Safe way to seek hull down

[Matias]

As a newbie I was very confused by the Seek Hull Down (SHD) command - even though I had used hull down approaches in the CMBO demo w/o difficulty.

By following a thread in the main CMBB forum I finally understood what had been causing my confusion and frustration - I had been issuing SHD to points at which I was already in LOS and past hull down to. Though some interesting software refinements for future products were proposed by myself and other forum members it didn't really help me today...

HERE'S THE TIP:

Never issue SD directly when trying to crest a rise. Unless you want to dash into a gully or depression in order to achieve hull down issue an LOS command first, then when you've checked that the target spot is indeedout not vissible (or already hull down) then simply hit the "D" key and click. You'll switch to the SHD command w/o any uncertainty about the spot yo're going too.

Ever since I started using this SHD has worked predictably for me, completely avoiding any of the confusion and frustration I had when I started. If you've had trouble using the command before give this a shot!

Apologies if this is old news!

[DBaron]

Do you have to be in LOS of sight for an enemy to use seek hull down, or can you do it at anytime anywhere on the map? I never use that command b/c well I just don't really understand it.

I am under the impression that you use it when you see an enemy tank and you want to get into a hull down position to engage it.

[Dschugaschwili]

The "seek hull down" command tries to find a hull down position relative to the destination point of the command. Your vehicle will drive along the plotted movement path (behaving like it was using move) until it is hull down to the end point. If it doesn't find such a position it will continue all the way towards the end point of the order.

Dschugaschwili

[demoss]

Just make sure that you WILL have LOS. This can be difficult where trees are involved.

[Redwolf]

The seek-hulldown command work on terrain, not enemies.

As said in the previous thread on the issue, I think the current implementation is not very useful, because you will drive right up to where you expect the enemy to be if there is no hulldown position on the way. And you cannot be sure by manual inspection of the terrain in between, the presense of a bump can or may not mean it will be a hulldown position.

The initial post in this thread recommends that you use move-to-contact or hunt first. But that will make your vehicle stop possibly without being hull down. And it requires an enemy to be present in first place. This is dangerous because you move in and hence have a hit probablity disadvantage over the standing enemy.

To make the seek-hulldown command work I think it shoud be changed to stop when the point where you want to be hulldown to comes into LOS. That will prevent your tank from driving right into the enemy lines.

[Krazy Canuck]

Originally posted by redwolf:

To make the seek-hulldown command work I think it shoud be changed to stop when the point where you want to be hulldown to comes into LOS. That will prevent your tank from driving right into the enemy lines.

Is this not what happens now? :confused:

KC

[Redwolf]

Originally posted by Krazy Canuck:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by redwolf:

To make the seek-hulldown command work I think it shoud be changed to stop when the point where you want to be hulldown to comes into LOS. That will prevent your tank from driving right into the enemy lines.

Is this not what happens now? :confused:

KC</font>

[Krazy Canuck]

[Redwolf]

Originally posted by Krazy Canuck:

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />No. It will only stop when it is in LOS and hulldown.

It will drive with full LOS all way up to the target area if there is no hulldown position on the path in between.

Please read the previous thread on the hulldown command on the T&T forum. It has only been a week or so ago.

Exactly!!

If there is no knoll, rock wall, ridge etc. between your AFV and the location you want to be hulldown to, then don't use SHD!!! but.........if any of these are available, you should use it.

</font>

[Krazy Canuck]

If I misquoted you I apologise.....(shrug)hell, if I did, it certainly wasn't intentional.

At first I also had difficulty with SHD, cussed at it, swore off it etc. Then when I discovered that when used as intended(as I understand the function) it saved me from being overcautious and missing what should have been an easy shot.

I too had my AFV's go off seeking a *poorly thought out* hulldown position. I had either put the location spot on the backside of a far ridge or buried it to deep in the woods and I never *had* LOS.

As I see this you dislike it, fine, swear off it if you so choose; I like it and would encourage those new to the game to try it because they may find it useful, as I do.

KC

[Matias]

Um, this being the tips'n'tricks forum I really intended this thread to focus on how to use this command safely (and effectively). To help people understand how and when to use it if they had been previously scared away. When properly understood and carefully used the command is an important addition to the things you can do in the game.

While there may be potential improvements in it (I wouldn't mind integrating an LOS check into it at least) it seems that's more a topic of a different thread.

To go back to the higher (and more important question) of when and how (which I should have covered more carefully), I believe people already covered in detail the workings of the command. For the newbie tho' I'd like to stress the following points:

This command can be used when you know the position of an enemy vehicle BUT that use is pretty risky since the enmy may well have moved by the time you get into position. It is primarilly a move command, so the commander will ignore shots of opportunity in his quest to get into position. If you know where the enemy is you're prolly better off using Hunt or Shoot and Scoot.

If you've already been spotted by the enemy you could try and use this command to dash forward into a gully to achive hull down before shooting back, but in most cases this is a risky tactic as Redwolf points out because visual inspection can be missleading. Don't even try it unless you see a color change in the ground tiles cause any smaller gully will almost certainly not give you enuff cover. You very well be better off just standing still and shooting, or shooting and getting behind some complete cover as fast as you can!

Just using SHD in a careful approach or in planning an ambush (safely as described in my first post) my be a limited subset of the hull down awareness which real tank commanders and drivers had in the war, but I've found its made my game playing a lot easier in thoose situations for which it was intended.

P.S. Bonus question for tank grogs: Am I correct in assuming that reversing into a hull down position is eqivalent to battlefield suicide? I base this on the fact that you can't shoot while moving, losing the first shot advantage, and that if the enmy can penetrate you being hull down will really not help you much once spotted and not firing back...