World of Warships uses eight distinct currencies. Knowing what each one does, how to earn it, and where to spend it prevents the common mistake of wasting premium currency on things that can be bought with regular credits, or sitting on Coal for months without realising it can buy a premium ship. This guide covers every World of Warships currency from Credits to Steel.
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Credits
Credits are the primary in-game currency earned from every battle. They’re used to:
- Buy ships from the tech tree
- Purchase and mount modules
- Pay per-battle service costs
- Buy Base upgrades from the in-game shop
How to earn more credits: Credits earn as a flat amount modified by your battle XP, multiplied by any credit boosters. A Warships Premium or Wargaming Premium Account adds +50% to all credit earnings. Premium ships have lower service costs than tech tree ships at the same tier — useful when you need to farm credits without losing money on each battle.
The Tier VIII–X credit problem: Service costs at high tiers are substantial. A Tier X loss can cost 150,000+ credits net. If your credit balance is below 3–4 million, drop to a lower tier or premium ship to rebuild before pressing on. See the progression guide for the full service cost table.
Doubloons
Doubloons are the premium currency (sometimes called “gold” in older guides). Unlike Credits, they’re not earned from regular battles — you buy them with real money or receive them from codes, missions, and containers.
Best uses for Doubloons:
- Premium Account — the highest-value Doubloon purchase. Warships Premium adds +65% Ship XP, +50% Credits, and better campaign task progress. Buying in bulk (360-day packages) costs far less per day than daily purchases.
- Port slots — required to keep more ships. Each costs 300 Doubloons; you’ll need many.
- Commander retraining — retraining a Commander to a new ship normally requires a penalty period; paying Doubloons skips it entirely.
- Ship slots and name changes — minor but occasionally needed.
- Elite XP to Free XP conversion — 1 Doubloon converts 25 Ship XP from a maxed ship to Free XP. Only worth doing when you have a surplus of Doubloons.
What not to buy with Doubloons: Avoid buying ships directly with Doubloons — the same ships are usually available for Coal, Steel, or real-money bundles at better value. Also avoid consumables with Doubloons unless absolutely necessary; earn them through missions instead.
World of Warships codes occasionally grant Doubloons directly.
Free XP
Free XP is universal — it can be used on any ship, any nation, any module in any tech tree. You earn it automatically as 10% of every battle’s Ship XP. Resource containers also occasionally reward Free XP.
Uses:
- Skip modules on a new ship (avoiding a slow stock gun or hull penalty)
- Skip a ship you don’t want to play (e.g., a notoriously bad grind tier)
- Unlock entire lines quickly during Research Bureau resets
Strategic use: Don’t convert Elite Ship XP to Free XP unless you have Doubloons to spend; passive Free XP accumulation from normal play is more efficient. Bank Free XP for module skips and use it when you hit a grinding obstacle, not as a default.
Coal
Coal is an Armory currency earned primarily from Daily Containers (400–800 per container) and completing missions. It accumulates steadily through regular play without any special effort.
What Coal buys in the Armory:
- Premium ships — a large selection of Tier VI–X premium ships costs 60,000–228,000 Coal. Accumulating enough for a top-tier ship takes 3–6 months of consistent daily container opening.
- Special upgrades — Coal buys the consumable-enhancing “Special” upgrades including Damage Control Modification 2 and Surveillance Radar Modification 1.
- Other items — camouflages, signals, containers.
Coal strategy: Don’t spend Coal on small items like signals and camouflages unless you have more Coal than you’ll need for ships. Save it for ships and upgrades. Coal is predictable and earnable — prioritise ships you can’t get any other way.
Steel
Steel is the rarest currency. It comes from:
- High League finishes in Ranked Battles (thousands of Steel per season)
- Clan Battles performance
- Occasional special events
What Steel buys: The most exclusive premium ships in the game — Tier IX–X ships like Flint, Black, Stalingrad, Bourgogne, and Ragnar. These cost 20,000–30,000 Steel each.
Steel reality check: Reaching enough Steel for a ship requires consistent competitive play over many months, sometimes over a year. Do not spend Steel impulsively — evaluate which ship you’re working toward before committing. Ships in the Steel category are generally available for extended periods.
