War Thunder - A Sim, a Chat Lobby an Institution? Is War Thunder Worth it in 2023?

[@Enigma89]

Crunched for time? Play war thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters, and more: playwt.link/enigma

[@SPFLDAngler]

You mean, get the exact same stuff everyone gets when they sign up. All Gaijin cares about is money and the game really shows that. If someone who plays DCS hasn't already played War Thunder, they are going to hate it.

[@Enigma89]

@@SPFLDAngler It's not either or, they can co-exist.

[@aztec0112]

I played for WT for several years, but the grind became insufferable. WT, with each upgrade, just racked up the grind and the things I really wanted just kept getting farther and farther out of reach. WT was a ton of fun at first, the snail became increasingly greedy.

[@Wolfhound_81]

This. Plus the problem of PVP of just getting spanked with nothing telling you what you're doing wrong etc.. just players with hundreds of hours who know every edge of the map, every weak point of every vehicle etc.. - and in aircraft, the mouse-controlling makes aiming so much easier than it is with a realistic HOTAS control.

[@kasrakhatir]

So true. I abandoned WT for DCS back in 2020. Sandbox is a big factor in a simulator for me. Plus, the Accessibility in DCS is much better since there is no grind, only learning curve.

[@Enigma89]

If you are like me and use the game as a chat lobby then the grind or what tier you are playing in doesn't really matter. I actually enjoy the WWII tanks the most.

[@bestpilots3972]

@@Enigma89 ok I understand you were paid to do this but take your foot from the gas a little 🤣

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

@@Enigma89 It's basically Top Tier Idle Gaming :)

[@RexsHangar]

As somebody who has played air sims and other "war" games since the late 1990s, I can say that far too many people give WT too much shit. Does it get things wrong? Of course. But it also gets a lot of things right, and some aspects of it put other games within the same niche to absolute shame. I think this was a well-balanced discussion. Also, an adult with full-time commitments (and then some), War Thunder is great to easily hop in and out of. No long start-up procedures, no fucking about with settings for a week to get one or two extra frames. Just log in and go. I like that.

[@Enigma89]

Well said thanks. While some people may freak out of the video, this video is not really about war thunder, it's about us and our shrinking free time. 😰

[@nightnovis]

Hey rex!

[@jackriley3340]

I own every module in dcs. I uninstalled the other day because I could not fix a consistent stuttering, every fix tried in the book, ten people helping me in their discord. I do not have time for that trash. Simple as that. 3090/11900k lowest settings on 1080p and it stutters like crazy. Zero issues with anything else, nobody will experience that with war thunder. I certainly didn’t. If I want to fly a jet, I’ll go to bms, after all it is extraordinarily easy for me to forget dcs after a few hours in a good dynamic campaign. In an f16 that is simply better than dcs.

[@theduck1972]

@@Enigma89: So pressed for time that playing a game in multiplayer means you're restricted to keyboard chat while teams have real time voice comm they don't have to pause to use... the epitome of a rigged game, don't you think? I did work with sims in the military and am in touch with people who stayed in it - developers on some pretty cool stuff - and a mathematician. WT is a scam run by a bunch of Carnies. their conclusion. I noticed some "interesting" stuff going on repeatedly, it's not an accident. In squading with people on console, we caught them using gamer tags of players not in the game for AI, it was a friend of the group who we happened to be in Xbox chat with who was in Rocket League, and his status proved it... oopsy poo. Every time in the past several years when I decide to tier out a module I bought, I get days of game that are defeat after defeat, and the only way that happens is the position of your team is known when watching the map... Just an observation from the military days. Then there is the rampant cheating going on Gaijin doesn't seem to care about, and easily checked by looking at stats... It gets pretty obvious. I also gets pretty obvious you are in a team with maybe five actual players, the rest bot... Gee, where did the team go? Out there being target practice. Only 30 to (sometimes) 40% of game play looks like it's against other real teams and real players on yours... and actually interesting. Then there is being pulled into maps teams have down cold, and have those few maps as preferences... Just is what it is. Dabbled with trying it with the Leopard II. Forget it, every other battle is a night battle and to hang with that I'm supposed to get frustrated and buy my way to nearly the bottom of mods? Nah. I've actually been quite sucessful at costing Gaijin prospective players, just showing them it in action. The biggie by far is the pointer aim wussy nonsense allowed in "Realistic Battles. I don't play aircraft at all, just from the principle it is insulting. Showing what is needed in setting up controls and what actually goes on turns quite a few people off... If they see it no better than others that have everything laid out already, why bother? But then, we are dealing with and outfit that puts more time into water geysers from fire hydrants in cities so destroyed they wouldn't have water pressure anyhow... Players complaints, concerns and suggestions (and there are some good ones) ? pffffft On the up note, I reinstated my account because I need a useless piece of crap I can drop immediately due to the situation here 24/7... It's perfect. I can't do Multiplayer servers in DCS for that reason, but at least when I do monkey with DCS, I'm not having games run on me to spend money. They got theirs and they are happy. Which lead to the many MiG-21s on WT, yeah each is a grind and the premium Chinese one alone is twenty bucks more than you would pay on DCS, buy things out of frustration on the grind (like you're supposed to) along with premium, it's still a zero sum game in the long run. I have about 4,000 hrs in the game and ended up doing what I did with Wot. Build up a lot of game currency with low tiers, and not give the clowns another dime... ever. Don't have much time, so getting jacked with by a bunch of Carnies fits the schedule? WT is the right place.

[@LockDCS]

I LOVE how you kept on ragging on the splash damage model in DCS.

[@marc-kevinquintin7574]

I think the appeal of study sims is that you also enjoy everything that's not actual flight hours... I rarely have more than an hour to play during week days so instead of flying, I'll often use this time on the study part of the equation by reading, watching videos ect. about a plane Im currently learning. And enjoy that time just as much. I spent most of my 20s playing online poker and it was the same deal... It was around a 80/20 study/playing ratio and I found the study time just as enjoyable. I havent played WT enough to have a real opinion on it, but I tend to lean towards study sims like BMS and DCS specifically for the amount of study required.

[@NOTJustANomad]

Makes sense. Glad you brought this important but overlooked point up!

[@NiklasAndersson7]

This is exactly what I think when I see these guys with their incredible rigs. Like 'The Warthog Project'. I am thinking like 'What is their actual play- or fly-ratio, taken into account the hours of building their rigs and learning the ropes. I think for many DCS-players (I'm one of them), the community and the learning-process in itself is the reward. Like being able to watch the KZbin-videos from real fighter pilots like Ward Carrol, Hasard Lee, C.W Lemoin and understand every word, brevity code and acronym.

