Is Vitality in tank crews even worth the investment?

[Fall Damage]

Most of my tank crews average Vitality are sitting around anywhere from 3.5-4.5 on the skill level. The issue I'm having is that I'm not even noticing next to nothing of a difference despite this and have been asking myself if my skill points were wasted? Even after 100's of hours put into this game?

"Supposedly" it helps with surviving prolonged engine fires so as to give you time to retaliate before putting out the fire. At least that's what I read elsewhere on the forums so I can't confirm as to whether this is a thing or not.

Even if the skill description reads "Vitality - Reduces the likelihood of a crew member receiving a mortal wound." I am not noticing the skill being put to work.

The problem is way more often than not, your tanks interiors are nuked by APHE/BC shells or completely wiped by a cone of molten shrapnel from a HEAT/FS round. I personally feel that if I maxed out all crew Vitality I still would notice a difference given my experiences.

Am I missing something?

[Slater]

It does make a difference. Your crew are more likely to survive when you have levelled up vitality. That doesn't mean they're going to survive every time, but it makes a difference in some scenarios.

[Fall Damage]

Originally posted by Slater:

It does make a difference. Your crew are more likely to survive when you have levelled up vitality. That doesn't mean they're going to survive every time, but it makes a difference in some scenarios.

If it only works in "some" scenarios then it's not worth investing since it's too situational of a skill for it to be of any use. Those skills points are better spent more useful skills like Reloading or Driving Skill. Something that is consistently more useful. And by "some" it's most likely a small fraction to begin with.

[Foxtrot39]

Its a 50/50, sometime they survive in a clutch and you can win a duel yes, but a injured crew member can be worser than a dead one, becasue you cant replace him to get an operational tank back

Gunner when red nerfs your turret traverse speed by nearly 60%

Injured driver make your engine loose half its power for whatever reason

Injured loader increase reloading time

The skill moslty come in handy when your on fire as it take more time to burn your crew

Or took some spalling schrapnel to one of them

[Slater]

Yes, but it's worth investing over certain other skills, such as Keen Vision. If you choose to ignore it completely and level up less useful skills instead, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. Keeping your crew alive makes a difference to a game.

[Shyue Chou]

It matters somewhat but how significantly is the question?

[Fall Damage]

Originally posted by Shyue Chou:

It matters somewhat but how significantly is the question? :line:

Not very honestly.

[𝒞𝒶𝓈𝓊𝒶𝓁 Sinner]

I don't feel like it has a major impact in most games, maybe more in air than tanks at least. When it comes to tanks, a bit? I mean, most hits will penetrate and kill crew just because the shell hits an open area and explodes hitting enough crew to instant kill. Or penetrates and goes straight through crew.

I feel like it does have some impact on the more precise shots that higher tiers require, specifically things like shots on commander hatches/MGs, capollas or whatever they're called. Maybe its weak shells, bad shots, etc., but I feel like it matters more in those cases.

In air, it matters more at the lower BRs more than mid to high BRs. At lower to mid, guns are kinda weak, but a lot of kills will be down to pilot snipes. At mid to high, it'll mostly be your pilot getting disintegrated or the plane being completely knockedout.

[Chaoslink]

It depends on the type of damage being received. If you're expecting it to save you from a tank shell, you're not going to benefit much. However, vitality can be the difference between a bomb killing you entirely or leaving you alive with injured crew if the bomb was on the border of killing you. Some crew will also survive a shower of shrapnel where a weaker one won't.

I've had an SPAA (open top) survive a rocket strike where the explosion killed the driver and co-driver died while the rest of the crew were made "red" from the damage. They'd likely have all died with less vitality points. I then proceeded to shoot down three planes on three wounded crew whereas I would have instead just been dead.

I've also had similar situations where my whole crew was made red and the resulting damage to tank performance made it not worth trying to survive. Thing is, having vitality means that I get to choose whether its worthwhile or not by surviving and bailing out as needed. I'd personally prefer to have the choice.

[Fall Damage]

Originally posted by 『Sinner』:

I don't feel like it has a major impact in most games, maybe more in air than tanks at least. When it comes to tanks, a bit? I mean, most hits will penetrate and kill crew just because the shell hits an open area and explodes hitting enough crew to instant kill. Or penetrates and goes straight through crew.

I feel like it does have some impact on the more precise shots that higher tiers require, specifically things like shots on commander hatches/MGs, capollas or whatever they're called. Maybe its weak shells, bad shots, etc., but I feel like it matters more in those cases.

In air, it matters more at the lower BRs more than mid to high BRs. At lower to mid, guns are kinda weak, but a lot of kills will be down to pilot snipes. At mid to high, it'll mostly be your pilot getting disintegrated or the plane being completely knockedout.

