So it seems that WG decided that a fun gamemode can't go without monetization, and they've added "Footlockers" (Read: Lootboxes) for purchase. It is extremely important to note:
You are NOT guaranteed to get your money's worth – In fact, most boxes you open are going to be a BAD VALUE.
These are NOT like the Christmas boxes where there was at minimum equal value in the box as what you paid for it. The Halloween "Footlockers" rely soley on the CHANCE of you getting a Premium tank. WarGaming has not released numbers for the chances to get a Premium tank, but based on all of the unboxing videos / posts I've seen, the chance seems to be around 1 in 25 (4%). In theory, that doesn't seem too bad, with each box also having the ability to be rerolled. However, the actual value of the contents inside is another story.
Let's start with the best "strategy" to get the absolute most out of the boxes.
(Want to read this guide with better formatting? I post all of my content to the NA Forums. This one is hyperlined here)
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To maximize your chance of getting the Premium tanks without ruining the potential value you'd get from them, in theory you should reroll every box that doesn't have a Premium tank once, and once only.
However, since not all of the Premiums are very good, plus there's no guarantee you'll get a Premium tank at all, you should most likely:
Keep:
**Reroll:**
Do not reroll a box more than once. Each one contains 100 Gold, which is enough to reroll it once without losing more Gold than you "earned". This will prevent you from losing more money than you already would if you don't get Premiums, and will maximize the value you get if you do get Premiums from the boxes.
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We're going to quickly do a rundown of each of the Premium tanks offered, providing a 0-10 rating and a very quick description of the most notable features of the tank.
T77 Heavy: 7.5/10 [Very Good]
The T77 Heavy is in many ways like a Tier 8 version of the T57 Heavy, except it doesn't have any of the DPM. The T77's gun is unreliable with an extremely long reload. However, it has the ability to unload 1,080 damage within 4 seconds of the first shell, which is absolutely devastating at Tier 8.
The rest of the tank is mediocre all around, with unreliable armor, somewhat poor view range, and somewhat sluggish mobility. However, the mobility is enough to get it in and out of important positions, and allows the gun to work wonders. It's kind of like the Bourrasque in that regard – A very unreliable gun on a mostly underwhelming platform, that works surprisingly well because of the monstrous damage potential. Of course, this tank plays entirely differently in comparison to the Bourrasque, but it's actually a good tank to get from the boxes.
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M4A1 Revalorise: 5/10 [Average]
The tank has definitely suffered hard from powercreep, but its still a reasonably okay tank. The gun is punchy and relatively reliable, and the tank has gun depression to make it work. Everything else about the tank is forgettable, and the armor resembles French bread more than French armor.
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AMX CDA 105: 7/10 [Very Good]
Most people brush the AMX CDA off, but the gun that it has on such a mobile and stealthy platform makes it feel like a very playable version of the Strv S1.
Sure, the Strv S1's gun is even better with even more gun depression, but the Siege Mode mechanic makes it very inflexible and difficult to play on matchups where you can't just sit back and snipe.
The AMX CDA 105 on the other hand, is able to keep contributing to the battle, relocating and even being able to get up close and personal if it needs to.
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STG: 5/10 [Average]
The STG is kind of like the M4A1 Revalorise – A forgettable tank and platform, with a rather solid gun. The STG sacrifices some of the mobility of the M4 to gain armor. It sacrifices the gun depression to get a stealthy low profile. Its shell velocity is traded off for better accuracy.
It's just as average as the M4 Rev is, but offers a different playstyle for the same alpha gun, in case the M4 Rev wasn't quite your cup of tea.
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ELC Even 90: 4/10 [Poor]
If I were to rate this tank objectively, especially with the new equipment that's in the game, the ELC Even 90 offers a level of scouting potential that no other light tank at Tier 8 offers. Such a small, low profile tank, especially with the new equipment, is able to spot tanks from positions that nothing else could, while also having a gun that can hit surprisingly hard if you can get the entire magazine off.
That being said, the gun is… Abysmal. It's one of the worst guns on any Tier 8 tank in the game, and ELC Even 90 players consistently average less damage in the tank, than they would in a Tier 6 tank. The gun is truly horrific, and the tank only works because of the scouting potential, combined with small size with a 660 damage potential magazine.