[@marc-kevinquintin7574]

@@NiklasAndersson7 Thats pretty much where I come from when it comes to flight sims... As a teenager in the 90s, my pop would build simpits for sims like Fleet defender, Falcon 4, EF2000 and many other titles. I was spoiled running these in actual cockpits, he's still building them up to this day although I dont get to enjoy them as he moved away to the other side of the continent, we still get online and fly together from time to time. I'm pretty confident saying that actually flying is only a fraction of the time he puts into this passion. Hell the other day he told me he was getting into choppers and got the Black Shark, the very next day Im getting pics of his project to rip appart a spare stick to make a collective out of it... I was like "Do you ever actually fly these aircrafts?"

[@CakePrincessCelestia]

I'm kinda like "Oh, a new module? Can't wait!", then throwing my money at the screen, binging it hard in the process of learning how to operate the thing and then I somehow typically end up not going to virtual war with it. I totally enjoy the learning process and just flying around in VR with some A-G here and there, but at least when my eyes went south really hard, I stopped enjoying being in the battle, always ending up as the one who got shot down simply because I never saw _what_ shot me down. And A-G only scenarios are pretty much non-existant online as well as in SP campaigns... but as I still enjoy what I do, so I'll keep getting modules and spending lots of time on those :) If I just want to play something in a more relaxed way, I typically end up being in roomscale VR games since mit 2020 when I got my Quest.

[@Enigma89]

The issue is that the study rarely becomes relevant or important in the games. There aren't compelling scenarios, outside of BMS, that really push you to know these things. In the off chance I forgot, I just look up a video quickly as I am flying to target. I think calling things a study sim is a bit generous, it's more memorization than study.

[@jmurkz]

I had never thought of WT as you have explained it here Enigma and you are correct. I too had life long friends but being 10 or so + years ahead of you, many of my friends have passed away as I was one of the youngest in the group. Enjoy your friends no matter what the game/sim is.

[@Enigma89]

Sorry to hear for your losses, thanks for making your comment and sharing your experience.

[@MoleUK1]

Fast food has it's virtues at times. Dipping in and out of WT will always be easier and involve less friction than DCS & IL-2 etc. And I still maintain that Air sim has a lot going for it, if only Gaijin would just make better use of it.

[@Enigma89]

Taco Bell is my weakness

[@casualspawnpeeking3680]

Id play alot more air sim if one death didn't put me into chapter seven bankruptcy

[@BrockvsTV]

@@Enigma89 A bold confession. Welcome to the brotherhood. Live más And to agree with the comment I play war thunder because of the speed.

[@MoleUK1]

@@Enigma89 I too enjoy the occaisional colon cleansing experience of Taco Bell. But for real, while I do love spending the time and money on preparing a decent cut of home cooked steak, and all the work and experience that that can entail.. sometimes I just want a fuckin Burrito delivered straight to my door. WT is a solid option in that regard.

[@jaek__]

@@BrockvsTV live más indeed I unironcally fucking love taco bell

[@Wolfhound_81]

I fully agree there are tons of deficits in DCS even when compared to WT. While it isn't a definitive solution, I do like that you can build missions yourself and use scripts in DCS, so we can for example fix the splash damage issue. The main issue I have with WT is simply the crazy grind and, funnily enough, the accessibility. I find it crazy difficult to get into it and not just get spanked over and over again by players who play longer, know every edge of the map etc.. In DCS, I play PVE, custom-made missions only with scripts that simulate IADS etc.

[@vascoiraola5209]

u can also create missions in wt. we do this with comunnity and clans to make historical event missions :D

[@romagnolo]

The aging parents part struck me hard! God damnit, Enigma! Earlier today I was on my way to work while talking to my mother, she was telling about her health situation and how my dad now needs a new medication. They are good, no need to worry, but you describing it in your video hit me hard. Great video, as usual. I don't like War Thunder that much but I still play 30 or 45 min once you every 2 nights while talking to friends.

[@Enigma89]

Yeah, sorry to hear that and I am in a similar boat, along with many that I know. It is a very surreal thing watching the parents that raised me suddenly turn into old people that can barely take care of themselves.

[@JD98ns]

Damn, the first minutes of the video really hit me. I think most of the points you bring are valid. Warthunder will always be a more casual "sim". It really offers better accessibility and time to play compare to DCS. Of course, as long as you are really not grinding to unlock everything. That said, the "free to play" model really affects the experience, and the economy changes have made the game more grindy compared to years before.

[@UWfalcin]

Moral of the story: Only traitors get girlfriends and children. Did the MW2 Quickscope days not mean a thing to them? Were the Halo 3 legendary multiplayer runs worthless to them..? Disgraceful..

[@laur.an01]

2:43 I'm so glad DCS has splash damage. Its like the most important things, the flight model is so good, so I'm glad we have splash damage in a digital combat simulator because otherwise it would just be a flight simulator, right?

[@MadSolarV2]

For the server

[@Enigma89]

thanks!

[@Enigma89]

The mean age at the birth of their first biological child for men (15-44 years old) in 2011-2015 is 25.5 years old. Following that stat, if you were 18 when War Thunder came out, in 2012, that means your first child was born in 2019. If you match the average, that means your child is 4 years old today. Many of my personal friends, lag slightly behind this average, and have kids that are slightly younger than 4 years old. They are busy and are limited by having only 24 hours in a day. This video is dedicated to them. They are gamers at heart and want to get sweaty but they don't have the time to do it and they play war thunder to get their fix and I am happy to hop in WT to have some laughs with them. While people have their preferences and their agendas, we need to remember that things exist beyond the screen. I hope this video is well received, not because I care about getting flamed, but more that I hope people believe and understand the mathematical truth in having only 24 hours in a day. War Thunder does a good job of making an accessible bite size game that is available to these people who are crunched for time. I thought this was a really interesting thing that I do not see people talk about War Thunder. Every game has its faults but finding some things that make this game unique and compelling was an interesting thing to think about and I feel that people will find it interesting to think about too.

[@MadSolarV2]

Part of the reason why I like your server so much is because its a better version of War Thunder Sim EC. I swear, if the snail put more effort into developing Sim Air (not air RB like most people play), they'd be sitting on a gold mine. The ease of aircraft operation like IL-2, coupled with like you mentioned the huge variety of airframes, a large player base, and a multitude of air, ground, and sea AI targets makes it so much fun. But of course, the sim economy is gimped so its nearly impossible to progress the tech trees (even with premium), and the BR balancing for Air Sim could be significantly better. The game mode has so much protentional. If they fixed the economy in Sim Air, I could see myself rarely starting up Il-2 or DCS again. Can't find any other combat sim so far where I can fly my beloved P-61, then in a heart beat jump into a whatever model of Harrier or MiG 21 my little heart desires. Great video as always Enigma.

