The Free2Play military MMO War Thunder (PC & PS4) offers you plenty of tanks and aircraft from World War II and the Cold War. This way, you dive into thrilling battles on land and in the air with other players.
Are you into authentic tanks and aircraft from the World War era? And do you want to not only shoot like in an arcade shooter but also experience tactically demanding and realistic gameplay? Then you should definitely try out the action and simulation MMO War Thunder from Gaijin Entertainment! War Thunder is available for PC, Mac, Linux, and PlayStation 4. A release for Xbox One is planned.
Whether the game is worth it for you will be revealed in the following paragraphs.
Exciting and realistic battles with tanks and aircraft
In War Thunder, you either control an aircraft or a tank. You compete in a team with other players against an enemy squad. The goal is to shoot down enemies and capture enemy mission objectives.
To do this, you bombard enemy bases or capture tactical points as a tank. If you get destroyed, there are limited respawns, and you can then jump back into battle with another vehicle or aircraft. The fights, depending on the game mode, play out quickly and action-packed or strategically and extremely realistically.
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Alternatively, there are PvE coop scenarios where you face less effective AI bots. However, the heart of War Thunder remains the PVP battles against other players.
Over 800 aircraft and tanks
Currently, War Thunder features over 800 aircraft and vehicles from seven nations. The playable nations are:
- The USA
- Germany
- The Soviet Union
- Great Britain
- Japan
- Italy (currently only aircraft and premium tanks)
- France (currently only aircraft)
Your machines are all intricately modeled and come from the period between the 1920s and 1960s. This means that War Thunder includes radically different technology levels, which significantly affect gameplay.
The planes and tanks are categorized into ranks, and a matchmaking system ensures that, for example, a biplane does not have to face a jet fighter. On the lower ranks, tanks and aircraft from the period before World War II or shortly after the start of the conflict can be found. So you have biplanes and simple tanks without much fuss.
You start at the very bottom at rank 1 for each nation. However, if you achieve combat successes, such as shooting down opponents, helping your teammates, or completing mission objectives, you get points and in-game currency after each match. This way, you research new technologies and components for your existing machines. Thus, you gradually unlock better tanks and aircraft.
Progression is quite fast at the lower ranks, but from rank 3 onward, the hunt for new modules and machines becomes a real grind.
Also interesting: Along with all the aircraft and tanks, ships will soon be added to War Thunder.
We have the technology!
The higher you climb in the ranks, the better technologies become available to you. At rank 1, typically only small-caliber weapons are available, and your machines have low durability and are relatively slow. Later, you will get progressively better vehicles and aircraft and can further enhance your machines.
Later on, there will be rockets and jet engines for aircraft, as well as composite armor and special hydraulics for your tanks. This allows you to try out new maneuvers and tactics and experience the game differently.
With a jet aircraft fully armed with rockets, completely different actions are possible than with a sluggish propeller plane. A tank with reactive armor can defend itself much better against certain types of ammunition.
Realism or arcade action? The big special feature of War Thunder!
One outstanding feature of War Thunder is the different realism levels and the dynamic damage model. Before you start a round, you choose a mode:
- Arcade Battles: In this mode, War Thunder resembles competitors like World of Tanks or World of Warplanes the most. You start as an aircraft already in the air, and after a short time, your ammunition regenerates automatically. If you get shot down, there are up to three respawns with other machines. You see your tank or aircraft from the third-person perspective (cockpit view is optional). If you play a tank map, you can briefly cause chaos as an aircraft after certain achievements.
- Realistic Battles: Here, more emphasis is placed on realism. The controls of your aircraft and tanks feel slower and less action-packed. You don’t automatically get new ammunition, and if you perform overly daring maneuvers as a pilot, your pilot suffers from too much G-force and may lose control. If you go wild in dogfights, you might even have your wings torn off! In ground battles, you have to unlock aircraft first and then use them tactically for spectacular airstrikes. To protect yourself, someone should always play as an anti-aircraft tank. Furthermore, enemies are not marked. So you can easily overlook an opponent!
- Simulation Mode: This mode is only for hardcore simulation fans. Here, you primarily control from a first-person perspective in a detailed cockpit. As a pilot, just taking off is a challenge. As a tank, your view is extremely limited. Unless you actively look out of the hatch, but then your commander is easily vulnerable! Also remarkable: here neither friends nor enemies are marked, and you will need to recognize in time who you encounter on the battlefield.
The dynamic damage model
All game modes share the dynamic damage model. Unlike other genre titles like World of Tanks or Armored Warfare, you don’t just shoot down the opponent’s hit points. In War Thunder, there isn’t even a hit point display!
