Introduction
Disclaimer: We do not know when sales will actually come. We do not know what vehicles will be discounted. We do not know by how much they will be discounted. This guide is based on previous years. Gaijin has changed a huge amount of things from the status quo recently. It is entirely possible that if/when sales come, they may look different this year.
I’ve seen a lot of posts that have said stuff along the lines of, “What premium should I buy for this tree during a sale?” or, “Is this premium worth it on sale?” With that in mind I thought it would be a good idea to cover the sales, how they work, and what vehicles are worthy pickups. Because the sales’ big selling point are the high tier premiums, I will cover every single rank 6+ premium pack in the game (aside from naval because I don’t play battleships enough to have an informed opinion on them), some of the rank 6+ premium GE vehicles, as well as the starter packs and a few other vehicles I think are worth your money. This is written to be up-to-date for the 2024 May Sale (which actually starts at the end of April), but consider this a guide for all of the 4 major sales.
Before I start, please remember that all of these are digital videogame pixels. None of these are tangible objects that will last forever. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t buy them, many of them are very much worth the money, especially on sale, but it is something to remember.
This guide will also be updated for all future rank 6+ premium packs that are introduced.
Starter packs are also covered at the end. If you are a new player, read that part before you read the sections on any of the high tier vehicles. You will get more value out of it.
How War Thunder’s sales work
Disclaimer: This section is based on previous years. It is fully possible that this will not be the case this year. Do not take this guide to mean that the discounts will be at the same time or for the same vehicles this year.
War Thunder, in past years, has 4 main sales per year:
- May sale - starts right at the end of April
- Summer sale - starts right at the end of June
- Birthday/anniversary sale - starts right at the end of October or on November 1st
- New Years sale - starts around mid December
All of these sales have worked roughly the same way (except the summer sale, that one works differently). Premium account is discounted by 50%, vehicles, modifications, talismans, and backups for GE and SL are 30% off in the May sale and 50% off in the anniversary and New Years sales, and all of these last for 1 week. There is then a second week where packs are discounted in the Gaijin Store.
The May sale also has, in the past, had the Wings of Victory, Tracks of Victory, and Weapons of Victory bundles. The Wings of Victory bundle is a bunch of old WWII-era premium planes that are usually not available for purchase, the Tracks of Victory bundle is the same but for ground vehicles, and the Weapons of Victory bundle is the Wings of Victory and Tracks of Victory bundles combined. Wings of Victory and Tracks of Victory are both 30% off from the total price of their contents, while Weapons of Victory is 50% off from the total price of its contents. Each of the vehicles in these packs can also be purchased separately.
For any War Thunder sale with bundles, the price of the bundle will be further discounted if you own any vehicle(s) in it by the price of the vehicle(s) you own. That discount is factored in before the discount on the overall bundle (the 30-50% discount).
Discounts in sales also never apply to vehicles added in the 2 most recent updates before the sale.
The 1 sale that works differently is the summer sale. In previous years it has worked the same, but in 2023 it was changed. In 2023, it was only rank 1-5 vehicles that were discounted and that was it. It is unknown if this will be the same for 2024’s summer sale, if there is one at all.
In 2023, it was also the case where in the birthday sale, rank 7 packs for the US, USSR, and Germany were not discounted while rank 7 packs for all the other nations were, and then in the New Years sale, rank 7 packs for the US, USSR, and Germany were discounted while rank 7 packs for all other nations weren’t. This may continue into this year, though I am not sure if that, and it may or may not apply to the new rank 8 premiums (we currently only have the F-20A but more will definitely come). I do not know how this will work for the 2024 May sale, if there is one.
Reminder: There is no guarentee that the sales will come at the same time this year!
Premium account
Disclaimer: I cannot promise that premium acount will be discounted 50% this year in any sale. This is based on previous years. This is in no way any statement or guarentee about how much it will be discounted at any point this year or if it will be discounted at all.
Before you consider getting any vehicle in any sale, get premium account for 1 year, assuming it is on sale. Ususally, when on sale, premium account is 50% off, meaning it is $40 USD which is only $5 more expensive than a rank 7 premium at 50% off. It is the best investment in War Thunder. A premium vehicle applies to 1 vehicle type for 1 tree. Premium account applies to all vehicles in all nations. It drastically boosts RP and SL gain, and due to the SL compensation feature added to it last year, it is now impossible to lose SL with premium account, outside of buying vehicles and teamkilling. It is hands down the best investment you can make in War Thunder and you should get it on sale first before anything else. It will serve you better than any premium ever will.
Vehicles
Disclaimer number 5 billion: I do not know if vehicles will be discounted this, what vehicles could be discounted, and for how much. This is fully based on previous years. I have listed all prices at standard price, 30% off, and 50% off so you have to do less math, but a vehicle may discounted for something other than those (e.g. 25%). Do not take this as any form of confirmation or guarentee of if any vehicle will be discounted or how much it may be discounted by.
Here, I will be covering all rank 6+ packs as well as some other vehicles I want to talk about. I will cover air, ground, and naval in 3 separate sections, with subsections for each nation under them.
Also, before I start, I should clarify that I dislike high tier premiums altogether. Especially if you’re a new player, they throw you into an environment where not only do you not have a lineup, but you’ve also either barely learned or not learned at all the basic mechanics of the game, let alone all of the extra stuff at high tiers. However, for this, I am going to ignore that and talk purely about how good or bad the vehicle is. You can make your own decision on if you should buy it.
We do not know if/when a sale could come, even if previous years have followed a schedule, but sales are always the best time to get premium vehicles.
Also remember that there are countless great premiums across every tree and every gamemode that I have not covered here. I thought the ones covered here were the ones I thought noteworthy because the top echelon premium packs draw the most attention, and the lower tier premiums covered are only some of the very good options. There are several premiums I love that aren’t covered here. If you really like how a premium plays in a test drive and/or you think it will be useful to a specific lineup of yours, if you can afford it, go ahead and get it. Don’t strictly limit yourself to what it listed here.
