The T110E5 is one of the original fast heavies in the game, and has always been a point of contention in the community. Between getting lost to powercreep and losing all desirability, to being overbuffed into becoming one of the most overpowered tanks in the game, to somewhere in no-man's land in today's WoT, this tank has seen quite the roller coaster throughout its life time.

So after all this chaos, where does it really stand in today's World of Tanks? Well, despite having hated this tank and doing the unthinkable with the equipment for it, I am still going to give it a fair, objective review, and provide a realistic assessment of what this tank's purpose is in 2021. Let's get started, shall we?

Contents:

• Overview (Pros & Cons)
• Loadout & Equipment
• Open Maps
• City maps
• Good matchmaking
• Bottom Tier
• Arty
• Opportunities to look for
• Situations to avoid
• Is the tank worth it?
• Final rating

General Overview:

Pros: *base stats are off 100% crew with commander's bonus, but otherwise unmodified tank

★ Very high DPM for a Tier 10 heavy tank (2,845 base*)

★ Great stabilization values (.13/.13/.06)

★ Super quick aiming times (2 seconds + good gun handling)

★ Decent acceleration / top speed (16.28 hp/ton + 37km/h top speed)

Cons:

Θ Terrible reverse speed (12 km/h)

Θ Very vulnerable ammo rack, that is damaged frequently and even occasionally detonates

Θ Giant cupola and overall very prominent weakpoints

Θ Low HP for a Tier 10 heavy (2,200 HP)

Last point to make about the T110E5 is the overall "egg shaped" hull design that it has. I can't list it as a pro or a con, since in reality, it's both. The strange angles can result in enemy shells bouncing off when they thought they had a clean shot, but the opposite may apply too. Even if you're carefully angling the tank, or using your gun depression, there are various patches throughout the tank that can be penetrated. This makes for a very unreliable armor profile, with very inconsistent results. One battle you'll block 4k damage against Tier 10's spamming HEAT like it's nothing, the next you won't block a single shell even against Tier 8's with standard ammo. It truly is one of the least predictable hull armor profiles on a Tier 10 tank, and even the turret is a bit of a dice roll between the weakpoints next to the gun mantlet and the giant "kind of strong but not really" cupola.

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Gun reliability (4/5): The T110E5's gun has good stabilization, great aiming time and decent accuracy with decent pen. It's overall a nice gun that you can count on throughout the course of the battle.

Frontal armor (3.5/5): The frontal armor is very unreliable on the E5, with various weakpoints and strongpoints throughout. Everything can both bounce and be penned, just depending on circumstances.

Overall armor (3/5): The side armor of the T110E5 is decent with giant tracks and a rounded shape. Even the side of the turret is surprisingly hard to pen at an angle, once again very inconsistent.

Survivability (2/5): Unfortunately, despite decent overall armor, the T110E5 has low HP, horrible reverse speed a very vulnerable ammo rack. Surviving a battle is a struggle for this tank.

Flexibility (4/5): The T110E5 is a fairly flexible vehicle, with decent mobility, a decent gun, a decent armor profile and decent gun depression. It's kind of like a really fat medium tank.

Mobility (3/5): The T110E5 has decent acceleration and top speed, but isn't even that fast by fast heavy standards any more. It's very "middle of the pack" in the current game.

Agility (2/5): While forwards speed is decent, the E5's traverse speeds leave something to be desired, and the reverse speed is simply abysmal. You're thick, not quick on your toes.

Fear factor (2/5): Realistically, very few people are afraid to poke against an E5. 400 alpha is low for a heavy, and the tank has various drawbacks. Good DPM and hull-down, but it's no SConq.

Short-term impact (3/5): The E5's solid DPM and hull-down potential, with decent speed, does allow it to perform basic overall gameplay on any given flank without too many issues.

Long-term influence (3/5): Long-term influence is unfortunately no different than short-term for the E5. It can react to the battle, you're not useless, but you're also going to struggle to carry compared to other tanks.

Carry potential (3/5): Once again, the E5 is just "okay" for carrying. You won't perform any miracles, but played well, you're also not falling flat on your face either. It's just decent.

Profitability (3/5): For a Tier 10 tank, the E5 can make decent profits. Good gun stabilization and great DPM with decent pen. The major drawback is the need for a Large Repair Kit with that weak ammo rack.

Loadout & Equipment:

Consumables: Small Med Kit, Large Repairs, Food will be the default loadout for the E5 for most players.

However, if you're like me and believe the E5 is lost somewhere in no-man's land, then Small Med Kit, Large Repairs and 105 Octane may give it a life of its own, in combination with a Turbocharger.

Equipment: Gun Rammer and VStabs are an absolute must-have on the E5, as they are on most tanks. The third slot again gives you a surprising number of options, ranging from Vents, Optics, Rotation Mechanism, Improved Aiming and Turbocharger.