A good player can make the tank work reasonably well, but as I've said in many previous ELC Even 90 reviews [hyperlinked here], the tank just doesn't have the carry potential that other Tier 8 light tanks do. You're rolling the dice each time you play it whether or not you'll get a map where the tank can work, whether you'll find good light / medium tank players on the enemy team that can counter you, and whether or not your gun will decide to hit a tank 20 meters in front of you.
You might love the tank – A lot of people do… But it's kind of like the Tog II in that regard – It's a giant rolling meme… Or I guess in this case, a tiny go-cart meme. It's not actually good… But it can be fun if you get the right scenario.
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Strv S1: 6/10 [Good]
The Strv S1 as I mentioned earlier, is a less flexible version of the AMX CDA 105, that has a better gun, better camo and better gun depression. That being said, because of the Siege Mode mechanic, in most circumstances the AMX CDA 105 will have more carry potential, and be a far more enjoyable tank to play – On top of making more credits.
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FV4202: 3/10 [Very Bad]
The FV4202 never was a particularly good tank, even when it was a Tier 10 medium, but as a Tier 8 Premium tank in 2020, it is particularly bad. The armor is pretty decent, but the mobility is on the sluggish side, and the gun is just a joke and a half. 1700 DPM for a tank with 230 alpha, and a shockingly unreliable gun (despite what the paper stats would make you believe), is not a good combination. Combine that with poor gun handling on the move, and you're not in for a pleasant experience.
The hull armor is pretty troll, but the turret is pretty easily penetrated by anything with 220mm of pen or more. Using your gun depression helps to some extent, but because the turret is so large, and has so many flat zones, even when you're completely hull-down using all 10 degrees of gun depression, the armor still doesn't hold up as well as you'd hope, and the gun will just disappoint you over and over again.
It is a bad tank, and one of the worst ones in this list.
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T-54 first prototype: 5.5/10 [Average]
The T-54 Prototype is sadly just a worse version of the T-44-100. Everything about the T-54 Prototype is significantly worse with the only exception being the armor, but even the armor is hardly much to write home about.
The turret is still the weakest part of the tank, and having the same shape and size as the T-44-100 turret, with similar armor effectiveness, it defeats the purpose of the T-54 Prototype even moreso.
The only well-armored part of the tank is the hull, but even that only works if the enemy can't shoot down on it using gun depression, and if the enemy has less than the average of 220mm of pen at Tier 8.
It's a decent enough tank, but it's just pointless compared to the T-44-100.
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Hwk 30: 6/10 [Good]
The Hwk 30 isn't particularly great, but it feels in many ways like the RU 251 at Tier 8, which is pretty nice. The gun is solid, the mobility is good and it's reasonably stealthy with great view range.
It just can't compete with the LT-432 or EBR 75, which makes it somewhat pointless to own.
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T92: 4/10 [Bad]
How quickly things have changed, huh? When this tank first came out, I would have told you it's a pretty good light tank. Powercreep has hit this tank hard, and the new equipment only makes it even less relevant than it otherwise would be.
The T92 doesn't really benefit from the new equipment nearly as much as some of the other light tanks do, since it's such a one-trick pony by comparison. It has god-Tier levels of gun handling on the move, but sacrifices a whole lot to get it. The acceleration is great, but a limited top speed really holds it back, and it would be a waste of a Turbocharger in some ways if you chose to go that route.
The tank just doesn't have anything to compete with the best Tier 8 medium tanks, which hurt it far more than other Tier 8 light tanks do. You might still have some fun tanks zipping around and snapping shells in, but just pray you don't find a Lansen C, Progetto 46, or Bourrasque on the enemy team… Because otherwise, they'll be the ones having fun snacking on you.
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IS-6: 4.5/10 [Bad]
2014 called, they want their tank back. While it's true that the IS-6 got a much-needed armor buff that actually makes the armor surprisingly decent for a Tier 8 Heavy (even if we ignore its Pref MM), the gun still is abysmal and holds it back significantly compared to most other Tier 8 heavies.
