In its current form, Realistic Ground Battles is becoming increasingly difficult to describe as a true tank-focused game mode. Over time, the gameplay has shifted toward something that many players — not without a hint of sarcasm — have started calling “Air Ground Pound Battles.” The presence and impact of aircraft and helicopters have grown to the point where they often overshadow the core element of the mode: tank combat.
It’s important to emphasize that the issue isn’t the mere existence of CAS. The problem lies in the scale, pace, and influence it can have during the very first minutes of a match. A single well-equipped aircraft or helicopter is often capable of eliminating a large portion of the ground team before tank players even engage in their first meaningful encounter. This disrupts the tactical nature of the mode and turns what should be a tank battle into a quick trip back to the spawn screen.
The irony becomes even more apparent when compared to ARB (Air Realistic Battles). In ARB, no player can spawn at the start of the match in an advanced anti-air system with IRST and instantly wipe out half of the enemy team. Such a scenario would be unacceptable — and rightly so. Yet in GRB, this kind of asymmetrical interference from aircraft is somehow considered normal, despite undermining the very foundation of ground-focused gameplay.
This is why an increasing number of players are expressing the need for a clear, fair separation of modes. Such a solution would not only organize the current structure but also allow each group of players to enjoy the exact type of gameplay they prefer.
The most commonly proposed division is as follows:
1. Ground-Only Realistic Battles
– exclusively ground vehicles,
– a focus on tactics, positioning, maneuvering, and actual tank-to-tank engagement,
– no immediate impact from CAS at the start of the match.
2. Mixed Realistic Battles (MRB)
– a fully mixed mode with tanks, aircraft, helicopters, and SPAAs,
– for players who enjoy dynamic, combined-arms engagements,
– essentially what current GRB has become, but clearly labeled as such.
This division would serve as a fair compromise, satisfying both groups:
– players who want realistic tank battles,
– and players who prefer full combined-arms warfare.
The current GRB, positioned somewhere between the two, increasingly fails to satisfy either side.
The goal of raising this issue is not to “remove CAS,” but to restore mode clarity and give players a meaningful choice. If the mode is called “Ground Battles,” many players simply expect to be able to fight on the ground — not to be eliminated by a bomb or missile seconds after the match begins.
A well-implemented separation between a pure ground mode and Mixed Realistic Battles would greatly improve gameplay quality and allow all players to fully enjoy the type of experience they are looking for.