[Glossary](/glossary.md)/[Armor](/glossary/category/armor.md)

# Ricochet

A shell deflecting off a plate without any penetration check, which happens beyond 70 degrees for most shells and 85 for HEAT.

Also known as bounce, deflection.

Past the ricochet angle the [shell](/glossary/shell.md) is turned aside regardless of how much [penetration](/glossary/penetration.md) it had. This is not a failed penetration, it is no attempt at one, which is why an enormous gun can be deflected by thin, steeply sloped plating.

[Armor-piercing](/glossary/armor-piercing.md) and [APCR](/glossary/apcr.md) ricochet beyond 70 degrees, [HEAT](/glossary/heat.md) beyond 85, and [high explosive](/glossary/high-explosive.md) never does. A ricocheting shell keeps travelling and can strike another part of the same vehicle, occasionally penetrating on the second contact.

The exception is [overmatch](/glossary/overmatch.md): a shell three times the plate's thickness cannot ricochet at all.

## Related terms

[OvermatchThe rule that a shell with a caliber at least three times a plate's thickness cannot ricochet off it, no matter the angle.](/glossary/overmatch.md)[Effective armorThe thickness a shell actually has to defeat once the angle of the plate is accounted for, which is what penetration is compared against.](/glossary/effective-armor.md)[AnglingTurning a vehicle so incoming shells meet its plates at an angle, multiplying effective armor without changing a single stat.](/glossary/angling.md)[Damage blockedPotential damage that hit the player's armor and failed to penetrate, the ledger entry for playing a heavily armored vehicle well.](/glossary/damage-blocked.md)

[Every World of Tanks term](/glossary.md)

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