How to make credits in World of Tanks: a farming plan for 2026

Facts on this page come from Wargaming's own announcements and store descriptions, checked on November 10, 2026. If you are brand new, read the beginner guide first and come back here once you reach tier VI or VII. Everything else on the game is collected on our World of Tanks hub.

Where credits come from, and where they go

After each battle the game pays you credits for what you did: damage you dealt, damage your teammates dealt to targets you spotted, kills, capture and defence points, and a bonus for winning. From that gross figure it takes the cost of the shells you fired, the consumables you used and the repairs your tank needs. The number that matters is the net result in the battle report, not the big one at the top.

That is why the same player can be rich at tier VI and broke at tier IX. Income grows with tier, but repairs and ammunition grow faster. A tier X loss where you die early with a few premium shells fired can wipe out the profit of several decent games. You do not fix that by playing more battles. You fix it by choosing what you play, how you shoot and how long you stay alive.

Credit farming as a free player

You do not need to pay to stay solvent. Free players who keep a healthy balance usually follow the same pattern: they research at high tier, but they earn at low and mid tier.

• Keep a tier V to VII tank you are good in. Repair and ammo bills are small there, so even an average battle ends in profit. When the balance gets low, play it for an evening.
• Stay alive. A tank that survives with half its hit points repairs for a fraction of a destroyed one, and it keeps dealing damage and spotting, which is where the income comes from.
• Spot and assist. Damage dealt to targets you spotted pays you credits. Light tanks and fast mediums can make good money without firing much.
• Sell what you will not replay. A tank you finished researching and never drive again is credits sitting in your Garage. Selling gives back only part of the price, so keep the ones you enjoy and dump the rest.
• Research modules before buying the next tank. A stock tank loses games, and losses cost money. Our beginner economy mistakes page goes through the classic traps one by one.

Premium tanks: the real credit makers

Premium vehicles are built to earn. They come with no research to do, they are sold fully upgraded, and they are tuned to make more credits per battle than regular tanks of the same tier. That is why most players who stay above water at tier IX and X keep at least one tier VIII Premium tank in the Garage and switch to it whenever the balance drops.

Which one to buy, how to judge a Premium before paying and which traps to avoid is covered in our dedicated guide: premium tanks for beginners. The short version: buy a tank you will actually enjoy playing a few hundred times, because a credit maker you avoid makes nothing.

You do not always have to pay for one. Premium vehicles show up as Battle Pass Token Store rewards, as free event rewards (the Eclipse, a tier IX, was the top reward of Halloween 2026), as Twitch Drop store items and as WoT Plus vehicles. Our Battle Pass and events guide tracks what is on offer now.

WoT Premium Account and WoT Plus

These are two different products and they do different things. WoT Premium Account is about raw income. WoT Plus is a subscription with a smaller battle bonus and a long list of quality of life features. Here is what each one includes today.

Which one for credits? If your only goal is credits, Premium Account wins clearly: +50% on every battle in every vehicle plus the weekly Credit Reserve. WoT Plus Core is better value for players who also want the two exclusive tanks, free demounting and the Gold Reserve. Pro adds the Pro Boost, which helps if you grind one regular tank at a time. Since Update 2.4.1, Steam players can buy a 180 day Pro subscription in the game store, and a running Core subscription can be upgraded to Pro.

WoT Plus: New Level! (official World of Tanks channel)

Personal Reserves, missions and the Battle Pass

Personal Reserves are temporary boosters. The credit ones you will see most often give +50% or +100% credits for 1 hour. They drop from events, the Battle Pass, Twitch Drops and bundles: the DOOM and Dune Battle Pass bundles each included 20 Personal Reserves for +50% credits, and the Season XXI Supply Lines bundle added three for +100% credits. Some event versions expire after 7 days, so check the timer in the Depot.

The rule is simple: activate a credit reserve only when you have a full hour to play, and play your best earning tank while it runs. A reserve burned on two battles before dinner is a reserve wasted. Arcade modes such as Snowballs have their own rules, so read the event page before you activate anything there.

Daily missions are the steadiest free income in the game. They refresh every day, take a few Random Battles and pay credits and other rewards. Premium Account adds a chain of three extra daily missions. Clear them first in the session, while you still have the patience for their conditions.

Battle Pass. The free Base track of every season and Special chapter pays credits along the way, plus reserves, Crew Books and equipment. You earn it just by playing the vehicles that count for the season, so check that list before you pick a tank. Season XXI ends on November 25 on EU and November 24 on NA and Asia.

Personal Missions. Since Update 2.4, finishing an Operation "With Honors" pays one year of WoT Premium Account on top of a tier XI vehicle. That is a long project, but no other free source gives that much Premium time.

Cut your costs: ammo, consumables and repairs

Most credit problems are spending problems. Three bills eat your income, and you control all three.

• Premium ammunition. It costs credits, and much more than standard rounds. Load it for targets you cannot penetrate frontally, not as your default shell. Learn the weak spots instead: our armor and penetration guide shows where to aim.
• Consumables. Standard repair kits, first aid kits and extinguishers cost little. The large versions cost far more. Use them on tanks where a burning engine or a dead driver loses the game, not on every vehicle you own.
• Auto restock. The Garage can refill ammo and consumables automatically after each battle. Leave it on for standard shells and kits, but switch it off for premium items on tanks that do not need them, or the game keeps buying them for you.
• Repairs. You pay for the damage you take. Do not trade hit points for nothing, and do not suicide at the end of a lost game: the repair bill is the same either way, but staying alive may give you more damage first.
• Equipment. Moving standard equipment between tanks costs gold or a Demount Kit unless you have WoT Plus. Plan your setups so you do not keep buying the same items twice. The equipment guide lists the setups worth paying for.

A daily credit routine that works

1. Check the Garage first. Collect Battle Pass rewards, open the Depot and see which credit reserves you own and when they expire.
2. Clear daily missions. Pick tanks that fit their conditions. With Premium Account, do the three Premium missions as well.
3. Activate one credit reserve. Only if you have an hour. Pair it with Premium Account if you have it.
4. Play your credit maker. A tier VIII Premium if you own one, otherwise your best tier V to VII tank. Fire standard shells unless you really need gold rounds.
5. Grind the high tier tank after that. Once the balance is safe, use the rest of the session for research. Keep an eye on the net result per battle.
6. Sell and tidy once a week. Sell tanks you are done with, demount equipment you need elsewhere and spend Battle Pass Tokens before a season ends.

What not to do with your credits

• Do not buy a tier X before you can run it. A tier X with no credit buffer forces you to play it with standard shells and no consumables, which loses games. Keep a buffer of a few million before you move up.
• Do not spend credits on what you can get free. Battle Pass and events hand out equipment, Crew Books and reserves regularly. Check the Battle Pass and events guide before you buy them.
• Do not chase code sites. Real bonus codes are rare, and most of them give styles and a day of Premium, not credits. Our bonus codes page lists only codes we could confirm.
• Do not ignore returning player gifts. After 60 days or more away, the Update 2.4 Welcome Back package includes 30 days of WoT Premium Account and Personal Reserves. If you are coming back, log in and claim it before you play.

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