Aviation
USA:
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XP-50 - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1600 / 1120 / 800 GE - Wiki page
- This is an absolute monster of a plane. It gets an airspawn and on top of that is one of the best climbing and performing planes in the entire game tier for tier. It turns incredibly well too, retains energy pretty nicely, and is overall truly a fantastic plane. If you are looking for a low-mid tier premium in the US air tree, this is what you should go with.
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Bostwick’s P-47M-1-RE - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $29.99 / $20.99 / $15.00 USD - Only available in the Wings of Victory and Weapons of Victory bundles - Wiki page
- This plane is absolutely fantastic. It is my personal pick for the best American rank 4 premium. It’s fast, it has great performance, great air-to-air armament, good ground strike capabilities, and is overall an incredibly good all-rounder plane. If you already have Łanovski’s P-47M-1-RE, this is the same plane with a different skin (except for the fact that this one came first). It is absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it. The only thing to note is that because it is a special vehicle brought back in a bundle, it doesn’t have a sale price. It is just $30 USD.
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AV-8A - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- The thing about the AV-8A is that for $5.00 USD more, or even less when on sale, you can get the F-5C. For $10 USD more, or less on sale, you can get the A-6E TRAM. Despite both of those being at 10.3 instead of 9.7, both of those vehicles are better in their respective roles than the AV-8A is at 9.7. The AV-8A does have 240 countermeasures, a really good turn at high speed, and an excellent roll rate, along with pretty good missiles, but none of those stop the AV-8A from ending up being just kind of decent. It’s not a bad vehicle, but there are premiums that will get you much more for a small increase in cost.
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A-10A - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- I get it. It’s an A-10. It’s very cool. It also suffers from the exact same problem as the AV-8A. For $5 USD more, or less when on sale, you can get the F-5C. For $10 USD more, or less when on sale, you can get the A-6E TRAM. The F-5C is a much better air-to-air fighter (although if you’re using the A-10A for air-to-air combat primarily, you’re using it wrong), and the A-6E TRAM is a much better CAS platform. It’s a pretty good CAS plane, but it has been supplanted in all roles by better premiums.
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F-5C - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- Tier for tier, this is the best rank 6+ premium in the entire game. It is a complete monster and manages to perform excellently as a gun fighter in a missile meta. I absolutely recommend this. It is a fantastic vehicle in every sense. The guns are good and the 2 AIM-9Es are kind of useful, but the performance makes it a monster. If you are to get any rank 6+ premium for the US, get this.
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A-6E TRAM - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- If you want a CAS platform, this is your best bet. It is 0.3 BRs higher than the A-10A, but it is a much better CAS platform. I would still recommend the F-5C as an overall better premium, but if you want a CAS plane, this is your best bet. It does lose out on the AGM-65Bs of the A-10A, but it gets better GBUs and a really good sight for them which in my view makes it a better CAS platform.
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F-4S - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- The F-4S is a better F-4J. It is an F-4J with wing slats that makes it turn better. In a vacuum, this sounds great. The issue is that it sits at 11.3 meaning it sees 12.0 and 12.3. At 12.0 you find the F-16As and F-16AJ, the early German, Soviet, and Italian MiG-29s, and the Yak-141. At 12.3 you find the F-15s, MiG-29SMT, Mirage 2000-5F, and the Netz. The F-4S gets absolutely bodied by all of them. I really like the F-4s, they’re some of my favorite airframes in the game, but they are long past their glory days. The F-5C is simply a better plane and it is cheaper. I would recommend the F-5C over this.
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F-20A - Rank VIII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $74.99 / $52.49 / $37.50 USD - Wiki page
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Note: This plane is not on sale yet and will not be during the 2024 May sale, this is hear as a reference for whenever it does go on sale.
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Much like the F-4S, this plane is fantastic in a vacuum. It’s an F-5E, but it fixes all of the F-5Es problems because it has fantastic engine thrust due to having the F-18s engine, radar-guided missiles because it has the F-18s radar, and 6 AIM-9Ls instead of the F-5Es 2 AIM-9Js. It is a fantastic plane on its own. The issue is that it also does everything worse than the F-16A, but it sits at the same BR. This does come with the benefit of allowing you to research rank 9 whenever that comes out, but rank 9 isn’t coming for a while. As of right now and likely for the next year or two at least, the F-5C is still a better pickup. Tier for tier, the F-5C is a much better plane and you will get more use out of it.
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Germany:
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Tornado IDS WTD61 - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s a subpar plane. It sees F-16As and will get eaten alive by them. 2 AIM-9Ls at 11.0 and countermeasure pods that weigh down the wings a lot really hurt this plane. It is functionally identical to the Tornado IDS (Marineflieger), except it doesn’t get the entirely useless AS.34 Komoran anti-ship missiles. It’s not god awful and it has use as a CAS platform, but it’s not very good.
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MiG-21bis “Lazur-M” - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is a much better choice for a premium. It’s not insanely good anymore and suffers in uptiers heavily, but it is still very much usable and decent if you know what you’re doing. It is identical to the tech tree German MiG-21bis-SAU and the Soviet and Italian MiG-21bis. It’s a fine premium, but it’s also the best one Germany has. If you really want a rank 7 German premium, this will serve you decently.
USSR:
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Su-11 - Rank V - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 7480 / 5236/ 3740 GE - Wiki page
- The Su-11 is absolutely fantastic. If you are looking to grind the USSR with a premium, but you don’t have experience in high tier jets, this is my recommendation. It performs insanely well for a 7.3 and is a low enough BR that it acts as a good introduction to jet gameplay. It’s a fantastic plane for getting the basics down and is a bit overpowered for its BR.
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MiG-21S (R-13-300) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 8910 / 6237 / 4455 GE - Wiki page
- This is not an easy plane. If you are a beginner and a novice, I would say that for this price, the Soviet tree has better options. If you are experienced, I’d recommend this. It is a plane with 10.3 performance equivalent to that of the MiG-21MF, but at 9.7. It doesn’t have countermeasures and it’s a tough plane to fly, but it also can be very fun. This is only a good plane for experienced players though.
