War Thunder Strategy Guide — Cosmo Strategy Guides

01 · The Three Battlefields

Air, Ground, Naval. Three separate game halves.

Air Battles Aircraft only, with helicopters in some modes. The original War Thunder mode and still one of the deepest aviation MMOs available.
Ground Battles Tanks and SPGs, with optional aircraft and helicopter support based on accumulated Spawn Points (SP). The most-played mode in the game.
Naval Battles Ships only, with optional aircraft support. Coastal (small boats) and Blue-water (destroyers, cruisers, battleships) are separate fleets.
Combined arms is the norm Mixed battles in Ground RB let tankers call in fighter support and tankers face CAS in return. Match awareness across vehicle types is part of the skill.
Separate tech-tree progression Researching Air does not give you Ground or Naval. Each battlefield is its own multi-year commitment per nation.
Free-to-play with Premium track Every vehicle and every nation is accessible without spending money. Premium accounts and Premium vehicles accelerate research; they are convenience, not a wall.
Different patience profiles Air is fast and dense. Ground is slow and methodical. Naval is slower still. Pick the pacing that matches the session you want.

02 · The Three Combat Modes

Arcade, Realistic, Simulator — three difficulty layers.

Arcade Battles Fast-paced, multiple respawns, simplified physics

Air Arcade
Ground Arcade
Naval Arcade

Bring: An aggressive playstyle and willingness to take risks. Aim assist is on; markers reveal enemies.
Take: Many engagements per match and quick progression for new vehicles.

Arcade is the entry-level mode. Aim assist, enemy markers, simplified penetration math. Most casual players live here.

Realistic Battles Realistic physics, limited respawns, real engagement ranges

Air RB
Ground RB (the most-played)
Naval RB

Bring: Map awareness and patience. No enemy markers until you spot or hit them.
Take: A grounded simulation that still rewards skill more than reflexes.

Realistic is the competitive standard. Tournaments use this mode. Ground RB is the largest player population in War Thunder.

Simulator Battles Cockpit-view only, no enemy markers, full physics

Air Sim
Ground Sim
Naval Sim

Bring: Hardware (joystick, head tracking, dedicated controls) and serious session time.
Take: The most immersive vehicular combat experience available in any game.

Simulator demands hours per match. Friendly fire happens often; mistakes punish without mercy. Niche but devoted player base.

03 · Nation Tech Trees

Ten-plus nations, each with full Air, Ground, and Naval trees.

Nation	Specialty	Strength
USA	Heavy bombers, M1 Abrams family	Long-range damage; balanced tank lines across all tiers
USSR	Heavy tanks, jets, AA missiles	Tank armor; rocket interceptors; large-caliber guns
Germany	Medium tanks, jets, optics (Tigers, Panthers)	Optics quality; balanced tank design through every era
UK	Cruiser tanks, fighter aircraft (Spitfires)	Tank stabilizers; strongest naval line below Blue-water tier
Japan	Carrier-based fighters, light tanks	Aerial maneuverability; specialized late-war piston fighters
Italy	Light tanks, sport fighters	Mobility-focused vehicles; agile late-tier autoloaders
France	Auto-loader tanks, Mirages	Late-tier autoloaders (AMX series, Leclerc); high-tier delta-wing fighters
China	Soviet-derivative tanks, modern PLA hardware	Hybrid Soviet-Western late-tier; broad mid-tier options
Sweden	Stridsvagn (S-tank), Gripen	Unique chassis (S-tank has no turret); top-tier jets
Israel	Merkava family, F-15s, F-16s	Top-tier ground and air diversity; modern Western lineup

04 · The Battle Rating System

BR decides who you fight.

