Tank:Obus
Before you get into combat, you should have your tank fully loaded with ammunition, if not, a warning will pop up. Be careful not to click past it. The amount of ammunition of each tank can carry depends on the gun caliber and the turret, which is listed on each tank's page. The ammunition you choose will affect your combat performance. Below are brief descriptions of each shell type in the game. As of patch 0.8.1, premium ammo can optionally be purchased for credits at the standard gold-to-credit conversion rate of 1:400. In other words, a shell that costs 10 gold will cost 4000 credits).
Shell Types
This shell does the full damage listed on the gun specifications if it penetrates the enemy's armor. However, if the shell doesn't penetrate the target, it will bounce and do no damage whatsoever. It can also damage tank modules and crew if it hits at the right spot.
AP shells normally cost credits, however there is one round, used by Soviet artillery armed with the 152 mm BR-2 gun, that must be purchased with gold.
This type of ammunition has the highest penetration value, but the damage value is the same as an AP shell. It still has the AP shell characteristics.
APCR shells normally cost gold. However, 7.5 made APCR shells the standard ammunition used by the new tier 10 medium tanks. Additionally, 8.2 made APCR shells the standard ammunition used by the 76 mm Gun T185 cannon, which can be mounted on the T71 American light tank, and the T69 American medium tank. They cannot use AP ammo at all, and instead can purchase this ammo using credits rather than gold.
This shell has the highest damage value among all the shell types in the game, but also has a very low penetration value. These rounds have a very small splash damage area. It doesn't need to penetrate to damage the target, but the damage drops off quickly as the difference between the target's armor and the shell's penetration value increases. If it manages to penetrate the armor, it will explode inside the tank for the full damage listed in the specifications, plus HE deals additional damage to multiple internal modules and/or crew, depending on how high the HE damage value is. HE shells typically have a maximum damage value 25% higher than AP shells, rounded to the first significant figure.
Found in some SPG guns, it has no significant difference to its HE counterpart other than a larger splash-damage radius. Rounds with this icon cost gold.
This is the Premium ammunition for most SPG-class and tank howitzer guns. It carries a higher penetration value than HE, but works like AP shells: meaning you must hit the target directly to do damage. It produces less damage than HE shells that manage to penetrate.
All HEAT shells cost gold.
FAQ: When should I use AP and HE ?
The general rule of thumb is; use AP on your own tier and below and HE for tanks higher than you, but this depends upon your gun: some are designed to use HE. Guns like the KV-2's 152 mm M-10 gun use a large caliber round, but have a short barrel length. The large caliber of the shell is substantial and carries a generous amount of explosive-compound within, thus causing more damage. The drawback is the shell leaving the gun will have a relatively low velocity because of the short barrel length and thus, low armor-piercing capability. When you factor in the poor accuracy and range, it's simply a waste to use AP shells with this type of gun and HE should be used exclusively.
Try experimenting with different ammunition to see what your gun's capabilities are on certain tanks.
When mounting tier 6 guns and higher, you should consider using AP more frequently, as these guns have enough penetration power to damage most tanks if you know which tank and what part of the tank you should aim for.
