info for later in the battle when they go hidden.

Pay attention to allies

Don’t just focus on the enemies, everything above also applies to allies. You have to know how much HP they have, where they are on the map, if they have relocated, etc. This way you can make the right decisions in relation to the team.

While you permanently have information of how much HP allies have, where they are on the map, and even information about their reload, it can still be easy to get focused on the battle in front, and then not pay attention to your team’s actions or HP situation.

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