I think Realistic Battles could benefit from some new game modes.
In War Thunder Air RB, gameplay has increasingly converged into everyone rushing into a small central area, resulting in constant dogfights. While that’s fun, it creates a structural problem: certain aircraft types are effectively sidelined, especially interceptors like the MiG-25 and MiG-31, AWACS / Airborne Radar Platforms and others.
This isn’t a balance issue with the aircraft themselves — it’s a consequence of the current gameplay format.
I’d like to hear the community’s thoughts on introducing an additional game mode with much larger maps (e.g. 500 × 500 km or more, depending on balance) and larger teams (potentially up to 64 players). Different spawn points for each type of aircraft roles and maybe balancing RP and SL for each role (e.g. CAS makes more RP/SL for destroying ground targets; Fighters - bonus for destroying air targets, so on). Victory conditions should be centered around the ground targets being destroyed and not the fighters getting downed.
Such a mode would create meaningful roles for aircraft classes that currently struggle to contribute (Jet Bombers, Interceptors and Attack aircraft).
Right now, Air RB heavily favors fighters and close-range air-to-air combat. That mode should absolutely stay !!! — it’s fun and popular.
But adding an alternative, large-scale mode could diversify gameplay and make more aircraft types genuinely viable, without taking anything away from existing modes.
The thing is, for the lower BRs, interceptors have sort of a place in the game (even though they are mostly used as regular fighters) since they get a decent airspawn and there’s bombers they can hunt
But for higher BRs, there’s nothing similar to bombers and with how overpowered multipathing is, there is no incentive to fly high (apart from the top BRs but that’s a whole different can of worms)
THIS is a decision, every single player choose. ARB has much more to offer, but the player base choose only this part.
ARB has many problems, sure, but another game mode isn’t the answer at all.
It only will divide the player base in two parts, and ARB become much more the abusive mode of GRB players than it ever was.
If rushing the center is purely a player choice, why does it happen in almost every match, at every BR, on every map, across years?
When almost all players behave the same way across maps, BRs, and years, it’s not a choice—it’s an incentive outcome. ARB’s map size, match length, rewards, and spawn geometry mathematically force central convergence. Changing player behavior requires changing those incentives, not blaming players.
True in some sense.
That’s what I’m talking about in many topics in this forum over the past.
In my opinion rewards are the main part, especially for GRB players.
But you don’t want to change anything, you want an additional game mode.
because people tend to optimize their grind, rushing headfirst into a furball is much more sl/rp per minute than carefully setting up positions and playing to win