Why I Play World of Tanks FREE TO PLAY (PAIN) 

hi QB :) I started as a FTP in 2020 but without any knowledge of how the game work. for example when i was shot down i was afraid to leave the battlefield because I thought that I never going to see that tank again LOL, and also I didnt understand the XP and what is it for..... so i played my first tank so many times without improving it. For that reason I opened 2 accounts more.Took me about a year until I listened to my kids and wached videos on RU-vid. ( I'm 50 YO that never played online\multiplayers games). But thanks to you (and few others) I learned a lot. It is not that i can say that my game have change much (win ratio) but I feel more confident loosing LOL. Now from time to time I do spend a small amount of money but not getting over my head. (need to borrow someone els's credit card).

I've been F2P for 10 years and find the simple lack of credits is a pain. My slow accumulation of consumables leads to the occasional sale that brings in a bonus. But apart from that I find I often have to sell the tank below to upgrade to the next tier. The lack of credits does also affect the amount of gold I carry. I tend to load 8-10 shells and use it sparingly. I also only tend to carry it at VII and above.

Sixth sense being a standard perk and not a crew skill really made the difference for new players, WG did good there imo, remember the pain of not knowning when you are spotted as a new player?

just wanted to say im one of the f2p that doesn’t fire a single premium shell and will never, because of my credits and as a challenge to myself. The credits part its because im a very casual player who enjoyes having multiple tree lines at the same time so no money and the challenge part is almost as quickybaby said, it feels so good to do good in a game using only normal rounds against all gold spamming

I feel like the blue prints were great for stock tanks. sure you have to still spend exp on the modules, saving the blue prints and reseraching tanks for free problably saved me millions of exp by now

You should do a poll on youtube to know the proportion of f2p players subscribed, that would be great !

Is it really the free to play experience when you can play like 10 hours a day

My biggest tip came from my friends who play. As free to play the first 4 tiers are really hard due to silver shortages...so, instead of doing random battles, click the random battle and switch to topography missions. Each is 20k silver a mission, 5 missions per map plus bonuses. This is a great way for a new player, like me, to get silver for upgrades and such.

Pretend I said something cool

I distinctly remember the point in time before and after WG introdiced the Personal reserves into WoT. Those were the real gamechangers for me. Gringing Ferdinand and IS-3 for so long to research Jagditger and IS-8 (now T-10) but then NOT HAVING ENOUGH CREDITS to buy them was so fkn annoying, and ofc no prem days.. The premium tanks were just something that F2P players could've only dreamt about...

QB you forgot that although you didn't get premium days as rewards back in the day, you could win gold in events. as a F2P player, I won the Obj 283 with about 25 tokens. 18 tokens from daily holiday missions and traded shards in for the other tokens.

Been F2P since I switched to PC in 2015, and I've still been having so much fun playing. Picked up plenty of Tier VIII premiums, completed most of the lines in the game, and am consistently running with a 55% recent win rate. I already love the game, but playing F2P makes me love the game even more because the challenge is so rewarding.

I have to completely agree with Quicky, this last couple years were without a doubt in my mind the best time to hop in despite some of the balance issues and neglected tanks. I've been playing for 9 years according to the game, and I spent most of that time poking around kinda aimlessly. I unlocked a couple of my favorite WW2 tanks like the Sherman and the PzIV, but the game was pretty daunting. Few ways to get much premium time and exorbitantly priced items and shells were prohibitive unless you were willing to spend real money. Then, slowly, things changed. Wargaming has been handing out free premium like crazy, and operating without it at least feels a bit more feasible with all the extra x5 missions and battle pass bonuses. I've still invested a little bit into my account to get a couple decent premiums, but I got myself in a decent position that I shouldn't ever have to pay again. At this point, it feels far more like I have the option of buying stuff if I want to.

being a kid who was free 2 play in the open beta, it's amazing how much faster grinding is if you ever think it's bad now, I had to grind a vk3601 stock when the tier spread allowed it to see tier IXs and of course, the dreaded vanilla type 59.

Always love your gameplay! I am a free to play gamer myself and recognize all the struggles here xD Keep up the nice content!

