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Tier X US Heavy Tank: T110E5
Ever wondered why all the unicums drive E5s?
Greetings! If you're here, it means one of three things: one, you recently got yourself a shiny new T110E5, but just can't seem to get the hang of how to dominate the battlefield with it. Two, you just bumped into a platoon of 70% players who just wrecked you in their E5s, and you are now bashing yourself and asking "WHY CAN'T I DO THAT?" Three, you're exceptionally bored and just like reading unnecessary guides for fun. Or just want to point out every tiny flaw in the post. Which is fine too.
Now, please understand that reading this guide won't turn you into an amazing god-mode Hulk-smash-everything super unicum. You can memorize everything in here to the last comma, but to truly master a tank, you need to remember to practice and repeat. Furthermore, this guide is specifically directed towards beginner or intermediate E5 drivers, and will probably be of little help to an experienced player. If you are, however, one of those experienced players looking to improve, I highly suggest you read A7X0's Advanced T110E5 Guide, created as a follow-up to this guide.
Let's begin! (If you want a far less in-depth collection of tips, skip down to Summary)
Introduction
The T110E5 is the (only) American Tier X Heavy Tank, following the M103 - researchable for 240,000 XP and purchasable for 6,100,000 credits.
Commonly referred to as the 'E5,' this tank is famous for one thing: versatility. With a very responsive gun, superb mobility (for a heavy), and cleverly placed armor "hardpoints," the E5 can accomplish almost any task adequately, while sacrificing specialization for a particular role that it naturally excels at.
This very evenly spread-out distribution of strengths and weaknesses can either be good news or bad news. An experienced player can absolutely abuse the E5's many strengths, while simultaneously hiding its many weaknesses. For the run-of-the-mill player, however, the T110E5's many weaknesses can be very difficult to identify, and strengths tricky to maximize, thus resulting in a sub-par, 45-50% WR. If you're one of the latter, keep on reading!
Stats: 'Cause numbers are everything in this game apparently
You can find the stats quite easily, so I'll leave 'em here in the spoilers.
Strengths: Know thy tank, and it will know thee as well
While the T110E5 technically has a lot of "strengths," they're not exactly strengths, because for everything I'm about to list here, I guarantee there's another tank that can do it better (even disregarding the 215b). But the one thing you should note is how many specific strengths the E5 has, even within the broad areas I am pointing out below.
Mobility
The T110E5 has it. With a nice 37 kph top speed, fast acceleration, a respectable 25 d/s of traverse speed, and 20 d/s of turret traverse, it's able to not only quickly move around to respond to changing situations, but defend itself at close range by forcing its opponents (particularly those pesky T-54s) to face its front at all times, something many tanks cannot do.
Tricky armor
First, a life lesson for you folks out there: never trust advertisements. Not on TV, not in real life, and not in World of Tanks Blitz. The 254mm of “frontal armor” the T110E5 supposedly has is a lie. Mostly. It’s only found on the tip of the “beak” that is the E5’s hull. The upper plate is only around ~150mm thick, but is extremely well sloped and will likely bounce/autobounce any non-gold shot coming its way. The lower plate is significantly less sloped and is a prominent weakspot.
That being said, the armor is, to say the least, tricky. The unique eggshell-shaped hull of the E5 is not flat, and its odd sloping makes it annoyingly hard to aim properly at a weakspot, especially when the tank is moving. Even the lower glacis is curved (unlike every other heavy) and can give troll bounces. The turret, in addition, has a thick mantlet with tough cheeks (we'll forget about the cupola for now, that's to be addressed later). Especially if you're on a slope, the E5's hull weakspots will shift from condition to condition, making it incredibly annoying to focus on a specific area to shoot at.
Incredible gun
Accuracy. Aim time. Penetration. Reload. The 120mm M58 has it all, and is, without a doubt, one of the most reliable Tier X heavy guns in the game (surpassed only by the British L1A1 found on the Conqueror and FV215b). With 0.35m of dispersion and a pleasant 2.0s of aiming time, this gun will not fail to do exactly as you say most of the time (of course, sometimes, RNG may curse you with a few wild shots that bounce off an ISU, but that's to be expected for every tank). However, one of the best aspects of this gun is its impressive reload time. At 6 rounds per minute, this tank can reload faster than every other heavy (except that dang 215b) by a good margin, ensuring that for every shot you receive, you'll be able to put two back in the enemy.
Great gun depression & elevation
The E5 conforms to the stereotype of American tanks with its excellent gun depression (-8 degrees from the front), which suits it very well to fight on hilly terrain. A hull-down E5 may not be invincible, but always remember that no matter what tank you're in, hull down is always better than being in the open.
Large tracks
Tracks love to eat up damage. Although the T110E5 has miserable side armor, it can be very good at sidescraping due to its track placement. Many shots that should have easily gone through will instead by taken up by the tracks, which saves you a good deal of damage, and, as we just covered, allows you to put not one, but TWO shots back in the enemy.
Weaknesses: 'Cuz unfortunately no one is perfect
As amazing as this tank is, no one can deny, it has its fair share of weaknesses...all of which in some way relate to a respective strength.