Personally, I've tried all 5 combinations, and while I found that both Improved Aiming and Improved Rotation Mechanism were the most competitive. Improved Aiming gave the best overall results, allowing the gun to behave a lot more closely to the Super Conqueror's gun. The Improved Rotation Mechanism made the tank more flexible, especially when fighting against medium tanks by allowing you to keep your frontal armor engaged as often as possible.

However, I ended up 3-marking the tank using the Turbocharger. I did this in combination with the 105 Octane, do not use the Turbocharger without the 105 Octane. This combination allowed the T110E5 to drive around and behave a lot more closely to the M48 Patton, making the tank substantially quicker, and truly allowing it to play like the fat medium tank that it wants to. It also helped reduce the number of ammo racks, since I'd be able to keep my frontal armor engaged in the fight frequently, but the extra reverse speed also helped improve survivability on ridgelines.

If you want to be most competitive, use the Aiming Unit or Rotation Mechanism. Vents and Optics are also viable if you want the View Range, but I didn't find they improved the tank's performance by very much. Turbocharger is a viable option, but only if you run it in combination with 105 Octane. You're sacrificing a lot to use that combo, but in exchange you're changing the tank's playstyle from supporting heavy, to fat medium. I would not run the Turbo unless you found that you truly hated the tank otherwise however, since it's definitely not the most competitive loadout by comparison to the IAU and IRM, especially when you consider the benefit you get from food as well that you'd otherwise be sacrificing.

Crew Skills: The T110E5 should be setup as a traditional heavy tank, with Repairs first, BIA second, gun handling and view range skills 3rd, and then Firefighting 4th.

Playstyle & Gameplay Guide:

General Gameplay: 

The E5's playstyle is generally somewhere between support heavy, to fat medium. Regardless of how you play it, you will want to poke for hull-down shots when possible, but since your cupola is on the left side of your tank, try to only poke when you have cover to your left. 

Minimize the amount of time you spend aiming your shots, you have great gun stabilization and a very quick turret. Snap your shells in if an enemy is aiming at you, and slightly turn your turret to the side the moment after you shoot. If you have solid cover near you, this should allow you to quickly hide your cupola and get back into cover safely. This is especially true if you're going for the agility loadout.

If you're running a Rotation Mechanism or Turbocharger with Octane, you'll want to generally stick around with the mediums on your team and provide that extra armor to the fight. This doesn't mean you can't play with heavies, but the E5's armor isn't reliable enough to poke against other heavies unless your allies are poking first and taking the hits. It's certainly more complicated to play the E5 as a heavy, than it is as a medium.

Open Maps: On open maps, the E5 will unfortunately be forced to play passively, taking shots from a bit of a distance, and looking for an opportunity to create crossfire. Use ridgelines to the best you can, and extend view range. You don't have the camo or small size of a medium, so even if you're using a more mobile loadout, the actual mediums will be making the aggressive plays. Since you don't have the armor either, you can't afford to push through.

Playing more passively will be especially important if you're not using a Rotation Mechanism or Turbocharger, since the E5 simply doesn't have the overall agility to evade arty shells. Unless there's a Super Conqueror or CW reward tank next to you, you're going to be the #1 arty target.

City Maps: On city maps you have many more options than you do on an open map. You can brawl against heavies, but only as a supporting vehicle. Let beefier allies push forwards and take the hits, and wait for an opportunity to snap shells in. Your great gun stabilization means you can poke for a shot, and immediately turn your turret to the side as you pull into cover.

Avoid taking any unnecessary damage, and pay careful attention to how the enemy is positioning. If you see an enemy tank that's isolated themselves, you can push into them and eviscerate them with your very high DPM. Just be cautious, since with your poor reverse speeds and vulnerable ammo rack, you want to make sure that not only do you have a Repair Kit ready for use, but also that your allies are able to cover your sides, since you definitely won't be able to just pull back once you've made the push.

**Good matchups:**​ In general, in a good matchup, the E5 can do some great stuff, especially against enemy players who don't have the greatest aim. For a very short moment when I was 3-marking this tank, I had set my damage record in the E5 (before absolutely smashing it in the Foch 155 just a few weeks later). Interestingly enough, my highest damage games only came when I was running either a Rotation Mechanism, or a Turbocharger. The extra flexibility in a good matchup fully allowed me to devour lower Tier tanks, and move around quickly enough to prevent them from getting clean shots into my lower plate or cupola.

That being said, be very cautious. Even Tier 8's can penetrate your lower plate with ease, and your cupola is still pennable with Premium shells for a lot of Tier 8 tanks. Artillery can also quickly tear you apart, even if they're lower Tiered arty. Avoid taking unnecessary damage, and do your best to continue carefully hiding your weakpoints. The main difference in a top Tier matchup, is that you generally can be the one to push forwards and push the pace of the battle. You have the flexibility, armor and DPM to destroy entire enemy teams on your own… If you're careful and pace yourself well.