You should use premium extinguishers though. I'm also F2P but I maintain a constant stock of 100 of those, they get used so rarely that it's of no consequence. Just the benefit in game when you have a fire is huge.

It sucks that it is not possible to pauze premium time.

Been using this top of the tree and vehicle discounts to get up the tree to the Badger. Got through thr AT 8 in 10 battles, and just finished the AT 7. Waiting a few more days to unlock the tier 8 discount from Mila to buy thr AT15. Really enjoying this tech tree line.

I have something similar; I have a regular account with prem time and another one (an abandoned test account I resurrected a couple of years ago) that i spent zero money on. Just wanted to see if it was possible to do reasonably well without spending any money (yes, it's possible). It's a different sort of challenge.

Nice video. One of the other things you could mention is that once you've had a head start with some money spent in the game, you can keep it going without spending more. I have a 9 years old account but in the last two years I spent less than 20 euros on it and still benefitted of a great experience, including affording to play with premium consumables and shooting premium ammo when needed. I know for many players who got used to spending money every month is hard to just stop and many stop playing altogether when they do not have the money to put in the game every month, but it is still playable.

Something I have been thinking about for awhile - the unedited style you do nowadays is so much more comfortable to watch than the repeatedly cut style of your earlier years. Well done

QB, three most played tanks on PlaysForFree account are on premium tanks: EBR, Bourrasque and Renegade (TS-5 is 6th). You earned those tanks in marathons, but I think they solve one of F2P problems - credit earning. This is experience you are (IMVHO) missing.

I used to play completely f2p from 2014 until last year's holidays ops when I bought 75 boxes and got myself some premium tanks from the boxes and with the gold from them some advent calendar prems too. The difference in grinding credits is like day and night, soooo much more comfortable

I haven't played Tanks in a few years. I'd love to see a video about navigating the interface. About how, why and when you activate different things during a session to maximise your earnings. After so many years away that would be a big help. Then I might be able to play a couple of hours and know I'm not wasting my time.

I think its great the effort you put in to stay in touch with all of the player base.

I wish Premium tanks are fighting Premium tanks while the tech tree tanks vs tech tree tanks ....

Great games Quicky im on console but I've always been free to play going through stock drives me nuts but it's more satisfying when you win.

CivilizedCaveman here: I've been / am a F2P Player for over eleven (11) years now. And yes, it's been Brutal at Times. But Love those moments when I Rock with a poorly trained Crew and No-Gold Rounds.

The economy in WoT is the main reason I don’t play beyond tier 8 very much. If I play tier 9-10 all I do is lose credits. It makes the grind so much harder because even when I get the XP I need to grind I can’t buy the upgrade or tank for 6-12 months (also because of the frequency I can play).

I play free2play for 4 years, win ratio only around 49, because it is taking so much time to grind tanks and doing sometimes not a lot for my team, it is hard, but now I have 80% of t10 tanks and some premium tanks for grinding credits, so it is possible to play even not spending money.

Quickie baby I am a free to play person love how you have that account And I want to say merry Christmas to you and Tanya

Tanks where you can justify loading only or mostly gold are autoloaders like the AMX 13 57, tanks with low ammo capacity where every shot has to count like Manticore, and high alpha dmg tanks where you have gold APCR, like the T110E3.

Very interesting discussion. I do have a standard account which I use most of the time. The reason for this is that between the premium time I've accumulated and trying to get marks on the tanks, I generally don't take time to play my second, free-to-play, account. Given my recent frustration with Wargaming, I will most likely start using my free-to-play account again. I have only got up to tier 6 on a couple of the lines, but do enjoy playing at the lower tiers with a more stock/standard tank. It is frustrating though when you get a filthy seal clubber who is padding their account stats by using a 4 or 5 skill crew, plus field mods in lower tier game. This is why, even on my regular account, I've never done field mods on anything lower than tier 6, not even on my second most used tank in the game, my M4A1. Great video QB, thanks for your perspective and you've inspired me to get back into the free-to-play mode.

My only spending was on the Xmass event (not this year). I don't shoot gold and the reason is purely economical - its expensive. So I have to aim for weakspots. I also sell all the premium consumables to keep my credits up. However, lately it is somewhat easier to play tiex 9 and 10 because of all the rewards in the game (on the other hand its also easier for many bad players and the game isn't that fun so often). And since I grind everything it hurts my stats (anyone who played stock tier 8 and 9 understands). Yet I still manage to get mark of excellence on many of my tanks.

