Single Shot guns or cannons are by far the most common type of gun available in World of Tanks. These guns require reloading after every shot by the tanks loader and load speeds vary from tank to tank, and gun to gun. In general the bigger the calibre of the gun the longer the next round will take to load. Accuracy is generally very good and the main advantage of single shot guns is simply the fact that the gunner can keep shooting round after round as long as the gun is working and ammunition is available. The other main advantage of single shot guns is that a wide range of tactics can be applied as there are no periods where the tank is defenseless if the gun is working, ammunition is available, and the loader is in good health

Autoloaders are mechanical devices that are actually built into the tank itself and not the gun. As the name suggests an autoloader gun has the next round loaded into the gun chamber automatically allowing the player to unleash a rapid succession of rounds on enemy tanks. All the rounds reside in a drum and once the drum is empty the entire drum will require reloading by the human loader which on autoloader tanks can take time, anywhere between about 25 seconds to a minute. Reloading a half empty drum will still take the same amount of time as a fully empty drum. Players who use autoloader tanks will need to adjust their style of play and need to consider the following:

• At the time when an autoloader tank is reloading is when it is at its most vulnerable and the only defense options are to run or to ram
• Using tactics like 'pop out behind cover' or 'hit and run' to surpise enemies and deliver enormous damage
• Having an escape plan or safe zone behind solid cover to reload
• Reloading a half empty drum (when safe to do so) to prepare for the next assault and maximise damage
• Using the 'fear factor' on enemies to keep them guessing how many rounds the player has which may prevent them from attacking

While there are a few tier 6 tanks with autoloader guns most autoloaders that are available in World of Tanks are available on higher tiers e.g. tiers 8, 9, and 10. The most popular country sporting autoloader tanks is France which offer medium and heavy tanks with autoloaders plus a tank destroyer and even an artillery/SPG. The USA also has a line of autoloader tanks that ends with the T-57 Heavy Tank.

For World of Tanks Console the Auto-Reloader gun is limited to high tier Italian medium tanks, and is considered a hyrbid between the single shot guns and the autoloader guns. Auto-Reloader tanks add a new type of flexibility to the playstyle especially for medium tanks and support/flank roles. The big difference between autoloaders and auto-reloaders is the fact that with autoloaders the entire drum is reloading taking considerable time while in auto-reloaders the tanks loader can load rounds into the drum one at a time. In effect the Loader is continously loading rounds one after the other. This allows the gunner to use a rapid fire attack or single shot attack. The involvement of manual refilling enables the usage of gun rammers. Players who use auto-reloader tanks will need to consider the following:

• If the player switches ammo the entire drum must be reloaded
• The loader will automatically refill the magazine until it's full, as normal, but the refilling process can be interrupted to fire the weapon, and reinitiated upon feeding a round into the gun breech
• Drums on the auto-reloaders are generally smaller than autoloaders which can reduce the amount of rapid fire damage
• Each shell type has a different reload rate

Autocannons are a type of tank gun that fires a few rounds everytime the trigger is squeezed by the tank's gunner and can often be viewed like a modern burst fire type of gun. Autocannons are considered rapid fire in World of Tanks and are restricted to small calibre rounds ranging from 7.62mm to 37mm. Depending on the gun a single squeeze of the trigger may fire anywhere from 2 to 8 rounds. Similar to semi-automatic guns a autocannon holds its rounds within a magazine. Magazines can be reloaded half empty but will take the same amount of time as a completely empty magazine, which must be reloaded by the tank's loader. Autocannon guns are not reknown for their accuracy so players do need to try and get closer to the enemy to maximise accuracy and the number of rounds that hit the enemy. Players may have a choice of ammunition types e.g. armor piercing or high explosive, depending on the gun and tank. Autocannons are restricted to lower tiers and mostly light tanks.