War Thunder for new players: one nation, one mode, stay at your battle rating

War Thunder is Gaijin’s combined-arms vehicle combat MMO, covering aircraft, tanks and ships across many nations and a huge research tree. It is playable on the desktop client in Arcade, Realistic and Simulator modes, and it is very easy to spread yourself thin and stall. This guide is about staying solvent and effective through the early tiers by narrowing your focus.

Before you start

• Choose one nation and one branch (planes or tanks) for your first hundred-odd matches.
• Pick one mode and stick with it while you learn; Arcade is the gentler start, Realistic pays more.
• Do not sell vehicles or spend the premium currency on anything but a premium account or crew slots at first.
• Turn on the option to show the battle rating of the match you are queuing into.
• Accept that stock vehicles feel bad until researched; that is normal.

Step 1: Focus one nation and branch

Every nation has a separate tree, and every match pulls from vehicles you have unlocked. Splitting research across three nations and both branches gives you weak, incomplete lineups everywhere. Commit to one nation and one branch, research it in order, and you will always have a full set of vehicles at a given battle rating to field.

Step 2: Build a lineup, not a single vehicle

In Realistic you get one spawn per vehicle in your lineup, so a lineup of one is a very short game. Keep three to five vehicles within roughly 1.0 battle rating of each other — for ground, that might be two mediums, a tank destroyer, an SPAA and a support plane. Now a bad first spawn is not the end of the match, and you can bring the right tool for the situation.

The battle rating of your lineup is set by the highest vehicle in it, so a single over-tiered tank drags the whole group up into harder matches. If you research something a full step above the rest, either build a second lineup around it or leave it out until the rest of your vehicles catch up. An SPAA in the lineup matters more than new players expect: uncontested enemy aircraft will farm a ground battle, and having an answer keeps you alive.

Step 3: Don’t rush the tree

New players often push straight for jets or top-tier tanks. Higher battle rating means faster, deadlier opponents, higher repair costs and crews that are not trained for the vehicle. You will spend most matches as an easy kill and lose Silver Lions doing it. Progress one battle rating step at a time, stay where you are winning and can afford your repairs, and move up only when your current lineup feels comfortable.

Step 4: Spade every vehicle

A “stock” vehicle is missing key modules — better shells, upgraded engine, improved control surfaces, repair kits. These make a large difference, especially the ammunition. Research a vehicle’s full module set before you move on to the next one; the community calls a fully-researched vehicle “spaded.” Grinding modules on a stock vehicle at its correct battle rating is far less painful than being stock at a higher one.

Step 5: Train crews on the fundamentals

Crew skills are a slow but permanent multiplier. Spend crew XP on the boring essentials first: reload speed, targeting and turret traverse for tanks; pilot G-tolerance, keen vision and engine handling for planes; and repair and firefighting for both. Keep vehicles you play a lot on the same crew slots so those crews keep improving, and consider a small premium-account boost if you want the research and Silver Lion grind to move at a reasonable pace.

Step 6: Manage your Silver Lions

It is possible to go broke in War Thunder by flying vehicles you cannot afford to repair when they die. At low tiers repair costs are small, but the habit to build now is: check a vehicle’s repair cost before you take it up, and do not spam-spawn expensive vehicles in a losing match. Play a mode and battle rating where your average game ends in the black, keep a modest reserve, and unlock a talisman or premium vehicle only once you understand which of your vehicles actually earn. Winning matches and completing the daily tasks is a steadier income than any single big game.

Key takeaways

• Pick one nation and one vehicle type (air or ground) and research that tree top to bottom.
• Keep a lineup of several vehicles within about 1.0 battle rating so you can respawn.
• Do not rush up the tree; over-tiering past your skill and your crews just makes you a target.
• Fully research each vehicle’s modules (“spade” it) before moving on — stock vehicles are weak.
• Spend crew XP on the basics — reload, targeting, repair, G-tolerance — before anything exotic.