Love playing Tier 6-7 and tier 9 tech tree tanks at the moment.

The biggest solution to being FTP is to join the right clan. My clan is COMPLETELY focused on booster use. The result is during prime time every single night there is a credit booster running for everyone all night. Add to that the credit boost for a platoon and its massive even for a casual. Quicky is not in a clan on the FTP and never ever platoons. SO that is even another massive handicap.

Good to see highway hasnt changed one bit at all

i play mainly for free only spending money mainly for holiday ops.this year i got super lucky with all the large boxes but even when i didn't i used the gold for premium days when i knew i had a good long time to play or bought a t8 tank. i've really been getting the bonds tanks and those help a lot with in-game money to spend on goods.

8:22 WoT god didn't allow you to get the kill, but looks like Zeus was on your side (looking at the lightning bolt at the sky)

I have gotten a lot more free stuff than usual, especially in last 3 or 4 months, but having a regular job, not been able to take advantage of some of it in same way

I use the same strategy to milk one day of premium time over two days that you described, it’s a good tip. It’s also good to know which vehicles you can play without dapping that “2” key.

Imagine the pain of starting WoT in 2022, 75% crews and Tier I tanks, zero knowledge of in-game combat.

IS-2 was my most played tank on console back in the day, absolute power house.

4 yrs in .. never spent a dime. Got my krnvagn, super conq, 277, leopard, cs-63, grille 15, 430U, all by grinding but its tough to afford to play them. All have 4+ skills but spend most of my time in teirVI-VIII to earn credits.. much more fun anyway since you can pen most of your fellow teir or plus 1.

QUICKY BABY is so down to earth

2018... remember that first "plays for free" video.. feels like yesterday

it's good to be back in WoT, i just bought T-10 with all the rewards given this event, now grinding for its tierX brother. o7

Im sadly a console player ha, i bin playing since it came out in xbox 360 lol and actually have bin watching your vids since then quickybaby and i only recently bin using gold rounds and omg have I bin suffering for nothing.. Im actually really happy you bin doing this cause this game is truly hard to grind. But never the less you have bin so much help through the years!!

i got the game at the start of december, and already got my first tier VIII (panther II) which i know is not that great, but i finally unlocked the top gun and BOY that 280 alpha feels so nice. also climbing the american med tech tree, and at the tier VII, although haven't purchased it yet due to credit problems haha. very happy that wg provide tier VIII premium rentals for completing the missions, and i now have a TS-5, CS-52 lis, and that one double barrelled russian heavy (702 II or whatever it's called). VERY HAPPY :DDDD

watching QB's videos is my morning routine now :)

When the game came out, you could get the top gun, load standard and fire at weak points or use your speed to have flanking shots. Maybe the T29 is the exception but you try to out play your opponent than anything else. When this exactly changed, I dont know (tanks not having weak points) but its a test of knowledge to know your standard pen and what you need to do to make this work. Plus HE was free to play and actually did damage (indirectly); which could cause the opponent to move in your favour.

The one premium consumable it is worth using is the automatic fire extinguisher, since if you have it its less likely to use it, so you don't go through them as much.

Just a few questions: On your re-roll, which tanks and branches did you prioritize? Any nations you've skipped totally?

i started playing ftp from 2008 and i love it

I used to spend £85 on xmas boxes, I bought a wide variety of premium tanks and I used the xmas gold to buy a year of Premium time, several times. That all ended in 2019. In December 2019 I bought 360 days (taking me upto ~450 days) with the gold from the £85 of boxes. Since then I spent £10 on a Tiger 131 (as the money went to the Tank Museum) and £2 on gold, so that with the gold I had already, I had enough to buy something in one of the Black Market type events. My 450 day of prem lasted until February this year (due to all the free prem days the WG give away). This year I've played without prem time, other than the few days that WG give out from Battle Pass. I play EVERY tank. I do use free XP to buy tracks, etc, but I never skip tanks. I now have every Tier 10 in the Tech Tree and haven't sold a tank in over 3 years. I've essentially been Free To Play for 3 years now.

