Breaking one of my rules, but with conditions.

Yeah, you are seeing this correctly, I broke down and bought the USS Sims Destroyer pre-order package. With uncertain financial/playing times ahead, best to invest now, while the "green and timing is still good". However, I have vowed to not use it until I "earned" my way into it, by eliting the American tier VI Destroyer Farragut and move up to the tier VII Mahan.

I believe, strongly, that having a high tiered premium vehicle is a wise investment for when the game launches from the Closed Beta phase. Unlike World of Warplanes, where it took an impatient amount of time for this content to finally arrive, both Tanks and Ships has played the "smart card" by allowing them to be available at such an early stage. More money for development dollars and players can collect the big time potential credits and experience from the get go.

My strategy is fairly simple and this "Step 1" is complete. "Step 2" will come when if I qualify for the Closed Beta Test reward ships, still being talked about as a tier IV-V American Battleship. "Step 3" is keeping an eye out for promotions for Ships/Tokens/Gold or ingame events/Missions that will allow me to collect any of these. "Step 4" requires the arrival of Unified Accounts across all three WarGaming titles.

"Step 3" will probably be the easiest way to build my premium fleet up, if World of Warships follows the precedent set by the other two titles, then around Christmas/New Years, there could very well be a shiny new ship in my port. As I have said before, either a Destroyer and/or Cruiser will be the most likely ones to be seen. Despite being lower tiered vehicles, the ones I have received over the years from the other titles have paid for themselves, many times over (especially, when events for earning back the vehicle I already own, pays a Gold value equivalent).

Also, there is already some early talk of earning Ships through a similar to Tanks/Planes Missions. When this will come, what will be involved and just what kinds of Ships will be offered, remains to be seen. However, I have attempted such events in the past and have a garage/hangar populated with the end results.

The trick for me is to resist the impulse buying, tempted by the sales of ships that I don't really need, but feel the urge to have. I am going to try and stick with my previously laid out "Destroyer Plan", although having supplementary Cruisers are looking to be a very good "Plan B", should Destroyers suffer from future excessive balancing issues.

"Step 4" will be a very good day for me. With the combination "nest egg" of Ships Tokens (if, they get converted to WG Gold) and my slowly growing Gold balance from both Tanks and Planes, I should be sitting pretty good for those purchases that fall into "my plan". Having at least one premium Destroyer, of every nation as part of fleet, is that plan. However, I am also eyeing up Cruisers as a "safety net".

The old saying goes "a fool and his money are soon parted", let's hope this fool has finally learned this third time around.