What if your favorite aircraft could participate in battles at different Battle Ratings? You could use your familiar loadout at one Battle Rating, or equip more powerful weaponry and test your skills against tougher opponents.
Introducing custom Battle Ratings: a new mechanic where researching specific modifications unlocks additional Battle Rating options for the same vehicle. You decide which configuration to take into battle!
One vehicle, multiple Battle Ratings!
Certain types of weaponry significantly enhance a vehicle’s effectiveness and can have a decisive impact on its Battle Rating. But is it possible to use your favorite aircraft at a different Battle Rating with a different set of available weapons? Yes! This is precisely where the custom Battle Rating mechanic comes in.
An aircraft’s Battle Rating can now depend on its chosen loadout configuration, meaning a single vehicle may have multiple possible Battle Ratings. Once you research more advanced weaponry, you have a choice: you can either participate in battles at a higher Battle Rating, or remain at your current one. Researching a modification does not automatically force a change in your vehicle’s Battle Rating; instead, you decide which available options to equip in your hangar before heading into battle.
Even after researching the most advanced armaments, you can always return to a lower Battle Rating by simply opting not to use them. With premium vehicles, it’s even simpler: all modifications are unlocked upon purchase, allowing you to immediately start experimenting with different configurations for various Battle Rating ranges. Just imagine you research or purchase one aircraft, yet you end up with two or three different versions of that vehicle to take into battle at different Battle Ratings!
Custom Battle Rating for the J-22M1A, as illustrated in the context of Air Realisitc Battles.
How will this work? Let’s look at a few examples.
Tiger UHT
Let’s take the German Tiger UHT helicopter as an example. Suppose its base configuration is assigned a Battle Rating of 11.0, while researching the PARS 3 LR missiles unlocks the option to play at a BR of 12.7. You will then have a choice: play at the higher Battle Rating, utilizing fire-and-forget missiles that allow you to retreat behind cover immediately after an attack, or return to Battle Rating 11.0, where these specific missiles are not available, but other air-to-ground guided missiles with semi-automatic or laser guidance remain available.
MiG-21 Bison
This is a premium aircraft; all modifications are unlocked immediately upon purchase. Take a look at the various configurations possible for this same vehicle:
In its base configuration, which lacks active radar-homing (ARH) air-to-air missiles, the aircraft sits at a Battle Rating of 12.3. It is an excellent close-range dogfighter, equipped with a helmet-mounted display (HMD) for target designation and laser-guided bombs (LGBs). While advanced air-to-air missiles are unavailable, this allows you to employ the aircraft in a different role, within a different lineup, and against a different set of opponents.
Equip it with RVV-AE missiles, and you get a fighter with a Battle Rating of 13.3. The Bison can now engage targets beyond visual range using active radar-homing (ARH) missiles, while still retaining the entire arsenal from its previous configuration!
Please note: The indicated Battle Rating values and armament options are provided as initial examples and may change during the development process.
When can we expect the new mechanic?
We plan to introduce the first aircraft and helicopters with custom Battle Ratings in the very next major update. Initially, this new mechanic will apply to select aircraft models; you can find the full list in the update changelog. Any change to the Battle Rating will be clearly displayed when selecting a configuration, and any weaponry incompatible with that configuration will become unavailable.
In future updates, we are considering the possibility of applying the custom Battle Rating mechanic to ground vehicles, for instance, to certain top-tier tanks. But first, we’re beginning with aircraft.
We believe that custom Battle Ratings will open up new possibilities for your favorite vehicles. Explore weapons, try different configurations and find your playstyle in the most comfortable environment. What vehicle would you like to try at another Battle Rating? Share your thoughts in the comments. See you!
