Guide to Tank Shells in War Thunder in 2024

The game’s creators sought maximum realism in tank battles when developing War Thunder. To destroy vehicles, they added different types of ammunition. Each battle’s list is selected individually. The struggle can be conducted from cover, where you need to hit the enemy equipment from the side or behind, and with a direct collision, where you have to penetrate the leading layer of defense from the front of the tank. And what is the most penetrating shell? And why are armour-piercing not always the best in tank battles?

All Types of Tank Shells in War Thunder

The following types of ammunition are now available in the game: armour-piercing, sub-caliber, shaped charge, fragmentation, anti-concrete, and ATGM.

Armour-Piercing

Divided into two types:

• Armour-piercing solid;
• Ballistic Capped.

Bulk shells have better penetration of the defense. But if the attack is carried out on a lightly armored enemy, there is a possibility of through penetration: this causes minimal damage since the main task is to hit the crew of the tank. It is better to use for attacking armor with a thickness of 80 mm or more.

Ballistic Capped have a lower penetrating power. But after hitting the enemy, they explode again: due to this, the crew is hit if there is no through penetration. This ammunition is recommended to attack those places in the tank where the armor is only up to 40 mm. More projectiles are available with a radio fuse. That is, the player activates the additional explosion in them manually.

Sub-Calibre

Sub-caliber rounds are lighter in weight than solid rounds. This allows them to accelerate to higher velocities when fired. At close ranges, this gives them better penetration of defenses. But the greater the distance to the enemy, the less penetrating power. That is why sub-caliber ammunition is suitable only for close-range fights when the distance to the enemy is not more than 300-400 meters.

The shape of the ammunition is in the form of a coil. It consists of two parts: a percussion head and a pallet. No plumage is provided, so the ballistic performance is inferior to other ammunition. The risk of the shot deviating from the set course is high.

High-Explosive Anti-Tank

In armour-piercing ammunition, the impact force is directly related to kinetic energy. This means:

• the closer the enemy is, the more damage will be done to his armor;
• the heavier the charge, the thicker the armor can be hit.

High-explosive Anti-Tanks work on a different principle. They have no solid core, and the penetrating power is provided by the accumulated explosion and the jet of red-hot metal that occurs when colliding with the armor. Therefore, the penetration level does not depend on the distance from which the munition is launched. At a distance of both 100 meters and 1000 meters, the damage to enemy vehicles will be the same.

Using such ammunition to hit places where ammunition is stored is recommended. Due to burning through the armor with a jet of molten metal, the probability of explosion of equipment from the inside is higher than when using high-explosive ammunition. But even with a direct hit in the armor – burns it, molten shrapnel pointwise affects the crew. But to turn off the tank altogether, aiming at the ammunition is necessary. One accurate hit is enough to defeat Challenger 2, the best combat system in the game.

High-Explosive

The high-explosive weapon has a thin steel or cast iron casing. Its destructive force is shock waves and fragmentation. It is suitable for attacking lightly armored or unarmored vehicles.

However, it can also be used to attack heavy Tank destroyers. The large number of explosives in this ammunition can crack the armor, making the tank more vulnerable to armour-piercing and ballistic-capped ammunition strikes.

Another advantage of high-explosive ammunition is its light weight and size. Thus, a large amount of ammo can be carried into battle.

Armour-piercing fugitive ammunition is also available in the game. They also have a thin steel or cast iron shell. But are equipped with a large volume of explosives, which at the time of hitting “sticks” to the armor. When exploding, it splits the armor plates, making the tank vulnerable to muzzle-loading ammunition.

Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM)

Guided rockets with a high-explosive charge. Effective against enemies with 400-800 millimeters of defense. There are two variants of ATGMs in the game:

1. First generation. After launching, you can correct the direction of their flight with the help of WASD keys. That is, the crew operator controls them. How to follow the projectile in War Thunder? By switching to the simulation mode of guidance. But after the shot, the player loses the ability to control his system for a few seconds, which increases the risk of being hit by enemy ammunition.
2. Second generation. The correction of the direction of flight is carried out automatically. Target selection and fixation are performed through the sighting device during pointing.

If the arcade mode of War Thunder is selected, both generations of ammunition work in the same way: it is impossible to manually correct the direction of their flight, it is done automatically after aiming.

Anti-Concrete

Anti-concrete piercers are the most effective against fortifications. Heavy, you can take only a few pieces for ammunition. This is the most enormous projectile, but it is useless against enemies with defenses over 800 mm. Distinguishing features:

• high explosive weight (higher than that of Ballistic Capped and High-Explosive);
• robust steel casing, thanks to which the munition penetrates deep into concrete structures.