[@westimp6567]

Watch Enigma trigger a gaming community in 15:41 minutes

[@sidewinder4889]

I played WT for 4 years now, the grind is simply unbearable without premium. Buying a top tier premium vehicle is like buying a DCS module, but with War Thunder quality

[@Stanczyk996]

It is what it is. Theres no other game in the type of WT without painfull grind (its quit understable cuz its "FREE" (soul khm khm) to play) but still they could do something to it not even much is needed just make it less time consuming

[@jaek__]

The production quality gets better and better everyday. Enigma, you may be the best military sim KZbinr, your takes are seldom wrong and are some of the best and most thought out consistently

[@Enigma89]

Thank you for saying that. I would just like to share this compliment with the people that I play with. A lot of the videos that I have been doing lately are basically VOIP discussions from talking (lamenting) about things and then distilling it down into a video.

[@jaek__]

@@Enigma89 If you uphold this level of quality, reliability, and level headedness, you will cement yourself within the military simulation community as a prominent figure, moreso than you already are. You're style, critiques, and narration are a big point of inspiration to me, hopefully we can bring military simulation into a new golden age so to speak.

[@Tiro_Chopper]

I'm a youngling in DCS. I'm currently 21 years old, born after 9/11. I got into World of Tanks when I was 9, and immediately switched to War Thunder for the "realism" it brought to air combat. I sucked it dry for years, and it did me. I loved, I laughed, I seethed. I woke up, grabbed cereal, watched PhlyDaily, BaronVonGamez or DevilDogGamer. I'd spend the school day dreaming of my next unlock. In the evenings and weekends, I made unreasonable purchases on ingame stuff and put every minute I could into the game. A year ago, I reached a pivotal moment in my life. A turning point. To mark a new beginning, I did what i'd been wanting to do for a couple of years, but only ever dared to dream about. I grabbed all of my savings, bought middle of the line flight sim hardware, upgraded my PC to feed the Eagle, and got into DCS. DCS has taught me. DCS has let me learn. It let me join a group in which I was able to take on responsibility. When friends come over, I show off my skills and hardware while trying to maintain humility. When family ask me what I'm up to, I let them know I contribute to the fuctioning of a group of 50 active members in a top-of-the-line flight sim. I hook my brain over to my computer and soar in the skies in the aircraft 5 year old me was in awe of when I was deafened by its engine, on the days when those would pass above my grandparents' house. And that is the key difference in my experience between War Thunder and DCS. War Thunder made me ashamed. Ashamed of my resource spending, both money and time, and how little I got back from it. Ashamed by how well the F2P economic system had sucked me in. I understood, through my own tribulations, that these convoluted multitudes of currencies were a way to force the money out of my wallet. Saw these graphs of exponential time required to move up in the game, and get more and more advanced vehicles, presented as more fun and more rich. I understood that what giving me what I loved was a means to take time and money from me. That my addiction was engineered. DCS was comparatively expensive, but the major difference is that I know what I'm paying for. I'm paying to learn, and put skills in application. I am paying once, and then am free to enjoy content. There is no system to push the carrot away, only my passion to set it where I want it to be. My spending brings me pride, not shame. And that is why I will never, ever go back to War Thunder.

[@Daniel-CMelinte]

Or you could get a life .

[@Fox2Pontoon]

War Thunder was my gateway drug to combat flight sim. I made the slow transition from arcade, realistic, then to sim battles before taking the plunge into IL-2 and DCS. It’s a game I will always have downloaded and updated because it’s easy to hop in and out of. I stopped playing IL-2 and pretty much use the time I have available as a husband, dad of a toddler, and a day job to play DCS but sometimes that literally means 30 minutes just to hop into my favorite jet and shoot down some Ai and stay familiar with my keybinds and procedures. But War Thunder will always be there for me to jump in without having to remember a bunch of buttons and procedures to shoot some guy out of the air and that’s nice to know.

[@leipajuusto2964]

7:10 I still remeber bug where you couldnt take off in a prop...

[@coldclaws2479]

brooo I don’t wanna get old now

[@xXrandomryzeXx]

I know, once the vehicles run out, there is a chance that the game will start getting improved by the developers, instead of them pushing more vehicles.

[@nazradu]

Nope they will just throw nation after nation at you. So you grind the same bullshit with a different cherry on top over and over again.

[@Stanczyk996]

Theres a chance theyll start ww3 aswell

[@pliat]

Or they just start adding more and more prototypes. Eventually going the WOT route.

[@kilux85]

I'm basically the same. Though funnily enough I met the guys I play WT with through DCS. I work shifts (and no regular schedule since I work for the railroad) and my main DCS buddy also has weird working hours. So it's quite rare sometimes for both of us to be online for the same time with hours to spare for a proper DCS session. It happens, but oftentimes both of us are tired and short of time and we end up playing War Thunder. As horrible the grind is sometimes, it gives you a purpose. And when you are again wasting 1-2 hours fiddling with DCS settings, agreeing on server (that is not full or close to restart) and the module you want to fly is viable or available, you can't help to think you may have had more fun getting blessed by the snail. Excellent video, anyways!

[@theflyinggasmask]

I treat WT more like a toxic relationship, or drugs...

[@ZackyMonster_62]

Why do you play Air RB in the AOA view?

[@LeadFollower551]

10:04 use APCBC in the 88's the APCR is kinda useless

[@Enigma89]

i have fixed my ways

[@ZdrytchX]

I should mention even famous DCS players like sungho/Ace are a good example: He still revisits war thunder every now and then, especially the recent patch with the F-16/MiG-29. He started off playing war thunder and grew up doing war thunder tournaments learning from a one russian aaron freeman who taught themselves to dogfight and was said to be the best 1v1 duelist in war thunder, even though they haven't touched WT since 2021. Where is Ace now? He does DCS tournaments. Appeared on TV and got to fight a DARPA sponsored AI project. And he still revisits WT, a game that the DCS community loves to shit on.

[@Yuubari_]

I agree with the points you are making, lovely video. Tho the use of APCR on the Jadgpanther triggers me immensely

[@Enigma89]

yeah my bad i got yelled at for that but i liked the sequence so i kept it. I reinstalled WT a year ago and i had been grinding top tier non-stop and just recently switched back to WWII so still getting refamiliar with all of it.

[@Con5tantine]

That Ding. That goddamn Ding of "Target Destroyed" is so goddamn good...

[@MsArtons]

The Snail is gracious, The Snail is Welcoming, The Snail is Thankful. The Snail is Inevitable. The Snail is the one who knocks, and other games exist simply because Snail allows it.

[@bluthammer1442]

its a game that HAS a sim mode...its most certainly not a sim

[@kkang2828]

I’m just waiting for MAC to come out so WT can have some more competition.

[@linecraftman3907]

What's MAC?

[@kkang2828]

@@linecraftman3907 Modern Air Combat. It’s a more casual separate version of DCS, announced by ED a few years ago.

