The Type 74 (E) is a variant of the venerable Type 74 family. It features a thermal sleeve, a dozer blade, an improved Fire Control System for use with the Type 91 HEAT-FS round, and in-game, the new Type 93 APFSDS round. However, it still has poor reverse speed and rather poor armor, but can make up for it with its firepower and hydropneumatic suspension.
| Pros | Cons |
| Access to the excellent Type 93 APFSDS round | Stock ammunition can struggle with some opponents |
| Hydropneumatic suspension allows you to angle the hull for more depression | Relatively poor armor |
| Decently fast going forward | Reverse speed is unimpressive |
Armament
The Type 74 uses the 105 mm L7A3 rifled gun, with a maximum reload speed of 6.7 seconds. Its secondary armament includes a 7.62 mm Type 74 machine gun, and a 12.7 mm M2HB. While the coaxial machine gun can do some damage against unarmored vehicles, the M2HB is useful against light vehicles and low flying aircraft.
Ammunition
Unlike its previous family members, it has access to some new ammunition. Chief among these is the Type 93 APFSDS round. The first stage ammunition stowage holds 16 rounds, including one in the breech, meaning it's ideal to carry about 17 rounds, leaving the hull ammo rack empty. As for ammunition composition, bring primarily APFSDS, with one or two HEAT-FS rounds. APFSDS, particularly Type 93, will penetrate nearly anything you face with ease, while HEAT-FS helps in case you run into a light vehicle
However, consider bringing a couple smoke rounds if you're playing on a map with areas enemies can snipe from, it will blind them temporarily and allow you and your team to push up.
| Ammunition: | Description: |
| Type 91 HEAT-FS | The stock round for the Type 74 (E). It's roughly comparable to M456 used on the Type 74 (C), but has slightly less velocity, with a bit more explosive mass. This can do damage, but due to the increasing prevalence of Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) and composite armor around this area, you'll have to aim carefully with it. |
| M735 APFSDS | The first unlockable round, and a good interim until you unlock the Type 93 APFSDS round. M735 is the weakest 105 mm NATO round in-game, but creates more spalling when it penetrates than Type 91. |
| M416 Smoke | A smoke round that is good for firing at enemy positions to blind them, or to create some cover for you and your team. It takes about 5 seconds to reach its maximum size, and will last around 25 seconds with a 16 meter radius. |
| Type 93 APFSDS | Once unlocked, this should be your primary ammunition. Unlike M735, Type 93 is one of the best 105 mm NATO rounds, with excellent angled penetration, spalling, and velocity. It is much easier to switch over to this if you've been using M735, as they have the same velocity. Overall, an excellent round. |
Armor
The Type 74 (E)'s armor is nothing much to speak of. At most, it has 132 mm of armor on the turret face and sides, and 80 mm on the lower parts of the hull. At the rear and side of the hull, it has 30 mm of armor, meaning it can easily be penetrated by autocannons from light tanks. While the frontal armor can bounce poorly aimed shots, this shouldn't be relied upon. With the optional dozer blade, some rounds can bounce or spall preemptively, reducing penetration, but once again, this isn't something to be relied upon.
Mobility
The Type 74 (E) uses a 870 hp (1,660 hp in AB) engine, allowing it to go up to 53 km/h (59 km/h in AB), which is decent for a main battle tank of this battle rating, but won't let you keep up with faster tanks like the AMX-30s, Leopard 1s, and MBT/KPz-70s. Going in reverse isn't too different. In reverse, the Type 74 (E) goes 7.4 km/h (8.3 km/h in AB), meaning you won't be able to retreat in a hurry. For this reason, it's best you keep this in mind before rushing into potentially dangerous situations.
Usage
Another often overlooked aspect of the Type 74 (E), along with other members of this family, is the hydropneumatic suspension. This allows you to adjust the angle and height of the hull, meaning you can make yourself less of a target, or even look over areas with more gun depression. The hydropneumatic suspension shines when in defilade, angling the front of the hull downwards, meaning when looking over a hill, you have more depression and present the thicker parts of your armor in case you receive hit.
This feature allows the Type 74 (E) to be an excellent sniper, especially in positions other vehicles would struggle with due to a lack of depression. Do note that it's important to center your suspension again so as to allow your hull armor to be angled once again. With all of this, it's recommended binding a key to the 'Incline forward' and 'Center suspension' controls at the very least.
In battle, the Type 74 may feel a bit odd to play. It isn't as fast as a Leopard 1, and it can't always resist autocannon fire like more heavily armored tanks either. Thus, the Type 74 falls into a middle ground of sorts. It's recommended to play it in a sniping role if possible, but if it must be brought into close quarters, remember the poor reverse speed and don't rely on your armor to deflect a shot. However, you can be assured that the Type 93 will seldom let you down, and combined with the stabilizer, laser rangefinder, and decent reload, the Type 74 (E) will prove a valuable asset to your Japanese lineups.
