Probably for the static view optic the v1 is enough as it is 50m instead of 70, 80m instead of 100 stacked with the one that works also on the move. And 300K credits instead of 1.2M is a big difference for who is grinding low tiers, even with premium time, but further more without it. the v1 and v2 configuration needs 1.5M credits to be started, that is a lot of money, But less then a single T5 tank, and the cost to transfer the retros to the next higher tier tank of the line that is pushed, the "money earner", is only little more then 350K credits, with 10k credits more each mission is only 35 missions, then you begin to gain money.
What should be noticed in the experiment is that if @Haswell has decided to don't use some free features of the game, like the daily login bonuses, at now the whole experiment has been done in an exceptional moment when we have an almost permanent bonus on credits, while the generic Joe that wants to grind without paying in this game, even using the daily bonuses has not that big advantage in normal times.
I remember so well how in the now closed official forums I used to read so often people telling that to grind in this game is so fast, too fast, bragging about how they could grind a tank or farm credits in so fast. They was forgetting that they was sitting on stockpiled high amounts of free insigna, boosts and preimium time, and maybe that they had also many T7+ premium tanks in the garage. If i told in the thread about the Starter Packs that the best RL money investment for a new player that wants to speed his grind is to spend the money in the better medium tier premium tank he can afford, at least T7, if possible T8 (if Marder or Termi even better). That tank, even without premium time, but playing only it in the free premium day of the week is even better, can print for you the money to buy and equip the lower tier tanks in no time. Looking at my saved screenshots a good Marder game on Stormy Winter, that has an average multiplier, without any special credit multiplier gave me 184K credits, that would had been 387K if i would had run premium time, as I probably played very aggressively and i had to respawn a couple of times. In that game i did more then 50% of the total damage, it was 44K, but also got 25/36 spots and more then the 30% of the total spotting damage, that is a monster percentage if you factor in that I was doing more then 50% of the total damage, so I, and my infantry, that did 14K of my 44K damage, was "stealing"" a lot of spotting damage from myself.
And as I am far from being an unicorn I think that similar results can be obtained by many, I probably took the screenshot as I had an unusually high damage from the infantry, not because is was a super game for other reasons. So with a Marder or premium Termi to buy the T-72 needs only to play less then 15 matches in a premium day and less then 30 in a regular one.
Please don't give up with the experiment, maybe you can start to get the daily login bonuses and try as a new player that wants really to grind trough the game, but lacks of the RL money to do it (as maybe is a student in a country that is not particularly rich, where the price of a T8 premium is not the equivalent of an evening with the friends eating pizza and then going in some disco, but is the money some people has to feed the family for the whole month). Those that don't spend money and also don't care about the daily login probably only do a touch an go with this game as they realize that grinding will be a many years lasting pain in the arse for a casual player that plays only few time and maybe not daily. I had an in game friend from Argentina that was a pretty good player, and he was grinding trough the T8 tanks, we meet in the game and for some time played together often, and he was not spending RL money in the game. He told me many times in the platoon chat how he was annoyed by the too long grinding time and suddenly a day disappeared from the game.
13 hours ago, Haswell said:I'm definitely going to buy optics and binocs, if I can just afford them in the first place. I'll be honest, I'm already losing motivation because low tier gameplay is just tedious and frustrating. I'm only sitting on 300k credits right now.
Nothing much going on, still trying to grind out my T-72 bit by bit. I did get my first hate mail though.
The very same player invited also me to the second group some times ago, i did not take the screenshot as well as the one of what he had written inside the chat.
If he will do it again i will surely take the screenshots and report him, and i invite you to do the same. I don't know if it will help, there is surely enough to have him permanently banned, as he is spamming those things, but as probably it is only a secondary account he will probably just open an other one and continue.