[@linecraftman3907]

@@kkang2828 interesting! Never heard of it

[@DaddyCatUK]

I agree, the short battles are perfect for people with not a lot of time. However, as you said in the video, the lack of a dynamic campaign with larger maps is depressing. We're so close to having the game that everyone wants, but they have not updated the overall gameplay since it was released. That's my issue with it.

[@crazygmanssimstuff]

Main problem in war thunder....i don't want the grind. I want to buy the vehicle. No grind, that's it. That is my main issue with it.

[@Stanczyk996]

Try premium vehicles (but it is what it is its still game about grinding)

[@Drovek451]

Not sure I'd say WT stops people from "graduating" to sims any more than Call of Duty or Battlefield stop people from playing ARMA or Squad. It's just that hardcore swimming is just niche, and you're probably not getting AAA money behind anything so niche. Which also adds to this: emergent gameplay doesn't leave you wanting to spend more money in the product and that is ultimately the current driver of new developments. This is why dynamic campaigns that before were great selling points are now forgotten; they'd rather have you but some new DLC rather than being content with what you have.

[@trentlangford9050]

This actually makes a lot of sense- I, young gamer, never enjoyed WT because of the lack of fidelity and depth of realism, and I am able to enjoy DCS because of its singularity of depth when it comes to modules simply because I have the time and ambition. It makes sense, then, for War Thunder to occupy a space for casual gamers who don’t have the time like I do but want to experience a military simulation. Props to you, Enigma, for having the balls to do a *sponsored* video over this. I think your honest takes are very important in the military sim scene as a whole, and I am grateful for the impact your Cold War server has had on ED- essentially forcing their hand to pay attention to the Cold War scene, the most unique and fun era imo for military aviation.

[@Enigma89]

thank you

[@Dom-um6gi]

The biggest gripe most people have with WT is the economy is dogshit and encouraged dogshit mentalities and playstyles. I literally got into DCS just so I could fly the Su-25A without having my Warthunder Account go fucking broke from repair costs. Otherwise...? I fucking love the game lmao.

[@Stanczyk996]

Wdym with going broke by playing su 25? Its literlly one of the most braindead plane to fly. 2 all aspect missles that can face at low as 8.7 is nuts

[@Dom-um6gi]

@@Stanczyk996 Wow it's almost like that's a 4th tier modification that you have to grind for

[@themastrofall]

Same, a lot of my friends branched from WT, most of us only play this game now as we all walk different lifes now, such happens

[@JozefTrubac]

IMHO WT is actually good breeding ground for new sim players. I started with WT arcade, then went to realistic battles and then sim battles. Ended up playing DCS and IL2. Also I do not think that WT can easily do high fidelity machines. It takes crazy amount of time to make high fidelity module.

[@GloaNeko]

I really like War Thunder as a game, the easy hop-in and hop-out type gameplay is really nice! And it serves nicely as a more casual pvp experience, a break from the hardcore sims, especially so when you're low on time and just want to play a quick game with aircraft, or even tanks or boats if you're into that! My main gripe with it is the grind in War Thunder is very difficult to get past for me. Especially because I wasn't too terribly interested in WW1/2. I was really interested in getting to the early cold war, the very early jets, but it feels like the time required to get there is absolutely absurd. Maybe I'm just bad at the game and if I got better I'd get there faster. I'm not sure. But I do know I find myself in a cycle of liking War Thunder, wanting to play it to relax, but then I barely make progress towards the aircraft I want to fly, and that gets a little discouraging to me. (Also the grind being multiplied per faction does not help, since I'd love to try out different factions, but I feel stuck to one, otherwise I just wouldn't make good progress.) I'd like to say it's not me giving up too easily considering I've learned a LOT for DCS, but I don't discount the possibility for it either. I really want to enjoy War Thunder, but for some reason, the grind to get to the aircraft I want feels more intimidating than learning a new DCS module.

[@Stanczyk996]

You can just try buying premiums vehicles(not the best especially that snail is feeding with our souls then) but better that playing just tech trees vehocles to grind

[@GloaNeko]

@@Stanczyk996 What benefits do the premium vehicles have? And what kind of price point do they have? I've uninstalled the game to make space, so can't check at the moment ^^;;

[@kirumy-toz]

​@@GloaNeko about the same as a dcs module Alternatively, there are nations with MUCH shorter tech trees; Israel, Sweden, China

[@Pokri-eg9ud]

You sir keep hitting the nail in the head, this is a point for point expression of my thoughts on the subject. The more time you spend on these "simulators", the more you learn how flawed they are ( im talking mostly about DCS), and the more disappointed you become with their lack of interest in fixing core things like bomb damage or IR/RADAR/EW simulation. We can only dream with the day Gaijin decides to go into more detailed simulation and/or starts a dynamic, constant war mode.

[@xaviermoorman6247]

they have a world war and air sim, aswell as pve campaigns, its just not the best

[@TBrownProductions]

Enigma love to see you getting some sponsored content! You deserve it!

[@Enigma89]

thank you

[@HarryTheOwlcat]

It has a fast matchmaker and good damage models. It does IR right. Does that make up for the atrocious flight models? Planes being unplayable if they're not meta? They have bombers, but are they even given a reason to exist? I genuinely think War Thunder would be better if it had less vehicles and focused on giving them the opportunity to fill the role they would have IRL. But right now it's constant deathmatch and there are such obvious issues with each game mode that it is impossible to overlook. It's fine if you like fast food but don't kid yourself saying McDonalds makes gourmet burgers

[@Enigma89]

I don't play War Thunder for hours at a time for the same reason why I don't play DCS within a 15 minute window. They serve two purposes.

[@NicoGrosso78]

I'm a college student but I honestly have a lot of free time, so I bought IL-2, DCS FC3 and a headtracker to get into sims. I still haven't used the tracker for more than to set it up and I haven't learned a single DCS module because honestly it's very demanding, even for the simple FC3 planes. It's just easier to launch war thunder, suffer for 20 minutes and then go play something else

[@xX_Yaman_Xx]

I have 3.2k hours and this is what i have to say. If you are new to this game : I highly recommend you get used to the controls and the game mechanics. I highly recommend go into Arcade first and once you feel more comfortable go into realistic where the rewards are higher but the skill gap is bigger. If you are going to spend money in this game I highly recommend you get the highest BR vehicle as it can research from rank 1 all the way to the rank right above the vehicle is on. While using that vehicle try to go to certain areas or spots where you're most likely to get kills and focus on getting capture points where the rewards are greatest. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- PROS/CONS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Pros : * Vehicle models are very nice and crisp! * delightful and clean Visuals * Game-play can be what ever you choose! Ex : you can play slow in a heavy tank or fast paced in a fighter jet. * Constant updates : New content added or updated (every 1-2 months) * Skill gap : you can out smart/play your opponent with your experience and knowledge (No significant Pay To Win since you can out play them) * most "Realistic" arcade style game on the market Cons : * BRs are too compressed for Ground Realistic Battles (range of BRs is too small 1.0-11.3) * BRs for early jets is too compressed in Air Realistic Battles 8.0-10.7 (The jump from 1 Br to the next changes too much in technology). * A lot of grinding (must use IRL currency to make the grind more bearable) * WW2 vehicles go against vehicles post WW2 (Tiger II can face STRV 103A as an Example) * Maps are unbalanced (Spawn camping is too easy) * Some stuff is clearly under Battle Rated (Too low in BR)

[@0Ignition0]

6:42 War Thunder doesn't need to simulate anything. Every aircraft/vehicle is the same with different stats, they are just different generic numbers. ED is slow with the updates and DCS needs a lot of things to be corrected but each aircraft is unique. And when you learn to use every single tool of the aircraft you can do very interesting and complex things.

