Damage vs. Hit Question

[btaft]

I have done a quick search and have not found a clear discussion (possibly because it may be very basic and common knowledge). In watching the battle animations I have notice that often I will see a message that will say "Belt Armor Hit" or "Deck Armor Hit". Sometimes this will be followed by a penetration message or other damage. Is it safe to assume that if there is no secondary damage report that the incoming shell merely just hit the ship and effectively bounced off (therefore being nothing to be concerned about). I suspect this is the case but I wanted to be certain.

Thanks,

Brett

[Tankerace]

When the ship is hit, but the armor is not penetrated, no secondary damage is done (in the way of magazine explosion, flooding, etc). However, depend upon the size of the shell in question and the armor struck, some system damage can result. This could be crew casualties, equipment damaged from the explosion, etc.

Usually, ships can take hit after hit on their armor and it only do little damage, and most of it superficially. However, it is when you get penetration messages you need to worry, as something could go boom. However, if a ship takes literally 100 non penetrating hits from large caliber shells, it could be reduced in combat efficiency (slower speed, on fire, etc), and a fire could start which can pose some issues. This can affect the fighting efficiency of the ship, and might scratch the paint, but in general is not life threatening to the ship.  That said, I would keep a check on the ship, as the more sys damage it sustains, the slower it's total speed. This can be bad if the ship is running from bigger ships, bigger guns.

[btaft]

Thanks!!

I really appreciate the excellent explanation.