I’ve had enough. We need to talk about the current state of top-tier ARH (Active Radar Homing) combat, specifically the “Anti-Ballistic Missile” (ABM) meta that’s completely killing the game’s skill ceiling.
Right now, if you’re flying an F-15, Su-30SM2, or any top-tier jet, you don’t even need to notch or perform defensive maneuvers anymore. If you see 3-4 AMRAAMs or R-77-1s coming at you head-on, you just spam your own missiles back. 90% of the time, your missiles will “intercept” the incoming ones mid-air.
Why this is a massive problem for War Thunder:
Zero Realism compared to DCS/BMS: In any actual flight sim like DCS or Falcon BMS, hitting a missile with another missile is a “one-in-a-million” fluke. It’s almost impossible due to high closure speeds (Mach 4+) and the tiny cross-section of a missile. In WT, it’s a reliable defensive tactic. Seeing a Su-30 fly in a straight line and swat away 5 AMRAAMs with its own R-77s is pure arcade BS.
Seekers are “Magic”: ARH seekers are designed to lock onto a massive aircraft, not a tiny, fast-moving missile. In-game, the seekers prioritize incoming missiles as if they’re primary targets. This shouldn’t happen.
The Death of Tactics: Why bother learning the “Crank,” “Notch,” or “Barrel Roll” when you can just out-spam the enemy? It turns tactical BVR (Beyond Visual Range) combat into a “who has more missiles” clicker game. It rewards zero-skill gameplay where you just fly straight and click.
What Gaijin needs to do:
We need to drastically nerf the seeker’s ability to lock onto small-caliber munitions (missiles). Intercepting a missile should be a 5-10% luck-based event, not a 90% guaranteed “Shield.” If we don’t fix this, top-tier will remain a circus where whoever spams more Fox-3s wins, regardless of positioning or pilot skill.
Anyone else tired of getting “Missile Collided” three times in a row instead of an actual kill? Let’s push this to the devs.
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The problem relies on War Thunder completely lacking any type of radar frequency mechanic, which undermines any type of real filter on what the radar shows to you.
In the end, a team of Su-30s can throw a salvo of 6 missiles each and mechanically you wouldn’t be able to fire back because your radar would be literally overrun by scanned —and inaccurately read— threats.
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