A January Gift Shop has just opened for EU players and arrayed in its virtual windows are five different packages. Three of these are tanky bundles, while the other two just offer you nothing but money. In-game money, that is. I sat down with a calculator to work out the exchange rate on each of these. Which stretches your Euros the furthest?
Here they are, from the cheapest to the most expensive:
- The Black Prince Bundle (€13.95) offers the Matilda Black Prince, a sluggish premium Tier V British medium tank worth1,750 gold, a garage slot usually worth 300 gold, a three day Premium Account worth 650 gold, 1000 gold to spend and 10 Large Repair Kits, worth 50 gold each. That makes a grand total of 4,200 gold, or 301 gold per Euro.
- The Credit Package (€14.95) is nothing but in-game currency. 1,500,000 credits are yours. With an exchange rate of 400 credits for every gold you spend, that’s the equivalent of converting 3,750 gold, which works out as 250 gold per Euro.
- The British Bundle (€29.95) sounds like wrestler to me, and includes the rather slow AT-15 A, a premium Tier VII British tank destroyer usually on sale for 6,500 gold, plus a garage slot, a three day premium account, 1,000 gold and 15 Large Repair Kits. Getting 9,200 gold works out as 307 gold per Euro spent.
- The USSR Bundle (€29.99) features the bloody deadly SU-122-44, a premium Tier VII Soviet tank destroyer worth 6,750 gold, a garage slot, a three day Premium Account, 1,000 gold to spend and 15 Large Repair Kits. That’s a grand total of 8,800 gold, or 293 gold per Euro.
- The Booster Package (€31.95) includes a thirty day Premium Account (usually 2,500 gold), 1,500 of gold to blow as you wish and 2,000,000 credits, which would usually set you back 5,000 gold if you bought them in-game. I make that 281 gold per Euro.
As you can see, there’s not much in it, but the Credit Package doesn’t look like the best option. Do bear in mind that premium accounts earn you 50% more credits and 50% more experience per battle, so they earn for you in proportion to how much you play and can be very good value for money for the dedicated player. Remember, too, that all these premium tanks earn you experience that you can spend on your other tanks, as they don’t need to be upgraded themselves.
I can’t say I’ve tried any of the premiums on offer here, but the Matilda Black Prince is known to be a little slow with a decent, fast-firing main gun, while the AT-15A packs one heck of a punch with its weapon. The Soviet SU-122-44, however, has quite the reputation as a tough and very dangerous tank destroyer that could earn you boatloads of experience. It’s certainly one of the better value packages on offer here, if you go by my calculations, though the best penny stretchers are the British. Naturally.