It can be used to attack enemy vehicles. The level of defense penetration is similar to Ballistic-Capped ammunition. That is, it is suitable for lightly armored enemies. It can be used to crack the armor plates, after which the enemy can be attacked with ammunition with a striking element for the crew (landmine, shrapnel, shrapnel).

Features of Using Different Types of Shells

What shells are better to use in War Thunder in 2024? Experienced players recommend combining attacks using different types of armor penetration ammunition. General recommendations:

1. The weakest are Anti-Concrete shells. They are suitable for defeating lightly armored targets and breaking the enemy armor plates, making the vehicle vulnerable to strikes of Ballistic-Capped ammunition and guided missiles (ATGMs).
2. Ballistic Capped ammunition is versatile. It is recommended that they be used as the main ammunition.
3. Sub-Calibre is the most effective against the tracks of the enemy vehicle. Suitable for “snipers”. With their help, you can immobilize the enemy and inflict damage with Anti-Concrete, Ballistic Capped, or high-explosive ammunition.
4. High-explosive anti-tank shells are most effective against vehicles with heavy defenses. If you hit the ammunition storage area, one hit will be enough to defeat the enemy completely.
5. ATGMs are better against mobile enemies that move at high speed. Second-generation missiles are more convenient. You can also turn on the game’s arcade mode, which does not provide manual aiming through the simulator.
6. High-Explosive causes equal damage when hitting any part of the vehicle. They penetrate the unarmored part, splitting armor plates. It can also be used to attack active missile defenses, alternating with camouflage,
7. The Anti-Concrete ones should be used in extreme cases to attack the enemy. They are heavy and require precise aim. Their striking power is comparable to conventional armor piercing and camphor piercing. However, due to the lack of plumage at a distance of more than 1000 meters after launch, the deviation from the trajectory will be significant.

The best combination, according to the players, is Ballistic Capped and High-explosive. The former tear the defense up to 800 millimeters, the latter burn the crew. If the goal is to disable the main gun and attack the turret, then fragmentation and armor-piercing rounds are the best choice due to their low cost. Though they have good penetrating power, but they are expensive, so they are used against vehicles that move at a speed of 30 km/h.

Tips for Using Ammunition

For those who are new to the game, you should keep the following nuances in mind:

1. There are 2 types of tanks in the game: manual and automatic loading. When using manual mode, after changing the type of ammunition in the barrel, ammunition of the previous set type remains loaded. New types become available after the previous one is fired.
2. Rockets with remote fuzes are only set automatically. It is not possible to change the settings after aiming. Shooting them only when the enemy is moving sideways would be best. If the enemy is moving away or approaching, the remote fuse will not help inflict additional damage to the enemy vehicle.
3. High-explosive – the most dangerous for enemies. Therefore, you should choose those tanks that support their use. Pumping other vehicles – should not be because in actual combat, the enemy, even on a machine of lower rank but possessing shaped charge ammunition, to win against a well-armored machine is not difficult.
4. Armour-piercing high-explosive ammunition is no worse than shaped charge ammunition. But even with a small caliber – well burn through the defense of 400-800 millimeters. Who plays on medium-class machines (without solid protection, plates up to 800 millimeters) – this is the best choice. And not the most expensive in terms of price.

But there are no universal combinations. What shells to use – it is up to the player to decide, assessing the current combat situation. It should be remembered that War Thunder is a game where P2P one-on-one battles do not happen. In 99% of cases you have to fight with a large number of opponents.

The Best Shells for Tanks

According to the degree of armor penetration, War Thunder’s top shells are as follows:

• High-explosive anti-tank shell charges are the most powerful;
• High-explosive shells are slightly inferior to High-explosive anti-tank shells;
• Sub-Calibre – suitable for attacking defenses up to 400 millimeters, as well as against tracks;
• Armor-piercing Shrapnel – the best against lightly armored enemies;
• Armor-piercing-sub-caliber – the weakest of this group.

Players have access to the entire set of modern tank shells. This makes it possible to effectively engage in combat on a machine of any model rank. If you properly combine the used ammunition, even on a low-rank tank, hit the enemy on a well-armored machine – entirely possible.

It is recommended to first play in arcade mode or in training mode to learn to identify the vulnerabilities of tanks of different models. And then – to make optimal combinations of used ammunition to fight with different ranks of opponents.