I’m genuinely glad to see that the developers have taken steps to make heavy bombers’ damage models more realistic. That’s a great move.
But what about helicopters?
I’m a dedicated Helirush player, and don’t get me wrong – I have no issue with being blown to pieces by a 30mm HE round. That’s fair game. What does bother me is how a few bursts of 12.7mm fire can snap the tail off a Mi-24P – a flying tank that earned its “BMP of the sky” reputation for a reason.
To be upfront: I haven’t looked deeply into light helicopter survivability, and I’m sure they have their own share of issues, but probably not as glaring as the Mi-24’s.
In Afghanistan, the Hind proved time and again that it could take punishment and still bring its crew home. In War Thunder, that legendary toughness is nowhere to be found. Right now, roughly 80% of the fuselage skin shares a single pooled health value – and that simply doesn’t reflect reality. In practice, a few stray 12.7mm rounds grazing the tail often result in an instant severance.
The module damage logic is also far too punitive. Even 7.7mm coaxial machine gun fire can easily penetrate the Mi-24’s frontal armour and knock out avionics, leaving you completely unable to fire back. Or an engine takes a couple of 7.92mm hits and suddenly you’re losing power and flopping onto the ground like a stone.
Yes, I know – anything that flies is inherently fragile. But this is getting ridiculous. Heavy attack helicopters like the Mi-24 deserve better than being treated like paper kites. The biggest pain points right now are the unified skin HP pool and the tail severance mechanic.
