Top tier in War Thunder has become extremely homogeneous. A handful of tanks and nations dominate the scene while others are barely seen or played. Nations like China, Israel, Japan, and Great Britain are almost invisible in high-tier battles, not because their lineups are inherently bad, but because they’re overshadowed by the sheer popularity and overrepresentation of a few key vehicles, mainly the Leopard 2 series and the Abrams.
The top tier is largely filled with vehicles from two sources: the Leopard 2 series and the Abrams series. Together, these tanks dominate battles and crowd out competition. The Leopard 2 isn’t just in one tech tree it’s in four: Germany, France, Italy, and Sweden. The Abrams, on the other hand, is part of one of the most played nations in the game: the United States. That means a massive chunk of top-tier players are using the same handful of vehicles, creating repetitive, stale, and unbalanced gameplay.
The issue isn’t that these tanks are bad they’re excellent. The Leopard 2 series has strong firepower, decent armor, and easy-to-learn playstyles. The Abrams has its own strengths: a 5 second reload, great turret armor, smooth gun handling, and excellent maneuverability. When you pair that with America’s strong top-tier aviation, you have a nation that wins games not because of underpowered enemies, but despite often questionable player performance. The U.S. top-tier lineup is powerful enough that its terrible winrate is on no one to blame but on its players.
Beyond tech tree vehicles, premiums have added fuel to the fire. High-tier premium Leopards are everywhere: the 2A4, 2A4M CAN, Christian II, and now a new one coming for France. These are flooding matchmaking with more Leopard-based tanks, and their consistent performance only reinforces the cycle new players buy them, stick to them, and never branch out. This has had real consequences on tech tree diversity.
Look at Italy: it has access to the Leopard 2A7HU, one of the strongest MBTs in the game. Why would anyone choose to play the Ariete series instead? Arietes are more unique to the Italian tech tree, but they’re clearly outclassed in armor, survivability, and versatility. The same goes for France. Why should a player invest time learning the Leclerc series when they have access to a Leopard 2A5 and 2A6 in the same tech tree, tanks that are easier to play and more forgiving? Sweden is another example: STRV 122s are just Leopard 2s with better armor.
All of this leads to a meta that doesn’t reward originality or national uniqueness. Instead, it encourages everyone to gravitate toward the same vehicles, minimizing the diversity of the game and marginalizing nations that don’t follow the Leopard or Abrams design philosophy. This is why the recent addition of turret baskets to the Leopard 2 and Abrams series was such a good move.
The baskets slightly increase the tanks’ vulnerability and visibility. While not a massive change in gameplay by itself, it represents a first step toward correcting the overperformance and overrepresentation of these vehicles. It’s a sign that Gaijin is aware of the situation and willing to take small but meaningful steps to create a healthier top tier ecosystem.
In conclusion
Top tier is in desperate need of more variety. The current environment is defined by the same few tanks—mostly Leopard 2s and Abrams—which drown out the viability and visibility of other nations. The addition of turret baskets is a small, realistic change that helps break up that dominance and reminds players that no vehicle should be untouchable.
We should hope to see more nerfs like this—not to punish players who enjoy the Leopard or Abrams, but to elevate the entire game by giving other vehicles and nations room to shine. When every nation has a chance to compete fairly, top tier becomes more interesting, more challenging, and more rewarding for everyone.
Let’s give credit where it’s due: the turret basket change was a great move, and it’s the kind of update War Thunder needs more of to keep top-tier gameplay fresh, competitive, and fair.