This guy had some interesting points after I decided to translate it, so I decided to share.
Continuing the discussion from ЯДЕРНАЯ ЭСКАЛАЦИЯ и Кризис Топ-Тира:
Translation to English (Google Translate) // Перевод на английский
Hi everyone. After playing on the dev server and analyzing the experience from the “Nuclear Escalation” event, I’ve concluded that top-tier combined battles—specifically the balance between close air support and SAM systems—have reached an impasse. A mechanic intended to reward match dominance has turned into an uncontrollable lottery with zero chance of survival.
I recorded a detailed video breakdown of this issue (the link is at the end), but here I’d like to offer a text summary and discuss tactical solutions that could save the mode.
- Previous Event: Twisted Bots vs. “Skill”
Last time, the community split into two camps:
Casual players were completely frustrated by the AI anti-aircraft systems (like the Osa and Roland), which would shoot down salvos of anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), fire while on the move, and lock onto targets through foliage.
Experienced pilots proved that the mode was beatable. The right tactics—approaching to within 8–10 km, performing a pop-up maneuver, launching ARMs the moment a lock was achieved, and continuously deploying chaff to overwhelm the AI—made it possible to consistently take out four SAM sites per sortie and quickly earn enough points for the B-52.
The main takeaway: The issue isn’t game balance, but the fact that Gaijin provides no explanation whatsoever for the new mechanics. Without a tutorial, players mistake complex but functional game rules for bugs.
- Dev Server Crisis: 50-Kilometer Spawn Camping
The current state of the nuclear strike on the Dev server is disappointing:
Instant death: the RWR screams right on the runway. A Buk system locks onto your aircraft while you’re still at the airfield, spanning the entire map.
The illusion of scale: the maps have been expanded, but reaching the mountains requires crossing 50 km of open space. Within the first 10 seconds, up to 10 missiles are guaranteed to be heading your way.
The EW Deadlock: A heavy bomber carrying only a pair of short-range missiles—and lacking electronic warfare (EW) pods—is nothing more than an easy kill.
On top of that, the developers crank the cloud cover up to the max. The clouds render high-tech optics useless; pilots are forced to drop to low altitude, where they are all but guaranteed to fly straight into a missile or the top of a tree.
- Reform Concept: “Battle for the Oil Refinery” and Logistics
Instead of tightening the screws on “fire-and-forget” mechanics and nerfing vehicles, we need to change the battle structure itself:
Utilizing terrain: Action should shift to maps like Afghanistan (featuring radar shadows in the ravines) or Sinai (where dunes allow for stealthy flanking maneuvers). Airfields should be concealed behind terrain features.
Strategic Air Defense: Players operating long-range SAM systems should not spawn in the general tank staging area but rather deep within the map at strategic locations—such as the oil refinery complex.
Replacement Mechanic (Anti-spam): To prevent the sky from turning into a wall of hundreds of missiles, a human player in a “Pantsir” vehicle should automatically displace one AI bot upon arriving at the refinery. The bot shuts down its radar and drives away. This maintains the balance of power, ensuring that aircraft face a smart opponent rather than a script.
Dynamic Resupply: Air defense effectiveness at the refinery should depend on supply lines. A convoy of bots (carrying ammo and fuel) arrives from the rear. If allies fail to protect it and attack aircraft destroy the trucks, the SAM system runs out of missiles after five minutes.
- Coordination: “Communication without communication” in random matches
Organizing team play among strangers without Discord is a task that can be accomplished via the interface:
Tactical roles: Automatic icons appear above aircraft during takeoff (a “Lightning bolt” icon indicates SEAD/air defense suppression; a “Bomb” icon indicates a nuclear delivery vehicle).
Contextual command wheel: Hover your cursor over an oil refinery and select “Attacking refinery air defenses.” A bomber clicks on your marker: “Engaging on your vector.” A formation link line lights up between you.
Tactical Link: As soon as an attack aircraft is illuminated by a “Pantsir” radar, that “Pantsir” automatically appears as a red diamond on the displays of all allied aircraft within a 10 km radius for several seconds.
Air Defense SOS Signal: If a player operating an air defense system at the refinery is pinned down by an attack aircraft emerging from the gorge, they press the support button. A “Protect the Refinery” marker appears for allied fighters, automatically displaying target telemetry (last known coordinates, altitude, and azimuth).
Conclusion
Top-tier aviation in War Thunder has outgrown the format of a chaotic, head-on brawl in a tiny sandbox. The “Nuclear Escalation” mode shouldn’t be a tedious lottery. It has the potential to become a spectacular theater of war—where strike aircraft carve out safe corridors, fighters intercept enemies in canyons, and the nuclear sortie becomes a well-earned grand finale forged by the entire team.
What do you think about this? Would the mechanic of replacing bots with real players in the Refinery mode take off? Do you think you could coordinate effectively using such a tactical setup in a standard random match?
You can watch the full analysis, featuring gameplay examples and concept visualizations, in my video: https://youtu.be/blcrDBSl3T8