As a player who has been playing War Thunder since 2014, I want to point out that some features that were introduced in the early days of the game have become outdated and increasingly frustrating for the majority of players. Below, I would like to highlight a few key issues that I believe need urgent attention:
Vehicle Repair Costs: As someone who has been playing for years, I can say that vehicle repair costs have become an unnecessary financial burden. Especially for high-tier vehicles, the repair costs quickly drain players’ resources and significantly diminish the overall gaming experience. (Moreover, I don’t understand how a vehicle that crashes and explodes can even be repaired—it’s completely absurd.) This situation forces players to focus more on managing costs rather than playing strategically, leading to a lack of enjoyment in the game. Additionally, new players who don’t perform well constantly lose money and eventually reach a point where they can no longer afford new vehicles. At that point, they are forced to quit the game. Recently, two of my friends who were new to War Thunder had to stop playing due to the excessive repair costs, and they had premium accounts. Now imagine those who play without a premium account (may God help them)—this is absolutely not a fair system. I believe repair costs should be removed entirely. Otherwise, this issue will continue to drive many players away from the game.
Crew Training Costs: The amount of Silver Lions required for crew training makes progression in the game unnecessarily difficult. This system forces you to pay extra Silver Lions just to use a newly acquired vehicle. After already spending a large amount of Silver Lions on a high-tier vehicle, having to pay extra just to play with it is truly absurd. This situation poses a significant obstacle, especially for players who want to try new vehicles or progress through their nation’s tech tree. Reducing or completely removing these costs would make the game more balanced and player-friendly.
Preparation Time for Fallen Crew Members: If you die shortly after starting a match (for example, by crashing a plane), you have to wait before joining a new game. This waiting period disrupts the flow of the game and reduces players’ enjoyment. Losing your vehicle early is already frustrating enough, and having to wait afterward is even more aggravating. (Additionally, the idea that fallen crew members can somehow be “prepared” is another absurdity.) Removing this waiting time would provide a much more satisfying experience for players.
In summary, although I believe War Thunder is a beautifully crafted game with a lot of effort put into it, I think Gaijin’s focus on monetization prevents people from enjoying it. After all, it’s a game, and people play games to have fun, but War Thunder is leaving us feeling disappointed.
the first 2 poinst wont change bc the economy is supposed to give you the least ammount of money feasable and have you pay the most ammount of it.
This is unfortunately by design of this being a F2P game, wanting to sell you a premium account, or even worse.
The last thing is for different reasons (crew lock), so you don’t voluntarily leave the match early, but take it seriously.
Yes, it has to be reworked, but it is mostly, so you behave yourself at the beginning (don’t crash) and in modes with multiple spawns, you use them, and not leave after you’ve been killed once, having the whole rest of your lineup still ready to fight.
As you wrote:
This is by design and this frustration/disappointment:
is so you spend that money on a premium account, on premium vehicles etc.
Therefore I want a change in monetization, but there wont be that unfortunately.
Repair cost:
This is already removed for premium account holders.
I feel this is the best method as it’s a healthy incentive to spend $3.34 a month when buying annually during a sale.
Training cost? I feel that outside the 7 figure costs, the amount is largely more than fine.
I feel they could have it set down to 600,000 for top vehicles.
Repair cost (whilst being a major balancing factor in the past) fulfills mainly the goal of encouraging players to use their resources wisely - i do not see any benefit for the game or the majority of players if the game is flooded with even more absolute clueless players which rush like headless chickens, die and hopp into the next match. Same as wannabe pilots which see trading in a fully committed headon as a viable strategy…
Crew training cost - i fully agree that they are way too high, same as the RP requirements for getting an ace crew/pilot.
Crew locks - Whilst there are fundamental differences between Ground RB and Air RB - at least for Air RB the crew lock forces players to learn how to control their aircraft. So a player unable to take off without an accident or crashing on his way to his target is a burden for every team; the 8 minutes (and repair cost without premium) prevents them to repeat this in infinite loops.
The issue for Ground RB crew lock is based on other topics and should be discussed in a separate thread - there are dozens of posts dealing with ODL & map design.
The problem I have with Crew Costs is how unfair it is. Even when moving a crew from one Tiger tank to another almost identicle Tiger tank, or from 1 Spitfire to another almost identicle Spitfire, etc, etc, the crew costs are still FULL PRICE. Why?
They are moving from 1 vehicle to an almost identicle vehicle, but still have to pay in full like they are complete novices to the vehicle despite many battles.
Crew skills are certainly something Id quite like to see removed or at the very least, overhauled. They are a frustrating handicap for the sake of another grind.
I barely break even when spading any plane above rank 6, britain suffers. My SL profits after spading aren’t very high either, maybe a few thousand a match unless I’ve top-fragged. If your friends are struggling at the low ranks they just suck, like really really suck
I think the crewing cost is fine, its the cost for an expert crew which is incredibly high. the difference between an expert crew and a normal crew is extreme and an aced crew is even more insane, it gives majorly faster repair times, reload times and G force tolerances, you’re better off grinding for six hours in your previous vehicle to crew and expert your tank than to spade with a regular crew organically.
crew lock was meant to punish deserters of matches but more often than not just screws over a player that got knocked on takeoff or if your game crashed and didn’t give you the option to rejoin.
the difference between a standard crew and an aced (even expert) is too high it gives an unfair advantage to us experienced players over the newer guys beyond skill or those without enough SL
Extreme example but here’s FV4005 on a level 145 crewslot vs on an aced level 87 crew. This is pretty big even though the standard crew is much higher in level. even half a second is the difference between survival and death sometimes so its just a terrible mechanic
Yep, there are several aircraft like the Harrier II or Gripen that are basically unplayable without ACE in my experience whilst others you barely need maxed crew. But its naval that I feel that expert or even ACE is the most needed of them. The difference it makes is insane.
But also the little things, like Expert and ACE are slot specific drives me nuts.
Interestingly I dont run into a repair cost problem at all, even when I get no kills I get maybe -1-2k?
Might be a difference between AB and RB, though.
you my GR7 pilot spends a good 10% of every match slumped into the floor as I cant afford to ace the crew playing it. id have to play my Centurion AVRE and sealclub for 30-50k sl a match for a lot of matches to be able to afford it
may be an arcade to realistic difference as I barely broke even when bombing a full base and averaging one to two kills if I wasn’t instantly killed by a lucky farkour not getting multipath trolled
