Hello, avid snail enjoyers! I’ve been playing War Thunder religiously since 2019, and this is my first forum post, so let’s jump into it.
I want to explore ideas that could update and introduce better maps or systems for both Air RB and Ground RB, specifically at top tier. The maps we have are great—I enjoy probably 90% of the current map pool—but they were all designed for and around pre-Cold War era technology: slow, lumbering machines that didn’t exceed the distance limit. Having a Tortoise travel 3 km would not just be boring; it wouldn’t happen. This, in part, highlights an issue I feel we face now that we’ve reached modern-era technology. This problem affects both game modes. Engagement distances for a tank with a dart should start at 500 m, not zero—we’re lobbing friggen telephone poles at each other! If we take a jet into Ground RB, the play space for these maps is vast; however, for a tank, it’s limited to barely 1% of the maps’ actual size. Why can I have penetration metrics for 2 km when engagements rarely happen beyond 1.3 km?
My suggestion is to open up the maps with either more terrain cover and play with distances or add more capture points (we miss the D point). Alternatively, give us a push-style game mode that enables potential attack-and-defend-style play. I’m thinking of the very niche but fun elements in World War mode, like the AA defence or zone capture.
For Air RB, I would suggest following the lead of games such as DCS. Top tier is not a fun experience with only one jet and getting nothing but a flat 40 km field while being locked off the runway. Maps like Afghan, Pyrenees, and a couple of others are the only ones that give you a sliver of a chance to reach ‘engagement’ range. Coupled with seeing red name-tags, you haven’t a shot at success unless your belly is kissing the floor. Semi-realistic maps are great, but Arcade has better maps for top tier than Realistic at this point. Breaking a radar lock is almost impossible with just countermeasures, flares, and notching. I can do it more reliably in Air Arcade using the extreme terrain.
My suggestion is to introduce the Arcade map style to some maps in Air RB. More maps with aggressive terrain would allow us to feel like ace pilots, dodging that crazy missile by diving into the valley by the skin of our teeth. Additionally, remove red name-tags in Air RB. We have radar that can smell what you had for breakfast; anyone at this tier should be encouraged to use it to find their targets. If we can’t make 11.7 a hard cap, stopping anyone from being uptiered or downtiered at 11.7, then I feel the removal of red name-tags could go a long way toward giving people a bit more of a chance against what is effectively a self-guided radar going Mach f*ck in your direction.
Let me know what you guys think! Again, this is my first post, so I hope we can have a good crack at this!
Signed, JRBEnglishman. o/