[@makedonas6]

In my personal opinion war thunder is not worth it if you want to fly Jets. I have played WT for 2 years now and then and I just managed to reach the 1st Gen Jets. The grind in this game is insane and you are better off buying a fully simulated aircraft in dcs than spend 60€ (or your soul) on an f14 in WT

[@Kolobochok95]

The way I see it, it's far from a sim but can feel immersive because of the good graphics, sounds and mechanics. But I agree, even WT has some mechanics that are much more realistic than DCS.

[@Synchronizado]

I sometimes play WT, but after 10 years of playing Domination Style game mode without a single change in it, it just gets as sterile as DCS PVP Experience

[@kynanledee5089]

I met one of my IRL best friends through warthunder after I heard him talking about it in middle school and asked him to add me. Been friends with that guy for like 9years now and still play sometimes.

[@Dogface1984]

You got me on BMS and I’m too sweaty to do anything else 😅

[@stardustcomet7527]

I've played war thunder since middle school back in 2016-17, I have over 3500 hours, probably spent more then a couple hundreds and I still don't regret it, although I suffer playing it is still the best game to fill the crack in the industry and I don't think any other game will come close to that in a long time

[@countzero7]

Genshin impact

[@er00ic]

Well, I downloaded WT and tried your link. Flew a few arcade battles. The core game seems fine enough, but the tech tree is just too daunting to want to sink time into it. The monetization of WT is essentially everything I hate about video games with limited time offers, multiple types of currency, the need to grind to get the "good stuff", and daily chores.

[@Enigma89]

The WWII stuff is where the game really shines, the stuff is really attainable. The grind past that starts to become more steep.

[@ZoltanSultan]

i play war thunder because i dont want to turn the electricity on in my plane

[@ilejovcevski79]

No matter what they decide to tackle or not, with their grinder of a business model, i won't be touching it. It's hard to keep one job IRL, the last thing i need is another, especially one that i don't get payed for.

[@kaan2866]

Well Engima I'm sorry but you are wrong in many cases. 1- WT IR stuff is based on binary system 2- Clouds does not effect IR, it does effect IIR 3- War Thunder does lack a consistent gameplay due to B.R. changes that sıbject of change in any update, ratings are not in a good shape, there is a huge problem with "balance". 4- Gaijin does not care about experience, it does care about money, currently they make most money from Russian vehicles, that's the reason why people likes to play Russian vehicles, it has that "Russian bias" that helps them to not simply die and punch so hard you instantly regret grinding any other nation. 5- It does takes time to grind higher tiers, for top tier it's even worse due to economy is broken in WT. 6- It does takes your money with premium accounts and vehicles. I've played WT for long enough to take it from "what is this" level to "this is the game of my life" then "well time to move on" War Thunder is a good idea, I hope I can return it with all the joy I had back in the days with my friends. But Gaijin has to take actions on their bias for as playerbase claims "own nation" but I think it's bias caused by "money" Now I do understand you can not point out the obvious due to sponsorship but in 2028 WT will be something like "Russia has the Armata while Leopard 2A7 is still in dev blog" No matter what plane they bring, it'S going to be just 3D model while every aircraft in DCS is unique, WT charges same for their premium vehicles and offering just a grind tool while DCS offers a whole experience. And we can not ignore what they are doing to core. It's still slow but better than money grinding like Gaijin does.

[@Enigma89]

Can you clarify #1 and #2?

[@kaan2866]

@@Enigma89 in war thunder it isn't about the atmosphere, engines thermal structure, or anything like that, it's based on the temperature, that's the reason why flares are either effective or not effective depending on the aircraft because they are not trying to imitate the temp in nozzle they are basically higher number so it works like a charm. IR means as you knew infra red, is basically the scanning of the electromagnetic spectrum, and due to heat, the spectrum is visible with IR, clouds may reduce that visibility but can not completely block it, just like the bushes in ground battles in WT, it happens to block +100 centigrade degrees with synthetic bushes, however, it should effect IIR due to IIR is the shape that has that electromagnetic spectrum values between the target. That's why pre-flare against missiles that use IIR such as 9X so important, you can confuse its target acquiring with unnatural heat due to flares will also change that spectrum all the way they go, it's basically the shape will differ a lot when you pre flare and most likely the missile won't be locking anything then a few seconds lasting shapes that make no sense to sensors. Alright let me clear up a little bit more, WT is doing WT things, bringing a lot of vehicles which is cool because we all do love those vehicles, but even just data mining scandals that show the undisputed bias against Russian vehicles is a reason for protest by its own, it's neither first nor last. I'd love to play more WT, it has its unique gameplay that you mentioned, hop in and enjoy with your friends. But it's far from being a sim or accurate. It doesn't need to be a sim. But with the current state, there is no point for me to seeing Russians winning so easily and every other nation needs to work 5 times more challenging to get a win. The games that I play T-80BVM have no contest, I just drive and shoot and heyy 8 kills + win with no scratch, that's not good for a PvP game that seeks "balance"

[@SPFLDAngler]

I can answer that. No. Play DCS instead. I only play one Simulator match every 3 days just to keep up with my Squadron. If not for that, I'd never play War Thunder ever again

[@Stanczyk996]

XDDD great arguments bro

[@oskarkilo9033]

