Tier 5 premiums don't have a great reputation. Tier 5 also got partly butchered in the update 5.5 'massacre' in which WG streamlined the tech tree. Nowadays, tier 5 is still a good learning tier for people who don't want to rush the tech trees. If you're reading this, you're one of them! That's a good thing, since our beloved game lacks an influx of people caring about their gameplay. With this guide you can make a good decision. Premium tanks in this tier are very inexpensive and make pretty good credits. You will also feel much more like a fish in the water once you gained some experience in tier 5.
Experienced players, looking for a sealclubber or to gain more experience in lower tiers can of course read this guide as well to make a well-informed decision.
Good to know before you buy anything at all
Tier 5 tanks are very cheap at full price, but a 50 percent sale is pretty common. It's worth waiting for one of these sales, cutting back the prices into sub 5 euro/dollar territory. Bundles also exist, although WG usually puts one bad tank in bundle with a good one to pad the price a bit. Alternatively, some other stuff is bundled like the equipment slots (not worth it in lower tiers since they are very cheap), x5 certificates or a camo.
Overview of the tier 5 tech tree premiums
There are currently 8 tier 5 premium tanks in the tech tree. Other tanks in this tier are mostly old tech tree tanks or old premiums that got converted into collectibles. Those are seldomly for sale and out of this review's scope. I might add them later though.
All tech tree premium tanks in tier 5 are listed here. Every tank's name links to the page where the actual review is written. This small overview can help you to quickly compare tanks with eachother. The reviews are shorter compared to those for higher tier vehicles, since there's not as much to say about every single tank.
- T14. American heavy tank. Equipped with a rock hard rounded turret (100 mm on paper all around) and a relatively weak hull, coupled with great gun depression of 10 degrees, this little tank shows a lot of resemblance with the American heavy tank tech tree. Learning how to hull down? This is your best bet.
- Churchill III. This Russian tank is actually a British tank with a Soviet bias on top of it. It plays exactly like the British heavies from the tech tree, being a well armored and slow tank. This tank has two gun choices and a 'magical' XP boost to boot. Ideal for XP related events for example!
- Excelsior. This one is an actual British tank. Good gun depression and a bouncy turret, coupled with a strong frontal armour layout. With the flat armour, anyone spamming premium will go through though, making a less of a hull down heavy compared to the T14.
- Pz IV/V. Most of the time referred to as the 'rampanzer', it's not hard to understand what this tank is good at. Being a very heavy German medium makes it one of the best tier 5 rammers. The tank is held back abit by it's awkward depression angels, tall sihouette and a weird strong hull/weak turret combination.
- Matilda IV. This Russian medium is again a British tank in disguise. It's basically a tier 4 Matilda heavy tank with a slightly stronger engine and a punchier 75 mm gun. Good penetration, but rather poor armour and mobility in tier 5. It has crazy depression angles though, great to work ridgelines.
- Matilda BP. Similar to the Matilda IV, but with a pop-gun. This tank boosts some impressiveDPM, but is lackluster in the current 'bigger alpha is better' meta. Not the most suited tank for a beginner.
- T-25 is definitely the odd one out here. This German medium is very reminiscent of the American turreted tank destroyers: fast in a line, slow on the traverse, lacking armor. It can bounce an odd shot though due to the strong angling of the armor. This is a real love or hate kind of vehicle: some people love it, others loathe it.
- SU-85i. The only (Russian) TD in this list. It has great DPM and an above average alpha for tier 5. It lacks HP, decent gun depression and armor though. This is a tank that can do great things unspotted but quickly destroyed once it's focused. A good learning experience for people looking to grind other squishy but deadly TD's, like the German high tier ones.