I started playing this game many years ago and unfortunately lost my account and Squadron due to being hacked. War Thunder/Gaijin wanted so much information from me that it was easier just to let both my account and squadron basically RIP. I was a level 100 and went by the name of Admiral_Halsey and my squadron was =SHIPS= which also sits in limbo to this day. Sadly I had to create another account and to be honest, after what I’ve experienced many years later this game is in complete deterioration mode. When I became a high-ranking player, that’s pretty much where I stayed. There was no way in hell I was going to drop down to rank one and ruin the game for all the beginners who basically want to grind and become better players. I already know what this forum is about and basically, you end up being attacked by moderators and skilled players with very big egos who need to prove something. Sorry, that has never been me and will never become me.
Anyway, I figured let me start with the worst tank tree of all, French tanks. I am very well aware that in rank one tanks you will encounter very poor players who can’t even use the map as of yet and who have tunnel vision. That’s fine, they are beginners and I’m very familiar with beginners because I had a beginner’s squadron. But when you play in rank one (reserves) and nine Level 100 players are battering the hell out of these beginner players that’s when you realize the game has hit rock bottom. I’m tired of hearing (well I have to grind a new tree) BULL. You have already ground 4 trees and are in rank 4 on most of them and your skill level is higher than a kite. That excuse of grinding a new tree falls on deaf ears. You now have the skills to obliterate many if not all of the new players which is exactly what they do and I’ve been one of them. Most of these (kids, teenagers) are not on Teamspeak or Discord and have entered a match purely to grind a reserve tank but can’t because Level 75-100 players have dropped down 3 or 4 ranks to reserve tanks. Remember I worked many years ago through these trees grinding away but don’t even recall having the crap beat out of me by level 100 players in reserve tanks and rank one. Nobody in their right mind can tell me that’s going to make new players want to sink money into this game and continue to play. I have encountered so many old accounts dating back over 5 years that are in limbo stuck at levels 5, 9, 12, 20. They stopped playing the game PERIOD and I don’t blame them one bit. Gaijin is so busy trying to find new tanks, find new planes, and now they have added ships that they no longer care about the productivity of this game. Years ago I blew a lot of money on this game but NO MORE. I haven’t brought up cheating because I haven’t experienced any of that unless you want to define (seal Clubbing and being in a server such as Discord or Teamspeak) cheating which if you look at the big picture could be considered that especially when the other players are trying to get through one lousy game of tanks or planes.
Nobody can sit there and tell me this isn’t going on because I’ve experienced it and I’m also a veteran player. It’s really not a great game anymore and that’s really kind of sad. This is strictly what I’ve experienced and have spoken to other players about who also don’t appreciate what is taking place. I guess I have to look at it this way. I was privileged enough to play War Thunder during its heyday during the earlier stages when the creators wanted to make this a good game. It’s about money now and less about perfection. Get everything out there and running and will fix the glitches at a later date. War Thunders better years are behind and don’t go by me. Just go by all the low to medium-level players who don’t exist anymore and who have left their accounts completely in limbo. I’m heading down that road myself. I think I’ve had enough. Hopefully, all the attack dogs won’t be too vicious although I doubt that.
For sure, Tier 1 French tanks are not the best to resist level 100 stats-padders playing there. But as soon as you get to 2.7+, you will find French tanks excellent for an active player.
If you are keen to know more about them, I wrote a review on French tanks that I just moved from the old forum:
I got your points. But the problem you face is not limited to tanks. Just look at the vehicle statistics of this famous stat padder squad. They clap preferred within Rank I & 2 in Air RB in order to push their stats. With using op/undertiered planes they increase their already existing experience advantage even more.
But - the game allows this and from a holistic pov the MM should ensure equally skilled lobbies. At least in theory everybody should be able to play anything they want to play.
Ihmo the only action gaijin should take is that they simply don’t consider matches blow rank III in their statistics to measure and compare squads in their statistics; same for ranking lists for players like kill per battle or win rate.
I see mainly the striving for stat padding as main motivation for those low tier clubbers and not the aim to ensure that rookies have a bad day. So just by limiting certain statistics to rank III and above (like for daily and special/BP tasks) there might be a good chance that there will be a relief for newer players at rank I & II - or"older" players trying to play a new nation /TT…
Even assuming some of those low tier clubbers would actually enjoy clubbing due to lack of self-confidence or simply by being a person with rather low moral / ethical standards - wt reflects imho just the same as any other shooter or MMO game.