I've been playing this game 10 years and I've never noticed those buildings with the towers outside the red line on Karelia before. The only tank I take a near full premium round load out is the Excelsior. 91 pen on its standard rounds is terrible for a Tier 5 heavy.

QB: "i started my free 2 play acc in 2018" my brain: "Oh, thats 2 years ago"

For me, I tried the whole battlepass, daily double xp games, and twitch drop method of playing the game, and it turned into the game playing me for FOMO rather than me enjoying the game. Would not recommend. Still fun to watch gameplay of WoT though, so keep the content coming! 👍

i have not brought prem days now for over 3 years ....because of different missions events drops ...i agree last few years have been really good .

such a great video

You should try going for the polish medium tanks, unless you already have them, they have been an absolute pain to play stock and without a prem account it really has been horrible.

I only spend money at Christmas time to buy loot boxes. I really try to look at it as cheap gold to facilitate my play thru the rest of the year, and not be disappointed if it doesn't workout great in regards to premium tanks. The rest of the year its free to play, I mix in my premium tanks alot for credits and satisfaction, and then usually focus on the On Track tanks or tanks that I know lead to good Tier 8, 9 and 10 tanks. If you are really hurting, try focusing on medium and heavy tanks around T8 that have at least 100mm guns with mobility and gun handling ... I like the T44.

A Tiger 1 master class video would be awesome. Bring it back to where/why the journey started.

6:18 U are apsolutely right, 6:22 i'm one of those players, but nowdays wg is pushing you to buy new premiums cause older are outdated and no match for new ones.. Thank you QB for having a sense for 50% of us

I rarely use gold rounds, but usually carry a few.

Free to play isn't that bad at all if you manage your expectations. There are many great tanks up to tier 7 that you can play somewhat competitively for free(i.e. without premium account). About premium tanks there are multiple reward vehicles and affiliate program and bond store so you can get some premium tanks to grind credits with. The biggest disadvantage for a new/free player is crew experience, which recently is easier to get then ever. But yes up to tier 7 it's fine. Above... is more of a challenge.

I've been a blitz player for 6 years and only recently switched to PC. For me the two things that I struggle with isn't making credits or penetrating tanks but rather setting up tank skills and simply not knowing where to go on a map. But still, for a complete beginner, making credits would be hard if you don't look into the price of shells before you choose your tank

I am doing the same. I have a paid account on which I spend money and an account where I absolutely don't spend any money. needless to say the second account takes a lot longer to grind through

The only tank in which I use only premium ammunition is Valentine II, which I won at the 2018 marathon. He has set up a tier 2 gun and he is tier 4 and pic against PZ. B2 with him :( And the only tank I buy was Lancen C when first appear in the game. They say back then: "Our first Tank with 3D cammo in the game". And looks cool and I love it. I play from 2013, I have like 57 tanks in my garage and 45 of them are premium, from christmas, wargaming aniversary, wot aniversary, events, recruit frends etc. The are most low tier, like I have for example 12 tier 2 premium :)) But I also like on low tier to play.

I get those kind of stats in mid tier tanks. I have tanks in all tiers and I use my tier 8 light tanks for making most of my credits. But, I get over 1,000 XP in my tier 4 and 5 tanks and make credits to boot! I do it also with tiers 6 and 7, but not as much and I'm more likely to lose credits in those if we lose the battle. I don't use food, but I do use premium repair kits, fire extinguishers and first aid kits. I pre-buy them when they're on sale 50% off. It's just one less thing to think of when I'm face hugging some KV1 or a Matilda!

I have spent some money on WoT, WoWS and many other games.. A few premium tanks or ships, crew upgrades and the like. For me, it is ok to spend some reasonable money on a game that I enjoy. The developers earned it by providing an entertaining game. I enjoy watching QBaby play the PlaysforFree account because it demonstrates that success is about skill and knowledge. Failures are fun too.

Bro.. this video made me rich of credits in half a second, i had packed a whole lotta of premium consumables without even using them for few YEARS now and now i'm not even lacking of credits anymore, thanks mate xD i should've seen that earlier...

so, when he played the E75, I notice he doesn't talk about the absolutely horrendous engine and gun it starts out with. a T8 gun with 200 pen (and like, 365 Alpha...) and an engine that dies from one shot through the lower plate. The E75 is a absolute barnyard of a tank until you get the engine and the tracks and the gun, which in total cost about 75k experience. with no premium time, that is HELL to get through, so just be warned my friends...

