What are Marks of Excellence?
Marks of Excellence — MoE for short, often just called gun marks — are small badges on your tank's gun barrel. They are the most visible prestige symbol in World of Tanks: everyone in the battle sees immediately how good you are in that tank.
There are three tiers:
- 1 mark – you are among the top 65% of players in that tank
- 2 marks – you are among the top 15% of players in that tank
- 3 marks – you are among the top 5% of players in that tank
Three marks on a tier 10 tank count as proof of genuine mastery. Anyone carrying them has shown that they belong to the absolute server elite in that vehicle, consistently.
How are MoE calculated?
The calculation is based on your combined damage per battle in that tank. Combined damage is made up of:
- Damage dealt – every point of damage you caused yourself
- Assisted damage through spotting – damage your team mates deal to enemies you spotted
- Assisted damage through tracking – damage your team mates deal while you have the enemy tracked (immobilised)
Wargaming calculates the average combined damage of all players who have played that tank over the past two weeks, every day. That figure is the "moving benchmark". Your own MoE percentage shows what share of active players you beat with your three-battle average.
In concrete terms: to hold 3 marks you have to consistently achieve more combined damage than 95% of the other players in that tank. And that benchmark keeps moving — as the server elite gets better, it rises with them.
The MoE percentage – what exactly does it mean?
In your statistics you see a percentage for every tank, for example "72.4%". That means: across your last three battles in that tank you averaged more combined damage than 72.4% of all active players.
The thresholds for the marks:
- 65% → the 1st mark is unlocked
- 85% → the 2nd mark is unlocked
- 95% → the 3rd mark is unlocked
Important: the mark is not lost if you play worse afterwards. Once earned, it stays. But your percentage can fall below the threshold — then you need better battles again to bring it back up.
What counts as a good MoE battle?
Only your last three battles in that tank count towards MoE progress. That makes progress volatile: a single catastrophic battle with zero damage drags your average down sharply.
As a rule of thumb:
- Play above your current average and your MoE percentage rises
- Play below your average and it falls
- Battles where you die early and deal little damage are especially damaging
This is why experienced players recommend: if a battle goes badly early on, put the tank aside for a while afterwards — and carry on in another vehicle until you are back in the right frame of mind.
Why do the MoE requirements fluctuate?
The benchmark moves daily. The reasons:
- New patches – when a tank is buffed, more and better players take it out, and the benchmark rises
- New players – when a lot of beginners discover a tank, the benchmark falls
- Weekend vs. weekday – more casual players are online at the weekend, so the benchmark is slightly lower
- Events and missions – when a tank is needed for missions, many people play it briefly, which shifts the benchmark
On the WG-Watch.com MoE tracker you can see the current live requirements for every tank — including the exact damage figures for 65%, 85% and 95%.
Which tanks are suited to MoE grinding?
Not every tank is equally suited to MoE sessions. The best candidates have:
- High alpha damage – one shot for a lot of damage often beats many small ones
- Good spotting potential – tanks that can generate plenty of assisted damage benefit twice over
- A manageable tier – tier 8 tanks often have lower absolute requirements than tier 10
- A playstyle that suits gun marks – vehicles where you control the situation yourself
Tips for the third mark
Reaching three marks is a real grind — but with the right approach it is achievable:
- Focus on one tank – do not keep switching vehicles during an MoE session
- Play rested – avoid grinding on stubbornly after bad battles
- Optimise your equipment – improved aiming unit, stabiliser, and a crew at 100%
- Map awareness – learn the best positions for your tank on every map by heart
- Play for assist actively – deliberately spot and track enemies to maximise assisted damage
The best way to follow the current state of your Marks of Excellence and the exact requirements for every tank is live on the WG-Watch MoE tracker — free, in real time, for every EU tank.