Horrible reverse speed
Oh, you're backing into cover? Sure, just gotta do it at the speed of a T95 with a dead engine and driver trudging over a river. For all the mobility the E5 has, its reverse speed is simply pitiful. DO NOT go too far out of cover, then decide "whoops, backsies!" It won't work like that. If peek-a-booming, make sure you do not poke too far out of that rock, or you may just get a few 150mm shells in your hull.
Conditional armor reliability
Unfortunately, the E5's weaknesses become more exposed the closer you get. As such, despite its (as I previously phrased it) tricky armor, it is not a frontline tank. The lower glacis can be cut through by Tier 8 guns if exposed and unangled, and the large cupola will be a huge, easy target. I don't even think I need to mention that the side armor is basically plastic wrap, so if you are successfully flanked or surrounded, you will not last very long. The best hope is to go out guns blazing. For every impossible-to-hit armor hardpoint the E5 has, it has an equally unimpressive weakspot.
Low alpha damage
While not really a problem as it is compensated by its short reload, it still can be annoying when you're playing 1v1 against an IS-7 and your shot deals just enough damage to put them at 1 hp. Then the accursed Communist scum reloads, and you're dead. Don’t be surprised to get low 300 damage rolls more often than you’d expect.
Abusing Your Strengths
Strength: ROF
Method of Abuse: The two-for-one tactic. Put two shells in them for every one they put in you (only applies to tanks with slower reloads, obviously, and not when 2 Jagerus are staring right at you).
Strength: Tricky armor
Method of Abuse: Some quick tips:
- Avoid flat ground, as it will make hiding your lower glacis impossible. Anywhere hilly with a lot of shifting terrain - that is where the E5's armor can truly shine.
- Shift your tank back and forth to make your hard-to-aim-at weakspots even harder to aim at.
Strength: Great gun depression
Method of Abuse: Hull down WHENEVER you can. This is not just a tip for the E5, but every single tank you will ever drive in this game. It doesn't matter how crappy your turret armor is. By hulling down, you make yourself a much smaller target than if you were to stay in the open. Of course, tanks that do have bad turret armor need to hull down with extreme caution, but luckily the E5's turret is fairly troll, meaning you should never choose flat ground over hull down.
Strength: Mobility
Method of Abuse: USE YOUR BRAIN. If you have not gotten into the habit of paying attention to the minimap and battlefield, NOW'S THE TIME. Some quick tips:
- Hunt mediums. The E5 is an excellent medium hunter with its hard-to-hit-on-the-move armor, fast traverse, and perfect combination of alpha damage and ROF to easily override any medium.
- Be cognizant of the battlefield. Flank getting weak? Abandon the front line and use your suppressive power to keep those pesky T-54s at bay. Frontline starting to fade? Again, fast ROF tanks are perfect for suppression - help out in the front.
Hiding Your Weaknesses
Weakness: Exposed weakspots
Solution: Keep moving. Move, move, move, move, MOVE. A stationary E5 is a dead E5. If you just took a shot, and are reloading, MOVE. Some quick tips:
- After reloading, shift your tank back and forth, and constantly switch the angling of your hull
- Your cupola has a machine gun mantlet located on the right side (from the your point of view) of the hatch. Try wiggling your turret to the left to get some troll bounces, but be careful not to actually expose the side of your turret.
- Sidescrape! Be careful when doing this, as you have that cupola and weak sides, but the large tracks can eat up a nice chunk of damage. Consider this a backup plan, however.
Weakness: Unreliable armor
Solution: Don't pick fights with heavies! As I've said numerous times, you are NOT a frontline heavy. But that doesn't mean you can't shoot your gun at them - wait until the opponent has fired or is tunnel visioned on someone else, then pump one, or even two shots in that juicy E 100 side.
Weakness: Low alpha
Solution: I still don't like calling this a weakness, but since it technically is, I put it here. Always remember the 2-for-1 tactic, and you'll begin to appreciate the low alpha, fast reload tradeoff.
Summary: Tl;dr
There are no particular tactics for the E5. You do as the situation calls for it, which is why this tank is such a gem. This is why you absolutely MUST keep an eye out on the battlefield to know what you are needed for. I'm going to wrap this all up with some do's and don'ts with this tank.
Equipment/Consumables:
Pretty standard stuff.
Equips
Recommended: Rammer/VStab/Vents
Perfectly fine: Rammer/VStab/Optics
Acceptable: Rammer/VStab/EGLD (idk why 2.0s of aim time would ever be a problem, but to each their own)
Nom noms
Recommended: Adrenaline/Multi/Cola
If you're a penny-pincher: Adrenaline/Multi/Repairs
That's all, folks! Sorry about the long guide, but there really is a lot to say about this beast, as it's probably the least straightforward out of all the Tier X tanks (again, we do not acknowledge the 215b's existence here). I hope this helped out some of the newer tankers who are a little let down by the T110E5 heavy tank's lack of "heaviness." It is, by far, my favorite tank. I hope you will learn to love it as I have.
Edited by Ksftwe, 29 January 2016 - 09:32 PM.
