E-50 Guide

Background:
In 1945 the E-50 was conceived as a standard medium tank of the Panzerwaffe to replace the Panther and Panther II. It existed only in blueprints.
Following the Panther series of tanks, the E-50 was designed as a support tank. It is basically a Panther II with more horsepower and armor. These upgrades give it increased survivability in a close-quarters battle. Just like the Panther II, if you get in a dogfight ramming is a viable tactic because of your tank's weight, so you can potentially do a lot of damage. Consider this option a last resort however, as your tank is relatively slow to turn and unwieldy. Able to use 3 of the 4 most accurate guns in the game, the 7.5 cm KwK 45 L/100, 8.8 cm KwK 46 L/100 and 10.5 cm KwK 45 L/52 Ausf. B, you can either play this tank as a long-range sniper, or a medium range support tank. Fully upgraded your choice between the high damage, but slow firing 10.5 cm and the lower damage faster firing 8.8 cm is mostly a matter of personal preference and play style, but the 10.5 cm does edge out the 8.8 cm on damage per minute as well.



Basic stats:
HP: 1650- stock turret, 1750- upgraded turret.
Researched for: 161 790 experience from Panther II
Price: 3 450 000 credits
Crew: Commander, gunner, driver, loader, radio operator
Mobility: 1200 HP top engine with 60kph max speed, 26 degrees traverse speed on top tracks
Armor:
Hull- front/side/rear 120/80/80mm
Turret- front/side/rear 120/60/60mm stock, 185/80/80mm upgraded.
Armament: stock gun is the 75/L70 with the possibility to mount 75/L100 or 88/L71 gun being the top gun from Panther II. Both are availables on stock tracks. Top gun is 105/L52- incredibly accurate gun with good pen and aimtime.

Review:
E-50 is an exceptional medium tank, featuring exceptionally heavy armor and big frame for a medium tank. Closer look on its stats may give one an impression of contradictions in its design. Precise gun with not so high RoF (6 rpm) and good penetration indicate a sniper while bulky hp-pool and armor may suggest a brawling tank. Paired with 1200 HP engine and weighting over 60 tons in top configuration it allows player to adjust to almost any role on the battlefield. Its acceleration is pretty good allowing it to reach sniping spots at the beggining of the game or help a crumbling flank. You can play it as a flanker, sniper and in certain scenarios as first line assault tank. Its 65t frame coupled with high speed, engine power and good front armor makes for an exceptional battery ram.

Advantages:
- good armor for a medium tank
- accurate gun with high average damage (390)
- high hp-pool
- good acceleration
- it is a bit personal opinion but E-50 is one of the tanks that is pretty reliable in solo randoms

Disadvantages:
- loses speed while turning= can't circle as efficiently as for example T54
- bad gun depression makes fighting in hilly terrain harder and sometimes annoying
- big frame makes it hard to hide from arties on certain maps, also flat and nimble vehicles like T54 can sidehug you to death
- front tranmission may cause engine damage from front shots.

Crew skills:
Commander- 6th Sense is among the most useful perks on nearly all tanks, Jack Of All Trades never hurts to have also.
Driver- Clutch Braking or Smooth Ride
Gunner- Snap Shot
Loader- Adrenaline Rush/ Repairs
Radio operator- Situational Awareness/ Repairs

Why i have chosen this set of skills? 6th sense allows you to safely snipe from distance and check if some positions are camped or not ( take a quick peek over a top of hill and back off immediately. If 6th sense triggers that spot is watched. If not you may consider this as an opening to dart through or advance to new position. Driver skills are pretty straight forward- you want to maximise yout potential as medium tank- either by boosting mobility or accuracy on the move (i prefer clutch braking). Why not preventive maintenance? To be honest i never had too many problems with frontal fires. Yes they happen but i find that improved mobility helps you better to avoid frontal shots and by that avoid frontal fires . Gunner- boost to your sniping capabilities. Loader- adrenaline rush is rarely used skill but i really like it on german tanks. I don't have issues with ammorack on E-50 and tbh almost 10% faster reload gives you another rammer in those nail-biting situations. If you like more steady performance take repair as first skill on loader. Radio operator boosts your sniping capabilities aswell. Repairs are an option here aswell. For second skills id take either all Brothers In Arms- to boost all aspects of tank or repairs on most crewman+ smoothride on driver and jack on commander and then BIA as third skill. I don't reccomend Camouflage at all- this tank has almost non-existant camo values and coupled with big size of the hull makes up for wasted skill slots.

Equipment:
Gun rammer- faster reload= better dpm- pretty self explanatory.
Improved crew ventilation- boost in reload, mobility, aim time- one of best choices on most tanks
Gun-laying drive- faster aim time- you miss a bit less, spend less time exposed while peeking. My choice for third equipment slot.

Possible options:
Coated optics- for sniping lovers
Camouflage net- possible option but i personally dont consider it- explained in crew skills section
Vertical stabiliser- better accuracy on the move- I don't really shoot that much on the move with E-50 therefore i find GLD a choice that better suits me

Extra tips:
E-50 armor and shape allows you to utilise techniques such as sidescraping and angling to minimise damage taken. With upgraded turret you can hulldown pretty well ( you are not invincible though). With 220 penetration of the top gun you can fight most T10s without problem. Premium ammo gives you 270 avg. pen with extremely good shell muzzle velocity- E-50 has one of the fastest flying shells in game and APCR ammo-type boosts it to even higher values.
As for tips:
-Don't play like heavy tank. You can brawl but you need to do it in smart way.
-Avoid dogfights with T54s unless you are sure you won't let him close enough to side hug you
-Ramming other meds will hurt them but pay attention to his surroundings because you can track yourself via collision and that may result in some pain
-Constantly watch minimap- this couldn't be stressed enough. That's the key to succesful medium tanks gameplay, if you pay attention you know where holes in enemy lines are, where you are needed etc.
-With current premium ammo for credits you don't have to watch out for tanks anymore
-Personally I don't carry HE but it's my own fetish - if you need to reset badly- aim for tracks.
-Watch the minimap!

In case you would like some footage I reccomend you to check Trakais or Morgotz profile on MWReplays. They are one of the best E-50/E-50M drivers around and their replays can teach you alot about this tank. If you really like you can PM me and I will find some of my own replays or answer any additional questions you may have.
One more thing I would like to note: E-50 is absolutely terrible in stock configuration, according to opinion of alot of good players I know. I personally used free exp. to research turret and 105mm gun, had best engine researched on E-75 before and used Belleville Washers to save free experience on tracks which i researched later. Therefore I can't really reccomend you any upgrade route because I haven't tested any, but I think the most common one is: Tracks-->Turret-->105mm gun--> Final engine. Hope this helps any new E-50 drivers to get grip on this tank, because I doubt I wrote anything veterans do not know yet.





Originally written by ChaosAeternus