BASIC RULES AND GUIDES FOR NEW PlAYERS IN WAR THUNDER.

http://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/forum/161-flight-academy/

Visit this if you have not already.

1. Go through the basic tutorials, these will each you the basics. You will receive some Golden eagles, Save these for latter.

2. Pick a nation/country to use. The different nations have different starting planes. It took me about a day of playing to hit rank 3 which unlocked a few good planes I could use, so hang in there for a few hours at least until you unlock some real planes, Try to reach at least level 3 in each nation to find the one to your liking.

3. Unlock additional crews, you won't have any use for lions so unlock the extra crews and use all the lions you get. This means you will have more choice in game for arcade, can last longer if you get killed often and is always a good idea. 10,000 for your first extra crew slot, 50,000 for the second. The 6,7,8 and 9th crew slots cost gold.

4. To battle! Arcade battle (AB) - This is the basic starting off point for non flight-sim nerds. Your mouse will basically fly the plane, left click to fire. Each map has different objectives, but you can kill some ground troops with your starting shitty bi planes and maybe an enemy plane. NOTE: ARCADE MODE IS ONE OF MANY, AND THE MOUSE IS AMAZING IN IT, but there are other modes and plans for more flight-sim type modes. Other Game modes include Historical battles (HB) (realistic flight properties) and Full real battles (FRB) these are literally cockpit only, spot everything by yourself, engine controls, pitch controls, trim you name it, War game simulator.

5. Ground enemies are great ways to get experience to rank up for better planes, just strafe or bomb them. Also landing on a friendly airfield gives EXP. So in addition to dogfighting in your shitty starting planes, make sure to shoot ground Targets, land when damaged, and earn as much XP as possible. Remember, XP gain is based on performance mainly.

Switch to RU or 'any server available" it up the top when you press battle (ping doesn't matter in magic game)

Please note that all descriptions are 'guidelines' as a whole; Each nation has exceptions to the rule; And each plane may be used how-ever you so desire.

You might have started with 40 golden eagles; Just these for EXP Conversion.(not sure when the time bracket was for this, or if it still going) If you completed all the tutorials as of patch; 1.25 completing the first 3 tutorials that pop-up net 70 gold each, for a total of 210 gold. DO these tutorials as this gold can be used for exp conversion of crew training or buying another crew slot.

Basic guide to aircraft types and nations here *note WIP and very messy and old. best just to ask in the thread for more detailed info at the moment* http://pastebin.com/cN3Gf2gc

Gun Convergence: http://s10.postimage.org/uu5vhnq49/1358791416796.png

if you set your convergence to 400m, your guns fire on that point. Refer to image.

Vertical targeting sets the 'angle' the guns air up to lob the shells to match your convergence.

So if you have convergence at 400m, your bullets lob to hit that location perfectly, no need to aim above a target if you are behind them. useless as you learn the angles to fire by playing.

AMMUNITION TYPES:

B = Ball

I = Incendiary

T = Tracer

IT = Incendiary Tracer

AP = Armour Piercing

HE = High Explosive

API = Armour Piercing Incendiary

APT = Armour Piercing Tracer

HEI = High Explosive Incendiary

HET = High Explosive Tracer

APIT = Armour Piercing Incendiary Tracer

APRC = Armor Piercing Reduced Caliber

APCR = Armor Piercing Composite Rigid

HEIT = High Explosive Incendiary Tracer

SAPI = Semi Armour Piercing Incendiary

APIHC = Armour Piercing Incendiary Hollow Core

P = Practice

PT = Practice Tracer

General rule: A tracer takes up some room in a standard round, meaning it will be ever so slightly less effective then the non tracer version. Ap rounds deal damage best when hitting The 'skeleton' of the plane, HE when hitting the skin or controls surfaces- Pilots and fuel, Incendiary does best hitting fuel, Practice/Ball does best hitting sensitive things like hydraulic controls or control surfaces.

France:

7.5mm MAC 1934(1450RPM)

* Omni-purpose: T-AP-AP-HEI

* IT Bullets: IT-IT-IT

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-I

Italy:

12.7mm Breda-SAFAT(700RPM Slowed by prop sync)

* Omni-purpose: AP-APIT-HE-HE-I

* Air Targets: APIT-HE-I

* Tracer Shells: APIT-IT-APIT-IT

* Stealth Attack: API-API-HEI-HEI

Germany:

7.92mm MG17(1200RPM)

* Omni-purpose: APT-AP-HE-API

* APT Bullets: APT-APT-APT-APT

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-AP-HE

13mm MG131(900RPM)

* Omni-purpose: APT-APT-IT-IT-HEIT

* APT Bullets: APT-APT-APT

* HEIT Bullets: HEIT-HEIT-HEIT

20mm MGFF(520RPM)

* Omni-purpose: IT-HEIT-HEIT-API

* Air Targets: HEIT-HEIT-API-API-IT

* Tracer Shells: IT-HEIT-IT-HEIT

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-API

20mm MG131(750RPM)

* Omni-purpose: IT-HE-HE-API

* Air Targets: IT-HE-HE-HE-API

* Armoured Targets: AP-AP-AP-IT

* Tracer Shells: IT-HEIT-IT-HEIT

* Stealth Attack: HE-HE-HE-AP-API

30mm MK108(660RPM)

* Night Fighters: HET-HET-HET-I

* Stealth Attack: HE-HE-HE-I

30mm MK103(440RPM)

* Anti-Tank: APCR-APRC-APRC

* Air Targets: HE-HE-HE-API

* Stealth Attack: API-API-API

37mm BK37(780RPM)

