I’ve noticed a completely absurd phenomenon in Arcade mode:
Vehicles without radar (like the Strela-10M2) are actually stronger than those with advanced radar (like the CLAWS).
This isn’t just my feeling — it’s a problem with the mechanics.
🔍 What’s the issue?
Arcade mode has a “global spotting” mechanic: as soon as an aircraft enters a certain range (or is spotted by a teammate), its ID, model, and distance are displayed on everyone’s screen.
This feature might have been intended to help new players find targets more easily, but it has a critical side effect:
Radar becomes completely irrelevant.
Type of SPAA Real-world design logic Current situation in Arcade
Vehicles with radar (e.g., CLAWS, ADATS) Need to activate radar to search for and lock targets The map already tells me where the aircraft is before I even turn on my radar
Vehicles without radar (e.g., Strela-10M2) In reality, they rely on visual acquisition or sound – very limited Thanks to the map spotting mechanic, they get “free full-map radar”
The result:
· Strela-10M2: Despite having no radar, it instantly knows where every aircraft is, thanks to the spotting mechanic.
· CLAWS: The advanced radar I spent hundreds of thousands of RP on? Completely useless in Arcade mode.
📊 Comparison between game modes
Mode Vehicles with radar Vehicles without radar Is this fair?
Realistic Battle Radar provides an information advantage Must rely on visual search – very limited ✅ Yes
Arcade (current state) Radar is useless – the map tells you everything Get free spotting through map mechanics ❌ No
Arcade (how it should be) Radar should be a core advantage Should require visual acquisition ✅ Yes
🎯 Who benefits? Who suffers?
Beneficiaries: SPAA without radar
· No need to research radar modules, no need to turn it on, no need to manage it
· Get “free full-map detection” just from the game mechanics
Victims:
- Players using radar-equipped SPAA – They grind for dozens of hours to unlock advanced radar, only to find it’s completely pointless
- Low-altitude aircraft – They try to hug the terrain, only to be locked onto by radar-less vehicles using map spotting
💡 My suggestion
- Rework the aircraft-spotting mechanic in Arcade mode
· Aircraft should not automatically display ID and model on the map
· Only after being locked by radar should their approximate position appear on the minimap
· If not locked → no display. This would actually give radar a purpose.
- Keep or improve the lead indicator for SPAA
· Vehicles with radar: provide a precise lead indicator after locking
· Vehicles without radar: require manual aiming, maybe with a simplified ballistic marker – but they shouldn’t know exactly what they’re shooting at before even seeing it
- Benefits of these changes
· ✅ Radar becomes a meaningful feature again
· ✅ Encourages proper use of radar mechanics instead of map cheating
· ✅ Gives aircraft more room to maneuver instead of being spotted instantly by radar-less vehicles
One last thing
I’m not saying the Strela-10M2 shouldn’t be strong.
I’m saying it shouldn’t be strong in a completely artificial way.
If it had radar and was strong, I’d accept that.
But it doesn’t. It just abuses Arcade’s map-spotting mechanic to get better situational awareness than vehicles that actually have radar.
That’s not balance.
That’s bad game design.
Either remove automatic aircraft spotting in Arcade, or give every SPAA a fake radar.