Once vehicles are spaded, everyone is on an equally footing gearwise.
Players fail by focusing on the grind, not the game, by making the mistake of thinking “All I need is the next tank and I’ll start winning”
New players can very quickly close the skill gap, because it’s just map and target knowledge, rushing the grind impacts that negatively by constantly shifting the goals posts - you’re constantly trying to learn new targets and evolving maps and approaches.
Crew skills have an impact, but really not as much as knowing the map and targets. And because crew skills are RP based, and you’re going to pull more RP longer term by not rushing the grind and building up player skill, you’ll close that gap quicker by not rushing the grind.
There is no difference between a new player jumping into WT at any BR and encountering players that have been playing for a decade and a new player jumping into a Battlfield Of Duty match with a stock rifle and facing players with hundreds of hours and fully upgraded kit.
There is absolutely a problem with the way “progression” is presented and communicated in the game such that players are lead to believe the most rewarding way to play the game is to pick a tree and rush to the bottom of it as quickly as possible. When in fact that most rewarding way to play the game is to literally work through every nation rank by rank, BR by BR, vehicle by vehicle - even mode by mode. You get a tonne of bonuses, boosters and other cool gear as well as genuinely learning to play the game, but most of that is hidden away in the clunky achievements menus.
Gaijin USED to be a lot better about communicating the above, but monetisation of the grind seems to have gotten in the way of that message. But it’s all still there, you get so much stuff in this game by NOT trying to “main” something.
All of which is to say, the best thing you can do for newer players is help them understand the above: don’t rush the grind. Take your time and learn, every death is an opportunity to learn and the next BR is not more fun than the current BR.
Same applies to top tier premiums (now that they come with backups) - buy it if you want and can afford it. In a lot of ways it’s probably better because you are going to spend hundreds of matches in it, sitting happily at one BR giving yourself time to learn rather than getting frustrated chasing vehicles instead of building skills.
Apparently it could have it already so maybe you’re amongst those of your kind, or, you are the oddity that is supposed to be taking charge and making the difference…
I am guessing we define “rock bottom” differently…i was expecting (from the title) a complaint somewhat related to the game…not to players that like to play lower BRs…
I am not sure what the issue is, much less what makes it a game-breaking issue…
I play lower levels on occasion…i like it and i sometimes have new vehicles to research…AFAIK the game works ok…the 9 level 100 players you mention are not the norm and even when they do appear, they are usually mixed in the two teams. I have no reason to think low level matches are more lopsided…AFAIK the players distribution is RNG and level is not the same as skill…it somewhat equates with experience…but there are lots of very skilled players with a low level account…
I do a bit better in lower BR, assuming i am higher (but not top) in the skill ladder…but there are ALWAYS better players on the opposing team…
Honestly…there are a lot of debatable issues…the usual ones being BR ranks, air support, maps…and the main one…Economy…if you want to complaint, these are far more common (and understandable) issues…
I fail to see what is the big issue in your original post and why would someone quit the game over it…
I still recall being a new player and being “smashed” a lot…but i recall BOTH teams had good and bad players…some matches better than others. A very good player that dominates the match is actually more probable in higher tiers…IMHO…where skill matters more as speed, range and variables you must control are all larger…
JUST REALIZED my perspective is about GROUND battles…it may be different in the sky…skill MAY be more important there.
I share your concern about new players experience as well after I started to go through other tech trees.
However I consider it a more complex issue, so I will play a devils advocate here for a bit.
I think that new players play vs bots for a first few matches although I could mistake it with the mobile version, where it is definitely a case.
New players come from different backgrounds, so they could have different skill level based on their experience from other games which on its own can create big skill gap right from the start, so restricting seasoned players from playing with them, wouldn’t necessarily create more even playing field on its own.
Existing player base is incentivized to progress and play on higher ranks, so only small percentage plays 1. Rank and completely restricting them from 1. Rank could lead to significantly longer queue times and thus worse experience for new players.
New players often play their first matches along with their experienced friends and restricting it, would make this impossible.
