Greetings, forum users.
Since March 27th, 2026, the sound modding system in War Thunder has been disabled due to compatibility issues caused by usage of outdated sound modifications.
I have since learned that one could attempt to replace the game’s files in the “sound” folder itself to force a sound modification in. I have done so for the three “aircraft_music” bank and asset files, as vanilla music’s quietude and mellowness have been the number one obstacle to me enjoying the battles in game. Even if not ideal, it did bring me joy for a bit…
…until recently, when some players have warned that one could get banned by the system for “modifying client files”. This has spooked me quite a bit, since I didn’t consider such a possibility for a harmless action like this, and would’ve expected to be informed in the official announcement regarding this if it could be a bannable offense. I have since verified integrity of files to make sure my client files were in-line with the vanilla state of the game.
I have searched around the forums and abroad but couldn’t find any definitive proof or precedent for such a case, so I wanted to reach out here to see if anyone could give me more concrete answers on the matter.
TL;DR Is this a genuine concern, and could such a ban be appealed, since if anything it was giving the other players competitive advantage by slightly limiting my auditory awareness in-game? All answers or pointers will be greatly appreciated!
Changing ANY game files to something other than the originals is always a risk. Even with the sound mods enabled it’s still done at your own risk. Now when they are disabled i personally wouldn’t risk it (then again i also personally wouldn’t risk it even when they are enabled, so that’s just me).
Community Manager answers for sound mods in general:
Thank you for taking the time to look into this topic and referencing other useful information.
I understand now that it is very ambiguous whether modifications of any kind are safe to use on account of anticheat’s false positives, lack of a thorough mod-checking procedure and other factors. Perhaps, this could be the reason of the temporary suspension of sound modding in WT and I would certainly hope for this to be the case.
At the very least, it would perhaps be possible to appeal a potential ban since I don’t think it’s possible to glean gameplay advantage from the files specified. Regardless, I’ll stick to powering through the vanilla soundscape for the time being.
Thank you and everyone else here for helping me answer this question!
Firstly; having multiple accounts is against the rules, secondly; if an alt account is used to circumvent moderation and gets found violating the rules then the main account will very likely also get punished.
I’m not saying you should risk your account “testing” a sound mod because the anti cheat is different. I lean on the side of caution as well. I would not advise risking your account that you have spent time and energy on.
I wouldn’t mess with it, just tough it out or wait it out until mods are back if its that integral to you playing the game, we over here at RCSM do NOT take responsibility if you take unauthorized action with your files and receive concequences
we explain the safe way to install the mod, and no more, anything you do beyond that is your own actions/fault
Ah, thanks for the clarification! EAC stuck with me because it didn’t like my computer for some reason and didn’t let me play War Thunder prior to May 2025, despite a lot of efforts on my part to resolve the issue. I guess now I see what changed that allowed me to finally play the game, hah!