Gunner, HEAT, PC!

Gunner, HEAT, PC!

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M60A1 RISE (Passive) User Guide
By Chairman Maobama
Need a tank that has both voice lines and a rudimentary firing control system? Tired of pressing E and MB1 on every target you can see? Want to learn how to use the wacky optical rangefinder? This guide has it all!
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Gunnery Basics
Step 1: locate an adequate target

This is easy, either your TC will shout it out for you and conveniently swivel your turret (default key: Space) over to the target of his dreams (nightmares included).

Step 2: engaging the rangefinder

Also easy, by default you can use Shift to use the sight and E to engage the rangefinder. Note that. depending on your range, hitting E may have no visible effect right away. Make sure you actually turn the rangefinder on, otherwise nothing will change.

Below is a screenshot of the distortion effect you might get when you turn on the rangefinder.

(yes, it's supposed to look blurry, that's how you know you got the wrong range set)



Step 3: operating the rangefinder

This is important, and may require (if time allows) squinting up close at the screen.
  • Center the reticle on your target
  • Note the distortion effect produced by your default (likely wrong) range
  • Adjust the range with Ctrl-Scroll Wheel or PgUp/PgDown until the distortion effect on your target disappears
  • Ignore the distortion effect on nearby clutter! You're not shooting to hit the bushes near that T-55, you're shooting to hit the T-55 itself!

Is it getting worse (i.e. more distorted)? If so, you're adjusting the range in the wrong direction. Change the scroll direction/Page key that you're using.
Is it getting better (i.e. lessening)? You're figuring this out! Keep going until the target appears as one, singular image, as below.


Once the target is undistorted, your range is set correctly!



Step 4: Fire!

With your range now correctly set, fire on your target! Try to note if your shell goes over or under your target (you're zeroing the gun in 100m increments, after all, if the target is 1064m away from you and you're zeroed for 1100m, you might just overshoot)

Sometimes, your TC will call this out for you (Over! / Under!). Adjust your aiming point accordingly.

Target! Cease fire!
General Operation
Movement

The M60A1 RISE, unsurprisingly, is as slow as its brother, the M60A3 TTS. Top speed offroad usually hangs around 40-45km/h in-game, with slightly better on-road performance. Don't expect it to be as fast as an IPM1 or a Bradley.


Protection
Generally speaking, any Warsaw Pact anti-tank armament can penetrate you. Have a threat rating list:
  • BRDM-2: you're invulnerable to the KPVT and PKT. Has artillery available. 2/10 threat.
  • SPW-60PB (BTR-60): same as above. 2/10 threat.
  • BMP-1: your frontal armor might be able to withstand a PG-15V shot from the Grom. Keyword: might. The 9M14 Malyutka ATGM, on the other hand, is lethal. God knows how the AI can aim an MCLOS missile so well. The AI has slight trouble aiming the 73mm cannon, and may take 4-5 shots before hitting you at longer ranges. 7/10 threat.
  • T-55A/T-72M/T-72M1: the only way you're going to survive a shot from these is if they miss or bounce their shells off your turret sides. Shoot them before they shoot you. 9/10 threat.
  • 9K111: if you run into a static ATGM launcher try to note landmarks as quickly as possible (a treeline, housing, generally anything distinctive) and fall back ASAP. Call in artillery on the ATGM position and hide. The 9M111 missile is absolutely lethal and getting hit with it will either kill your entire crew or set the engine on fire, in which case your crew will promptly bail out. 10/10 threat.

Good luck seeing him before he hits you.

Armament - what wasn't covered in Gunnery Basics

You also have at your disposal an M240 coaxial MG, and an M85 .50 HMG placed in the commander's cupola. The M240 is useful for suppressing ATGM crews (provides positive encouragement for you, no clue if it actually affects the enemy's aim).

The M85 could theoretically be used to kill BRDMs and SPWs, however it's not tied to the main gun sight like the M240 is, and requires you to aim it with tracer fire. It's generally quicker to just put a sabot through the target.

IRL it had a variable rate of fire switch that could provide a higher ROF when shooting at aircraft (although sources vary on what that ROF actually was, the operating manual states a "minimum of 625rpm" while some websites say it could reach 1000-1100RPM), but this is not modelled in-game.