BR is a 1.0–12.0 scale Battle Rating ranges from reserve vehicles at 1.0 to modern jets at 12.0+. Higher BR = newer, stronger vehicles.
Plus or minus 1.0 matchmaking The matchmaker pulls vehicles within +/- 1.0 BR of yours. A 5.0 vehicle can be matched against vehicles up to 6.0.
Uptier vs downtier Uptiered means you face stronger vehicles. Downtiered means weaker ones. Both happen; balance your lineup so even uptiers stay competitive.
Each vehicle has its own BR Bringing a low-BR vehicle to a high-BR lineup uptiers the low-BR one. Build lineups within a 1.0 BR spread for cleanest matchmaking.
BR changes with patches Decompression and rebalancing happen quarterly. A vehicle’s BR shifts based on win rate; the meta tier list updates with the patch notes.
Sweet-spot vehicles exist Vehicles that consistently downtier win more matches. The community tracks these; lineup-builders chase them.
Spading increases effectiveness, not BR A fully-researched (spaded) vehicle has all modifications unlocked. More effective at the same BR; no matchmaking penalty.

05 · Ground Battles

The most-played mode in the game.

Capture zones and tickets Zones A, B, C. Hold zones to drain enemy tickets; kill enemy vehicles to reduce theirs. First team to zero loses, or whoever holds more zones at time-out wins.
Spawn Points (SP) Accumulated via kills, assists, and zone captures. Higher-BR vehicles in your lineup cost more SP to spawn. Manage them like a second currency.
Armor versus penetration Every shot is calculated by penetration value versus effective armor (line-of-sight thickness modified by impact angle). Aim for weak spots, not just the silhouette.
Crew skills compound Reload time, repair speed, leadership bonuses — each crew skill stacks. A leveled crew on a Tier 4 vehicle outperforms an unleveled crew on a Tier 5.
Role specialization Light tanks scout (faster, weaker armor); medium tanks brawl (balanced); heavy tanks anchor (slow, strong frontal armor). Each role has a place at each BR.
CAS at higher BR Close air support becomes a real threat above BR 6.0. SPAA (anti-aircraft vehicles) in your lineup is mandatory at mid-to-high BR.
Map memorization is critical The first 100 hours of Ground RB are tutorial. Knowing the optimal angles for each map is what separates mid-rank from top-rank players.

06 · Air Battles

Energy fighting and missile warfare.

Energy is the central concept Altitude and speed are interchangeable; the higher-energy fighter wins most engagements. Manage energy like ammo — spend it deliberately.
Boom-and-zoom Climb high, dive on enemies, climb back. Standard tactic for heavy fighters and energy fighters. Never turn-fight a turn-fighter.
Turn-fighting Stay low, force the enemy to lose energy in turns. Standard for light fighters with high lift-to-weight. The opposite of boom-and-zoom.
Missile warfare at top BR Heat-seekers, radar-guided missiles, beyond-visual-range engagements. Top-tier air combat is a different game than low-tier piston fighters.
Bomber roles High-altitude bombing, dive-bombing, torpedo runs. Specialty roles that contribute uniquely in mixed battles.
Helicopters bridge air and ground In Helicopter PvE and Ground RB, helicopters with anti-tank guided missiles change tank engagements. Demand learning curve but high reward.
Pilot crew skills Stamina, Vitality, G-Force tolerance. Affect blackout resistance, gunner accuracy, and aircraft handling. Level them before chasing top tier.

07 · Naval Battles

Slower, methodical, range-driven.

Coastal fleet Small boats, fast pacing, fragile vessels. Closer to air combat in tempo than to ground combat.
Blue-water fleet Destroyers, cruisers, battleships. Slow, methodical, range-driven combat at 10km+ engagement distances.
Module damage modeling Ammo racks, turrets, engines, magazines. A penetrating hit on the magazine ends a battleship round instantly.
Range is everything Top-tier naval engagements happen at extreme distances. Spotting and gunnery skills matter more than maneuver.
AA defense matters Anti-air guns on ships defend the vessel and nearby allies from CAS. A cruiser with strong AA is a fleet protector, not just a hull.
Smoke screens Deployable smoke breaks line of sight. Critical for closing range or breaking pursuit; the most-used tactical tool in Blue-water battles.
Naval crew skills Targeting, Reloading, Repair, Damage Control, Survivability. Damage Control especially — a ship that puts out fires faster is a ship that survives longer.

08 · Crew & Modifications

Long-term progression beneath the vehicles.