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Su-25K - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is the USSR’s equivalent of the A-10A. It is good, but it is not absolutely phenomenal. The 2 R-60MKs at 9.7 are really nice and gun hits like a truck, but it also can rip its wings in a straight line pretty easily and its optics for its guided AGMs are garbage. It’s a decent rank 6 grinder, but if you’re a new player, I’d get the Su-11 over this. This should be used first as a CAS plane with the 8 big rockets, with a secondary air-to-air role.
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Su-39 - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is a bad plane. Very nice for CAS, but it is terrible in the air. The R-73s help, but they don’t make it phenomenal. It’s still a bad plane in the air. It has the Su-25’s performance, which is already subpar at 9.7, but this is at 11.0. The R-73s are super potent, but it simply is not a good plane. Get the MiG-23ML instead.
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MiG-23ML - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is a much better option and is my choice for grinding the Soviet tree. It performs very well, the missiles are nice, its avionics are nice, everything about this plane is good. It is not absolutely mind-blowing, it’s very similar to the MiG-23MLA and MiG-23MLD, but it is still fantastic and one of the best rank 7 premiums in the game.
Great Britain:
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Prendergast’s Spitfire FR Mk XIVe - Rank IV - Price: $29.99 / $20.99 / $15.00 USD - Only available in the Wings of Victory and Weapons of Victory bundles - Wiki page
- This is my personal pick from the Weapons of Victory bundle. It’s an amazing plane. it loses some of its turn rate because of the clipped wings, but it gets a way better roll rate, and it’s still a Spitfire so it’ll still outturn everything except for Japanese stuff. It’s also one of the Griffon engined Spitfires, so it has fantastic engine power, allowing it to accelerate and climb really well, as well as sustaining its energy in a turn super well. I love this plane.
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F-4J(UK) - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This suffers all of the same problems as the F-4S. Read my coverage of that earlier. Use this for base bombing if you really need it.
Japan:
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Bf 109 E-7 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1000 / 700 / 500 GE - Wiki page
- This is a very fun plane to fly. I do recommend the F4U-1A more, but if you don’t like the playstyle of the Corsairs, this plane is for you. It’s very similar to the German tech tree Bf 109 E-4. It turns quite nicely, its engine power is good, the guns are good, especially the MG FF/Ms, it’s all around a very good plane. The only big downside is that the MG FF/Ms only have 120 rounds of ammunition, so you need to be very sparing because once the MG FF/Ms are out of rounds, you only have 7.62 mm machine guns left.
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F4U-1A - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1150 / 805 / 575 GE - Wiki page
- This plane is so good. It used to be 2.7 and it was broken OP, but even at 3.0 where it is now, it’s still super good. It has great engine power and energy retention. In a turn fight it will lose to a lot of things, but it is great as a boom-and-zoomer. It is fantastic for energy trapping people and is also a very strong SL grinder, especially for rank 2. The only downside is that while the guns are still really good, it does have the early war 50 cal. belts instead of the much better late war ones. I recommend this a bit more than the Bf 109 E-7.
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F-4EJ ADTW - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This also suffers from the same issues as the F-4S and F-4J(UK), but it has worse missiles. The AIM-9P technically pulls more Gs than the AIM-9G, but the AIM-9G has a way better burn time and so it’s a much better missile. This plane gets the AIM-9P. The F-5E FCU will actually serve you better as a grinder.
China:
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A6M2 - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1300 / 910 / 650 GE - Wiki page
- I don’t have much to say. It’s an A6M2. Of course it’s really good. The A6M2s have completely busted flight models. They turn on a dime and are fantastic to fly. I don’t have a deep analysis of this. It’s just really good.
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Ki-84 ko - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 3850 / 2695 / 1925 GE - Wiki page
- This plane is also fantastic. It doesn’t turn on a singular point like the A6Ms do, but it still turns very well because it is a Japanese prop and comes with really good engine power. This plane climbs really nicely and given its turn rate, keeps its energy quite well. The engine allows this plane to do so much that a lot of other Japanese planes simply can’t do, and it makes this plane very nice. I recommend this more than the A6M2, and I very highly recommend it.
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A-5C - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- This plane is really good, probably the best of the rank 6 premiums. The guns are really bad, but it has insane performance for a 10.0 plane and has 2 R-550 Magic 1 missiles which, at 10.0, all but guarantees at least 2 kills if you fire them at the correct angle. The fact that it only has 18 countermeasures is really disappointing, but you can still make use of them quite well. I would say the J-7D is a safer option for a grinder, this one can be a really hit or miss plane sometimes, but if you’re okay with that, I would recommend this.
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J-7D - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- I really enjoy the J-7D. The 4 R-550 Magic 1s are super nice, it has that excellent acceleration of a MiG-21, and it’s all around a great plane to fly. Think of it as a MiG-21MF, but with internal flares so you don’t need that giant pod and better missiles. The missiles sadly aren’t all-aspect, but it’s still a super good plane.
Italy:
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Spitfire Mk Vb/trop - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1300 / 910 / 650 GE - Wiki page
- It’s a Spitfire. I don’t have much to say about it. My review of this is nearly identical to the Chinese A6M2, down to them being at the same BR. This plane just trades some of the A6M2s turning capability for a bit more engine power, but it still turns insanely well. Very good plane overall.
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F-104S TAF - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is a bad plane. A really bad plane. You can do well in it, but it is a fight against the plane. AIM-9Ps at 11.0 and nothing else is really rough. It does have good bombing ordinance for an F-104, but that its only saving grace. The radar missiles are fine enough, but they’re bad because they require you to remove your gun. Performance could make up for the not-so-great missiles, but this plane goes fast and literally nothing else, which at 11.0 isn’t special, so it doesn’t even have that going for it.
France:
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Mirage F1C-200 - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This plane used to be pretty bad. However, recently, Magic 2s got a huge buff. With them, this plane is pretty good. The performance is nice enough for 11.3 and the missiles are positively excellent. At 11.3, the Magic 2 really shines. It’s a pretty good pickup for France. I would recommend it.