I recently started WOT. As a new player trying to grind through to even tier 5 all I get is pitted against players who have decked out crews and are firing nothing but gold. Every shot pens you and your bounce.

This is why I no longer play. Between work, school, and family. There wasn't time to put into playing for hours on end to grind enough money to play a handful of games above tier 6. Couple that with the memories of playing with a very good friend who passed away it really took the fun out of the game.

Generally agreed on the gold thing, but there's an exception: the 105 gun on ARL 44 has 30 more dmg on gold rounds than standard (330 vs 300) and only 30 less than HE, so on this one loading full gold isn't a dumb idea

Keeping the premium fire extinguishers always seems fine to me... I so rarely catch fire, it also reduces fire chance it's rarely gets consumed, also the damage it saves me by not being on fire due to me being an idiot and not hitting the 6 key, can be the difference between a win or a loss.

I never carry premium ammo, I do carry the first aid/fire ext/repair kits for the bonuses but never use them. I sell them to help pay for the next tank upgrades. I never use directives, etc., and do not care for field mods. Premium days should be able to only be used once you are actually online. Would greatly prefer the game to have randomly generated maps, much less tank modification and less of the overpowered tanks. I generally have enjoyed the game and have purchased a yearly subscription a few times. Enjoy your videos, Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Astron Rex is the tank where firing gold only is a necessity in my opinion.

I really think even as a mostly free to play player they should get 2 premium tanks on sale and rotate them during play with boosters to make credits. Totally changes enjoyment because of being able to buy everything with credits and earn bonds where you can get even more tanks. Those initial 2 tanks can set you up forever in the game.

I played both and i have some suggestions. 😁 First of all: know maps and weakpoints of tanks. If you know this, you can get recent amount of exp and credits every game. Event if you play bad tank. 😅 First: find clan. When you play for clan you can do much more than usual. Second: grind tank lines who are forgiveble. I dont Play for a while, so I dont know which one is good now. When i played, you should grind 8 lvl heavy French tank: AMX 50 100. Why this? Because of magazine. Most new player play very rapidly and rapidly die. 😅 With magazine it hurt less, because you can shoot 3-4 times before most other tanks can reload. So more shoots, more hits, more DMG, more exp and credits. 😁 Third: use bonus codes. Many website give you codes. Just find good and use them. 😁 And last: If you can, play premium tanks. Som codes gives you one, some codes gives you gold and them you can buy it. For new players three is I think premium tanks and so on.

I've never spent a single penny on the game. Just unlocked my first tier 10. The mighty Super Conqueror. My god, it eats credits, especially repairing those lovely pixel shot ammo racks. I use my reward tanks like the lago to build credits.

For the longest time, I was the middle man between a F2P and P2W. I would save up money and buy premium tanks about two times a year. Never spent gold on gold rounds, nor credits when they first became available. Aside from the odd prem tank (usually Tier 6 and below aside from the IS-6 I once got as a bonus), I never spent anything for gold, gold rounds, prem time, or prem consumables. I struggled about as much as an F2P player, especially on the credits. I ground my Tier 5 tanks all the time making credits, because they were fun, easy to learn, and a lot more people played them back in the day. Now that I have gotten older, have a full time job, etc., I do get the occasional tank, prem consumables, or credit bundle. I'd say the Christmas loot boxes and Battle Pass is where most of it ends up, just for the rewards. I've seen some full P2W players out there, and I just couldn't do it. I like having to challenge myself, to some degree or another, and try to be closer to the F2P side.

The only tank with I spam only gold is the IS-7, but that tank has one of the worst heavy tank gun in tier 10. With a nice buff on its AP shell velocity and better gun handling, I would stop doing that. But currently that tank needs every help to even have a chance in current meta.

I was extremely frustrated with WoT and was on a four year break. I got back into it and it's actually more fun than when I stopped (save for the few players that deem it necessary to admonish your for having a bad game). But I cannot imagine playing for free. I usually spend money to buy gold to train (or re-train) crews. 50% crews are just horrible. And crews for silver aren't that much better either. So... gold it is unfortunately.