As you said we "older" people know that the most precious thing in the world is time and not money. That said doesn't mean we can sink a lot of money into games, as we have to feed family and pay bills, as you mentioned. And having obligations and kids can cost you a fortune. But even companies like Gaijin don't understand fully that the circumstances makes us casual gamers with limited resources (time & money) to spend on games. I was always a simmer guy, played MSFS, IL-2, Falcon 4.0 BMS, DCS and so on, until I realize that most of these companies either not target the casual gamer or became a money hungry monster that needs feeding every minute, that try to screw you whenever possible. And now I found my F2P game, made for me as a casual gamer, that exist for 12 years now and still going strong, where I can meet nice, cooprative people, play a game or two with them without all that clan bullsh*t, has PVE, PVP and a story mode, a moderate grind for skills or vehicles and doesn't force me into P2W or try to press me out like a lemon. And I honour it, by investing when there is a sale to support them financially. This is what game companies need to learn. Make a F2P game that is casual gamer friendly, has all the aspects that casual gamers want with PvE (aka dynamic campaigns), PvP (for the more competitive among us) or a story mode, don't have excessive grind that frustrates casual gamer, and refinance itself with content that isn't P2W and attracts collectors. And I still enjoy MSFS for that reasons for more than 40 years now as I enjoy my 12 year old F2P game where I meet my friends. I hope that DCS will release Modern Air Combat one day with exactly the casual gamer features that I described and learn from MSFS how modern configuration of input devices is done. That is exactly what drove me nuts with DCS World, War Thunder and other "Sims" (Yes, Elite Dangerous, I'm looking at you here!). I can't fly planes with mouse and keyboard, because I'm not that kind a guy. And I don't have the time to configure 100+ input device options every time as I'm a casual gamer that want to hop in, have fun after a demanding work day and get away from it all, until the family demands their right to get attention. But there is still hope that some day someone in the gaming industry realizes this and builds a game that offer all what I have said. I hope that day will come sooner than later, because I'm not getting any younger and the world is not getting less demanding. And if that happens I will add a third game to my all time favorites.

[@RYDER-su3kx]

you forgot to mention a few things: -there are bugs, they dont do justice for helicopter PVE -they screwed up volumetrics in ground RB -the grind is long and if busy adults will play it they will probably get more busy, not everyone has the money for premium items to boost their grind. -the premium needs real money, the purpose of the long grind is part of gaijin's marketing tactic to make players buy premium items to boost the grind -the chat in the game is not useful, wholesome moments are rare as most people will be toxic or just silent -this game is inconsistent, thats why it gets hated on, some vehicles will get realism, some dont. and you get to be paired with both -in 2028, new 5th gens or 4th gens will be released and new players will be stuck at ww2 forcing them to again, buy premium -massive game = massive grind -the leaks, doing something illegal for something or someone isnt loyalty, its being stupid. the more players do the leaks the more war thunder or gaijin will have risks of shutting down due to the player base being encouraged to do crimes, for this game or company i agree in the end, all games have an itch, all games have their problems, but when you are gonna make a video bringing up the upsides of something(this was thought to us in senior high) you do not bring bias or opinions to it. i can easily say that roblox is the best because me and my friends can play it. i can also say its the best since its got lots of content to give, for free. which war thunder doesnt do for all of us, you want to play the tanks you want? start throwing your life away and start grinding full time or buy premium items and get there easily. war thunder is inconsistent, id rather just treat it an on and off game, something that you will rarely play. as its inconsistency is its big flaw

[@Enigma89]

That's fair, for me and being in the sim gaming niche, we have a lot of overlap with War Thunder. There is a big inferiority complex/fight between DCS and WT but there is a big overlap in players, a bigger one than I think people want to admit. For my circle of friends, the time constraints has crushed them and they literally only play WT now. If they played roblox then I would play roblox with them.

[@thebiggestoneyouveverhad]

Actually, you make a good point in stating that there are many different apps out there currently that offer different experiences and they all do something well. I try to experience as much as possible because I think that's the fun of gaming. Trying different stuff.

[@stevenford6107]

ED should just make more FC3 level aircrafts

[@Enigma89]

Agreed 100%

[@sil3ntsp3ct3r]

Yep, I've got all the vehicles that I want/like over the last 9 years I've played and just hop in custom battles for an hour or two to unwind and chill. Definitely the itch that the snail scratches.

[@zackeryhardy9504]

To be honest, I find Il2 fits the just play for an hour niche far better than war thunder. The issue with war thunder are mainly a combination of its game modes and monetization. The issue primarily is that their monitization has resulted in a game that is frustrating to play. Now the game is fun early on when they are in the getting you hooked stages, however once you get past the 1943 aircraft, you find that the prices just go up and up. By the time you get to jets everything is so expensive that you start to have to make intentional grinds for silver lions just to play the aircraft or tanks you want. This means all of the neat things like modeled IR missiles do not matter at all. Because you cannot play it without constantly paying. The premium tanks are another massive issue. They will release a premium tank like the cobra king and class it so it is essentially invincable and the best tank in the game at its tier. And then after everyone has bought it because it is deliberately overpowered they will modify it so that it is functionally useless. Same thing with the with several vehicles. And every new vehicle they add they do the same thing with. They add it in overpowered but make you pay for it and then nerf it. And we are not talking about a small amount of money. These tanks and planes cost the same as a DCS full fidelity aircraft and conveniently they make sure that nothing is even so you always have a surplus of the snails brand of money. The gameplay issues are by design to ensure you pay money. There are many fun game modes that people would love to have. The dynamic war mode did exist, but only as sim battles, and then after it started getting popular war thunder went in and made it frustrating to play ruining the game mode. The reality is that this game could replace il2 or DCS in a heart beat if it wanted to. But it will never do that for 1 reason. It isn't as profitable as their fremium model they currently use. The game has incredible potential and I know the snail knows how to make one of the best mmo war gaming games of all time. But t hey choose not to because of how much money they are making with their current model. For me I want a larger il2. Il2 is the simple to get in and have a match that war thunder has, but with the better fun game modes that war thunder is missing. It has a respectable amount of aircraft and I think if il2 is able to get its act together and start getting high altitude bombers in and sacrafice some fidelity then they would have a banger on their hands. The original il2 battle of stallingrad game was not meant to be a high fidelity game. That was by player demand comparing it to DCS rather than its intended audience war thunder. At launch the game had all kinds of issues including a massive amount of russian bias and 20 fps max framerate with a gtx 680 which was a crazy card for the time. Its a game I have played since day 1. And I liked their original intent of not going full fidelity but instead going with the original 1946 approach of decently realistic planes in numbers but with a bit more realistic physics. To be honest even as just AI bombers, we need more plane variat for il2 and it would be solid even of those AI are not full fidelity. I mean look at the B-17s in DCS world. They are laughably bad in terms of fidelity, but they are fantastic for what it was made for. Being a target to protect of shoot at. Here is hoping jason williams pulls a rabbit out of a hat and gives us what we want with his new simulator.

[@iNcog_AoE]

This is such a good topic to discuss. That said, if I had time and didn't want to invest in DCS flying, I would just play another genre. War Thunder might be nice in some aspects but I can't bring myself to grind to unlock vehicles. I think that sim developers these days don't have the right priorities anymore. but I think this argument can be made for many games across different genres. I'm just surprised that no one decided to mod 1946 in order to refresh it and host online servers for that title. As for social connections, I got into sims too late to make connections anywhere other than ECW/DCS.

