Tank Guide: 112 - World of Tanks Guru

The tier 8 premium Chinese heavy tank 112 is similar to several other tier 8 premium heavy tanks but still manages to set itself apart enough to make it play very different from its peers.  The 112 performs well due to its strong frontal armor on the hull and turret along with its hard hitting gun.  While it is similar to the IS-6, WZ-111, and the standard 110 its armor does make it stand out enough to make it play differently than them.  This tank guide will break down the 112 into firepower, armor, mobility, and miscellaneous attributes to help you understand whether or not the 112 is a good purchase for your garage.

Video Overview

Firepower

Like many other tier 8 heavy tanks the 112 equips a 122mm gun that hits hard with 390 damage per round and has sub-par penetration to balance it against other tanks.  The 112’s AP round has 175mm of penetration, the HEAT round has 250mm of penetration, and the HE round has 61mm of penetration.  Its rate of fire is also lower than the WZ-111/IS-6 since it is only 4.55 rounds per minute which leaves it lacking damage per minute when facing other tier 8 tanks.  The accuracy of .46 and the aiming time of 3.4 seconds is also below average and further forces the 112 to fight at closer ranges to make up for its penetration/accuracy.

Comparing the 112 to the standard Chinese heavy tank 110 you will find that while the 112 does more damage per rounds(390>320) it falls short in every other category.  You can make up for this by shooting HEAT rounds since you are a premium tank but that is not always ideal for your profit margins.  The 110 clearly has the better gun for most scenarios, while the 112 has the harder hitting gun and is better suited for brawling at shorter distances.  You can also see in the chart below that when compared to the WZ-111 and IS-6 the 112 does fall behind noticeably in the damage per minute department due to the lower rate of fire.

112        | 390 Damage | 4.55 RPM | 1,774 DPM | 175mm/250mm/61mm Pen | .46 Accuracy | 3.4s Aiming Time

110        | 320 Damage | 6.00 RPM | 1,920 DPM | 215mm/265mm/50mm Pen | .38 Accuracy | 2.9s Aiming Time

WZ-111 | 390 Damage | 4.80 RPM | 1,872 DPM | 175mm/250mm/61mm Pen | .46 Accuracy | 3.4s Aiming Time

IS-6      | 390 Damage | 5.13 RPM | 2,001 DPM | 175mm/217mm/61mm Pen | .46 Accuracy | 3.4s Aiming Time

Armor

 The 112’s bread and butter is its frontal armor when you compare it to other tier 8 heavy tanks.  The 112 has a 120mm frontal upper glacis that is at a 68 degree slope making it have 320mm of effective armor.  The frontal lower glacis is still fairly large and is only 80mm thick which still leaves an easy to hit weak spot in the front.  However,  the strength of the upper glacis is easily stronger than the 110, WZ-111, and IS-6 in most scenarios and angling it while keeping the side armor at an auto-bounce angle will make it immune to almost all shells.  Keep in mind that since the 112’s armor is only vertically angled, unlike the 110 and WZ-111, that the closer to enemies you get the weaker your armor becomes(since it loses its angle).

Aside from the frontal armor the 112’s armor elsewhere is below average making it a very easy target if it is flanked.  Compared to the other tier 8 heavies it has similar armor values to the 110 and WZ-111 albeit the spaced armor on the 112’s sides is much less effective.  The IS-6 on the other hand has all round better side armor than the 112.  Keep this in mind in battle since you want to prevent yourself from being flanked and keep the enemy shooting at your great frontal armor.

112        | 120mm/80mm/60mm Hull Armor | 240mm/130mm/60mm Turret Armor

110        | 120mm/90mm/60mm Hull Armor | 201mm/148mm/50mm Turret Armor

WZ-111 | 120mm/80mm/60mm Hull Armor | 230mm/120mm/60mm Turret Armor

IS-6      | 100mm/100mm/60mm Hull Armor | 150mm/150mm/100mm Turret Armor

Mobility

The 112 isn’t going to win any mobility awards for a heavy tank but it performs well enough to where it isn’t a huge drawback.  The 112 weighs around 45.7 tons without equipment and is equipped with a 580 horsepower engine.  The top speed is 45 km/h going forward and 15 km/h in reverse.  This leads the 112 to perform decently in level ground and it can go very fast when going downhill.  On the downside due to its weak engine it will be very sluggish when accelerating and also climbing up any sort of uphill slope.

Looking at the chart below you can see that while the 112 weighs less then its standard Chinese heavy tank(110) it does have slightly worse terrain resistance values.  While this still allows the 112 to move around slightly better than the 110 it isn’t by a huge margin.  The IS-6 actually move around better due to its 700 horsepower engine when going uphill and also while accelerating.  Due to the IS-6’s bad terrain resistance and low top speed however the 112 will move around better downhill and while moving through moderate terrain.  In the end the 112’s mobility is simply “average” and doesn’t harm it greatly in how it performs.

