War Thunder is a free-to-play game, but it still has to make money somewhere. That’s when Premium Tanks come into play.

Tanks advancing on ruins and burnt ground.

Premium tanks in War Thunder represent la creme de la creme of the armored vehicles in the game, spanning from experimental, advanced “blueprint” tanks up to just a Russian light tank with 2 giant bombs strapped at each side. I’m not joking, this is real and it’s in the game.

Naturally, these tanks are meant to be more powerful or at least more interesting than their free counterparts. In this guide, we will list the best and most overpowered premium tanks in War Thunder! We will take into consideration tanks from every Battle Rating, how they perform in comparison to other vehicles in their same league, how easy they are to use and how different they are from their gratuitous counterparts, should they have one. 

#5 T14 (Best for assaults)

A T-14 on grey background.

“Ahah, sloped armor goes PFOWM.”

The T-14 is a premium American Rank III tank, with a B.R of 4.7. It plays a lot like a very sloped Sherman and, apart from its monstrous armor, behaves almost exactly like a beefed-up Sherman. 

It is an assault tank, which means that it was thought up with engaging in combat as its first and foremost task. Do not be afraid to charge forwards and take out whatever you can with your trusty 75mm cannon. Just try and angle at 45° as much as you can, so you can be sure that shots will glide off like nothing ever happened. It also has a stabilized gun and its APHE shells will destroy any Panzer III and IVs that you may encounter on your way to victory!

What the T14 excels in:

• Brawling with other tanks
• Assaulting enemy Capture Points
• Dealing with German Panzers.

#4 - XM1 (Best for flanking)

The XM1 Prototype on a grey background. Note the scale on the bottom.

A very early Abrams, but plays like a Leopard.

The XM1 is an M1 Abrams prototype tank, with great speed and turret traverse time, and decent armor. It can still even compete with 10.0 BR tanks even though it has a battle rating of 9.7. 
The most suitable role for an XM1 is flanking. You can capture points quicker with this tank, move around better and it also has great optics. It sits on the line between modern Main battle tanks and last generation MBTs, which means that it dominates in down-tiers. It may be expensive to buy, but it is a really popular tank and rightly so. 

What the XM-1 excels in:

• Flanking
• Capturing points
• Supporting your team

#3 -  KV I C 756 (r) (Best for raking up kills)

The German KV-1 rolling through russian fields.

Also known as the German KV-I, king of the “Just stick a bigger gun in it Hans!” school of thought.

This tank can take a beating for sure, thanks to its much thicker armor in comparison to most other KV-1, and can kill much, much better than its Russian counterpart thanks to the 7.5 cm German gun mounted on this beast. This combination will make this a very powerful “Trojan Horse”. 

The extra armor takes off the weak spots traditionally found on the KV-1 and overall it is just plain better than its standard variant. Although it is not overpowered per se, it is a tank you want for sure in your line-up!

What the KV I C 756 (r) excels in:

• Getting a lot of kills
• Absorbing much more damage than a standard KV-1
• Serving as a sort of early Tiger tank.

 #2 - Sd.Kfz.234/4 (Best Light tank)

The Puma on grey background. 

Full name is Schwerer Panzerspähwagen 7.5 cm Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234/4 Panzerabwehrkanonenwagen. Let’s agree to call it just Puma.

This is a very rare vehicle. That is because this is one of the most expensive tanks on the marketplace, ranging from around $600 to $1000. It has one of the most powerful German 7.5 cm cannons, just second to the Panther’s gun. 

It has good speed and agility, as well as a very low Battle Rating of 3.0, which paired with its ridiculously powerful gun, makes this a very much overpowered vehicle that can be viable even up to 7.0 BR. Truly an awesome piece of German engineering.

What the Sd.Kfz.234/4 excels in:

• Scouting
• Killing almost any tank it encounters
• Agility and speed

#1 Char B1 Ter (Best for Killing everything it comes across)

The B1 Ter. Note the scale on the lower left corner. 

There’s no way in hell you’re taking this one down.

This vehicle dominates at 2.3 BR. It is just a better B1 Bis, which is already an excellent tank. It has better armor, better speed, better everything! The turret is stabilized and the vehicle even has a cruise control function to allow you to move forwards while still being able to use the stabilizer on the turret.

Nobody knows how to pen this behemoth as it has just 1 or 2 weak spots at its battle rating. It is also very cheap, so you won’t empty your wallet by getting this very powerful tank.  

What the Char B1 Ter excels in:

• Being unable to die, mostly
• Advancing and taking hits like nothing
• Allowing even unskilled players to get 5 to 10 kills per match.  

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