There is a short answer to what E100 is, and a longer one about why it matters — both are here.

Short answer

It matters more than its screen time suggests, which is why it keeps coming up.

  • Ask what it is for before asking how to get it.
  • Do not confuse it with the similarly named thing — that mix-up drives most bad advice.
  • Check the version you are actually running before assuming anything is broken.

War Thunder models more of the vehicle than it tells you about, and the grind punishes guessing. It is more consequential in the late game than the early one, which is why first impressions mislead. Whether it is worth going out of your way for depends entirely on how you are playing.

Whether it is worth going out of your way for

There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. The name is descriptive if you already know what it does, and opaque if you do not. Knowing this does not make you better at War Thunder, but it does make the rest of it legible. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Early impressions of it are usually wrong in the same specific way. It shows up in more places than its introduction suggests, once you know to look. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.

Common misunderstandings

The in-game description is technically accurate and practically useless. Two similarly named things exist, and mixing them up explains a lot of contradictory advice. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first.

  • It rewards attention rather than preparation.
  • Check which version of War Thunder any discussion of it is describing.
  • Read the whole sequence once before doing the first step.
  • Do not build a plan around it before you have seen it work.
  • Read the in-game description once, then ignore it.
  • Expect one number in every guide to be out of date; the method is what matters.

Where you encounter it

It is the kind of thing veterans forget they ever had to learn. The game introduces it quickly and assumes you picked it up, which is where the confusion starts. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. Its role has changed across updates, so older discussion describes something slightly different.

It became noticeably more relevant after a change the patch notes barely mentioned. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. Most guides mention it in passing and none of them stop to define it.

Why people keep asking about it

There is a persistent myth attached to it that has never been true in any version. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Its practical value is narrow and real, rather than broad and theoretical.

The wiki entry is thorough and buries the actually useful part six paragraphs down. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Community shorthand around it has drifted far enough from the original meaning to cause arguments.

What to do once you have it

It appears in supplementary material in more detail than it does in the game itself. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. It rewards understanding rather than grinding, which is unusual for War Thunder.

Where people go wrong

  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Grinding a method that was patched months ago because a thread still ranks well.

War Thunder FAQ

Why do people disagree about it?

Usually because they are describing different versions, and occasionally because a similarly named thing exists alongside it.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

Has it changed recently?

Its role has shifted across updates more than once. Anything you read without a version attached may describe an older form of it.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.