There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

In most cases the straightforward approach works. The exceptions are specific and listed below.

  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Write down what you changed, so you can undo exactly one thing if it goes sideways.

Picking the wrong line in World of Tanks costs weeks, so the research order matters more than any single tank. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have.

The practical answer

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of World of Tanks. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

Worth knowing alongside this

Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Do not build a routine around an edge case.
  • Prefer the in-game option over an external tool when both exist.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.

When the usual advice fails

Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. Everything below is framed around the current state of World of Tanks rather than a launch-week impression. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of.

If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows.

What to do instead

A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Why it works this way

World of Tanks is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

Where people go wrong

  • Grinding a method that was patched months ago because a thread still ranks well.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.

World of Tanks FAQ

Why do people disagree about this?

Mostly because they are describing different versions. Version drift explains the majority of contradictory advice about World of Tanks.

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

What is the short answer?

It is the paragraph near the top. Everything after it exists for the cases where that paragraph does not quite fit.

Does this change between platforms?

The behaviour does not. Where menu paths or prompts differ, that is noted above.

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.