War Thunder beginner's guide: modes, Battle Rating and smart research

War Thunder is a free-to-play military combat game developed by Gaijin Entertainment and published by Gaijin Network Ltd. It launched on Steam in 2013 and has been updated constantly since, with aircraft, helicopters, tanks and ships from the early 20th century to modern jets and main battle tanks. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it is cross-platform with consoles.

The game gives you a huge amount of content and explains very little of it. This guide covers what matters in your first week: which mode to play, how matchmaking works, how research and money flow, and the habits that keep you from burning out.

Your first-week priorities

1. Pick one nation and one vehicle type (ground or air) to focus on.
2. Play Arcade Battles until you know your vehicles and a few maps.
3. Research the modifications on each vehicle you use, starting with ammunition and repair parts.
4. Build a line-up of vehicles with similar Battle Ratings.
5. Train your crew's most useful skills before buying extra vehicles.
6. Try a few Realistic Battles once you can survive a match without being lost.

Arcade, Realistic or Simulator

Each vehicle type has three difficulty levels. They share the same tech trees but play very differently.

Mode	What changes	Who it suits
Arcade (AB)	Simplified physics, more on-screen help, faster matches, more respawns	New players learning vehicles and maps
Realistic (RB)	Realistic physics and damage, fewer aids, you judge range and lead yourself	Players who know the basics
Simulator (SB)	Cockpit and gunner views only, minimal HUD	Experienced players with joysticks or VR

Arcade is the forgiving place to learn where enemies come from and how your vehicle handles. Realistic is where most of the community ends up. In ground Realistic you spawn with a pool of spawn points, earn more through kills, assists and captures, and spend them to respawn. Once you have enough, you can also bring out a plane or helicopter from your line-up, and costs depend on the vehicle and its loadout. That is why your first vehicle matters: if you die early without scoring, you may not be able to respawn.

Nations and research trees

War Thunder has separate trees for many nations, including the USA, Germany, the USSR, Great Britain, Japan, China, Italy, France, Sweden and Israel. Each tree splits into aviation, helicopters, ground vehicles and fleet, divided into ranks.

How to choose:

• Pick vehicles you enjoy. You will spend dozens of matches in each one, so taste matters more than any tier list.
• The USA, Germany and the USSR have full trees in every branch and are easy starting points.
• Stay focused. Your research points go to one vehicle at a time, so spreading across five trees means five slow grinds.

You need to research a set number of vehicles in a rank before the next rank opens. Keep moving down one line instead of jumping between branches.

Battle Rating and matchmaking

Every vehicle has a Battle Rating (BR), and it can differ between Arcade, Realistic and Simulator. Matchmaking uses only BR, not your rank or stats. Per the official wiki, you can face vehicles up to 1.0 BR above or below your own.

For ground battles, the game uses the highest BR in your line-up. If you bring four 3.0 tanks and one 4.3 plane, you are matched as a 4.3 line-up, and your tanks will fight much stronger enemies. In practice:

• Keep every vehicle in a line-up within a small BR range.
• Expect some matches at the bottom of your range. Play them carefully: flank, hold cover and pick off damaged targets.
• When you're at the top of the range, push harder. Those matches are your chance to score big.

Helicopters join ground matches once you have earned enough spawn points. Screenshot: Gaijin Entertainment / Gaijin Network Ltd via Steam

Research points, Silver Lions and the economy

The game runs on two currencies you earn by playing:

• Research points (RP) unlock new vehicles and modifications.
• Silver Lions (SL) buy researched vehicles, crew training and ammunition, and pay repair costs after a match.

Golden Eagles are the premium currency. The official wiki states that spending them is not required to progress, but they can buy premium vehicles, a premium account or convert to research. A premium account boosts both RP and SL.

A few rules shape how fast you progress:

• Research from the vehicle directly before in the tree. It earns bonus RP toward the next one.
• Avoid big rank gaps. Using a vehicle two or more ranks away from your research target cuts the RP you earn.
• Winning and playing the objective pays more than a high kill count on a losing team.
• Repairs get expensive at higher ranks. Dying early and quitting costs you SL without earning much back.

Modifications and crews

A freshly bought vehicle is stock: weaker ammunition, slower repairs and no upgrades. Modifications fix that. They come in tiers, and completing a full tier also gives you bonus RP toward the next vehicle. For tanks, get better shells and repair tools first. For planes, focus on engine and handling upgrades, then belt options for your guns.

Every vehicle slot has a crew. Crew experience comes from battles and goes into skills such as reloading, spotting, repair speed and gunnery. Skills follow the crew, not the vehicle, so choose upgrades that suit what you play. Later you can unlock Expert and Ace qualifications for vehicles you use a lot, which give extra skill bonuses.

Learn where to shoot

In ground battles, knowledge wins more fights than reflexes. Tanks have weak spots: ammunition racks, the gunner and driver positions, the turret ring and thin side armor. Use the X-ray view and armor analysis in the hangar to study common enemies, and the test drive to try vehicles before buying them. Angle your armor, stop behind cover before firing, and move after every shot.

Mistakes to avoid

• Jumping into Realistic or Simulator before you know maps and your vehicle.
• Researching across several nations at once and stalling all of them.
• Mixing low-BR tanks with a high-BR plane in one line-up.
• Driving or flying out in the open with no idea where enemies spawn.
• Buying vehicles before researching modifications on the ones you have.
• Leaving matches after the first death, which wastes SL and RP.

What to do next

Once Arcade feels comfortable, move into Realistic and keep researching modifications as you go. Check our War Thunder news for current events and updates, and read our setup guide for graphics settings, controls and performance tips.

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