Sweden:
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Saab J35XS - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s decent. I am very biased towards the J35s, I love them, but this is just decent. It performs super well, enough so to somewhat make up for only having RB24Js which are AIM-9Ps. One issue with it is that it has really bad acceleration. It dumps all of its speed after the first turn, but is really slow to regain it. If you’re caught out at super low energy, you don’t have an escape. However, the biggest issue is that it only has 12 countermeasures. They are large caliber countermeasures which means that the 12 it does have are really good ones, but only 12 of them is not enough at all. I would still say it’s decent though, certainly more so than the A32A Röd Adam.
Israel:
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Spitfire LF Mk.IXe Weizman’s - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $29.99 / $20.99 / $15.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is Israel’s only prop premium, and it’s very good. It’s a Spitfire so it’s fantastic by default, and this one both turns very well and has nice engine power, but it is also a really good CAS option. It gets rockets called the Flz.-Rakete Oerlikon and they have 1.6 kg TNT equivalent of explosives and 300 mm of penetration which makes them incredibly strong as CAS weapons. The only other planes in the game with these rockets are the Israeli Spitfire Mk IXc and the Hunter F.58, so these are quite unique. This is worth it, especially because it’s the only good CAS option Israel has between the Spitfire Mk IXc and P-51D-20-NA, and the M.D.450B Ouragan.
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Kfir Canard - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This plane is an absolute monster. Take one of the engines from the F-4 Phantom II, stick it in a Mirage 5 airframe, and give it 2 AIM-9Gs. That’s what this plane is. It is absolutely fantastic. I would highly, highly recommend this plane. It is easily one of the best top tier premiums.
Ground
USA:
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Stuart VI (5th CAD) - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 /$6.99 / $5.00 USD - Only available in the Tracks of Victory and Weapons of Victory bundles - Wiki page
- This vehicle is a bit overpriced for an M5A1. That being said, it’s also very good and worth it. It is identical to the M5A1 in the tech tree, except for it getting premium bonuses, but it allows you to have a second M5A1 in your 2.7 lineup which is super useful because the M5A1 is one of the best and most versatile 2.7 vehicles. From there, you then have the choice of the M3 Lee, M16 MGMC, or the premium Grant I for the third tank in that lineup, and if you have the twitch drop M5A1, you can run a full lineup of M5A1s, and while I usually don’t recommend running lineups like that, the M5A1 is so versatile that it works really well. This is a very high recommendation from me.
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M4A5 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1150 / 805 / 575 GE - Wiki page
- This is my favorite of the low tier M4s, except for it not being an M4. The M4A5 is what America called it, but this is the Canadian Ram II tank which is a heavily modified M3 Lee chassis with a Canadian turret on it and a 57 mm gun. I love this vehicle to death. The gun is good, the round is better than the M61 round of the early M4s because it has better penetration and the post-penetration damage is still good, it has a reload of 5.2 seconds compared to the 6.5 second reload of the early M4s, its survivability is good, its mobile enough, everything about this tank is great and I love it. Another high recommendation from me.
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Super Hellcat - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 6090 / 4263 / 3045 GE - Wiki page
- This is a very good vehicle. It’s an M18 with a really good 90 mm cannon and it fits into America’s 6.3 lineup. It’s a very good ambusher and flanker and is a straight upgrade over the M18, though at a higher BR. The one thing to note is that considering this vehicle is a rank 4, it is exceedingly expensive.
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XM1 (GM) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- I would highly recommend the XM1 (GM). It’s a fast ambush tank that should not be used as a brawler because Gaijin has decided to model it as missing a bunch of armor. The reason I would recommend this, on top of it being cheaper, is that it sits at 9.3 so you face lower tier vehicles. If you’re a newer player, this is a much better premium than either of the 2 premium M1s. It also has a pretty solid lineup of the MBT70, Imp.Chaparral, and XM8 (if you have that).
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XM1 (Chrysler) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Console exclusive - Wiki page
- It plays the same as the XM1 (GM) and is just as worth it, but is a console exclusive.
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M1 KVT - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- If you are going to buy a rank 7, I would recommend this pack over the M1A1HC “Click-Bait” because it is a lower tier. I would still recommend if you are a new player that you instead buy a premium at the tier you are already at, but if you are dead set on a rank 7 for America, go with this one. At 10.3 it will be easier to get a grip on it than at 11.3. Its armor also falters much less at 10.3 than the M1A1HC’s armor does at 11.3 because Gaijin refuses to give the M1s their proper armor. It still has a turret ring the size of Texas, but its survivability is better because it is at a lower tier.
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M1A1HC “Click-Bait” - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This premium is simply less worth it than the M1 KVT. It’s more expensive for a vehicle that, tier for tier, is worse. Its armor holds up worse which is the biggest drawback to this tank. The 120mm gun is great, but the tank is overall not as good. Get the M1 KVT instead.
Germany:
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KW I C 756 (r) - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 2980 / 2086 / 1490 GE - Wiki page
- This tank is super good. It’s a German captured KV-1, uparmored and fitted with a new gun. It’s an incredibly good vehicle that I very much recommend. In addition to being uparmored, it solves the 2 biggest problems the KV-1 has: its lackluster firepower and the powerful German long 75 mm guns that can penetrate it. It doesn’t fight those German guns because it’s on the German teams, and it gets long 75 mm gun, meaning its firepower is super potent.
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Tiger II (H) Sla.16 - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $39.99 / $27.99 / $20.00 USD - Wiki page
- This tank is the perfect lineup filler. It’s a Tiger II (H) with a better engine and more track armor around the turret. It is the best Tiger II in the game (excluding the removed Tiger II (H) with the 105 mm), but it won’t blow you away. It’s a very good vehicle for when you want another option in your lineup that brings the firepower and armor of the Tiger II (H), but with better mobility. It is quite expensive for a rank 4 though.
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Turm III - Rank V - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $49.99 / $34.99 / $25.00 USD - Wiki page
- The fact that this vehicle doesn’t consistently take over games shocks me. This is a crazy tank for 8.3. It’s fast, it has a 105 mm gun with good HEAT-FS and APDS rounds, and critically, it has a fantastic 30 mm autocannon that means that if someone has shot you and you can’t move, you can just 30 mm their barrel into the abyss and then they can’t shoot at you anymore. This tank’s gimmick is supposed to be 3-plane stabilization, though to my knowledge, it’s only modeled with a 2-plane stabilizer, but gimmick aside, this tank is insane.
