Sidescraping

Hiding the front behind a corner and presenting the side at a sharp angle, so shells bounce off armor they would otherwise penetrate.

Also known as side scraping, sidescrape.

Backed against a corner with the hull turned roughly 70 to 80 degrees away, a vehicle shows its side plate at an angle steep enough to ricochet almost anything, while the front stays hidden behind the building.

It suits vehicles with strong turret armor and rear-mounted turrets, since the turret can face the enemy while the hull stays angled. It fails against artillery, against high explosive, against anything that can overmatch the side, and against a second opponent from another direction.

The tracks help: they absorb hits like spaced armor, so a shot into the running gear is a shot wasted.

Related terms

AnglingTurning a vehicle so incoming shells meet its plates at an angle, multiplying effective armor without changing a single stat.RicochetA shell deflecting off a plate without any penetration check, which happens beyond 70 degrees for most shells and 85 for HEAT.TracksThe running gear, which immobilises the vehicle when broken and absorbs shells like spaced armor when intact.Damage blockedPotential damage that hit the player's armor and failed to penetrate, the ledger entry for playing a heavily armored vehicle well.OvermatchThe rule that a shell with a caliber at least three times a plate's thickness cannot ricochet off it, no matter the angle.

Every World of Tanks term