[@faequeenapril6921]

I know this video is 3 months old, but I use to play warthunder, it was my gateway into combat flight sims from there I went to IL2 cliffs of dover then to DCS. I cant remember why I stopped playing WT because despite its monetisation model, its a really good game has the right level of detail for a quick drop in and drop out kind of game. I use to play DCS a lot until 2019, I got made redundant then I went back into education and I had no time for anything else and I always had this air combat itch that I could never scratch, looking back I should of just played WT during the days where I have maybe an hour to myself. Also the time constraints we adults have is half of the reason why I fly cold war aircraft in DCS, because they dont take a long time to learn and their systems are simple so when I have a week or more gap in playing I dont forget how to fly and use the aircraft.

[@janomomo153]

If the Snail wasn't this insanely greedy WarThunder would easily be my favourite game of all time, with only nostalgic stuff coming even close. But as it stands i tend to actively shout warnings and discouragements about this game into the void of the internet wherever it is mentioned, just because of how mind-bogglingly frustrating WarThunder, and a lot of the things surrounding it are

[@Skim_beeble7125]

The snail is gracious I will now use that when getting a kill

[@PvtPartzz]

As a war Thunder player, I really appreciate you putting a spotlight onto the game but I do feel like you missed the opportunity to call out some of the issues that plague air simulator battles. Gaijin has an untapped goldmine with sim battles but without a fire under their ass, they refuse to address the litany of issues keeping it from reaching anywhere near its full potential. 1) Awful AI. They fly into mountains, into the ground, randomly disappear, will be immune to cannon fire or missile locks. Only one type of AI will respond to a player and attempt to shoot them down--all others fly along a path with zero regard to bullets, missiles, or players playing chicken with them (they win). The ground AI is equally atrocious. Spawning radar SPAA’s inside of buildings or on roads that zigzag nonsensically up vertical cliff faces-completely defying gravity. The regular de sync between client and server means hitting a moving ground unit with anything other than splash damage is a roll of the dice. 2) They are always the same. Bases and ground battles always appear in the same places. AI aircraft and ground units spawn in the same locations and take the same paths. 3) A literal “wtf” economy. An average game at top tier will cost a player around 50k-100k SL (and that includes the rewards for playing). A player will literally need a 5:1 k/d *with premium* just to break even in silver lions. Players who are teamkilled are still forced to pay the full price for a new aircraft. Players have to first buy their aircraft to spawn in sim battles-despite going into the battles with 100% repaired and battle ready vehicles. Destroying AI ground and air units gives next to nothing in silver lion or research rewards. If they fix or even attempt to address these issues, sim battles can be so much more.

[@octavia3203]

War Thunder is...a mixed bag. Sure, it's accessible, it has a wide range of vehicles to play and it models some things pretty well, but you also have small things like bomber cockpits, still using extremely low poly placeholder cockpits in 2023 that have been there since the vehicle came out, and continues to be a thing with new prop bombers. It really takes away from the sim experience when all you have in your plane is 3 or 4 dials and the rest is just a solid grey texture. That and the fact that bombers have a ridiculous repair cost in sim mode (like 29,000 silver lions for the Canberra) while rewards are continuously cut makes Simulator mode a very non-enjoyable experience at higher ranks. The elephant in the room is the grind, it takes a long time and lots of dedication, and most likely money, to reach the jets that the game advertises. I still play War Thunder in both Realistic and Simulator, but it's not a game I can enjoy for long periods of time anymore. I'm required to take long breaks from the game just to keep myself from getting severely burned out. I believe there has to be a series of sweeping changes (to Simulator especially) to keep it from dying out, or else more and more people will either move to IL-2/DCS or just stop playing sims altogether due to a lack of accessible options. I'd love to see War Thunder grow into a respectable game, but the way it's going, I just don't think that's a realistic view to have for the time being.

[@CheekClapper879]

In my limited time with War Thunder I never even found a lobby for simulator, I think like you said most of the people playing sim on there just migrated to IL-2 or DCS. Hell I kinda did lol

[@sh0ebill241]

10:00 Just a little thing but- APCR is not a very good shell to use, it doesn’t do well against any tank that has more than a 2° armor slope haha, so I’d recommend using APCBC Shells, especially in a Jagdpanther with that strong 88mm

[@Enigma89]

yeah thanks, i changed the ammo out.

[@curoador]

I used to try "everything", loose 10 hours in a game before even deciding it was good... Things change I cant do that anymore, I might give war thunder a go ! Some times I only have 1hour of free time before bed , and boy let me tell you .. there's nothing worst that waiting for dcs to load , start up taxi etc to then have a game crash.. and looking at the clock and you realy can only play another 15 mins otherwise you are not gonna sleep enough and be tottably miserable the next day .. so I end up playing nothing at all. Loved the intro song btw!

[@Enigma89]

This was literally me last night. I started up and wasn't paying attention and got stuck on the grass and I said screw it and went into WT for the last 20 minutes that i had.

[@jackriley3340]

@@Enigma89 yeah man I’ve been unable to fix an insane stutter even in single player solo missions for a month, I’ve just moved on. Didn’t even have time to get stuck on the grass. Let alone play. Love your vids, and I still support you w high tier on Patreon out of principle, even though I may never play your dcs server again. you have shown me bms and other games, and I go back to your il2 videos to learn as I am have only recently began playing it. Invaluable content, never quit.

[@Enigma89]

@@jackriley3340 Appreciate it!

[@Westwoodshadowgaming]

my friends won't play warthunder with me and it makes me sad. :( I'm around lvl 30 and have only been in a squad once. almost 300 hours by myself.

[@Enigma89]

Get on a discord and find some people

[@ryu1940]

Love the intro and the shill moment counter lol great video !

[@Enigma89]

If you can't hide it then embelish it😅

[@ColonelAkirNakesh]

I never really considered playing WT until your interview last week with the BMS folks and bit about busy dads toward the end. I might have to give it a try now. Side note: I got blasted by P-51s while hiding in the clouds in DCS and it was infuriating.

[@Enigma89]

It's fun with friends, like I said in the video, I treat it like a chat lobby. If you do join, please use the the link in the description. Will help me and you get some free stuff.

[@ColonelAkirNakesh]

​@@Enigma89 thanks I'll definitely use the link. I'm scheduling my test-drive of War Thunder for next Wednesday between dropping the kids off for 9am daycare and a call I have at 10am (topic: pre-tax retirement accounts). I should be able to get in a solid 35 minutes ^_^ btw do you have any non-military themed chill games (similar to Stardew Valley, or even Skyrim) you recommend?

[@jackriley3340]

@@ColonelAkirNakesh make sure you use enigmas code in the description to get free stuff, and please the snail in the name of Enigma.