Each vehicle has a crew Crew members have leveled skills that affect vehicle performance. The crew is reusable across vehicles in the same slot of the same nation.
Crew Points (CP) Earned per match. Distribute to the skills that matter for your vehicle type — do not spread thin across every skill.
Tank crew skills Reloading, Targeting, Driving, Repair, Leadership. Reload speed and Repair time are the most impactful for active play.
Aircraft crew skills Stamina, Vitality, G-Force, Awareness, Reload. G-Force is the difference between blacking out in a high-G turn and keeping aim.
Naval crew skills Targeting, Reloading, Repair, Damage Control, Survivability. Damage Control is the single most important for capital ships.
Expert and Ace qualifications Paid upgrades (with Silver Lions or Golden Eagles) that further enhance crew effectiveness on a specific vehicle. Permanent bonuses.
Modifications via Research Points Each vehicle has its own modifications tree — better optics, parts, FPE (fire extinguisher), better ammo. Spading a vehicle takes hundreds of matches.

09 · Progression Economy

Silver Lions, Research Points, Golden Eagles.

Silver Lions (SL) The main currency. Earned from matches; spent on vehicle repair, ammo, crew skills, modifications. Keeping SL positive across sessions is part of the strategy.
Research Points (RP) Unlock new vehicles in the tech tree. Each vehicle requires a specific RP investment; high-tier vehicles take many matches per unlock.
Golden Eagles (GE) The premium currency. Bought with real money or earned via the Marketplace from trading rare drops.
Premium account doubles gains A Premium subscription doubles SL and RP per match. The single largest progression accelerator in the game.
Premium vehicles Earn extra SL and RP across their parent tree. A Premium tank at a mid BR funds research for the next two tiers of standard vehicles.
Marketplace trading Some Premium items, vehicles, and decorators can be bought and sold for in-game currency. A long-term economy parallel to the main one.
Events and daily wagers Time-limited events and wager tasks provide accelerated progression without spending real money. Stack them when active.

10 · Audio & Settings

Engine sounds and gunfire define the experience.

Headphones, not speakers Tank engines are directional and signal incoming armor before it crests the hill. Aircraft engine sounds reveal enemy altitude and speed.
Master volume around 60 percent War Thunder has loud peaks during gunfire and explosions. Lower master volume preserves the audibility of distant engine sounds.
Field of view 50–80 in third-person for tanks. Cockpit FOV is adjustable for aircraft. Pick a value and commit; the muscle memory matters.
Disable post-processing for performance Off in the video menu. Ground RB and Air RB are competitive modes; cinematic effects cost frames that matter.
Custom keybinds for binoculars, scout, callout Defaults are slow. Bind binoculars and scout (light tanks) to keys you can hit without losing your aim.
Joystick or HOTAS for Simulator Mouse and keyboard work in Arcade and Realistic. Simulator demands dedicated flight hardware to compete; budget for it before committing to the mode.
Verify settings after major patches Gaijin ships updates that occasionally reset preferences and graphics options. Five minutes of review prevents one bad session.

11 · Pro Tips

Compound habits across years of play. War Thunder is persistent.

One nation tree deep, then expand Tech tree progression is a years-long commitment per nation. Pick one to master before branching out.
Bring a balanced lineup Heavy plus medium plus light plus SPG plus SPAA covers every SP category. Lineup variety lets you adapt to the match instead of forcing one playstyle.
Level crews on reserve vehicles first A leveled crew on reserve vehicles outperforms an unleveled crew on Tier 3 tanks. Crew skills are a multiplier on every vehicle in the slot.
Activate Premium during events Time-limited events drop best when Premium account is active. Stack them deliberately rather than letting the days run dry.
Watch top players DEFYN, OddBawZ, and other community veterans teach mechanics faster than experimentation alone. Two hours of footage saves twenty hours of trial and error.
Track BR sweet spots Vehicles that consistently downtier win more matches. The community tracks these; lineup-builders chase them.
Take the L on bad teams War Thunder has no MMR floor; team quality varies widely. The win rate evens out over many matches; do not chase the loss with three more games.