Premium tanks in World of Tanks aren’t purchasable on Amazon or eBay — they’re bought with real-money gold or gifted in-game, and a “best” pick depends on what you actually want one for. At tier III, that’s almost always one of three things: fast, low-stakes credit income, a place to train a crew before it moves to a permanent tech-tree tank, or a forgiving vehicle to learn a new nation’s playstyle on. Here’s what the tier III premium roster actually offers.
T-127 (Soviet, premium light tank)
The T-127 is a Soviet tier III premium light tank with unusually thick hull and turret armor for its tier, sloped enough on the front to encourage the occasional ricochet against other low-tier guns. It pairs that with a rapid-firing gun that’s forgiving of aiming mistakes, and it can reasonably fill a scouting, flanking, or direct-support role depending on the match. For a Soviet-line crew member, it’s a solid low-stress place to bank early credits and skills.
M3 Light (Soviet, premium light tank)
The M3 Light is the Soviet Union’s take on the American M3 Stuart, supplied to the USSR during WWII through the Lend-Lease program and recreated in-game as a tier III Soviet premium. It’s a lighter, faster alternative to the T-127 for players who’d rather out-position opponents than out-armor them.
Pz.Kpfw. S35 739 (f) (German, premium medium tank)
The Pz.Kpfw. S35 739 (f) is a German tier III premium medium tank — a captured French SOMUA S35 pressed into Wehrmacht service and modeled here with a notably generous ammo capacity and rate of fire for its tier. It’s a good option for anyone training a German crew rather than a Soviet one, and its medium classification gives it a bit more flexibility in positioning than the two light tanks above.
Why bother with a tier III premium at all
- Credits: Premium tanks earn more credits per battle than an equivalent tech-tree vehicle, and at tier III the repair/ammo costs are trivial, so nearly every match nets a profit even on a loss.
- Crew training: Any crew member can be moved into a premium tank and train up (or keep their skills fresh) without being tied to that nation’s specific tech-tree line, which matters if you’re grinding toward a different tank with the same crew.
- Elite status from day one: Premium tanks come fully researched, so there’s no module grind standing between you and its final performance.
Buying tips
- Check the in-game Premium Shop before assuming a specific tank is currently purchasable — Wargaming rotates which tier III premiums are on sale, and some (like event or Twitch-drop tanks) are gift-only and can’t be bought outright.
- Match the nation to the crew you actually want to train; there’s little point buying a German premium to train a Soviet crew, since crew skills and qualifications are nation- and sometimes vehicle-type-specific.
- At tier III, matchmaking spread is narrow enough that these tanks rarely face anything wildly out of their league — it’s one of the lowest-pressure tiers to learn positioning and aim before moving up.