Struggling Around 8.0–8.3 in GRB, Advice Needed

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Hey everyone,
I’m really in need of some help here. I’m a long-time on-and-off player, older, slower reflexes, nothing special skill-wise. I’ve got around 2600 GAB and 1950 GRB games, and I’d definitely call myself below average, even though I do have the occasional game where I somehow do ridiculously well for no reason. My map knowledge still isn’t amazing either.

I’ve been playing more RB lately because my friend only plays RB. When we’re hanging around BR 4–6, I do pretty decent. When he’s not on, I’m grinding solo. Most of my nations are around 6.0, Russia and Germany are close to 7.0. But right now, I’m mostly playing Japan because I love how fast and maneuverable their tanks are, they let me escape the dumb situations I somehow always get myself into.

Now that I’ve moved up into 8.0–8.3 with the STB-2 and Type 74, I’m really starting to struggle. Half the time, I can’t even get a kill. I’m getting shredded by fast SPAAs and IFVs, or shot from spots I didn’t even know existed. I’ve tried playing slower, not rushing caps, ignoring caps and going for flanks, sitting on choke points — none of it is really helping. I’m still not doing well at this BR.

What’s weird is that I do fine in the lower BRs, and even in the 10+ BR premiums I own, I somehow do alright too. Maybe it’s the thermals helping me spot things, or the mobility fits me better, I don’t know. But in 8.0–8.3, I’m usually getting 0–2 kills max, usually just one, maybe an assist or a cap. In top tier, if I’m doing badly, I just spawn something with a drone and spot because at least that feels like I’m doing something useful.

So yeah, what am I doing wrong? And what can I do to make this grind less painful? I’ve watched tons of “how to get good in GRB” videos, but I still feel like I’m missing something. I don’t have a full top-tier JP lineup yet either, just the Fuji.

Any advice would be super appreciated. I just want to improve and not feel like every match is a struggle.

ChatGPT helped me write this as my English skills aren’t the greatest

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Not to be mean or anything but I think your slower reflexes might be an issue. Once you start getting higher than 8.3 most tanks have stabilisers and laser rangefinders and the reaction time for such machines significantly shortens. You can drive at top speed and snap on a traget that just appeared from behind a rock instantly. Also not much you can do against those 35mm stabilised SPAA since theys are among the most broken vehicles in game currently

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I agree with Herojure24, you need to be looking around, guess where you think the enemy might go through, wear headsets to listen to other vehicles( you can lower your own engine volume and max other engine volume in settings under “engine noise”). You’re not the only person that is struggling, top tier is a nightmare and its only gonna be worse as you progress. Good luck.

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yep I sometimes play the game on my laptop whwn I am away (it struggles a bit so not the most smooth gameplay) and top tier is just unplayable there. You need to react too quickly

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I do all these things, I also have a few tanks and premium tank line-ups at BR 10-11.7, and I do a lot better than I do at this BR. I think its less of slow reflexes, and more of trying to make my shot c

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As a slightly above average player also with bad reaction time (aim as well), the best way to succeed is to compensate for what you lack in mechanical ability with game knowledge. The fundamentals can be learned from general “tips and tricks” videos, but ultimately you’ll have to spend hours upon hours studying game values and performance yourself.

In terms of that, I would advise you to study your own vehicles, then the vehicle layout and armour of all tanks at your BR range. Go into preview mode and use the penetration analysis to survey the best spots to shoot, not only from the front, but from the sides too. Use X-ray view to view crew and ammunition locations. Make an effort not only to learn but also memorize such information.

Other than the game, a good resource is the 2.5 War Thunder wiki (War Thunder Wiki), which contains much more detailed information than the new wiki. It was deprecated in late 2024 with the introduction of the new 3.0 wiki, so some of the site elements are broken, but it still is viewed as superior by many.