1. Balanced and Expanded Maps for High-Tier Matches
- Problem: Modern vehicles are confined to small areas on maps designed for older, slower vehicles, limiting the potential of modern warfare mechanics.
- Proposed Changes:
- Utilize the full extent of existing maps with the addition of diverse combat zones (e.g., long-range engagements, urban close-quarters combat, flanking routes).
- Adjust spawn point distances based on BR levels, allowing modern tanks, aircraft, and helicopters to leverage their speed, range, and advanced systems effectively.
2. Larger Teams for Greater Strategic Depth
- Problem: The current team size of 16 vs. 16 does not fully utilize the potential of larger maps and modern vehicles.
- Proposed Changes:
- Increase team sizes to 32 vs. 32 for a more intense and realistic battlefield experience.
- Enable greater role variety, including air support, reconnaissance, and frontline fighters.
- Ensure balance through improved respawn mechanics and diverse team objectives.
3. Access Restrictions for High-Quality Matches
- Problem: Players with inadequate vehicle lineups or minimal experience negatively impact match quality, particularly at higher BR levels.
- Proposed Changes:
- Introduce a minimum requirement of 4–5 vehicles within the same BR level to access “Warfare Mode.”
- Provide introductory tutorials and training modes for lower levels, allowing new players to gain experience and build a suitable vehicle lineup.
- Ensure that only prepared and experienced players participate, maintaining the integrity and engagement of matches.
4. Enhanced Teamwork and Dynamic Objectives
- Problem: The current reward system prioritizes individual performance, encouraging selfish playstyles.
- Proposed Changes:
- Incentivize team-oriented actions with rewards for:
- Spotting and supporting teammates.
- Coordinated maneuvers and shared objectives.
- Introduce dynamic objectives such as:
- Convoy Protection: Teams escort or ambush supply convoys.
- Coordinated Attacks: Players work together to execute artillery or airstrikes.
- Strategic Defense/Assault: Teams capture or defend critical zones.
- Seamlessly integrate these objectives into matches to naturally promote teamwork.
- Incentivize team-oriented actions with rewards for:
5. Separate Modes for Grinding and Competitive Play
- Problem: Mixing players focused on unlocking vehicles with those seeking competitive gameplay creates a mismatch of expectations and satisfaction.
- Proposed Changes:
- Grind Mode: Tailored for players aiming to progress, featuring:
- Lenient matchmaking.
- Smaller battles.
- Simplified mechanics to support progression.
- Warfare Mode: Designed for veterans seeking competitive, tactical gameplay, with:
- Strict access restrictions.
- Balanced, competitive matches on expanded maps.
- Dynamic, team-oriented objectives.
- Grind Mode: Tailored for players aiming to progress, featuring:
Advantages of “Warfare Mode”
- Increased Realism: The mode reflects modern warfare scenarios through expanded maps, adjusted spawn points, and larger teams.
- Improved Match Quality: Ensures experienced players with adequate vehicle lineups participate, fostering cohesive and engaging gameplay.
- Team-Oriented Gameplay: Rewards collaboration and coordination instead of individual performance, encouraging long-term player retention.
- Veteran Engagement: Offers a challenging and rewarding experience for seasoned players, sustaining long-term interest in the game.
Conclusion
By addressing key issues such as map design, teamwork incentives, matchmaking, and grind dynamics, the “Warfare Mode” modernizes and elevates gameplay. This mode not only appeals to veterans but also promotes teamwork and realism, creating a balanced and immersive environment for all participants.
Realizability of the Warfare Mode
The implementation of a new gameplay mode, as suggested, is entirely feasible with existing resources. The game already has vast maps spanning hundreds of square kilometers, yet battles are constrained to the same limited areas with unchanged spawn points and engagement zones for the last decade. Here’s a practical way forward:
- Rotation of Spawn and Objective Points
By simply repositioning spawn and capture points according to BR levels, the gameplay can feel fresh and dynamic without requiring the development of new maps. Adjusting distances between teams would also prevent predictable scenarios like spawn camping and ensure a better experience for players. - Leverage the Full Scale of Maps
The sheer size of these maps allows for over 100 playable zones per map. Proper scaling and selection of locations would ensure that one engagement zone remains isolated from others, creating a sense of variety and vastness.
Addressing Player Misunderstandings About Map Design
Many players fail to grasp the scale of existing maps and confuse adjustments to spawn points and locations with demands for entirely new map designs. The issue lies not in the maps themselves but in how they are utilized:
- Spawn Camping and Protection
Spawn protection was implemented as a reaction to inexperienced players misunderstanding game mechanics. Proper spawn point placement, tailored to BR tiers, could eliminate such issues entirely, making spawn protection redundant. - Air RB Challenges
The current Air RB mechanics suffer due to changes catering to complaints rather than addressing skill gaps:- SAM Systems: Initially designed to punish poor decision-making, SAMs have been nerfed to the point where players can easily dodge missiles, resulting in unbalanced gameplay.
- Runway Attacks: Some players exploit weaknesses in airbase defenses by targeting aircraft during repair or rearming phases. Stronger airbase defenses and better spawn locations could mitigate these exploits without dumbing down the experience.
The Decline in Gameplay Quality
The game has increasingly catered to less skilled players who lobby for changes that often degrade the quality of matches. This has resulted in mechanics that prioritize appeasement over skill and realism, such as:
- Weapon System Balancing
Calls for balancing weapon systems ignore the inherent disparities in real-world equipment. For example:
- The Pantsir outclasses other systems with its superior range (16 km lock-on). However, this could be countered by strategies such as using aircraft like the F-15E with long-range missiles to eliminate threats from a safe distance.
- Maps with poorly placed spawn points exacerbate these imbalances, enabling systems like the Pantsir to dominate areas they should not influence, such as helicopter spawn zones.
- Inexperienced Players in Top-Tier Matches
Players who rely on Pay-to-Progress shortcuts lack the experience and tactical understanding necessary for high-tier gameplay. They often become liabilities to their teams, leading to unwinnable matches. This issue highlights the need for stricter entry requirements:
- Vehicle Deck Requirements: A minimum of 4–5 vehicles in the appropriate BR range should be mandatory to enter top-tier matches.
- Skill-Based Progression: Players who purchase premium vehicles should still be required to demonstrate competence in using them before participating in high-tier matches.
Suggested Improvements to Gameplay
To address these challenges, here are key suggestions:
- Dynamic Map Usage
- Rotate spawn and capture points regularly.
- Scale spawn distances based on BR tiers to better reflect the capabilities of vehicles.
- Stricter Match Entry Requirements
- Enforce a minimum number of vehicles in the appropriate tier to ensure players have sufficient backup and experience.
- Require new players or Pay-to-Progress users to complete specific tutorials before entering competitive modes.
- Encouraging Skill Over Convenience
- Reintroduce realistic mechanics that reward tactical understanding (e.g., stronger SAM systems and no spawn protection).
- Penalize players who consistently leave matches early or fail to contribute meaningfully to their teams.
Conclusion
The game’s current state suffers from catering to less experienced players at the expense of realism, strategy, and overall quality. By focusing on better map utilization, stricter player requirements, and preserving realistic mechanics, War Thunder could regain its appeal to skilled players and provide a more rewarding experience for all.
Your insights are valuable in highlighting these issues and offering practical solutions. If implemented thoughtfully, these changes could significantly elevate the gameplay experience.