EDIT: After Update 20230228.2, the M85 HMG is now somewhat more viable, since it has its own optics and doesn't need to be aimed with tracers. Since there's also a light vehicle panic mechanic now (crew of light vehicles such as the BRDM-2 or the SPW-60PB will now panic when shot with the main gun and will likely bail out, even if nobody died), it's still preferable to shoot once with the main gun rather than try to kill every crewman with the M85.
Night-Time Operation
If you want to use the M60A1 in night-time operations, God help you.

Unlike the M60A3 TTS and M1 series, you do not have thermal sights at your disposal, so locating tanks will either be done by squinting very closely at your screen, firing illumination flares and revealing your position, or relying on the TC's callouts.

These are the best conditions you'll ever get in night battles.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The good news: as your name denotes, you do have a passive night sight installed (default key T).

The bad news: all Pact vehicles that can harm you also have one. And the AI knows how to call in illumination flares.

The ugly news: unlike the T-55A, T-72M and T-72M1s which you'll be engaging, you do not have an infrared illumination spotlight. Pressing N does nothing. Your night sight is restricted to natural light.

In absence of an illumination flare, this will be most of what you'll see. Don't expect the commander's NVGs to work any better.

[edit] - I have been informed that the rangefinder does not work with the night sight. Stick with the illumination flares if you want any chance of using this at night accurately. (or maybe eyeball some M833 shots if you feel lucky?)
Tips and Ending Notes
  • If you're in missions where you're accompanied by newer tanks (such as the M1, IPM1 or even the M60A3 TTS), allow them to distract your enemy while you get your rangefinder worked out and your rounds on target. In general, it's a bad idea to lead a convoy in this tank.

  • If you're in a close range engagement, it's a good idea to switch to backup/battle sights (default key C while using the regular sights). The rangefinder has powerful optics, which you may find restrictive at short ranges.

  • You don't have to change ranges if switching ammo types, APFSDS and HEAT-FS will still land on the target without moving the reticle yourself.

  • Have fun!
10 Comments
AUTISMOS PRIME 14 Dec, 2024 @ 4:45am 
I wonder what (Aggressive) version of this tank would do
Chairman Maobama  [author] 10 Oct, 2023 @ 9:17am 
Have you by any chance rebound T to anything else? By default T is used to toggle between the day and night sight

(and just in case, I had no idea you can hit a button to automatically calculate the range, and yes I just tested this on Grafenwoehr, hitting T only switches to the night sight on my end)
Hiortintexas 8 Oct, 2023 @ 12:51pm 
Will hitting T do step 3 automatically ? To me it looks like it is clearing the blurry image and provides the distance.
Chairman Maobama  [author] 4 Oct, 2023 @ 9:03am 
corrected, thank you!
pepitos 3 Oct, 2023 @ 8:07pm 
a small error, the coincidence rangefinder does not work with the night sight
Goblin Slayer 21 Apr, 2023 @ 2:24am 
Probably worth mentioning that sometimes you'll need to use better judgement if you aren't entirely sure about your rangefinding, this isn't error-proof like LRFs, still a good guide tho

For example, if your rangefinding returns 2300m but the target is clearly too close for 2300m to be correct, don't just blindly take 2300m as gospel.

That being said, it is more skill based than LRFs and because of better repeatability than the T-55A (no FCS at all). All of this makes the optical rangefinder a lot more fun and satisfying to use; very nice to kill something on the first hit 2km away.
Chairman Maobama  [author] 1 Apr, 2023 @ 5:56am 
No problem, have fun!

(I stumbled onto this by complete accident when I noticed hitting E made the image blurry on command, then fell down the rabbit-hole of rangefinder history)
KATAMARAN 31 Mar, 2023 @ 7:21pm 
I didn't even know the visual rangefinder was a thing in a game. Thanks for the guide man
Chairman Maobama  [author] 28 Mar, 2023 @ 4:30am 
Thanks! I did mean what I wrote there, I couldn't use the M60A1 in nighttime if my life depended on it, but it's tons of fun ranging in the day!
Auber 27 Mar, 2023 @ 2:01pm 
Very nice guide, it's a shame that this vehicle doesn't yet have a gunnery guide on the ghpc website. This one is still really good though, especially helped me with nighttime operations