War Thunder Golden Eagles: What to Buy First

Golden Eagles are War Thunder’s purchased currency, and the store offers a long menu of things to buy with them. The menu is not a ranking. Some purchases improve every battle you will ever play; others are one-off conveniences. Spending in the wrong order is how players end up with a premium vehicle they cannot afford to repair and no crew slots to fill their garage.

The spending priority

When you have Golden Eagles to allocate, use this order:

1. Crew slots. Crew slots expand your garage’s capacity — the number of vehicles you can have crewed and ready. Every additional vehicle in your active rotation multiplies your research options, your lineup flexibility, and your ability to field a tight BR spread. This purchase pays dividends in every battle, forever. It is the single best value in the store.

2. Modification slots. Some vehicles let you buy modifications — or extra modification slots — with Golden Eagles, skipping the slowest research steps and bringing a vehicle to full effectiveness immediately. Worth it on vehicles you already play constantly; wasteful on vehicles you are still evaluating.

3. Premium vehicles. A premium or gifted vehicle earns more Silver Lions and research points than a tech tree vehicle of similar rank. It is a genuine long-term investment — but only for a vehicle you will actually enjoy playing. A premium vehicle that sits in the garage earns nothing.

4. Everything else. Boosters, camouflages, and cosmetic purchases are conveniences. Buy them last, buy them for fun, and never at the expense of the first three tiers.

The decision framework

Before any Golden Eagle purchase, run three questions:

1. Does this improve every battle, or one battle? Crew slots improve every battle. A booster improves one session.
2. Does it compound? A purchase that increases your income or capacity pays for itself over time. A one-off purchase does not.
3. Will I use it? A premium vehicle only earns if it earns battle time. If you are unsure, wait — the vehicle will still be there, and your Silver Lions will not.

What to skip

Skip converting Golden Eagles into Silver Lions for general spending — it is the most expensive way to solve a cash-flow problem, and the real fix is usually cheaper vehicles, tighter BR spreads, or better survival habits. The repair cost page and the Silver Lions overview cover the alternatives. Also skip premium vehicles early: without crew slots, you cannot field them alongside a working lineup anyway.

Prices and bundles change constantly, so check the in-game store before you buy — but the order above does not change with the sales. Golden Eagles buy capacity first, convenience second, and collectibles last.