[@-thegiggles-]

"I need to break even" Jesus fucking Christ lmfao

[@TACCOFSX]

i get angry with war thunder because the game part could be really great if it wasnt just spawn on two sides and club at each other. if they just put in cool games like bomber escort vs interceptors that would be really cool.

[@RogueBeatsARG]

WT does not need your adverticement, it needs your feedback

[@Enigma89]

I sent them my feedback directly

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

This might get my brain to understand the difference between World of Thunder and the War Tanks franchise

[@cursed_cat28]

War Thunder is the only Game I play that has something important broken every Update

[@mrsirkosky7618]

I do get your point, but I have to say, that with less time on my hand, I want to spend it with higher quality. And the gameplay of War Thunder has been too frustrating for me. So to have 1 evenning in the week planned for a session of 2hrs is the best way for me to go. Especially with friends, who write secenarios and briefings. And if it doesn't work out well (i.e. the splash damage), or if there is a bug, you can still act as if had worked out. It's like a pen&paper game with a game master. But everytime I played War Thunder, I feel like I had wasted my time.

[@bukhariali71]

You hit the nail on the head. Time is the biggest constraint as an adult. That is what keeps me from diving deeper in DCS and learning all the avionics and other crap. So me and my friend basically do guns only dogfights, maybe add Fox 2 missiles to the mix. Do formation takeoffs and landings. We get about 30-40 minutes every other night or so. But at the same time, I can’t really get into War Thunder. I have tried it but the relaxed flight models etc just teach me bad habits flying wise and it affected my DCS flying. Same reason I stay away from dcs MODs.

[@Enigma89]

I play it for tanks usually. I will fly in it to fly some iconic planes that aren't in other games.

[@Sethorion99]

I just realised that we've probably traded kills in WW2OL A2A a few times. I remember seeing the name engima on my CSR report.

[@yamarider6199]

i love that intro!! 😂

[@NuclearFalcon146]

I played before post-war jets came out. I would go back but the thing is I might someday need a security clearance to get certain jobs (majoring in physics) and I know that one of the things they check for is if you play War Thunder. It just is not worth losing a security clearance over. I know it is probably overreaction but I would need to know more about how the feds handle it before I consider playing.

[@skittlyscooter1779]

Warthunder: sim, chat lobby, place to leak classified information, totally worth it in 2023

[@LucaTheGuide]

Hey Enigma, been watching a lot of your DCS content recently so maybe that's why what you said about life is a little bit heartfelt to me c= I hope you don't let preconceived notions of what it means to be an adult with responsibilities shape and characterize how you see yourself, and their correlations with the things you do It might sound far-fetched and it can be tempting to credit this to a certain degree of naivety but, in the end many things that we see or assume as given really does come down to how we choose to see those things Are you sure you're really not able to enjoy things the way you could, or are you just convincing yourself that that's the case? ♥

[@Enigma89]

It's more just a mathematical reality. There is not enough time in the day

[@PingPongDerGroße]

please continue these style of videos. its very interesting listening to your sometimes controversial thoughts on WT. you should continue and showcase maybe War on the Sea or Sea Power when it releses.

[@katherinespezia4609]

War Thunder is only good for busy people if you either don't mind playing vehicles you don't actually like or you have ludicrous amounts of money to bypass the grind. Otherwise the time commitment is actually significantly greater than DCS. Let's say you're a huge fan of the F-16 and that's *the* plane you want to fly. It takes exponentially more time and effort to fly the F-16 in War Thunder because you have to spend countless hours grinding just to unlock it, and then many more hours grinding to unlock all the upgrades, AND you have to spend a bunch of time playing other vehicles, either low tier or premium, to make enough in-game currency to pay the exorbitant repair costs of high-tier vehicles. If you want to fly the F-16 in DCS or BMS, you just buy it and can start learning instantly.

[@ravethefox]

after 2k hours in the game i can easily say that out of all my 4 friends who got me to play the game i am the only 1 left playing it simply because the game is so frustrating at times. i keep in touch with 2 of them as we do other things together but the other 2 i haven't spoken to in over a year. also a lot of vehicles in the game have a insane repair cost that means only the best of the best will be able to play them and make money. the german starfighter costs 24k to repair and you ear about 2k per kill. its a terrible plane to top it off

[@hitchcock_]

i play dcs and war thunder as well. i agree with a lot you say, but it cant replace dcs. i really enjoy the fidelity. sometimes i just enjoy a easy game in warthunder tho. jumping in dcs takes at least 1-2 hours.

[@GodWentAFK]

I've been playing since 2013 but I barely play anymore. The game has way too many issues that the devs don't address because it doesn't effect their profit.

[@algroyp3r]

Fair overview, but I'd rather spend time learning a real plane than grind upgrades and tiers for hours and hours.

[@tungsten6474]

War Thunder also breaks every major update, to be fair. They’ve had a lot of bugs with armor values resetting to 0, servers breaking, and just general game breaking bugs (like the recent APDS bug)

[@Stanczyk996]

But still show me game that doesnt have that nowdays( nowdays the devs are just dont care as much as they were years ago. Games are just poorly done but still ppl buy them so no reason for them to realy move ass and repair something(im jot talking only about wt even thought they do good stuff from time to time)

[@erickent3557]

I was a high fidelity nose-upper-turner. After nearly 20 years away from sims, my attitude changed. I still want high fidelity, but I guess I lost my need to establish identity through a game... I have no desire to dis War Thunder. It's successful for a REASON. I haven't tried it myself, but it looks FUN. Hell, it looks beautiful. Some aspects look really well done. I admit: I have a HELLUVA lotta fun watching Bo Time and his gang of misfits playing... But if I try out War Thunder, I'll use your link!

[@Enigma89]

Thanks for the honest response

[@RogueBeatsARG]

i always say the same thing, if DCS is like a real sim, say Assetto Corsa, War Thunder is Gran Turismo 4, very close to a sim (GT4 was for his era) but more accesible and with lots of content

[@braydonzalewski2362]

I love this game, but I really think that they need to fix the grind and silver lion problems. In tanks, volumetric makes shells do no damage, and in top tier for aircraft, it feels like a tdm. I feel like this game would be so much better if they added an objective based game mode, while fixing the problems I mentioned earlier.

[@komet3033]

don't do that, don't make me reinstall

[@MAYDAYSIMULATIONS]

30seconds of warthunder clips and I know why I don't play warthunder

[@AussieGhost789]

I've played a lot of War Thunder over the years, with some lengthy pauses along the way. I tell myself I hate this game, and yet I keep playing it. This video goes a long way to explain why.

[@Enigma89]

I asked myself the other month why I even had WT installed and it is because of my friends that I want to talk to. Game fits many different purposes and for me it's a chat lobby.

[@JozefTrubac]

What killed WT for me was the paper plane like feel to the flight model. Especially with Spitfire.