I am the guy who yells at his tank when he is ammo-racked, and tends to jump off the edge of the map like a lemming. However, there is one thing I have learned over the years that has allowed me to acquire that sweet, shiny, beautiful Gold without emptying my wallet. And since we are all friends here, I am going to share the tips that I have personally found to be useful.

The "Frustrating but Free" Grind

To kick things off, let's start with the videos. It's the ones with "Free Gold" that requires you to watch a 30-second ad to gain 15 Gold, or videos that require you to do a certain task (such as building a farm level 12 in a mobile game that you will delete in three days).

The rule I have for myself is "Only During Loading Screens". I am willing to watch a 30-second video of some strange puzzle game while I am waiting for the countdown to finish. It makes me feel like I am getting money for nothing, because it is! It won't give you a ton, but doing it daily can earn you hundreds of Gold a week!

My tip is to make it a mini-game! Set a rule for yourself like "I only watch the videos when the game is loading, and I never do it while sitting on the toilet because the queue will pop and ruin my perfect run."

The "Clan Gold"

I was single for a long time, thinking that clans are just groups of hot sweaty guys who talk in a strange code about "flanking" and "side-scraping".

But my friend convinced me to join his clan for a weekly tournament. You do not need to be an expert to earn Gold from your clan, you just need to show up.

Many "lesser clans" need active people to be able to have the resources for the clan wars battles on the weekends. Even though we lost 90% of the matches (and yes, we did), the rewards you get for participating, end-of-season-ranked-rewards, and just the sheer amount of "supply drops" you get as a clan means that by the end of the month you are swimming in Gold.

I once joined a clan that had a member that only job was to play his Maus and push the enemy off the cap. He did not shoot at anyone. He was not on the leaderboard, but we won due to him! I earned 500 Gold that week simply for being a "matador" (his word) for him. Find your weirdos, people. They get you paid.

The "Scrooge McDuck" Rule

The rule of thumb that I have come up with is that Gold is made to be used to convert XP to free XP. It is the end-all-be-all currency. So

my tip for you is to simply not buy the big tanks with Gold.

I understand, I get it. You got 5,000 Gold from a lucky drop in an event, and you want to buy the Lowe or Dracula. Resist the urge! I once bought a premium tank with Gold because I thought it looked cool (it was the T-34-85M, and I still regret it). I played about five games in it before I went back to my favorite lines.

The Pro Move is to use 50% of your Gold to convert the 500,000 XP points that you have gained on tanks you are bored of. This way you can skip the painful stock grind on your next Tier 9 or Tier 10. The other 50% is reserved for the Black Friday and New Year sales where they are giving the exact tank you want for 30% off in Gold.

It is delayed gratification, but it feels that much better when you don't buy a tank and realize that you actually hate the play style.

The "Plinko" Event Strategy

I know about those "Rusty Coin" and "Gift Shop" events with the big wheel of fortune. They are made to suck you dry, but they are also the best way to get Gold if you play them smartly.

The rule of thumb (that my wallet can handle) is to never use Gold to spin the wheel. Only use the free spins and the currency you earn from winning games. Yes, you may only get a measly 30 Gold from 4 out of 5 spins, but you know what? That one time you got the jackpot of 5,000 Gold? It made me jump out of my chair and woke up my dog.

It's like the stock market. The market is going to go up, and it is going to go down. Don't panic-buy. Take the freebies and walk away.

The Final, Honest Secret

The most important tip of all, the one that made me switch gears. Are you listening?

Just

play

Get good at the game. No, really. You get to earn "Big Chieftain" containers (or whatever the current trend is) when you do your daily missions. They almost always have a chance to drop 100 to 1,500 Gold. If you login every day and complete your "First Victory of the Day" on a few tanks, you are just playing a slot machine that pays out Gold just for doing what you enjoy.

I used to play so much because it made me rich. Now I play because I enjoy derping people in my KV-2. Ironically, because I am having more fun, I am winning more and the Gold just seems to accumulate by itself.

It's a marathon, not a sprint. The best part is not the Gold, it is the satisfaction of getting a cool tank for nothing, just outsmarting the game.

And now, if you will forgive me, my daily missions are resetting, and I hear a Tiger II calling my name.

Happy hunting, you glorious armored nerds! 🚀

What are your weird ways to earn Gold? Tell me in the comments. I need new ways!