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Leopard A1A1 (L/44) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- I would very much recommend this vehicle for the same reason as the XM1s: it’s lower tier than Germany’s rank 7 premium, so it’s easier to get a grip on, and it has an incredibly strong lineup, made even stronger if you have some of the event vehicles Germany has gotten. It’s also a generally fantastic vehicle. A 120 mm gun at 9.3 is always great and the Leopard 1 doesn’t have much armor anyway, so this tank having very little armor doesn’t really matter. It’s basically played like a really big light tank. However, that being said, I also recommend the Turm III more than this because it’s 8.3 so, like the T-55AM-1, it falls only on the cusp of where technology starts getting crazy, so it’s easier to learn if you’re newer, and it’s cheaper.
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Leopard 2A4 (PzBtl 123) - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- It’s good. It’s a Leopard 2A4 so it by definition will be good. It’s a very well balanced vehicle and I would recommend it. It’s also still more expensive than the Leopard A1A1 (L/44) which I would say is a better choice for a premium. If you really want a rank 7, this will serve you well, but the Leopard A1A1 (L/44) is my recommendation over this.
USSR:
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T-34-57 (1943) - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1750 / 1225 / 875 GE - Wiki page
- This is the tech tree T-34-57 with a slightly better turret, but it’s overall functionally almost the same. This tank is a really good lineup filler. It’s not special, but it’s another good vehicle to fill that 4.7 lineup. If you’re just looking for a neat vehicle to fill that 4.7 lineup, this is for you.
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T-34-85E - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $29.99 / $20.99 / $15.00 USD - Only available in the Tracks of Victory and Weapons of Victory bundles - Wiki page
- This is the exact same deal as the T-34-57 (1943). It’s technically better than the T-34-85 in the tech tree because the chicken wire on the outside can defeat HEAT shells better, but you nearly never see HEAT shells with this tank so it just ends up being a premium lineup filler. Still good though.
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Object 120 - Rank V - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $49.99 / $34.99 / $25.00 USD - Wiki page
- Bringing this one up briefly just to mention that this is a whole lot of fun. It has a giant 152 mm gun with APFSDS at rank 5. This is not the premium I would recommend for newer players, the Soviet tree has better premiums for new players, but if you are more experienced, this tank is a whole load of fun.
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T-55AM-1 - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is my number 1 recommendation for a rank 6+ premium in the Soviet tree. At 8.3 it is one of the best tanks at its tier. Decent armor, a good round, decent mobility (aside from the reverse speed), it’s everything you could want in a Soviet tank. More than the T-72AV (TURMS-T), more than the T-80UD, more than the 2S38, this is what I would recommend.
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T-72AV (TURMS-T) - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. It has a great round, decent mobility, 2nd generation thermal sights for the gunner and commander, which is very rare on Soviet tanks, it has a lot of good aspects to it. It’s also 10.0. The T-55AM-1 is 8.3 and cheaper. Particularly if you’re a new player, you will just get so much more out of the T-55AM-1. At 8.3, it’s much easier to learn and 8.3 is on the cusp of when technology really starts to become crazy. This tank will just not be as good of a learning experience as the T-55AM-1.
Great Britain
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Rooikat 105 - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s a decent vehicle, but the Challenger DS is a better premium for Britain. The thing that really gets me about the Rooikat 105 is the super long 8.7 second reload for a 105 mm gun. I love speed demon vehicles like this, and this is one of the fastest in the entire game, with a maximum speed of 120 km/h, but the Challenger DS will serve you better as a premium.
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Challenger DS - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- I like this vehicle. I think this is a good pickup. It has nice turret rotation, good armor on the turret cheeks, a nice round, a 5 second reload, it’s an overall good MBT. You can’t play it like a speed demon, it’s not meant for that and you will die if you play that way, but when played right, it is a good vehicle and a good grinder. I generally recommend the lower BR premiums, but I think this is a better choice than the Rooikat 105.
Japan:
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Chi-Nu II - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1600 / 1120 / 800 GE - Wiki page
- It’s super good. It’s the gun of the Chi-Tos at 4.3 instead of 4.7 and literally nothing else matters about it. The armor is paper, the MG is bad and has very few rounds, it’s not that mobile, but it has a very good gun. I run this in my Japanese 4.7 lineup with the 2 Chi-Tos because this can be seen as just a glorified tank destroyer. Don’t play this like a medium tank, play this like a tank destroyer with a turret. Park yourself behind a hill or a rock, shoot a few times, and then go park yourself behind a different hill or rock, rinse and repeat. It’s a great vehicle to finish off that 4.7 lineup though.
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Type 16 (FPS) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is another case of me not recommending the lower tier premium compared to the higher tier one. The Type 16 used to be very fun, but then they nerfed the M735 round. 292 mm of flat penetration and 169 mm of penetration at 60° is awful at 9.3. While it may be $5 USD cheaper, this is a far worse choice as a premium compared to the Type 90B “Fuji”.
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Type 90B “Fuji” - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is the exact opposite of the Type 16 (FPS). This is a fantastic premium. The turret armor is good enough, but nothing special. The mobility is really good, but doesn’t blow you away. The round isn’t incredible, but it’s decent enough. All of those aspects of the vehicle, while not stunning, are still perfectly serviceable. But what makes this tank fantastic is the reload. This tank has a 4 second autoloader and it makes it fantastic. Even if you mess up the first shot, you can get a second one off before the enemy can reload 1 round. I highly recommend this.
