The truth about "unskilled players"

Yes, this is an actually serious post compared to my usual “2S38 sucks” posts.

I’ve seen lots of people complaining about that their teammates are unskilled. Crashes on taking off, runs out in their Clickbait, boats running ashore.

In fact, I think the game is too harsh for low skill players or unlucky games.

There are lots of people who would think that the community and gameplay problems would magically go away if everyone just ‘became more skilled’, that matches would end up fair duels of pure chivalry.

I need to say no more — there are plenty of elite squadrons that only play meta vehicles and pack a team with highly optimized four sweats with meta vehicles, nothing is left unoptimized: like lowering self engine sound and others.

Moreover, too many people look at the issue one-sided. You think your team is the one having the bad teammates — perhaps true for the moment, but the matchmaker does not forever pair you with a set of players, bad teammates are also what makes easy enemies when they are stationed on the other side.

Another delusion is that today’s winners always think they forever will own the throne — if we removed 20% bottom of the players, vast majority of “skill issue” folks will be the new bottom.

The shrinking elite spiral never ends — most War Thunder players are reasonably average and understands basic mechanics (otherwise SU-30 premiums wouldn’t be considered OP) but they are still called skill issue for critiquing a vehicle performance. The goal post is always moving.

For those of you on the top — the spiral will make every game of yours hyper competitive with long waiting times — you can’t even enjoy your meme tanks anymore.

War Thunder runs on a harsh equation — winners take the most, and losers take a little. (For tanks at least; this should be changed by adding non PVP tasks to tanks like in naval and air battles)

I’ll appeal to your self interest — for those suggesting to punish ‘bad’ players: If you are good at the game, you are only disrupting your fast grind. If you are bad at the game, you are begging for what little you have to be taken away.

Without grass (easy rewards for the unskilled) for the prey, there is no meal for the predator.

So let us be accodmating — the game belongs to everyone, bad, average, good.

It will perhaps be weeks before I go on the forums again — life is too busy and fatiguing, and I generally play the game without dealing with the forum community much, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out.

And yes, I know multiple influencers’ discords have shaming channels — my post will certainly end in these places — happy people do not need the grandeur of delusion. I’m a casual player and I don’t mind what’s going on in the echo chambers. But please, just read my post. Hopefully it was thought-provoking!

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nien
Dumb Cat GIFs | Tenor

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One thing I will say in my experience is that games outside of low-tier aren’t very beginner friendly, which makes sense as most players do not play low tier. The issue becomes that new players are immediately incentivized (whether by friends, in-game sales or the community) to buy a premium. I started playing properly in August 2024 (for the Persian Tomcat event) and I didn’t experience this harshness too much because I grinded mostly low tier and mid tier in arcade. I recommend anyone starting the game to just play out low tier and get as far as you can so you can build the skills needed for higher tiers. I think the issue isn’t that the game is too harsh but rather buying a premium is seen as the only way to play the game, which forces new players into high tier matches where all they learn is how a missile tastes.

^And I mean even I fell into this trap, I bought the Thai AV-8S around the time I reached the Japanese Sabres and all I did was basebomb (because it was “the best way to grind”), learning absolutely nothing. It was only when I took a step back to play the TT Vehicles and actually learn to play with missiles and jets that I started to really enjoy the game and consistently get kills.

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No one thinks games would end up as fair duels out of pure chicalry.

But vast majority of issues would be solved overnight if people opened a guide once in a while.

Instead of focusing on more important stuff, community spends most of the time explaining to Maverick wannabe no. 45108 that notching indeed does work, its easy to do and fact he flies straight into the enemy team isnt a reason for moving a perfectly fine aircraft down in BR.

Global average GRB KpS for last month is 0.76.

I think vast majority of people dont want to punish bad players.

They just want them to think for once before speaking.

For example if person is sub 1 KD with premium Su-30, should that person really be giving out advice on how to play it when it is obvious they geniunely dont understand aircraft they play?

Better yet, should said person be arguing against moving premium Su30s to 13.7 when majority consensus is that they shouldve gone up yesterday?

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Omg he’s back ladies and gentlemen.

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Afraid you might have competition for the worst takes on the forums?

Worry ye not - I think you still are probably towards the top of the league table!

While I agree with all your points, I have to admit I’m curious about this line specifically. If the player base got better at the game, would this average necessarily change?

What I mean is: since this is PVP, skill is relative to the opposition, so just raising the skill floor doesn’t necessarily impact KPS. A world in which the average KPS is 1 is a world in which we’re all broadly equally skilled and on average are killing each other once after spawning once. Or am I missing something?

(Entirely possible since I am terrible at math)

A British main talking about bad takes…
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Nah it’s fine. If the average skill increased, that includes my opponents, so less kills for me

tiger tank 1!

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a man in a suit and tie is dancing in front of a woman in a room .

Constructive criticism can come from any part of the playerbase, whether it is from experienced players who understand the intricacies of modern jet combat or from less experienced players who are still learning how to effectively use the weapons and systems available to them. What matters is the quality of the argument, the evidence supporting it, and whether the person making it is transparent about the limits of their own knowledge.

However, there is a difference between presenting an argument as an opinion informed by personal experience and presenting it as the definitive truth. The latter, particularly when framed as such in the title you wrote here, can undermine an otherwise valid argument before the discussion has even begun. No single player has a complete understanding of every vehicle, game mode and aspect of War Thunder, and criticism should be evaluated on its merits rather than dismissed solely because of the skill level of the person making it.


I would personally argue that this is less a matter of providing easy rewards for less experienced players and more a matter of learning the game: progressing through the different stages of aviation technology, understanding the relevant tactics, and gaining experience in different forms of aerial combat.

Playing aircraft according to their intended roles can also make the experience considerably more enjoyable. For example, using the J-7D as a fighter or interceptor rather than attempting to employ it as a strategic bomber, or using the Su-30 as a multirole fighter rather than exclusively as a bombing platform, opens up more of what these aircraft have to offer.

Ultimately, I would encourage players to focus more on enjoying the gameplay and improving their understanding of the vehicles they fly, rather than viewing every match primarily through the lens of the grind. Progression is part of War Thunder, but it does not have to be the sole purpose of playing it.

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But the kills you’d get would have more meaning. The quality of opposition also determines the quality of your wins tbh.

To be honest, kills are pretty easy to farm if one play a certain way, example camping/hull down or sit at a corner and wait for the enemy to drive past, high KPS and high winning rate is the one that is hard to achieve.

Emotional meaning is not what hooks people. Rp is