War Thunder is a vehicular combat game of staggering scope: thousands of tanks, planes, and ships across a dozen nations, spread over multiple game modes and progression tiers. That depth is the appeal, and it is also the trap. New players routinely pick the wrong first nation, misread the economy, and rush up the tech tree straight into a brutal grind wall. This guide is about starting on the right foot, which means choosing well, understanding the money, and surviving long enough to actually enjoy the shooting.
The heart of the game is a tech tree per nation, divided into ranks that run roughly I through VIII. You research vehicles by earning Research Points (RP) in battle, then pay Silver Lions (SL) to buy them, plus more SL to crew, arm, and repair them. Managing that double economy matters as much as your aim does.
Pick a Forgiving Nation and Mode
Your first choice shapes dozens of hours, so make it on purpose.
- Start with Germany, the USA, or the USSR. These three have the deepest and most forgiving low tier lineups, and they show up on both sides of most matches, so you will always have teammates in similar vehicles. Minor nations can be excellent, but they tend to have gaps that punish newcomers.
- Decide now: tanks (Ground) or planes (Air). Grinding both trees at once splits your RP and your money and slows everything down. Ground Realistic Battles are the most popular entry point, and they reward patience and positioning over twitch reflexes.
- Use Arcade to learn and Realistic to progress. Arcade is more forgiving, with visible aiming markers, easier flight, and quick respawns, so it is a low stress way to learn maps and vehicles. Realistic pays better and feels more authentic once you are comfortable.
- Do not chase the highest tier vehicle you can see. Rank I and II are where you learn the game cheaply. A vehicle you fully understand at low tier carries you further than a shiny tank you cannot play.
Learn the Economy Before It Punishes You
More new players quit over money than over dying. The economy is the real boss fight.
- Silver Lions fund everything, so spend them carefully. Every repair, crew skill, and modification costs SL. Rush up the tiers and you hit vehicles whose repair bills exceed what you earn in a match, which bleeds you into the red. That is the infamous grind wall.
- Research modifications instead of skipping them. A stock, unmodified vehicle is dramatically weaker than a fully upgraded one: worse shells, slower reload, poorer engine. Grind the key modifications, better ammunition first and then survivability and mobility, before you move up, and every vehicle gets far more effective.
- Keep a spread of vehicles in your lineup. Bringing several vehicles of the same rank to a battle lets you respawn instead of sitting out after one death, which multiplies both your fun and your rewards per match.
- Value a Premium account well above premium vehicles. A Premium account boost multiplies the RP and SL from every single match, and that does more for a new player than any one purchased vehicle. If you spend anything, spend it here first.
- Play your daily and battle pass tasks. They are a steady stream of RP, SL, and boosters that meaningfully speed up progression for free.
Stay Alive in Your First Battles
Staying alive is how you earn. A vehicle that dies in ten seconds researches nothing.
- Never drive in a straight line across the open. In Ground battles, use terrain, hull down positions, and flanks. Expose only your gun, fire, then pull back. Most new player deaths are avoidable positioning mistakes rather than skill gaps.
- Aim for weak spots, not center mass. War Thunder models armor realistically. Learn to hit turret rings, lower front plates, and side armor rather than bouncing shots off thick frontal plates. A little homework on the opponents you meet most pays off enormously.
- In the air, manage your energy. Do not dogfight in slow turns you are going to lose. Use altitude and speed: dive, take one good shot, and climb away, the classic boom and zoom, rather than getting dragged into a low, slow furball.
- Watch the minimap constantly. Situational awareness, meaning knowing where the enemy is pushing and where your team has gaps, prevents the flanking deaths that ruin otherwise good games.
- Spend your crew points. Putting earned crew points into reload speed, targeting, and repair makes every vehicle you drive noticeably better. It is easy to overlook and it matters a lot.
A Grind Plan That Holds Up
Set a rhythm instead of sprinting. Fully modify a couple of vehicles at your current rank, keep your lineup deep enough to respawn, and only move up a rank once your economy comfortably covers the repair costs waiting there. Resist the urge to spade every vehicle in a tree, and do not feel obligated to reach top tier, because some of the best balanced and most enjoyable gameplay in the game lives at the mid ranks.
War Thunder rewards patience over greed. Pick a major nation, commit to one vehicle type, respect the economy, and put survival ahead of kills, and the grind wall that stops most beginners turns into a gentle slope. Learn a handful of vehicles inside and out before you climb, and you will be out shooting the players who rushed past you the whole way up.
John writes guides for PerfoGames. He plays what he covers and only prints advice that survived a real session. Edited by Lucas.