China:
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ZTZ96A (P) - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- It’s a good vehicle. It won’t blow you away, but it’s still a solid vehicle. However, it also suffers from not having a full lineup. The only tech tree tank you can run it with is the ZTZ96A. You can make the ZLT11 work, but that is still uptiering a vehicle. The only way to build a full 10.0 lineup with this and the ZTZ96A is if you also have the QN506, but that’s also a pretty bad vehicle. It is solid, but it’s not incredible. It should be noted that the IR jammers on this vehicle are just a gimmick. They’re functionally useless because you rarely ever see that type of missile at 10.0. China also does have another rank 7 premium that will probably be added in the next 2 updates, so I would recommend also being on the lookout for that when considering this vehicle. When that is announced, I’ll update this guide to include it.
Italy:
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Tigris - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 4880 / 3416 / 2440 GE - Wiki page
- This is a good purchase for 2 reasons. The first is that Italy has no heavy tanks in the entire tree. This means that this tank offers a playstyle that you can’t find anywhere else in the Italian tree. The second reason is that you need it to complete the Italian 6.0 lineup. The M109G is fun and the 2S1 is kind of there I guess, but those are the only tech tree tanks Italy has at 6.0. This brings some hugely needed firepower and armor to that lineup in the form of the this having armor and it having an APCBC round instead of only an HE round like the M109G and 2S1. it’s also technically the best Tiger in the game because it has that frontal track armor, but it’s not better in any meaningful way.
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VRCC - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- I recommend this over the Centauro RGO. Tier for tier, they’re kind of the same vehicle, though the Centauro RGO does get a mega round, but this is a lower BR so I recommend it more. It’s a fun speed demon. It does suffer from the same 8.7 second reload that the Rooikat 105 has, but this vehicle feels much nicer to handle. In my view, this is worth it.
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Centauro RGO - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- As I said when covering the VRCC, this is simply less worth it than the VRCC. It’s more expensive for a vehicle with worse armor, but a way better round from a 120 mm gun instead of a 105 mm gun. It also doesn’t suffer from the 8.7 second reload of the VRCC, with this only having a 6.5 second reload. It’s a nice vehicle to handle, it is good, all the Centauros are, but for being at a higher BR and more expensive, it is not as worth your money as the VRCC.
France:
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M4A1 (FL10) - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 2980 / 2086 / 1490 GE - Wiki page
- This is one of the most fantastic 5.0 tanks in the game. It’s the gun and turret of the 6.7 AMX-13, but it sits on an M4A1 chassis at 5.0. This alone is incredibly good. It also has one of the best lineups in the game: the M4A4 (SA50), the AMX-13 DCA, the VB.10-02, and the P-63C-5. Everything about this vehicle is amazing. This is one of my highest recommendations in the game and definitely one of my highest for the French ground tree.
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Somua SM - Rank V - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $44.99 / $31.49 / $22.50 USD - Wiki page
- This is another absolutely insane tank. It’s an AMX-50 (TOA100) with better armor and premium bonuses at the same BR. It is absolutely fantastic. Everything about it is amazing. Great armor, the same stellar gun as on the AMX-50 (TOA100), an incredible 4 second reload, everything about it is good. The only thing the AMX-50 (TOA100) does better than this is that it is a good deal more mobile, but this is a heavy tank so it not being insanely mobile is expected, and it’s still pretty decent at moving around the place. It also fits into France’s mind-bogglingly great 7.7 lineup. This is my highest recommendation in the entire French ground tree.
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VBCI-2 (MCT30) - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 8910 / 6237 / 4455 GE - Wiki page
- France doesn’t have a rank 6 or 7 premium pack, so I’m talking about this instead. It’s quite good. It’s the size of a bus, but it can survive machine gun and autocannon fire pretty reliably from the front, the turret is unmanned, and the entire rear half of the vehicle is completely empty so if a round is fired at the rear half of the vehicle, it’ll just go right through and nothing will happen. It has a lot of super nice characteristics to it, but keep in mind that France likely has a rank 7 premium pack coming in the next patch or 2. I’ll update this guide when that is added.
Sweden:
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VIDAR - Rank V - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $49.99 / $34.99 / $25.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s good. You’ve all heard how good this tank is. It’s a giant donk gun on a decently mobile chassis with a 7.8 second reload for a 155 mm gun and 2nd generation thermals. I don’t recommend this tank as much as most will, though that’s probably because I really hate big donk guns, but this is still good.
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CV 90105 - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $64.99 / $45.49 / $32.50 USD - Wiki page
- It’s super good. Light tanks are already one of the best classes in the game and this has a nice round for 10.0, a gun-launched ATGM which is super rare for vehicles that aren’t Soviet, and it’s all around a fantastic tank. It also forms a super solid 10.0 with the Strf 9040C and Strf 9040 BILL. The lineup is lacking in diversity of vehicle roles, but all the vehicles in it are super strong. It is also lower in BR than the Christian II, though it being 10.0 vs Christian II being 10.3 is meaningless. I do recommend this over the Christian II though because it is a bit cheaper and more fun and unique.
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Christian II - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s a Leopard 2A4 with the smoke grenade launchers from the Strv 122. That’s it. This actually makes it worse than the Strv 121 and Finnish Leopard 2A4 because it has 8 smoke grenades instead of 16. It’s still good, just like the premium Leopard 2A4 (PzBtl 123) in the German tree, but it doesn’t blow you away or anything. The CV 90105 is more interesting, cheaper, and also fantastic. I recommend that more.
Israel:
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Merkava Mk.2D - Rank VI - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $59.99 / $41.99 / $30.00 USD - Wiki page
- It’s good. Its mobility is fine, its protection against HEAT-FS is good, its turret armor is bad against APFSDS but its hull armor is really nice because the engine will eat rounds and save the crew, the round is decent, it’s an overall good vehicle. This is also one of the rare cases where the higher tier and more expensive Raam Segol is a better option though. This tank has no lineup. It is the only 9.7 tank in the Israeli tech tree, so you either have to uptier Israel’s 9.3 lineup to play this or you have to uptier this to 10.3, and at 10.3 the only vehicle it can be run with is the Imp.Chaparral which is an SPAA. The only realistic CAS option for it is the Ayit, and while that plane is insanely good at CAS, it’s also the only vehicle that is realistically worth running with this which gives you a lineup of this and 1 plane. Consider the Raam Segol instead.
