I hope that you buy that tank, and not once ever drive it out..
Why?
It must be worth all of this grinding. This or the IS-4M coming next. Which is even more OP, I heard.
I bought a russian tank, and i used the crap out of it to grind. then never drove it again. War Thunder raped my wallet
The IS-2 "Revenge"? I remember you had one when we played together. Well, I think it's not the best buy, it's not different from the normal IS-2 1944 (well, actually a little is - it lacks the DShK machine gun), but pretty expensive. And if you have one tier 4 tank but no other vehicles of similar BR in this nation, you'll be in trouble once your tank is gone.
Tier 5? Man, I've been playing this game for years and am just getting into the first line of tier 2.
Hm, maybe the amount of battles you had for that time is little?.. What's your ID in the game? I'll see your stats.
I play since spring 2013, but wasn't a really active player from the beginning. When tanks arrived a year later (spring or summer 2014), most of my planes were 1-2 tier (and one tier 3 Pe-3bis, because the game had different leveling system when I started). And this was when I started playing seriously (and almost dumped World of Tanks). Currently, my battle count is 1036 in Arcade, 2368 in Realistic and 136 in Simulator, and my progress is: tier 5 in Japan (two planes for now, Ki-200 and R2Y2 V1), tier 3 in German planes and American tanks, tier 2 in British tanks and tier 4 everywhere else.
When I do spend real money in the game, I do it for something unique. Like premium vehicles. Like I promised, I'll show my collection with a short review on each plane and tank. Here goes part one - my US premium collection (otherwise the post would be too big).
F2A-1 Buffalo (Thach ver.)
Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo (John Thach version) by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
Bought it with a discount when I had little gold gained on "Golden Battles" wager.
Chose it because it has has lower battle rating than the original F2A-1 (1.3 versus 1.7) so it lets you dominate over the enemy I-15 and He.51. But no more differences from the normal version besides the livery.
My rating: 7/10.
Ki-61-Ib Hien (USAAF ver.)
Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien (USAAF version) by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
Bought it with a discount, about two years ago. After spending most of the eagles from the Invader pack (see below), I still had left enough for this. I really liked the original Hien when I was developing the Japanese tree, so I thought why not to get a premium version.
And that was no mistake. I was playing in Arcade mode mostly back then, and did some nice grinding on tier 2. Also raised the crew skill seriously. And when I started getting into Realistic battles, this plane helped me get used to them. Strong, agile, decently armed (and with good ammo capacity compared to other Japanese planes so you can be relatively trigger happy) and having low BR, the American Ki-61 is forgiving and easy for a novice player to master. In RB mode, most American planes are not suited for highly maneuvrable combat, but the Ki-61 is (not like A6M Zero of course, but still good). So it can compensate your team's bad agility in RB, especially against Soviet or Japanese opponents. However, this version can't carry bombs so it's almost useless in combined battles (tank RBs).
My rating: 9/10.
Bf.109F-4 (USAAF ver.)
Messerschmitt Bf.109F-4 by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
Bought with a discount (on Victory Day 2016 sale).
Another captured enemy plane (the story says it was captured by Russians and then delivered to US for testing). The reasons for purchase were:
1. I thought like I need a tier 3 fighter to develop the US tree and train the Mustang crew (I already had the Ki-61, but it's less effective for researching 4th tier).
2. I really liked the German Friedrich (same case as above).
3. I'll buy this and will have the complete collection of premium 109's (already had Japanese E-3 and Romanian G-2).
I also considered getting the XP-50 instead, but I have bad luck on two-engined fighters (except for Bf.110 somehow).
Generally, a good plane. (But it's funny to see battles like American Bf.109 vs German P-47 pretty often.
) Likely to complete an RB match with 2-3 kills when the weather's good.
But it requires some skill. Less friendly to a newbie (than the Ki-61 for example).
The livery has only two US roundels (and one on the bottom, but it's less visible) so I like covering them with other 109 users'. Was flying with Israeli insignia for some time, now replaced them with Spanish (like on the pic).
My rating: 8/10.
BTD-1 Destroyer
Douglas BTD-1 Destroyer by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
Bought with a discount. My latest purchase (summer 2016).
Possibly one of the "must buy" planes, but I still didn't make a well use of it yet.
Carries decent payload, but can also bite back in air combat (thanks to 2x20mm cannons and surprisingly good agility). May be very useful in combined RB's (can carry 2x1000 lbs bombs or 1x2000), but my current kill count is... 4 planes and 0 player-controlled tanks. Bombing tanks is pretty tricky (there's no bomb sight), at least this thing has airbrakes (shouldn't forget to use them, because the plane handles like a stone when diving at high speeds and can crash easily). Another problem is the lack of rear gunner (but there's not much use of it anyway).
Also, it is VERY effective in "Pirate" events (that usually require destroying ships with torpedoes to earn prizes) because it carries two torps (Avenger and Helldiver carry only one. Catalina, H6K4 and Wellington carry two, but the first two are pretty slow and the British torps require very low dropping speed). When you play against a Japanese team in RB, two BTDs can lead the team to a quick victory by destroying all 4 carriers. However, carriers have strong AAA so it's better to use a squad of 3 BTDs in case if one gets shot.
My rating: 8/10 (possibly deserves higher, but I should try some more).
A-26C-45 Invader
Douglas A-26C Invader by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
A unique plane that can't be bought in the game shop. Can be acquired via promo codes. I also heard it could be won in some event.
My friend who bought a gaming laptop that included a code (but he doesn't play WT) sold it to me (very cheap, compared to how much it is usually sold). The package also included about 2000 GE and 15 days of premium account so that was a real bargain. However, the plane itself is...
The mighty successor of the A-20 Havoc. Bigger, faster, stronger and better armed. Very fast for a bomber, can evade some fighters if you're lucky. With this speed and 6 fixed .50cal Brownings in front, it can be used to intercept enemy bombers. The defensive armanent is 2 turrets with 2 .50cals in each, which makes it harder for an enemy fighter to shoot you down (I did some kills with those), but there's only one gunner controlling them, and if he dies, you'll lose both turrets. The battle rating is pretty high (6.0) so it gets matched with jets sometimes (I first discovered it when I was killed by a Ki-200 suddenly came out of nowhere).
A bad surprise was that despite of being a premium plane, it doesn't have money & XP bonuses (talisman has to be bought separately) and doesn't come with all modules equipped (like other premiums), they have to be researched and bought.
My rating: 6/10. Still haven't tried it in combined battles though (must reach BR 6.0 in US tanks first).
M2A4 (1st Armored div.)
Light Tank M2A4 by
RageRacer48, on Flickr
Currently my only premium in US tank tree. Got it for free when American tanks just appeared in the game.
Well... it's just a premium version of the reserve M2A4 you should know. Just a small money & XP bonus, a little different color and a bonus decal. Nothing special.
My rating: none. Didn't play it often enough to rate it (and I don't play reserves much). Can be useful for "Road of the Brave" event to get just a little more XP and Lions for it.
Next part is my German premium collection.