Research Points
Research Points are the endgame currency earned exclusively by resetting tech tree lines via the Research Bureau. They can’t be bought or earned through regular battle.
What Research Points buy:
- Exclusive premium ships (Ohio, Slava, Colbert, Siegfried, Vampire II, and others at 30,000–60,000 Research Points each)
- Unique (Legendary) Upgrades for specific Tier X ships — role-specific equipment unavailable anywhere else
Earning Research Points requires:
- Owning 5 Tier X ships (for full Research Bureau access)
- Resetting a tech tree line (selling back all ships in it)
- Replaying that line and winning battles with the ships you regain
A full gunship line reset earns ~10,200 Research Points; a carrier line earns ~8,000. A 2× seasonal multiplier applies to the first line reset each 90-day season. See the progression guide for efficient reset strategies.
Oil
Oil is a clan currency earned from Clan Battles participation, some containers, and other clan activities. It’s deposited into your clan’s shared pool, not a personal balance.
What Oil does: Clan Officers use Oil to build and upgrade the Clan Naval Base — a series of upgrades that provide all clan members with passive bonuses:
- +5% Ship XP
- +15% Commander XP
- +50% Free XP
- −15% service costs
You can’t spend Oil individually. Join an active clan to benefit from an already-developed Naval Base, or contribute Oil to build one up collaboratively.
Super Containers
Super Containers are an ultra-rare container variant that can drop from Daily Containers. The rewards are significantly better than standard containers.
How the Super Container system works
Your account has a hidden progress counter starting at zero and a randomly assigned “super drop number” between 0 and 100. Each Daily Container you open advances the counter by 1. When the counter exceeds the super drop number, the next Daily Container becomes a Super Container. After triggering, both values reset.
You can advance the counter by 3 instead of 1 by choosing Try Your Luck when opening a container — but if your counter doesn’t exceed the super drop number, you receive a smaller Small Container instead of the standard one. Run the maths before trying your luck: if you’re only a few containers away from your super drop number, Try Your Luck could push you past it faster.
This guarantees a Super Container within at most 100 Daily Containers. Most accounts receive them more frequently.
What Super Containers contain
| Reward | Odds |
|---|---|
| 50× expendable boosters (credits, XP, Free XP, Commander XP) | 26% |
| 100× signals (various economic flags) | 25% |
| 15,000 Coal | 10% |
| 1,000 Doubloons | 10% |
| 7 days Warships Premium Account | 10% |
| 25× large expendable XP/credit boosters | 8% |
| 50,000 Free XP | 5% |
| Tier V–VII ship | 1.25% |
| 1,500 Steel | 2% |
| 30 days Warships Premium Account | 2% |
| 5,000 Doubloons | 0.5% |
| Tier VIII–IX ship | 0.2% |
| Tier X or rare ship | 0.05% |
You’re guaranteed a ship if you open 166 Super Containers without receiving one.
How to get Super Containers faster
- Open Daily Containers every day — your counter advances with each one regardless of result
- Use Try Your Luck when close — if you know your counter is near the super drop threshold, using Try Your Luck can push you past it faster; if you’re far from it, you risk downgrading to a Small Container
- Special events — Wargaming distributes Super Containers as event rewards periodically (anniversary events, New Year campaigns, etc.)
What is the difference between Coal and Steel in World of Warships?
Coal is earned through Daily Containers and missions — accessible to all players grinding casually. Steel is earned through high-level competitive play (Ranked and Clan Battles) and is significantly rarer. Coal buys standard premium ships and upgrades; Steel buys the most exclusive ships in the game.
How do I get Doubloons for free in World of Warships?
Through World of Warships codes, Daily Container drops (rare), special events, and mission rewards. There is no reliable method to earn large Doubloon amounts without spending real money — treat free Doubloons as a bonus.
What is the fastest way to earn Coal in World of Warships?
Open your Daily Containers every day — each one rewards 400–800 Coal. Complete missions that specify Coal as a reward. Join a clan with a developed Naval Base for bonus container rewards. Super Containers contain 15,000 Coal when they trigger this outcome.
How do I earn Research Points?
Research Points require owning 5 Tier X ships and having full Research Bureau access. You earn them by resetting tech tree lines and winning battles with the ships you re-earn after the reset. See the progression guide for the detailed Research Bureau walkthrough.