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Raam Segol - Rank VII - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $69.99 / $48.99 / $35.00 USD - Wiki page
- This is a better premium. It’s not insane as a vehicle, but it’s still good. It has a mega round at 11.0, the same mega round on the Centauro RGO, which is super nice, its armor is entirely useless because by 11.0 that engine will no longer eat rounds enough save you, its mobility is a bit better than the Merkava Mk.2D because it has a better engine, and it has the Raam Segol system that detects incoming ATGMs and warns you, but that system is not that useful. This vehicle does have a super solid lineup though with the Merkava Mk.3B and Merkava Mk.3C. It is extremely lacking in vehicle diversity, it’s 3 Merkava MBTs, but it’s a very strong lineup. Overall, pretty decent.
Naval
Note: As stated earlier, I will only be covering certain vehicles that I feel are worth it for naval because I am not knowledgeable enough about battleship gameplay to accurately recommend premium packs.
USA:
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Thunderbolt (PT-556) - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1600 / 1120 / 800 GE - Wiki page
- If you are looking to get into naval, this is my number 1 recommendation. America has the best naval trees and this is one of my favorite vessels in the game. It’s insanely fast and while it’s armor is made of paper (like most coastal fleet vessels), it has a super, super nice quad 20 mm cannon on the aft that absolutely shreds anything its shells come in contact with, plus 4 torpedos. It also fits into a ludicrously good lineup of it, the PT-565, the PT-59, the USS Tucumcari, PT-812, the A-36, and either the SB2C-1C or F6F-5 (the F6F-5 only works in arcade because it’s 3.3 in realistic). It’s also only 800 GE which is about $6 USD.
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USS Frank Knox - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1600 / 1120 / 800 GE - Wiki page
- It’s really good. It’s a USS Gearing at rank 3 which means it can research more and be used for events. The USS Gearing and thus the USS Frank Knox are super good. The guns are great, it has that super good reload that is typical of American destroyers, it’s fast like most American destroyers, it’s all around a really nice vehicle. I recommend the PT-556 more, but that’s more of a personal enjoyment thing. This is a much better SL grinder though, both because of the rewards and because naval is the best gamemode for farming SL.
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USS Moffett - Rank III - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1750 / 1225 / 875 GE - Wiki page
- It’s also really good. It’s a Porter-class and the Porters are super good. They’re all faster Gearings with more main caliber guns. I don’t have much else to say about this. Everything I said about the USS Frank Knox applies to this, except this trades some AAA armament for 8 main guns instead of 6 which is a very good tradeoff. It’s also a stellar SL grinder, much like the Frank Knox.
Germany:
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M-802 - Rank IV - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 3850 / 2695 / 1925 GE - Wiki page
- This is another one of those really solid lineup-filler vehicles. It’s really good because it gets the destroyer damage model that some high tier coastal fleet vessels get. It’s incredibly similar to the M-17 in the tech tree, this just has a few less secondary guns and gets premium bonuses. With this vehicle you get a really good German 3.7 coastal fleet lineup of the M-17, the Albatross, and the M-802, though the M-802 could be substituted for the Bussard if you have that. It also makes a really versatile lineup. The M-17 and M-802 are slow but very survivable damage dealers, while the Albatross and Bussard are fast and agile with a good gun, but get shreded in an instant.
Italy:
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Geniere (D 555) - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1150 / 805 / 575 GE - Wiki page
- It’s a USS Fletcher with worse AAA armament and 1 less main gun at BR 4.3 instead of 4.7 line the Fletcher, Cowell, and Bennion. The Fletchers are very fun. They have the great 5 inch guns, an absolutely bonkers reload speed, good speed, and are all around fantastic vehicles. I recommend this purely out of the virtue of it being a Fletcher-class which automatically makes it good. This vessel is practically identical to the JDS Yugure, except that this ship gets torpedoes while the Yugure doesn’t, so if you own the JDS Yugure, you’ve gotten the experience of this ship. This ship does suffer from being rank 2 though, so you can’t grind events with it.
Starter packs
Disclaimer number 8 gaijillion: We do not know if the starter packs will go on sale, when they may go on sale, or for how much they may be discounted. This is based on previous years.
These starter packs I recommend for beginners more than any other vehicle(s) in the game. If you are new to the game and you want to spend money on it, after a year of premium account for 50% off, get these. You will get far more utility out of them and they are a fraction of the price.
Almost all of the vehicles in the starter packs can also be purchased individually so their prices will be listed. However, you absolutely should get them in the starter packs because starter packs will give you 2 vehicles, 7 days of premium account, and 120,000 SL for only slightly more than the price of 1 of those vehicles. They’re an insanely good deal. I am about to criticize some of the vehicles in them, but all of these packs are still worth it.
USA Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $4.99 / $3.49 / $2.50 USD:
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Rasmussen’s P-36A - Rank I - Only available in the USA Starter Pack - Wiki page
- It’s good. It won’t blow you away, but a 12.7 mm machine gun at 1.3 is really nice and it performs well enough. it won’t rock your world, but if you’re new, it’ll serve you well.
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M3A1 (USMC) - Rank I - Only available in the USA Starter Pack - Wiki page
- The M3s are the predecessors to the M5s and thus are really good. When the M5A1s moved to 2.7, the M3A1s stayed at 2.3, so this vehicle has another tech tree M3A1 to run it with. Everything I said about the Canadian M5A1 is true about this. It’s vast, it’s versatile, and it will serve you well. The only downside is that the tech tree M3A1 is the only 2.3 vehicle the US has so there isn’t a full lineup for it.
German Beginner’s Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $4.99 / $3.49 / $2.50 USD:
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Ju 87 R-2 Libya - Rank I - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 400 / 280 / 200 GE - Wiki page
- It’s decent, but it’s not great. It’s a CAS plane which is nice for using it with the ground premium in this pack, but it doesn’t give you a good experience of what air battles are like because it’s meant for bombing, not aerial combat. Its camouflage is positively gorgeous though.
