Update 1.9.5 brings a completely redesigned crew development system. Now each crew member can be trained in a way that allows the new skills to complement an individual play style and emphasize the distinguishing characteristics of aircraft as much as possible.

Alongside this, additional optimization of the game client was made — now the Hangar works even faster.

We also improved the mechanism of automatic search for Flight and increased the reward for completing anniversary missions in aircraft celebrating their first and second anniversary since the date of purchase.

New Crew Development System

The crew development system was completely reworked. Now pilots and rear gunners can be trained in a way that allows the new skills to complement an individual play style and emphasize the distinguishing characteristics of aircraft as much as possible.

Pilot's skills are divided into two types: 12 universal skills that are effective for the course of the battle and 6 special skills that are automatically activated in certain situations. For example, a player who has mastered the skill "Fire Fighter" can extinguish a fire by actively manoeuvring. Rear gunners can acquire 8 universal skills. Most of the crew skills available in the previous crew system are inherited with some changes by the new system.

Unlike the skills of the previous system, the effect of which increased with skill level, skills of the new system take maximum effect once they are mastered.

The new skills system introduces skill points that are earned by receiving crew experience in battle. Skill prices range from 1 to 5 points depending on the effect a skill has on different situations in battle.

Now proficiency of the crew transferred from a standard aircraft to a Premium aircraft is automatically trained to 100% without crew retraining. All crew experience earned on a Premium aircraft is used for earning skill points. Crew flying Premium aircraft earn 20% more crew experience per battle.

Once the update is released, all skills trained before will be reset. Each crew member assigned to an aircraft and in Barracks will receive skill points, the number of which depends on the experience spent on training skills.

The crew interface is updated according to the new skills system.

Balance Changes for Aircraft and Weapons

IL-40 and IL-40P: reduced performance of the 23 mm АМ -23 rear gun.

Increased blast radius of 1,600 lb bomb mounted on the F2G Super Corsair.

Changed blast radius of 100 lb bomb mounted on the Hawk III, 500 lb bomb mounted on the XP-75 Eagle, 500 lb bomb mounted on the Mosquito Mk.26, 250 kg bomb mounted on the J7W1 Shinden, J7W2 Shinden-Kai, and J7W3, and 250 kg bomb mounted on the J4M Senden in accordance with the parameters of other bombs of the same level.

New Aircraft

Added New gift aircraft:

North American Mustang IA: British Tier VI fighter.

Limited Time Offer: Kostikov 302

The update brings a limited time offer for the Kostikov 302, a Premium Soviet Tier VII fighter. This warbird featuring a rare combination of a liquid fuel rocket and ramjet engines will appeal to those who prefer lightning-fast close-range attacks and high speeds.

The aircraft comes with a unique paint scheme giving a 5% bonus to top speed as well as nose art and an emblem. The Kostikov 302 bundle also includes 20 Automatic Fire Extinguishers.

New Consumables

Two new consumables for increasing the credits or XP earned in a battle are added. Ground Verification increases credits earned in battle by 50%, and Aerial Verification increases experience earned in battle by 25%. These consumables can be purchased only with tokens at a price of 1 token each. The consumables are automatically used when a battle ends.

Optimization

Optimized performance of the "Upgrades" tab. Hangar interface processing and 3D aircraft model loading are handled in different threads. Now all upgrades, research, purchase, and mounting operations are performed significantly faster.

Optimized performance of the "Service" tab. Operations with ammunition belts and consumables are performed significantly faster.

Improved Near-Ground Flight System

A new auxiliary mechanism is designed to facilitate ground assault and aircraft control at ultra-low altitude.

Enhanced ground effect close to terrain surface.

Pull-up at utlra-low altitude is easier to perform now.

Improved aircraft behaviour above sloping surface.

Changed control system behaviour when manoeuvring near the ground:

When taking a sharp yaw at ultra-low altitude, an aircraft pitches up and rolls to manoeuvre in a more efficient way.

When performing dangerous manoeuvres at ultra-low altitude, an aircraft realigns with the surface.

Added visual effects to make a flight at ultra-low altitude more realistic: different particles (splashes, dust, sand, and the like depending on the surface) flying towards the camera and trails of raised particles behind an aircraft.

Modified damage caused by collision with trees. Now these collisions cause damage in percentage depending on the maximum durability of an aircraft, which makes them equally dangerous for aircraft of all tiers. For aircraft of low tiers, therefore, collisions with trees are more forgiving. The number of hit points an aircraft loses if colliding with a tree now depends on the aircraft tier. Attack aircraft receive the least damage from collisions with trees thanks to a rigid airframe.

Changed damage caused by contact of wings or chassis with the surface and static objects. Now these collisions cause damage that is not deadly for an aircraft. Any accidental contact does not destroy an aircraft. Damage is not caused all at once, but gradually now. Therefore, prolonged contact with the surface can cause serious damage to an aircraft or even destroy it. If a fuselage collides with the surface or an object, the aircraft will be destroyed anyway.

Bots

Fixed some drawbacks of the algorithm used by bots on attack aircraft for choosing a flight route.

Aircraft Anniversary

Added the third award for completing anniversary missions in aircraft celebrating the first and the second anniversaries since the date of purchase.

Flight Improvements

Changed and improved mechanics of automatic search for Flight.

Changed logic of selecting a Flight member and added option to filter aircraft by tier and option to manually select a Flight member from the list of players who want to play in a Flight.

Simplified option for manually assembling a Flight: the readiness status for both players in a Flight and selected aircraft is displayed.

Removed ability to assemble a one player Flight.

New camouflage schemes

Addition of new “realistic” camouflage patterns, which reflect a long service at the front (scratches, reparation traces, etc). List of aircraft:

Ilyushin Il-2 (t)

Ilyushin Il-10

Ilyushin Il-20

Messerschmitt Bf 110B

Messerschmitt Bf 109B

Messerschmitt Bf 109E

Messerschmitt Me 410

Supermarine Seafang

Mitsubishi A6M5 Zero

Bugs fixing

Fixed a bug that prevented the 15 seconds immunity from working in the consumables “Improved Fire Extinguisher” and “First Aid Kit”