Tier VIII Premium Tank Tier List for Credits and Crew Training

Written from the game as we know it through 2025; premium tanks get rebalanced, the shop rotates, and crew rules have been reworked before, so check the in-game values before buying.

A tier VIII premium has two jobs: to pay for the tier IX and X tanks that lose credits, and to train the crew that will sit in them. This list ranks premiums for those two jobs only. A tank that wins duels but burns expensive shells to do it ranks below a plainer one that goes home with more credits.

What the ranking measures

• Credit income per battle. Every premium earns at a raised rate, so the difference comes from how much damage and spotting the tank produces reliably, battle after battle.
• What it costs to run. A gun that penetrates with standard shells keeps the profit. A tank that needs premium rounds to hurt anything gives much of it back.
• Matchmaking. Tanks with preferential matchmaking never meet tier X. The price is usually a weak gun, which matters more than it used to, since ordinary tier VIII tanks have improved around them.
• Ease of play. A credit grinder is played tired, in long sessions and on bad maps. Forgiving tanks earn more over a hundred battles than brilliant fragile ones.
• Crew fit. A premium takes a crew trained for another tank of the same nation and class without penalty, so the right premium is the one that matches the line you are grinding.

The tier list

Tier	Tank	Nation, class	Why it sits here
S	Skorpion G	Germany, TD	Big damage per shot, standard shells that go through almost anything, a turret and good speed
S	Bourrasque	France, medium	Two-shell clip and high speed: deals its damage and leaves before the reply
S	Progetto M35 mod. 46	Italy, medium	Autoreloader that fits every map; steady damage with ordinary ammunition
S	Löwe	Germany, heavy	Accurate, high-penetration gun and a strong turret: the classic low-stress earner
A	Object 252U Defender	USSR, heavy	Thick armour and a hard-hitting gun forgive most mistakes; slow reload
A	T34	USA, heavy	Excellent turret and standard penetration; slow hull and slow aim
A	Škoda T 56	Czechoslovakia, heavy	Two big shots in quick succession behind good frontal armour
A	SU-130PM	USSR, TD	Camouflage, a turret-like traverse arc and high damage per shot from the second line
A	LT-432	USSR, light	Small, low and unusually tough for a scout: spotting income with a safety margin
A	Panhard EBR 75 (FL 10)	France, light	Wheeled speed and a clip; earns from spotting, but demanding to drive
A	Strv S1	Sweden, TD	Siege-mode sniper with great camouflage and penetration; helpless up close
B	Caernarvon Action X	UK, heavy	Tough turret and fast-firing gun; low damage per shot means long exposure
B	50TP prototyp	Poland, heavy	Strong turret and high damage per shot, with a long aim time
B	T26E4 SuperPershing	USA, medium	Preferential matchmaking and a solid front; slow, with weak points good players know
B	FCM 50 t	France, heavy	Preferential matchmaking, a fine gun and mobility; no armour
B	Type 59	China, medium	Preferential matchmaking and a bouncy turret; modest gun, rarely on sale
B	IS-6	USSR, heavy	Preferential matchmaking and good alpha; low penetration costs it premium shells
C	112	China, heavy	Preferential matchmaking, but its standard shells struggle, so profit shrinks
C	T-34-3	China, medium	Preferential matchmaking and a big gun for a medium, with poor handling and depression
C	8,8 cm Pak 43 Jagdtiger	Germany, TD	Preferential matchmaking and frontal armour; slow, with low damage per shot

Preferential matchmaking, honestly

Preferential tanks see at most tier IX, which sounds like the ideal grinding condition. In practice:

1. Their guns were balanced for that privilege, and most have low standard penetration. Against tier IX heavies they need premium rounds, which eats the income they were bought for.
2. Several of them are no longer sold regularly, so they turn up only in special offers.
3. They are comfortable, not lucrative. FCM 50 t and T26E4 SuperPershing are the two that still profit on standard ammunition most of the time.

If you already own one, it is a perfectly good crew trainer. As a new purchase for credits, the S and A tanks above earn more.

Which crew each tank trains

Match the premium to the line you are grinding. The class matters as much as the nation: a heavy-tank crew belongs in a premium heavy.

Nation	Heavy crew	Medium crew	Light crew	TD crew
USSR	Object 252U Defender, IS-6	T-44-100	LT-432	SU-130PM
Germany	Löwe	Schwarzpanzer 58	HWK 30	Skorpion G, 8,8 cm Pak 43 Jagdtiger
USA	T34	T26E4 SuperPershing	—	TS-5
France	FCM 50 t, Somua SM	Bourrasque, Lorraine 40 t	EBR 75 (FL 10), ELC EVEN 90	—
UK	Caernarvon Action X	FV4202	—	GSOR 1008
China	112, WZ-111	Type 59, T-34-3	—	WZ-120-1G FT
Japan	—	STA-2	—	—
Sweden	EMIL 1951	Lansen C	—	Strv S1
Italy	—	Progetto M35 mod. 46	—	—
Czechoslovakia	Škoda T 56	—	—	—
Poland	50TP prototyp	—	—	—

A dash means we do not name a tank we are unsure of, not that none exists; the shop adds premiums every year.

Before moving a crew, check two things in the garage:

• The crew positions. A five-man crew does not fit a four-man premium whole, and a loader who doubles as radio operator in one tank may be a separate crewman in another.
• The role you are training. Camouflage and spotting skills trained on a light tank do little for a heavy line. Train in the premium that plays like the tank the crew is going to.

Picking one tank

• Only credits matter: Skorpion G or Löwe. Both earn on standard shells and ask little of the player.
• Credits and fun: Bourrasque or Progetto 46, if you are comfortable with clip timing.
• A first premium, heavy lines ahead: Defender or T34, for the armour and the simple game plan.
• Scouting crews: LT-432, the most forgiving premium light.
• Tired of tier X opponents: FCM 50 t or T26E4 SuperPershing, accepting the lower ceiling.

Whichever you choose, the income comes from damage dealt and battles survived, so the tank you play well beats the one ranked a tier higher.