112        | 45.7 Tons | 580 Horsepower | 45/15 Km/h Speed Limit | 1.1/1.2/2.3 Terrain Resistance

110        | 50.2 Tons | 580 Horsepower | 40/15 Km/h Speed Limit | 1.0/1.1/2.2 Terrain Resistance

WZ-111 | 44.2 Tons | 520 Horsepower | 50/15 Km/h Speed Limit | 1.0/1.1/2.2 Terrain Resistance

IS-6      | 51.2 Tons | 700 Horsepower | 35/14 Km/h Speed Limit | 1.2/1.5/2.3 Terrain Resistance

Miscellaneous Attributes

Small attributes can make or break how tanks perform on the battlefield.  The 112 doesn’t hold to many surprises that will cripple the tank and/or make the 112 perform surprisingly well in a certain area.  The 112’s gun depression is typical of a Russian/Chinese tank with 6 degrees of gun depression and 17 degrees of gun elevation.  Both values make it difficult to fight well on hilly terrain since you can neither point your gun up or down very well.  The 112 is helped with the gun depression by its turret being situated towards the front of the tank however.

The 380m view range and 600m signal range values are both average for a tier 8 heavy tank and will pose no negative to the 112.  With 1,500 health points the 112 does fall 50 health points behind the 110, WZ-111, and IS-6.  This small disadvantage can prove to be costly but isn’t large enough to be considered that harmful to the 112.  The 112 also can carry 45 pieces of ammunition which allows you to load a varied load of AP/HEAT/HE which is a huge plus.  Compared to the tiny 30 piece ammunition capacity of the IS-6 the 112 is far ahead in this category.

The 112 does receive special matchmaking that will prevent it from seeing tier 10 tanks.  This is a huge plus and this trait is shared with the WZ-111 and IS-6, while the standard 110 heavy tank does not have this special matchmaking value.  The cost for ammunition is standard with other 122m wielding tanks.  Ap costs 1,015 credits, HEAT costs 5,600 credits, and HE costs 608 credits.  While the cost of ammunition is high the 390 damage per round easily makes up for the higher cost as long as you do not miss to many shots.

112        | -6/+17 Gun Depression/Elevation | 380m View Range | 600m Signal Range | 1,500 HP | 45 Ammo Capacity

110        | -6/+15 Gun Depression/Elevation | 380m View Range | 750m Signal Range | 1,550 HP | 40 Ammo Capacity

WZ-111 | -5/+23 Gun Depression/Elevation | 380m View Range | 600m Signal Range | 1,550 HP | 45 Ammo Capacity

IS-6      | -6/+20 Gun Depression/Elevation | 350m View Range | 440m Signal Range | 1,550 HP| 30 Ammo Capacity

Tactics

 Playing the 112 is very similar to playing a WZ-111 or IS-6 with a few changes.  Since the 112 has the great frontal upper glacis you can deflect almost all rounds thrown at it aside from premium shells and/or some tier 9 tank rounds.  Since the frontal armor is not a wedge shape like the 110/WZ-111 and doesn’t have “shoulders” like the IS-6 you are capable of angling your frontal armor.  Keep in mind that your side armor should be kept at an auto-bounce angle since it is weak and will be penetrated if you over-angle.  Use this armor advantage to play at mid range/far range early on to chip away at enemies without taking damage.  While your gun’s accuracy is poor at long range along with your penetration you can still easily damage most tanks if you choose your targets well.  If you can find a small hill, destroyed tank, or small rock to hide your frontal lower glacis you will essentially be immune from shells(barring SPGs, HE, and premium rounds).

When you find that fighting with the above tactic doesn’t work on a map or as a match progresses then use your hard hitting gun to get up close and personal.  At tier 8 the 390 damage per shot works well with bullying tier 6/7 tanks and hits hard enough to take out tier 8 tanks quickly.  Still keep in your head to prevent yourself from being hit in the side/rear armor and also that as you close in on enemies you frontal upper glacis begins to weaken.  This is because enemies can point down into your upper glacis, which defeats the angle, and can easily punch through it.  Counter this by face hugging enemies with poor gun depression, wiggling to prevent them from hitting weak spots, and also over-angling your frontal glacis to make it stronger.

Overall the 112 is capable of engaging all but the strongest tier 9 tanks(E-75/ST-1/etc.) without to much difficulty.  Focus first and foremost with bouncing shells and then when you can move to fire a round make sure you aren’t going to take stupid damage in return.  If you can manage your health/armor well the damage will come and your teammates won’t be taking damage.

Recap

Since the 112 is similar to other tier 8 premium heavy tanks it can seem like it is not worth buying if you own a IS-6 or WZ-111.  The 112’s armor is strong enough to make it play differently than other premium heavy tanks at tier 8 however and can outperform both the IS-6/WZ-111 if played correctly.  The 112 gains usable frontal armor at the cost of a slight increase of its reload time.  So as long as you deflect incoming shells you can still out damage your opponents and survive much longer than if you were in a less protected tank.  If you have a Chinese heavy tank crew or are looking for a well armored tier 8 premium tank the 112 is a great premium tank to buy.