Project Reality Forums

When I'm calculating the angle to fire a mortar at, is there some secret way to know the elevation difference or do I have to guess for that?

Map knowledge, basically.
I am not so much of a mortar guy myself but from my limited experience with them (but mostly other people telling me):

Elevation isn't really needed most of the time, since the impact spot is just slightly off-set.

If you need exactly what is height difference, you can take helicopter, land in all key areas, and note it height. But for public game it's rather useless.

The only map where it can be quite important is Iron Eagle, if you have for example mortars in the ravine since it's pretty deep down, but usually it's not that important, it won't matter much!

Ok. Thanks guys. Expect more mortar availability in the future!

it's also quite important on korengal if youre brave enough to attempt a FOB anywhere on that map.

Archer as well if you like building fobs on the castle.

I have used mortars on Archer quite allot and a few times up on that castle and I have never used elevation when I have fired.

I didnt see a reason to use it because they explode on impact and it gets pretty accurate aswell.

Elevation might be more important when using air burst, compared to the regular HE. Although I'm by no means an expert.
I seem to remember the air burst mortar shells are much less effective if the elevation is wrong.

Anyone know more?

Cheers, Murkey.

I thought the elevation was to set the height for the air burst, no?

Calculator don't set any rounds setting, just tells you where rounds should land.

CR8Z wrote:I thought the elevation was to set the height for the air burst, no?

Would be nice if it was working like that but unfortunately it is not.

air-burst (ammunition nr 2) is only graphically "air-bursting" it actually always detonates on the surface so if your lien flat on the ground behind a little bit of cover like a foxhole you should be safe even if it lands right next to you.

Ammunition nr 1 "impact" has high damage against solid objects like buildings and vehicles, but a small blast radius.

Ammunition nr 2 "air-burst" has a low damage against solid objects, but a large blast radius vs soft targets like infantry.

I learn something new everyday.

Coming at you from space using DROIDS!

Gracler wrote:Would be nice if it was working like that but unfortunately it is not.

air-burst (ammunition nr 2) is only graphically "air-bursting" it actually always detonates on the surface so if your lien flat on the ground behind a little bit of cover like a foxhole you should be safe even if it lands right next to you.

Ammunition nr 1 "impact" has high damage against solid objects like buildings and vehicles, but a small blast radius.

Ammunition nr 2 "air-burst" has a low damage against solid objects, but a large blast radius vs soft targets like infantry.

My understanding was that HE is better against infantry in fortifications because the explosion extends from the ground level outward but airburst is only useful against infantry in an open area because the explosion only extends downward. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure I am.

thelastvortigaunt wrote:My understanding was that HE is better against infantry in fortifications because the explosion extends from the ground level outward but airburst is only useful against infantry in an open area because the explosion only extends downward. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm pretty sure I am.

Well to be honest i don't know if there is any difference on the 2 ammunition types blast direction upwards and downwards but I believe it is a simple explosion for both that is set off at surface level and the only difference is the blast radius and the effect against solid objects.
Someone might be able to pull the numbers to check.

Often it is a very good idea to use nr 1 "impact" against players in buildings at least when they are destructible since the building or asset falling apart also cause extra damage./explosions.
A mortar that hits an indestructible roof of the building your in would not harm the people inside, no matter the ammunition type. Kinda unrealistic but hard to code i guess.

Elevation is used to calculate the correct firing solution, in order to get rounds on target more precisely. If the terrain is relatively flat and the altitude of the target isn't much different from the tube, point of calculated impact shouldn't be off by much. But on terrain where the target is greatly above or below the tube, not using elevation differences in the solution means actual point of impact could be enough that it totally misses the target area.

An air-burst HE shell is the same munition used for point-detonating (impact), the only difference is the fuze itself. There are generally three types of air-burst fuze; Variable Time (VT) aka "Proximity" that use a "radar" to detect distance to the ground in order to detonate above it at a set altitude, Mechanical Time (MT) that basically uses a timer, or Multi-Option (MO) that have a proximity setting as one of their several options.


In most cases, proximity fuzes are the best option for air-bursting, but there are times when artillery (mortar, howitzer, etc) will elect for a timed fuze instead. For example, if the target is in dense overgrowth such as woodland/jungle, using a prox fuze might cause the shell to detonate prematurely due to the foliage. There are also times when weather, such as heavy rain, is considered a risk for prox fuzes because the rain can actually trigger the fuze.

In those situations, FDC can calculate a firing solution that includes the time setting required on a MT fuze to allow the shell to air-burst. This is where all of those complex factors become critical, including altitude variations. Although not as precise, as MT fuzes can cause detonation anywhere from 3-15m above the ground, but still allowing air-burst options when other factors limit the ability to use a VT fuze.


As with any form of artillery in real life, I would highly recommend using an FO/spotter in PR when using indirect fire. As long as the FO knows the location of the firing position, he should be able to provide accurate feedback on adjust fire settings to get rounds on target quickly and accurately. If using a spotter, even the most drastic elevation differences in PR should allow the gunner to get rounds on target without concern for altitude calculations with just a few adjustments to firing angle.

[R-DEV]Ninja2dan wrote: In most cases, proximity fuzes are the best option for air-bursting, but there are times when artillery (mortar, howitzer, etc) will elect for a timed fuze instead. For example, if the target is in dense overgrowth such as woodland/jungle, using a prox fuze might cause the shell to detonate prematurely due to the foliage. There are also times when weather, such as heavy rain, is considered a risk for prox fuzes because the rain can actually trigger the fuze.

This is the kind of option that i'm talking about would be nice to see in-game. Right now it is just simple rounds flying through the air tough and detonating on impact. I can only hope that PR 1.0 could fix this