Each different shell type has different uses, different situations where they will excel. Below are some of the shells’ characteristics and what type of armour they are best against.
AP
-AP is generally the best shell for any situation, good shell velocity, high normalization, low shell drop-off, and it can go through objects.
-Usually AP is the standard ammo of most tanks, but many tanks may have it as a premium round.
Can overmatch? Yes
Ricochet angle: 70 degrees
Shell normalization: 5 degrees
Penetration decrease over distance: Low (generally)
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? No
Shell velocity: Average
Where AP is better than APCR or HEAT:
-Against thick and well angled armour (angle less than 70 degrees)
-Against tracks and spaced armour, and going through objects
-Against well angled armour at distances (shells may be slower than APCR, but will penetrate more effectively)
APCR
-APCR is usually a premium round, but many tier 8-10 tanks have it as standard ammo.
-APCR is better at penetrating armour when close to its targets, since most APCR rounds lose quite a large amount of penetration over distance.
Can overmatch? Yes (but much less consistently than AP)
Ricochet angle: 70 degrees
Shell normalization: 2 degrees
Penetration decrease over distance: High (generally)
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? No
Shell velocity: High
Where APCR is better than AP:
-Against fast moving targets at long distance
-Against non-heavily armoured targets at long distance
HEAT
-HEAT is usually a premium shell, very few tanks have it as a standard round.
-Generally HEAT has the highest penetration in the tier. This is to make up for it having no shell normalization, for this same reason HEAT gets more pen from using Calibrated Shells than AP or APCR.
Can overmatch? No
Ricochet angle: 85 degrees
Shell normalization: None
Penetration decrease over distance: None
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? Yes
Shell velocity: Low
Where HEAT is better than AP:
-Thin but very well angled armour (above 70 degrees)
-Very thick armour that’s not well angled (since it has no normalization)
-Very thick and flat armour at long distances (since it won’t lose pen), though if the target is moving its harder to actually hit.
HE
-Most tanks in game have HE as the 3rd shell in the ammo loadout, the only tanks that don’t have it are tanks that have no HE, or have it as the 2nd shell (like St Emil).
-Generally HE has very low penetration, but higher damage than AP, APCR, and HEAT.
Can overmatch? No
Ricochet angle: Does not ricochet
Shell normalization: None
Penetration decrease over distance: None
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? Yes
Shell velocity: Low
Premium HE
-Only 1 tank in game has Premium HE, which is the T49. The other tanks with Premium “HE” actually use HEP or HESH (explained below why this is not the same as premium HE).
-Premium HE does not have increased penetration over regular HE, though it does have increased damage (780 instead of 680).
Can overmatch? No
Ricochet angle: Does not ricochet
Shell normalization: None
Penetration decrease over distance: None
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? Yes
Shell velocity: Low
HEP & HESH
-HEP and HESH are 2 different names for the exact same type of shell. Both in game and in real life they have the same performance and effect on enemy tanks.
-In game, HEP and HESH do not perform differently to standard HE, they just have different penetration numbers. For this reason they are shell names, rather than an actual different shell type. (You can check shell names in the garage, under ammo, then click the shell icon image).
-These shells generally have increased penetration over standard HE, but with the same or less damage.
-These shells are the highest penetration HE-type shells, generally they have over 100mm of penetration, but there are some with less (examples below).
-In game, they can be either a standard ammo, or they can be a premium ammo. The standard ammo type of HEP/HESH is generally called “cheap HESH”.
Can Overmatch? No
Ricochet angle: Does not ricochet
Shell normalization: None
Penetration decrease over distance: None
Detonation on objects/spaced armour? Yes
Shell velocity: Low
Examples of HESH & HEP:
Pen is only 5-10mm above average, shell name is HESH or HEP:
HESH: Chimera, FV4005, FV217 Badger, Progetto 65
HEP: Kunze Panzer, Leopard PTA, Leopard 1, 121B
Cheap HESH, where pen is 40-60mm above average:
HESH: Tortoise, Chieftain Mk.6, Conqueror, FV 215b, Vickers Light, Standard B
HEP: leKpz M41, RU 251
Premium HESH, pen is 120-130mm above average:
HESH: FV215b 183, FV4202, Centurion 7/1, GSOR 1008, Charioteer, Caliban, Conway (5.5-in gun)
HEP: Currently there is no premium HEP shell in the game
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