Tank Guide: WZ-111 - World of Tanks Guru

The WZ-111 is a unique premium tank only available through the gift shop and missions.  This tier 8 Chinese premium heavy tank is comparable to the Russian IS-6 and its Chinese counterpart the 112.  All three tanks share the same gun essentially since they have the same damage per round, aim time, accuracy, and the penetration values are identical aside from the different premium rounds.  So does the WZ-111 stand out enough to warrant buying it and/or spending money to obtain it?  This tank guide will break down the WZ-111 into key categories and help you with whether or not it is a good tank for you.

Video Overview

Firepower

When it comes to the WZ-111’s firepower it is very similar to the 112 and IS-6 due to the gun being essentially the same.  It does have a few differences that sets it apart for better and for worse.  All three guns have 390 damage per shot with at tier 8 is very good a heavy tank.  It has a poor aiming time of 3.4 seconds and overall poor accuracy with it being .46 at 100m.  Its penetration for the AP shell is 175mm like the IS-6 and 112 and the HE shell(530 damage) has a decent 61mm of penetration.  For the premium round it has a HEAT shell with 250mm like the 112 which can be better or worse compared to the IS-6 and its 217mm APCR round.

The main difference between the guns is with the rate of fire where the IS-6 beats both the WZ-111 and 112.  The WZ-111 has 4.8 rounds per minute compared to 5.13 rounds per minute for the IS-6 and 4.55 rounds per minute for the 112.  Overall the difference isn’t massive between all three tanks and the WZ-111 is not that far behind the IS-6.  The WZ-111 still has very good damage dealing capabilities and the main drawback to the gun is the lower overall penetration combined with poor accuracy.

Armor

Moving onto the armor the WZ-111 once again is situated between the IS-6 and 112 in most scenarios.  The WZ-111 has a pike nosed layout like the IS-3 and also has the spaced armor “false plates” along the side armor making the side armor much tougher than it appears at first glance.  The turret is a tad weaker than the 112 but for tier 8 it is solid aside from the top commander hatches.  Compared to the IS-6 the turret of the WZ-111 is a huge improvement in armor and as far as hull armor goes the WZ-111 overall is tougher in my opinion.

The frontal armor of the WZ-111 since it is a pike nose needs to be pointed at an enemy to be at its most effective unlike the IS-6 and 112.  The lower glacis on the WZ-111 is very weak and should be covered up as much as possible.  The upper glacis is stronger than the IS-6’s but a touch weaker than the 112 glacis in most situations.  The 112 glacis is weak up close due to it only being angled vertically while the WZ-111 armor is angled both vertically and horizontally making it more difficult to penetration by taller tanks and/or close targets.  In the end the armor of all three tanks is a toss up since they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Mobility

Mobility in the WZ-111 is something that can be a blessing and a curse.  It has a very high top speed (50 km/h) which is great for a heavy tank and also bests the IS-6/112.  It is the lightest of the bunch as well which helps it slightly cover up its weaker engine.  The engine only has 520 horsepower which isn’t all that great compared to the 580 horsepower engine of the 112 and 700 horsepower engine of the IS-6.  This leads to the WZ-111 being more mobile aside from poor terrain and also going uphill.  With the engine being weak it will feel very sluggish going up hill but on flat ground and going downhill it will move faster than the IS-6/112.  After factoring everything in the WZ-111’s mobility is tied to the map and specific situation you are in much more than other tanks which can come back to bite you if you aren’t careful.

Miscellaneous Attributes

Small miscellaneous attributes can sometimes make or break a tank.  The WZ-111 doesn’t disappoint and isn’t hampered by miscellaneous attributes.  The 380m view range isn’t that bad for a tier 8 heavy and when compared to the 350m view range of the IS-6 it is leaps and bounds better.  The radio is also much better with it having a 600m signal range which might not seem very important, however for matches where you are off on your own it can be vital to your survival.

Hit point wise the WZ-111 has 1,550 hit points which is on par with the IS-6 and slightly ahead of the 112.  Ammo count is also sufficient at 45 pieces allowing you to carry a good amount of each ammunition type to help you adapt to which enemies you come across.  In the equipment department I find a coated optics, gun rammer, and vertical stabilizer to work best.  The optics will help you adapt to incoming lights/mediums/flankers quicker, the rammer will boost your damage per minute, and the vertical stabilizer helps offset your poor overall accuracy.

The most important part of a premium tank(to most) is the credit earning capability.  The WZ-111 struggles slightly in this department since the AP shells cost 1,025 credits, HEAT shells cost 5,600 credits, and HE shells cost 608 credits.  If  you miss a lot of shells and/or fail to penetrate your profit margin will be hurt much more than other premium tanks with lower shell costs.  You will want to avoid shooting HEAT in most situations since while it does add much needed penetration it isn’t a sure thing against most enemies since 250mm of penetration isn’t spectacular.  To top things off the WZ-111 does not see tier 10 tanks which is a huge positive considering its poor penetration and you will only have to contend against tier 9 tanks at worse.

Tactics

The WZ-111 plays very similar to the IS-3 and also its similar brother the WZ-111 model 1-4(tier 9) due to the pike nose frontal armor.  Keep your front pointed enemies and change your range depending on where they are aiming.  If enemies aim for your lower glacis then getting closer and/or wiggling(to angle the lower glacis armor) will help improve your chances of bouncing a shot.  As you get closer to an enemy your lower glacis will become smaller and stronger at the cost of your upper glacis becoming weaker.  For enemies that can penetrate your lower glacis but struggle against the rest of your armor this tactic can make you very difficult to damage.   Keep in mind that your side armor also has great spaced armor and when facing tanks spamming HEAT rounds your sides can soak up a surprising amount of shells.

Two more important things to keep in mind are your mobility and gun.  As gone over earlier the WZ-111 struggles while going up hill and also in situations where you want a stronger engine(poor terrain and accelerating).  Avoid putting yourself in places where you cannot get out of because you are stuck crawling up a hill slowly.  The WZ-111 is surprisingly fast on flat ground and even on a slight downhill slope.  Use this to your advantage and you’ll benefit greatly.  Lastly, since the gun is a high damage/poor accuracy/poor penetration gun you will need to do your best at fighting close(but not to close).  Know what enemies you can bully up close and what ones you need to keep your distance from.

Recap

Overall the WZ-111 is a great tier 8 premium tank especially if you have Chinese heavy tanks.  It is very similar to the IS-6 and 112 in performance so if you already own either(or both tanks) the WZ-111 can feel somewhat redundant.  Due to the limited matchmaking and good overall stats it does perform well and at times you don’t feel hampered by being a premium tank.  If you find yourself able to do the mission tied to the WZ-111 being rewarded or in a spot of being a premium tank you can do much worse than the WZ-111.