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T26E4 SuperPershing: 7/10 [Very Good]
Unlike the IS-6, the Super Pershing's armor buff and gun buff brought it right back to being a rather competitive tank. While you do still need to shoot plentiful of APCR to make the most out of it, the armor holds up really well which allows you to let the gun work.
Unlike the IS-6, the Super Pershing's gun is actually pretty good, with good gun depression, decent enough accuracy and aiming times, and reasonable enough gun handling. Combine that with really good APCR pen, and you can not only play like a heavy tank, but you can outplay heavy tanks too.
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Kanonenjagdpanzer 105: 5/10 [Average]
We can see where this is going… Of the 3 105mm Tank Destroyers on this list, the Kanonen is at the bottom of the barrel. The Kanonen may not have to deal with Siege Mode like the Strv S1 does, but it's in many ways worse than the AMX CDA 105 – Which defeats the purpose of playing such a tank. The AMX CDA 105 is a more flexible Strv S1, with many good characteristics to still allow the gun to perform really well.
The Kanonen 105 is very vulernable though with its complete lack of armor and poor gun handling on the move. This makes it much less flexible than the AMX CDA 105, and means it doesn't have the redeeming characteristics it needs to be a viable alternative to the Strv S1. Not to mention, the hp/ton is much worse on the Kanonen, which means it isn't as fast as you might hope, relying mostly on its top speed and traverse speed to get around, not so much its acceleration.
It's definitely not as bad as the Kanonen 90… But that's not saying much, considering just how bad that tank actually was.
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Vk 168.01 (P): 4/10 [Bad]
Apparently we're still calling unskinned tanks a new Premium tank. I thought this was 2020, not 2016 / 2017? Anyway, the VK 168.01 P is an armored tank with a hard hitting gun, that's as slow as a brick house floating through a river of molasses. It's not going anywhere anytime soon, and if you do manage to make it to the battle, your team has probably already lost.
It's just a worse version of the VK 100.01 P, except they're charging you money for it. No thanks.
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Lowe: 8.5/10 [Great]
While I no longer rate the Lowe 10/10 as I used to, it is still a really good tank that still manages to hold up really well in the current meta. The gun is punchy and reliable, the gun depression works really well with very solid turret armor, and the hull is still fairly usable so long as you can hide your lower plate.
The Lowe is a great credit grinder, with decent carry potential. It's not flashy, and it's not the most fun tank, but it works and it works well.
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WZ-120-1G FT: 9/10 [Amazing]
This is one of the few tanks in the Chinese line that actually stands out as being a really good tank. The DPM is insanely good, the armor is surprisingly solid, the tank is really stealthy and low profile, it's pretty quick with an extremely fast traverse speed, and the tank even has view range to go along with it! Not to mention, when you let the gun aim, its accuracy is also pretty decent.
This tank has just about everything you'd want, except for a turret and gun depression, but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, and is still one of the best Tier 8 Premium tanks in the game – Especially now with the new equipment providing an Improved Rotation Mechanism. The Improved Rotation Mechanism helps tanks like this a lot, since the gun handling becomes better, aim time becomes better (with the smaller aiming circle) and an already quick-turning tank turns even faster now. It is truly an amazing piece of equipment for a truly amazing tank.
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And there we go, there was a quick rundown of all of the Tier 8 Premium tanks offered in the Footlockers!
Is it worth spending the money? Probably not. It's gambling to the extreme, and unlike the Christmas event, many people will be walking away with next-to-nothing during this event.
The boxes only become worth it if you get one of the Tier 8 Premiums offered, but even then, most of the Premiums just aren't all that good. There are a few shining stars in the mix, but it's mostly a lot of mediocrity.
Unless you have a good amount of disposable income, and you don't own most of the tanks on the list, the boxes simply aren't worth it. And even then, since there's no guarantee of actually getting your money's worth (quite the opposite actually, with most of the boxes being nearly worthless), I would highly advice against buying the boxes.
And while it's true you get 3 keys from the 10 box bundle, that's only 3 battles in the WT auf E110 – It's barely anything worth paying attention to, and doesn't really add any meaningful value to the boxes. These footlockers are completely pointless unless you win a decent Tier 8 Premium tank that you didn't already have, which is a small chance and is entirely casino-style gambling, without any of the fun or experience of being in an actual casino.
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