I only pay some dollars during the christmas season as the boxes have better gold value. Other than that, it's mostly prime subscription

The difference now between tech tree tier 8 tanks and the premium ones are not unbelievably reiduclious. At least at tier 8 especially for new players it going to be tough.

So I play 50/50. I've only spent money on the game twice. 1st was the warhammer battle pass. 2nd was for 12 boxes in this Xmas event. Apart from that I'm completely F2P, I've taken pride in the few games I've done really well. I've only managed to mastered 1 T9 tank (K-91-TP), not MOE. Been playing for just over 2 years now and have only recently recherche my first T9 (ironicly the E75)

yh im not a ftp player myself ill admit it. and i do spam gold in some tanks like the cs 52 lis with the big improvement to the shell velocity and only in a couple tier 10 tanks beacuse its hard to survive tier 10 without spamming gold like everyone else, i couldnt beat them so i joined them.

I use mostly standard ammo and like to carry around 4000 to 5000 damage worth 10 to 15 rounds (assuming all penetrated) incase I get in a tense game or fighting a tank that I just can't damage

I'm confused about intuition, is it automatic when you switch rounds or do you have to click something to activate it first? As for the topic of the vid, I have come back to the game after a few years of dropping it. And yes, the Battle Pass is a lifesaver, it allows me to gain creds, premium days, equipment, and even bonds without spending a penny. Sadly I came in half way through the season, so I won't be able to complete all 3 chapters but I completed the 1st one and am halfway through the 2nd. Even picked up the Tier 8 Russian Medium with bonds or points (i don't remember) because I didn't realize you can save them up so I spent them thinking I would lose them. I have since gotten premium plus for the gold alone to get those extra battle pass awards, but may drop it as I'm still on the fence on it's worth, but have already maxed out the first week at 500, so may keep it lol.

Would love to see you play the 110 on your PlaysForFree account, the topgun is not even decent at 215 pen default against the overpowered premium Tier VIIIs, IXs, Xs.

Questions for QuickyBaby-Do you enjoy the game as much as you did a couple of years ago? How many games did you have to play to have one that lasted longer than five minutes?

10 year ago, you could win gold in game fairly regularly. You could grind the top of the tree tank, and get reward tiers 5 premium tanks, or gold compensation if you already had it.... 10 year ago, there were less gold rounds being flung around, tous making F2P easier.... Different times...

Fun fact If you put the orange and blue coral skin showcased in game 1 on a char futur 4 the char headlamp lights up bright blue 😎

Thing is I never fire gold so I bounce gold rounds because I don't know how to penetrate with gold rounds because it opens up a whole new learning curve kind of. Maybe because I'm not used to firing HEAT and what that implies for aiming at tracks and screens sort of.

As a (mostly) f2p player, I can tell you, that you can use the automatic fire extinguishers which you get through various means for free (like events,missions, etc.), and never run out of those. I have automatic fire extinguishers on all my tanks and I never buy them, and yet I never run out of those. In fact, I believe, I get more than I use up, so QB, you can use those automatic fire extinguishers as well, since it is in no way p2w.

The Tiger II is my personal favorite. The gun is extremely accurate (mine have .29 dispersion), have good pen, and you have okay armor. And you arent even that slow. The E75 is also good, but you wont be doing much in big-boys fights with any gun unless you tap the 2 key. For this regard, TDs are likely some of the more f2p friendly vehicles, as you get more powerful guns I grind all stock t8 in frontline, unless its a t8 with no grind, perhaps something like the Borsig.

Panzer 2 j, is probably the only tank we're loading only gold is what you're going to have to do to do any damage

I am NOT a free to play player, however i spend "responsibly" and that is still some amount of money. When you reach T8 and start fighting tanks ON DRUGS you start asking yourself some questions. Back in the days i saw that playing T10 was expensive so i decided to almost never play it, as i prefer using cheaper tanks. So as a "normal" player, my top tier was the T9. I'm always short on credit but always managing without having to farm in my premiums. In short : i play my kind of fun. I have used premium food in about 40 games.