Tank Guide: E-100 - World of Tanks Guru

The tier 10 German (super) heavy tank E-100 can be difficult for some players to master due to its large size and 15cm gun that different than other tier 10 heavy tank guns.  Being a very large tank the E-100 attracts a lot of attention when it is spotted on the battlefield and since it hits hard it is a prime target for the enemy team.  Fortunately for E-100 drivers the armor is excellent and the massive health point pool cements the E-100 as one of the hardest tanks to take out in World of Tanks.  This tank guide will break down the E-100 into firepower, armor, mobility, miscellaneous attributes, and tactics to use to excel in the E-100. 

Firepower

Starting out the E-100 does not have its top 15cm gun and instead has the 12.8cm, which unless you skip past it does start your experience in the E-100 off slow.  The 12.8cm isn’t a “bad” gun by any means but it does lower the damage per shot from 750 with the top 15cm to 490 damage and also lowers the damage per minute.  With the 12.8cm you will have to play a bit differently since without that extra firepower you can’t play as aggressively without that larger gun.  Once the 15cm is unlocked the E-100 truly shines firepower wise since you have alpha, penetration, and damage per minute.  With 750 damage per shot, a respectable amount of damage per minute for a tier 10 heavy, and great HEAT shell the E-100 can dish out a huge amount of damage.

Penetration wise however you do need to use quite a bit of HEAT shells which are rather expensive since your AP shells are difficult to use against most tanks you face.  The AP shell only has 235mm of penetration compared to the 334mm of penetration that the HEAT shell has.  This makes the E-100 expensive to run since if you miss or do no damage with a HEAT shell it will cut into your profit margin and you will certainly notice it.  The HE shells unlike other tanks are actually very useful as well since with the 15cm shell size and 950 average damage they will do considerable damage to most tanks.  The 85mm of penetration on the HE also helps and using HE against tanks at long range is a viable tactic since you sometimes cannot penetrate with AP and it is to expensive to gamble with HEAT.  With .40 accuracy and a 2.9 second aim time it does hamper the E-100’s ability to fight at long range and also for landing shots on fast moving targets.

Overall the 15cm makes the E-100 the fearsome tank that it is and if you can get over the expensive HEAT rounds it the E-100 is a capable damage dealing tank.  With the 750 damage on a tier 10 heavy tank you bring the punch that other non-tank destroyer tier 10’s cannot and thus you are very good at “bullying” tanks with your high alpha damage.  Learn that your gun is very good at mid to close ranges and that at longer ranges it sometimes is a better choice to chuck a HE shell rather than watch your AP/HEAT hit the tracks of an enemy and do nothing.

Armor

While the E-100’s 15cm packs the punch the armor of the E-100 is the backbone of the tank that makes it the great tank that it is.  To find a full breakdown of the E-100’s armor you can hop over to the weak spot guide found on here for effective armor values.

Protection wise the E-100 has very strong armor capable of deflecting almost any shells thrown at it if angled properly and if you learn how to maximize your armor.  The E-100 has a very good upper glacis and upper side hull armor which allows you to angle the E-100 heavily to improve your armor.  Since your side hull is covered by a lot of spaced armor it also helps negate a lot of damage from HEAT, HE, and HESH shells.  The armor isn’t without its faults though as you can see that the sections closest to the ground are the weakest points on the front, sides, and rear.  Your turret while strong is also vulnerable to tier 10 tank destroyer shells and premium ammunition if it is not angled.  On top of all of this the large size of the E-100 makes it difficult to hide behind some smaller cover and also makes it easier to hit you in general.

Knowing all of this you should do your best to hide those weaker sections of armor located near the ground.  To do this use small cover(rocks), small hills, other tanks, or simply stay at range until you can get in close safely to prevent enemies from easily nailing your weak spots.  Since your frontal lower glacis is a well known weak spot it sometimes makes sense to over-angle and show your side if you see someone aiming there.  Most players will panic and aim at your side, which then you can wiggle back and thus you make them hold their shot.  Learning small tricks and tactics to cover up your weak spots on the E-100 will transform you into a tank that can easily brush off several thousand damage per game.