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Sd.Kfz.140/1 - Rank I - Only available in the German Beginner’s Pack - Wiki page
- This vehicle is the opposite. It is a monster. It’s not that mobile, but it has a super fast 20 mm gun with an incredibly HVAP-T round. It can shred anything from the side and a lot of things from the front. It’s a really great starter vehicle.
USSR Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $7.99 / $5.59 / $4.00 USD:
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Zhukovsky’s I-153-M62 - Rank I - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 400 / 280 / 200 GE - Wiki page
- It’s good. It’s surprisingly high in BR for a rank 1 plane with it sitting at 2.3. It’s fast for a biplane and while it doesn’t turn as well as some other biplanes (it has a super nice first few turns at high speed though), it has a really good fire density because, though its guns may be small caliber, it has 4 of them and they’re all in the nose.
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T-126 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- This is even higher than Zhukovsky’s I-153-M62. It’s a 3.0 rank 2 tank. It’s an up-armored T-50. It’s decent, but doesn’t have a lineup. The only vehicle you can run it with is the ZiS-43 which, while it does have a super nice AP-T belt on it, is also still an SPAA and everything aside from the gun on the ZiS-43 is atrocious. This vehicle is overall fine. Good in a vacuum, but it suffers from the lack of stuff around it.
British Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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Spitfire Mk.IIa Venture I - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1150 / 805 / 575 GE - Wiki page
- It’s a Spitfire. Of course it’s good. It turns very well, its engine power is good enough, 8 machine guns are quite potent even though they are only 7.7 mms, it’s a good vehicle overall. It won’t stun you, but for a new player, it’s exactly what is needed.
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Crusader II “The Saint” - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 700 / 490 / 350 GE - Wiki page
- The Crusader II is good. The gun is a bit lacking, but it’s good. Its armor isn’t incredible, bit it’s a light tank so it’s not supposed to be played that way, and it can survive a hit or 2 sometimes. It’s a well balanced vehicle. Decent mobility, fine enough survivability for a light tank, decent enough gun, it’s a good tank.
Japanese Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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Ki-44-I 34 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- Out of every starter pack, this is the best plane. I absolutely adore the Ki-44-I and this is just the tech tree Ki-44-I with a cool camouflage and premium bonuses. The Ki-44-II otsu is a better plane for the same price, so if you are buying this individually, get that instead, but as part of the starter pack, this is incredible. Good maneuverability, good speed and climbing, decent guns, all of those make it good, but this plane is much greater than the sum of its parts.
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Chi-He (5th Regiment) - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- The Chi-He is just in general a really good tank. Its armor isn’t incredible but it will work, having an APHE round at 2.7 is really good, it’s mobile enough, even if it’s not amazingly nippy, and it’s all around a very enjoyable and consistently good vehicle to play.
Chinese Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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H-81A-2 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- It’s the P-40C. It’s quite good. The guns are really potent for 2.3, it’s fast, it turns okay enough, though it absolutely should not be used in prolonged turning engagements because it will get outturned, especially by Japanese stuff and Spitfires, but it is very good for getting in, shredding something with the guns, and then escaping quickly, extending, and then coming around for another pass.
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M3A3 (1st PTG) - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 700 / 490 / 350 GE - Wiki page
- It’s functionally the same as the M5A1. It’s really good. It’s really versatile, it’s fast, the gun is good, it’s a very good all-rounder light tank. It can do everything except for straight out brawls because it will lose in those quite handedly.
Italian Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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Re.2001 gruppo 22 - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- I really like Italian planes and this is no exception. It’s fast, it turns well enough, the guns are good, it’s a super good all-rounder plane. It especially has a really nice first few turns in it. One thing to note though is that on WEP, the engine will cook itself nearly instantly, so you need to be super sparing with your WEP. Still good though.
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M14/41 (47/40) - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 700 / 490 / 350 GE - Wiki page
- It’s average. It’s an M14/41 at a higher BR with a slightly better gun. It’s overall just fine. Armor is fine, the gun is fine, mobility is subpar, it’s overall just average. It’ll get the job done, but it’s not that great.
French Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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P-40F-5 Lafayette - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- It’s a P-40F-10 with a different name and cooler skin. It performs way better than the P-40C and E at high altitudes and it has the same 6 wing-mounted 12.7 mm machine guns which, at 2.7, are devastating. Everything I said about the H-81A-2 applies to this, but it trades some turning capability for better engine power which is a worthy trade off because that plays to the P-40’s strength as a boom-and-zoomer, rather than a turn fighter.
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B1 ter - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 1300 / 910 / 650 GE - Wiki page
- This is one of my favorite and most monstrous tanks in the entire game. It has an okay 47 mm gun in the turret and an incredibly potent 75 mm gun in the hull at 2.7. Beyond that, it also is pretty much untouchable because its armor is just that impenetrable to everything at that tier except some American guns in an uptier and the Swedish because low tier Swedish tanks get APDS rounds. It’s basically the B1 bis with nigh unbeatable armor. The only place this tank can be reliably penetrated is the shot trap in the turret ring but at 2.7, nearly no one is experienced enough to know to shoot for the turret ring. This is a truly insane beast of a tank and one of the best in the entire game tier for tier.
Swedish Starter Pack - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): $9.99 / $6.99 / $5.00 USD:
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Fokker D.XXI - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 700 / 490 / 350 GE - Wiki page
- This plane is bad. Its performance is already not that great and is hampered by having 2 20 mm cannons under the wings which increases the wing loading, and the 20 mm cannons aren’t even good. They’re Oerlikon FFs and they’re bad guns. Their rate of fire is pretty good but they don’t do enough damage.
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Strv m/41 S-I - Rank II - Price (standard / 30% off / 50% off): 850 / 595 / 425 GE - Wiki page
- It’s average. It can be seen as a heavy light tank/a vehicle on the border between a light and a medium tank. It’s not awful, it’s just not incredible. It gets a very good APDS round with 115 mm of penetration, but other than that, it’s just average.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this guide and that it helped you pick you if you want to buy something and/or what you want to buy. If you disagree with my assessments of any of these vehicles, please explain in the comments and I might go take another look at them. Please keep the discussion in the comments civil.
Until next time, have a nice day!