I didn't want to leave a negative review, but Gaijin's blatant contempt for their own players has forced my hand.

War Thunder is a game like no other, with a comprehensive damage system, combined arms, and variety of beautifully modeled tanks, aircraft and ships.

Unfortunately, this "uniqueness" has left Gaijin with little real competition over the years. What started off as a "free to play" title has over time become less and less free. Gaijin keeps adding nations and vehicles, while at the same time increasing repair costs and lowering RP/SL gain. A premium account isn't enough to comfortably progress anymore, now you also have to buy premium vehicles in every nation.

For the new players reading this, Gaijin has recently admitted that they balance free vehicles around a negative SL income for average players. That means they WANT you to lose money by playing, so you'll be forced to buy a top tier premium vehicle.

This isn't just greedy, it also destroys the matchmaker and the balance of the game. Since you only profit using premium vehicles they often end up being spammed. In battlerating 8.7, more than half the players on each team are in premium tanks. This results in rampant "one death leaving". These players only spawn their premium tank and leave when it's destroyed, leaving their team in a bad position. Sometimes the premium is their only tank for the tier, othertimes it's because "free" tanks aren't worth the high cost to repair.

Gaijin and their purposefully frustrating economy is ultimately to blame for this. There's so many other issues and scandals I could bring up, like how you can't repair or extinguish flames on your new tank before unlocking "parts" and "FPE". Gaijin wants you to pay gold to skip the grind for these essential tools.

In it's current state, I wouldn't recommend this game to anybody. That might seem hypocritical considering my hours spent in this game, but believe me. It's new players who suffer the most. Gaijin doesn't care about me, you, or the playerbase. Don't make the same mistake as me. Find another game that values your input, and respects your time.

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Edit, July 26:

Much has happened since May and the publishing of this review.

Most importantly, on 13th of June, Gaijin published a roadmap of planned economy changes.

Most recent roadmap update as of this edit: https://warthunder.com/en/news/8374-roadmap-following-the-roadmap-battle-pass-available-in-simulator-battles-en

This was an unprecedented event, as we have never seen this much transparency from the Devs before.

Despite tempered expecations and a healthy dose of skepticism on the part of myself and many others, the roadmap is actually progressing according to schedule.

One of the key criticisms in my review, that of SL (Silver Lions) has been (largely) adressed, earnings were increased across the board, and repair costs adjusted.

All ground vehicles now have a basic version of Parts and FPE available from the start without needing to unlock the Parts and FPE modifications: basic parts can repair components to partial functionality, while basic FPE is single-use.

Aircraft with countermeasures now start with a basic flare loadout, while mixed / full countermeasure loadouts require unlocking the flare modification.

You no longer have to pay repair cost when teamkilled (finally), and newly purchased premium vehicles now include 15 free backups (extra spawns).

Backups are a consumable however, and as such it doesn't fully alleviate the "one death leaving" issue, as players will quickly spend their 15 backups and continue this behavior after. Gaijin needs to consider making the backup permament.

I don't mean to diminish these changes, they were sorely needed, but there's still a long way to go.

As of today, no changes have been made to RP (Research Point) gain, which is the main cause for slow progression, especially in Ground Forces Mode.

The matchmaking system desperately needs a major overhaul, and battle ratings need to be decompressed. While matchmaking changes are mentioned in the roadmap, it remains to be seen how Gaijin chooses to handle this issue.

All in all, while the changes are positive so far and show a lot of promise going forward, my review will stay unchanged until the roadmap is concluded, and the full effects can be seen.

Lastly I want to thank you all so much for your attention and gracious awards! Thanks to you I have amassed just over 2.5 Million Steam Points! That's mind-boggling, I could've never anticipated this much engagement writing my little review back in May. I apologize for the late update, and let's hope for more good news.

I didn't want to leave a negative review, but Gaijin's blatant contempt for their own players has forced my hand. War Thunder is a game like no other, with a comprehensive damage system, combined arms, and variety of beautifully modeled tanks, aircraft and ships. Unfortunately, this "uniqueness" has left Gaijin with little real competition over the years. What started off as a "free to play" title has over time become less and less free. Gaijin keeps adding nations and vehicles, while at the same time increasing repair costs and lowering RP/SL gain. A premium account isn't enough to comfortably progress anymore, now you also have to buy premium vehicles in every nation. For the new players reading this, Gaijin has recently admitted that they balance free vehicles around a negative SL income for average players. That means they WANT you to lose money by playing, so you'll be forced to buy a top tier premium vehicle. This isn't just greedy, it also destroys the matchmaker and the balance of the game. Since you only profit using premium vehicles they often end up being spammed. In battlerating 8.7, more than half the players on each team are in premium tanks. This results in rampant "one death leaving". These players only spawn their premium tank and leave when it's destroyed, leaving their team in a bad position. Sometimes the premium is their only tank for the tier, othertimes it's because "free" tanks aren't worth the high cost to repair. Gaijin and their purposefully frustrating economy is ultimately to blame for this. There's so many other issues and scandals I could bring up, like how you can't repair or extinguish flames on your new tank before unlocking "parts" and "FPE". Gaijin wants you to pay gold to skip the grind for these essential tools. In it's current state, I wouldn't recommend this game to anybody. That might seem hypocritical considering my hours spent in this game, but believe me. It's new players who suffer the most. Gaijin doesn't care about me, you, or the playerbase. Don't make the same mistake as me. Find another game that values your input, and respects your time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit, July 26: Much has happened since May and the publishing of this review. Most importantly, on 13th of June, Gaijin published a roadmap of planned economy changes. Most recent roadmap update as of this edit: https://warthunder.com/en/news/8374-roadmap-following-the-roadmap-battle-pass-available-in-simulator-battles-en This was an unprecedented event, as we have never seen this much transparency from the Devs before. Despite tempered expecations and a healthy dose of skepticism on the part of myself and many others, the roadmap is actually progressing according to schedule. One of the key criticisms in my review, that of SL (Silver Lions) has been (largely) adressed, earnings were increased across the board, and repair costs adjusted. All ground vehicles now have a basic version of Parts and FPE available from the start without needing to unlock the Parts and FPE modifications: basic parts can repair components to partial functionality, while basic FPE is single-use. Aircraft with countermeasures now start with a basic flare loadout, while mixed / full countermeasure loadouts require unlocking the flare modification. You no longer have to pay repair cost when teamkilled (finally), and newly purchased premium vehicles now include 15 free backups (extra spawns). Backups are a consumable however, and as such it doesn't fully alleviate the "one death leaving" issue, as players will quickly spend their 15 backups and continue this behavior after. Gaijin needs to consider making the backup permament. I don't mean to diminish these changes, they were sorely needed, but there's still a long way to go. As of today, no changes have been made to RP (Research Point) gain, which is the main cause for slow progression, especially in Ground Forces Mode. The matchmaking system desperately needs a major overhaul, and battle ratings need to be decompressed. While matchmaking changes are mentioned in the roadmap, it remains to be seen how Gaijin chooses to handle this issue. All in all, while the changes are positive so far and show a lot of promise going forward, my review will stay unchanged until the roadmap is concluded, and the full effects can be seen. Lastly I want to thank you all so much for your attention and gracious awards! Thanks to you I have amassed just over 2.5 Million Steam Points! That's mind-boggling, I could've never anticipated this much engagement writing my little review back in May. I apologize for the late update, and let's hope for more good news.