Mobility

No tank can have the “holy trinity” of having firepower, armor, and mobility without being imbalanced or sacrificing a lot elsewhere.  The E-100 is not an exception and its mobility is below average due to its large size and weight.  At nearly 130 tons and with a 1,200 HP engine the tank is noticeably slower than most other tanks.  The top speed limit is 30 km/h which isn’t that bad considering how large the E-100 is but it does hold the E-100 back while it is going down hills(and thus making it a huge easy target).  Compared to its rival the Maus the mobility is very good but overall it is a large downside of the E-100 since it makes it hard to perform against more mobile enemies at times.

The hull traverse speed of 22 km/h isn’t exactly mind blowing either which opens up mediums and some heavies to outpace the E-100 in a close turning match.  Turret traverse is slightly lower at 20 km/h which doesn’t help either and just makes it more difficult to fight against mobile tanks.  While this can be prevented by planning ahead, it isn’t always something you can prevent.  In the end the mobility of the E-100 is below average but it isn’t as bad as it could be considering the armor and firepower you have.  With careful planning and good awareness you can cover up a lot of the mobility flaws the E-100 has.

Miscellaneous Attributes

Sometimes the small miscellaneous attributes of a tank can ruin the experience.  Luckily the E-100 isn’t a victim of this fate and the “soft stats” are rather good.  The view range is 400m which is average and is neither a strength or weakness.  Gun depression wise the E-100 has -7 degrees with its 15cm which feels lower due to the height and placement of the turret.  However, it does allow the E-100 to use some small terrain differences to hide the lower glacis and also to aim down at smaller enemy tanks trying to hide alongside the E-100.  Unlike the Maus the E-100 can actually aim down enough to hit almost any enemy.

Since E-100 drivers carry a good amount of all three shell types the 50 round limit for the 15cm is a welcomed sight.  It allows you to carry a good amount of HEAT shells and then enough AP/HE to use for situations when they are warranted.  Choosing equipment for your E-100 is very important since it dictates how you will play your tank.  Equipment wise the large-caliber gun rammer, improved ventilation, and vertical stabilizer set up favors the E-100’s gameplay very will.  The stabilizer helps with the accuracy problems of the E-100 and allows you to fight at close ranges while moving without missing a lot of shots.  The ventilation and gun rammer lower that reload time a lot and gives you a good damage per minute boost.  Since the E-100 is a close range fighter using something like optics isn’t as important although you could swap out the ventilation for it.

Camouflage Values

Stationary: 3.1%

Firing While Stationary: 0.30%

Moving: 1.7%

Firing While Moving: 0.16%

Aiming Circle Spread

After Shooting: 3.836

Turret Traversing: 0.096

Turret Traversing Full Speed: 1.92

Hull Moving: 0.201

Hull Moving Full Speed: 6.04

Hull Traversing: 0.201

Hull Traversing Full Speed: 4.43

Terrain Resistance

Hard Ground: 0.959

Medium Ground: 1.151

Soft Ground: 2.014

Tactics

Tactically the E-100 is simple on the surface and complicated when you start to dig deeper.  On the surface the E-100 is a brawler that leverages its great armor and high alpha gun to its advantage.  Since the mobility is low you will want to plan to avoid wide open areas where you can be caught out in the open since you will often find yourself  focused on.  Enemies see an E-100 out in the open and will send shells your way until you are destroyed knowing that as you get closer you get more dangerous. Knowing this you want to avoid open places, being caught at long distances, and focus on taking the fight to the enemy.

Digging a little deeper there are a few things you can do that will boost your performance.  Learning spots on maps that you can use to hide your lower glacis weak spot and also angling to make it harder for enemies to hit your weak armor will keep you in the fight longer.  As an E-100 driver I focus on soaking up damage as much as I do dealing damage since you can’t deal damage if your tank is destroyed.  Since you are given a lot of armor with weak spots capable of being covered up you might as well learn how to do that.

At longer ranges and/or against tanks you cannot reliably penetrate even with HEAT rounds you should know when to use HE shells.  The 950 damage and decent penetrate gives you a good option of dealing a good amount of damage and also damaging some modules in the process.  Most importantly at long ranges you won’t do zero damage with a HE shell when you hit the track section of a tank like with a HEAT/AP shell.  Size matters and the E-100 is a 120 ton beast.  Use that weight to you advantage and push, rub. bump, and ram enemies to not only do damage but to also throw off their shots.  Pushing enemies around will only help you and it also shoves that stronger upper glacis right in their face.

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