It's noticeable to a degree anyways on air pilots/gunners for sure. Not so much on ground vehicles though.

[𝒞𝒶𝓈𝓊𝒶𝓁 Sinner]

Originally posted by Fall Damage:

It's noticeable to a degree anyways on air pilots/gunners for sure. Not so much on ground vehicles though.

Yeah, maybe lower tier vehicles facing solid shot though? if APHE pens, it'll probably kill. But I can imagine solid shot relying on the internal damage might not though, at least for crew it doesn't directly clip/hit.

[Chaoslink]

Originally posted by Fall Damage:

It's noticeable to a degree anyways on air pilots/gunners for sure. Not so much on ground vehicles though.

For sure, but it still has a noticable effect depending on the damage source. It won't help you survive a 75mm APHE going off in front of (or through) a crew member, but it can help against effects including but not limited to:

-Small caliber machine guns.
-Explosive shrapnel.
-Overpressure effects from nearby explosions.
-Stray spalling from shell penetration.
-Crush damage from impacts or large tanks ramming you.
-Fire you're unable to put out immediately (like if you really need to reload or maneuver).
-Light penetrations, ones where the shell mostly stopped, but a little damage slips in. You've probably had shots like that where a crewman only turns yellow or orange but nothing like what you expect the shell to do if it properly penned.


While these might not be the most common sources of damage you sustain in battle, lowering the total damage the crew sustains might be the difference between surviving an experience or not. If a crewman just goes orange instead of red, the detriment to their abilities might be just enough to finish a reload or get your scope on target before the foe finishes you.

Arguably, it might prove just as helpful as repair speed or agility. Its a slider, sometimes the slightest nudge in one direction or the other will change the final outcome.

Ultimately, its up to the player on how much to value it. For me, its a mid-tier skill. Something I don't want to initially focus on a new crew, but once the main skills like driving, targeting, reloading, leadership or whatever else I might value are decently high enough, I'll dump points into Vitality, repair and agility in roughly equal measure. Typically depends on what type of vehicle class I want the crew more specialized in.

[Shyue Chou]

Originally posted by Chaoslink:

I've also had similar situations where my whole crew was made red and the resulting damage to tank performance made it not worth trying to survive. Thing is, having vitality means that I get to choose whether its worthwhile or not by surviving and bailing out as needed. I'd personally prefer to have the choice.

Now, I am surprised. Not worth trying to survive? Do you not try to survive to the end of the battle, even if the team has lost and the enemy is overrunning the starting points?

I do, even if I have to hide in a corner of the map, I will always try to preserve my tank and crew.

[mogami_99]

Very hard to prove or disprove. When your entire crew is killed you can't tell by how much. When they survive you can't tell if it was their vitality. eventually you take all stats to max.

[Chaoslink]

Originally posted by Shyue Chou:

Originally posted by Chaoslink:

I've also had similar situations where my whole crew was made red and the resulting damage to tank performance made it not worth trying to survive. Thing is, having vitality means that I get to choose whether its worthwhile or not by surviving and bailing out as needed. I'd personally prefer to have the choice.

Now, I am surprised. Not worth trying to survive? Do you not try to survive to the end of the battle, even if the team has lost and the enemy is overrunning the starting points?

I do, even if I have to hide in a corner of the map, I will always try to preserve my tank and crew. :tskull:

If the performance of a vehicle like an SPAA is no longer enough to get kills in, I’m more useful bailing out and spawning a new one. I keep fighting til the end, but I prefer to do so while also making the other team hate me.

[Ismawell]

Originally posted by Fall Damage:

Most of my tank crews average Vitality are sitting around anywhere from 3.5-4.5 on the skill level. The issue I'm having is that I'm not even noticing next to nothing of a difference despite this and have been asking myself if my skill points were wasted? Even after 100's pf hours put into this game?

"Supposedly" it helps with surviving prolonged engine fires so as to give you time to retaliate before putting out the fire. At least that's what I read elsewhere on the forums so I can't confirm as to whether this is a thing or not.

Even if the skill description reads "Vitality - Reduces the likelihood of a crew member receiving a mortal wound." I am not noticing the skill being put to work.

The problem is way more often than not, your tanks interiors are nuked by APHE/BC shells or completely wiped by a cone of molten shrapnel from a HEAT/FS round. I personally feel that if I maxed out all crew Vitality I still would notice a difference given my experiences.

Am I missing something?

This is a "realistic" game. That means that any explosive that goes into your tank is probably going to take you crew out in one shot, even if you maxed vitality. But not all projectiles are explosive, some of them are rigid and what kills the crew are the fragments of the interior that hit the crew. What i mean is that probably it wont help with explosives but maybe it makes them take more bullets/frgament before dying. So in some cases it could be the difference between living or not