Bottom Tier: When you're bottom Tier, I want to know how you found WoT 2.0, since last I checked we didn't have Tier 11's in the game. But, if you're in a full Tier 10 battle, you have to be aware that you are very muchso the underdog.

As far as hull-down, support heavies goes, the food chain is as follows: Chieftain -> Super Conqueror -> Yo momma -> T110E5

As far as fat mediums go, the food chain is M48 Patton -> Centurion AX -> Yo lazy butt -> T110E5

The E5 isn't really going to be winning any 1 vs. 1 fights against most other Tier 10 tanks. However, what it can do, is make for a good, well-rounded supporting vehicle. Sure, other hull-down heavies will be better, but you have the mobility. You can take a few shots from hull-down cover, and then move along to support another tank. Then maybe you can push on a nearby flank and provide some extra armor and sheer DPM.

Overall, you'll still want to be cautious and pace yourself well like you would in a top Tier matchup, but if you have an opportunity to DPM somebody down using your hitpoints, it may be worthwhile to trade some hitpoints to perma-track someone and feast on their entire tank.

Arty: The T110E5 isn't quite as vulnerable to artillery as the Super Conqueror is, but it still is going to be taking substantial amounts of damage, especially your small HP pool.

Opportunities to look for:

• Take opportunistic shots throughout the battle without trading any HP for it. Conserve your HP as best as possible during early game.
• Once you have the chance to isolate a target, if you have some amount of allied cover, carefully push into them and DPM them down.
• Pay close attention to how the battle is developing, and be willing to change flanks. You have the mobility to support different tanks, and even different flanks. Use your flexibility to fill in whichever gaps there are in the battle which need to be covered.

Situations to avoid:

• Do your very best to avoid getting isolated. You always want to have allied cover near you, since with an abysmal reverse speed and super vulnerable ammo rack, getting isolated is an easy way to get a one-way ticket back to the Garage.
• Don't take unnecessary damage early on, since with your small HP pool, you'll want to save those hitpoints for opportunities to DPM someone to death later on in the battle
• Try to avoid artillery. As Doctor Nix would say, the only place you'll be going if arty catches you is the GARAJ! The E5 in most cases isn't fast enough to evade arty, and it definitely doesn't have the HP or ammo rack health to take a sustained beating.
• Make sure that no matter what kind of push you try to make, have your repair kit off cooldown and ready to use. If you're 1 vs. 1'ing someone, it is extremely likely that you will lose your ammo rack, especially if arty hits you. If you get hit in the side, you will lose your ammo rack. If someone pens your hull, you will lose your ammo rack. Making any play without a repair kit on standby is simply a death sentence.

Is the Tank Worth It?

The T110E5's grind is fairly straightfoward, and actually rather enjoyable. You'll see in the tech tree review for the E5 line tomorrow, that the grind is probably the best part of the whole line. If you enjoy hull-down heavies, or the supporting tank playstyle, it's a good tech tree to go down.

That being said, the T110E5 itself is a very mediocre Tier 10, that's very confused about what it wants to be. It's reasonable well-rounded, but has more substantial drawbacks than something like an M48 Patton, which is well-rounded but with a far more reliable gun, more consistent hull-down armor and overall a more flexible platform.

The T110E5 simply isn't worth having in the current meta. Other Tier 10's will perform all of the E5's roles better. There are many fast heavies, and even medium tanks, that perform that flexible heavium role a lot better than the T110E5 itself can. Hull-down heavies and mediums will use ridgelines better, and many mediums will still be better medium tanks, being more flexible, and even with more consistent armor if they're hull-down.

The E5's main specialty is when you play it like a medium brawler, since your additional alpha damage, hit points and frontal armor compared to other mediums will allow it to behave somewhat like a break-through medium tank… But its vulnerabilities mean that you have to have strong allied support with you when making those kinds of plays, since otherwise you'll simply get picked apart like its nothing. Good players can counter an E5 far more easily than a lot of other tanks. It only really shines against people with poor aim or who underestimate your sheer DPM and gun handling.

Final Rating:

5/10 [Average]

The T110E5 is… fine. It's a perfectly average tank, that you can do reasonably well in if you pace yourself well, but simply gets out-shined by other tanks. While your gun is very solid, with great stabilization and DPM, the rest of the tank is a confusing mash-up of characteristics. More often than not, the E5's platform itself is just awkward to play with and difficult to utilize.

It's a well-rounded vehicle, but very inconsistent. If the E5 had a better reverse speed and a less vulnerable ammo rack, I'd be far more willing to rate it as a 6/10 or even a 7/10. However, because of how often the ammo rack fails you when you need it the most, and the poor reverse speed prevents you from using ridgelines without taking unnecessary arty hits or cupola hits, the E5 is too unreliable to actually rate anything more than average.

It's one of those vehicles with great potential on paper, but in reality is just disappointing and doesn't really serve any real purpose in the current state of the game.

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