Rather, each machine is equipped with a detailed interior. Whenever hits penetrate the armor, the game checks whether important components or the crew have been hit. If a component or crew member takes too much damage, it becomes incapacitated. Additionally, the vehicle may catch fire. If you don’t extinguish the fire in time, your vehicle will be destroyed. You can repair damaged components and injured crew members, but it takes time. In the meantime, you are immobilized.
If important components such as the ammunition storage are destroyed, or the entire crew is killed, your machine is finished. It can happen that you receive many “harmless” hits at non-essential locations and nothing happens. However, a well-aimed shot can destroy even a powerful machine immediately!
The Free2Play model
Like all Free2Play games, War Thunder earns its money through microtransactions. You can purchase premium playtime, among other things. This grants you more research points and in-game currency, allowing you to unlock new vehicles and technologies faster. This significantly accelerates the grind for new machines!
Additionally, there are premium machines. You purchase these aircraft and tanks directly for real money. They are usually not better or worse than other devices of their rank. However, they are well-suited for farming in-game currency and research points, as they provide a bonus on rewards in battle. There are also special items that allow you to further boost the experience points of a selected vehicle or aircraft.
War Thunder actually has a fair shop. Only one real money item, which allows you to reuse the same machine after your death, can provide an advantage in battle. Normally, you have to choose a different vehicle or aircraft upon respawn.
You will love War Thunder if…
- You enjoy beautifully and intricately designed models of historical tanks and aircraft.
- You prefer a dynamic damage model.
- You like to tinker with your vehicles and aircraft for a long time.
- You want to engage in battles with ground troops as well as aircraft.
- You want to play a truly complex simulation.
War Thunder is less your thing if…
- You really prefer quick arcade rounds without much realism. Even in arcade mode, the flight and driving behavior is relatively close to reality.
- You want to see clearly how much health points your vehicle and the opponent still have.
- You don’t like vehicles from the World War II era.
- You’re not up for a long grind, as it takes quite a while to earn new vehicles.
- You do not want aircraft in maps with ground battles.
Beginner tips to ease your start in the game
With these tips, you will be well-prepared for the quirks of War Thunder.
- Think carefully about which nation you play and research first. On the later ranks, the grind takes quite a while, and you might later realize that the aircraft and tanks there do not suit you at all. So inform yourself in advance about the strengths and weaknesses of a nation and plan accordingly.
- Don’t forget to upgrade your crew as well. A good choice is health points and G-force tolerance for pilots.
- Be mindful of which game mode you’re playing. Ideally, stick to arcade battles if you’re new to the game. Consider that in the realistic modes, depending on the scenario, only vehicles from certain nations may be together on a team.
- Plan your research wisely. When you have a new machine, you should always carefully determine which technologies and components should be researched first. Otherwise, your hard-earned experience points might go into components that you don’t want to research first.
Tips for combat
These tips and tricks will help you directly in battle!
- Shoot effectively! In aircraft, short bursts of fire are much more effective than sustained fire. This way, you save valuable ammunition (especially in the realistic game modes where you only have a limited number of shots), and you avoid overheating the gun and unnecessary friendly fire. As a tank, you should try to take every shot as accurately as possible and target the opponent’s weak points. Otherwise, your shots may bounce off the armor or only damage the opponent superficially.
- Don’t just fly directly towards the opponent as a fighter pilot. Instead, use the speed of your aircraft and dive down from above onto the enemy, deal a few hits, and then pull up again before the opponent can react.
- Always keep an overview around you in air combat. This way, you will notice if a teammate needs help or if a heavily damaged enemy makes for an easy target.
- Pay attention to the dynamic damage model! If you only hit the hull of your opponent and there are no essential components there, your fire will have little effect. A well-aimed burst or an optimally placed armor-piercing shell can take out the opponent in one shot!
- Watch out for the inertia of your machines! Aircraft often have wide turning circles, and tanks can skid or veer off if you go too fast in corners.
- The terrain in War Thunder can partially be destroyed. But even though it looks cool to run over fences and trees with a tank, don’t do it! Such rampage will slow your vehicle down and make you an easy target.
Conclusion – Those who enjoy tanks and a bit more realism will have a lot of fun in War Thunder!
War Thunder is ideal for any player who particularly enjoys seeing and playing with realistically and historically accurate tanks and aircraft. The game also offers realistic simulator gameplay for fans of titles like IL-2 Sturmovik. Even the arcade mode provides a bit more realism than competitor titles like World of Warplanes. Only the grind to access higher and particularly good machines may repel some players. So you should be prepared to invest some time or spend more money in the shop if you want to quickly compete in the higher ranks.
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