* Anti Tank: APCR-APCR-APCR

50mm BK5(45RPM)

* Anti Tank: APCR-APCR-APCR

* Air Targets: HET-HET-HET

Britain:

7.7mm Vickers K(800-1200RPM)

* Omni-purpose: T-AP-AP-HEI

* IT Bullets: IT-IT-IT

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-I

20mm Hispano Mk II/V(600-750RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HEI-SAPI-AP-T

* Ground Targets: AP-AP-AP-HEI-T

* Stealth Attack: HEI-HEI-SAPI-AP

Soviet:

7.62mm PV-1(600RPM)/ShKAS(1800)

* Omni-purpose: T-AP-HE-APIT

* APIT Bullets: APIT-APIT-APIT

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-AP-HE

12.7mm Berezin UB(800-1050RPM)

* Omni-purpose: API-APIT-HEI-HEI

* Air Targets: T-APIT-APIT-HEI

* Ground Targets: T-APIT-APIT-HEI-APIHC

* APIT Bullets: APIT-APIT-APIT

* Stealth Attack: API-API-HEI

20mm ShVAK (700-800RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HEIT-HE-HE-APIT

* Ground Targets: HEI-HE-HE-APIT

* Armoured Targets: APIT-API-API-HEIT

* Stealth Attack: API-HE-HE-HEI

23mm VYa-23(550-650RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HEI-HEIT-API

* Armoured Targets: API-API-API-HEIT

23mm NS-23 (550-650RPM)

* Armoured Targets: HEIT-API-API-API

* Air Targets: HEIT-HEIT-HEIT-API

* Stealth Attack: API-API-API

37mm N37(400RPM)/NS-37(240-260RPM)

Air Targets: HEIT-HEIT-HEIT

Armoured Targets: APT-APT-APT

America:

7.62mm .30 AN/M2(1350RPM)

* Omni-purpose: T-AP-I

* APT Bullets: AP-T-T-T

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-AP-I

12.7mm .50 AN/M2(750-850RPM)

* Omni-purpose: API-AP-T-HEI-HEI

* Air Targets: T-AP-AP-AP-AP-HEI

* Tracer Shells: T-T-T-T

* Stealth Attack: AP-AP-API-HEI-HEI

20mm Hispano M2(600-750RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HEIT-HE-HE-APIT

* Ground Targets: HEI-HE-HE-APIT

* Stealth Attack: API-HE-HE-HEI

37mm M4(140RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HEIT-HEIT-APT

* Ground Targets: HEIT-APT-HEIT-APT

Japan:

7.7mm Type97(500RPM)

* Omni-purpose: T-AP-HE-I

* Tracer Shells: AP-T-T-T

12.7mm Ho-103(900RPM Slowed by prop sync)

* Omni-purpose: AP-APIT-HE-HE-I

* Air Targets: APIT-HE-I

* Tracer Shells: APIT-IT-APIT-IT

* Stealth Attack: API-API-HEI-HEI

20mm Type99Mk1(520RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HET-HE-AP

* Ground Targets: AP-AP-HE-API-HET

* Tracer Shells: HET-HET-HET

* Stealth Attack: HEI-HEI-HE-AP-AP

20mm Type99Mk2(480RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HET-HE-API

* Ground Targets: AP-API-HE-API-HET

* Tracer Shells: HET-HET-HET

* Stealth Attack: HEI-HEI-HE-API-API

30mm Type5(500RPM)

* Omni-purpose: HE-HEI-HET

* Ground Targets: PT-HET

* Tracer Shells: HET-HET-HET

* Stealth Attack: HE-HE-HE-P

Nations;

British Tend Fighters focus on dogfighting in general, with some planes be capable hybrid fighters. THe british bombers are large, rather moderatorly defended can take a few hits every now and then but carry large payloads to compensate. Their aircraft are moderately fast; averagely sized and have lots of firepower later one, early British fighters often start out with multiple MG's then transition to MG+cannon then stick with the cannons.

overview; Hurricane line are good fighters and competent fighter bombers as msot can get rockets/bombs.

Spits are good dog-fighters and the later models can get some bombs.

The bombers are all good at bombing, but can be shot down quickly; Either get high or play sneaky like If you enter a combat keep moving or man the guns; 7.7's can kill stuff easy if you hit the engines or cockpit.

Mosquito and Beaufighters are great bomber hunters and very good at the ground attack role.

Meteors are one of the few jets that can dogfight very well, but are large targets in the sky.

Highlights:

Spitfire Mk.I

Spitfire Mk.IX

Hurricane Mk.II

Beaufighter Mk.Vc

Typhoon Mk.Ib

Speed; 4/5 Armour; 2/5 Damage; 3.5/5 Turn; 3/5

Americans Fighters tend tofocus on fast hit and run style "Energy fighters" they don't turn all that well on average but have a lot of firepower and normally have under-slung bombs for killing ground targets, a few exceptions can turn fight rather well however. Their bombers are solid, hard to kill and are very well defended.

overview; Land based fighters are fast, Well armed but are not the best turn-fighters, The land bassed bombers are all big, well defended and carry good payloads, the Navy fighters are not so fast, tough and can turn quite well, Navy based bombers are slow, Moderately defended and carry average payloads but have the advantage of being able to land on carriers/water.

Highlights:

P-47D

B-17G

P-40

F2F

F4U-1c

Speed; 4/5 Armour; 2.5/5 damage 4/5 Turn 2/5

Germans focus on energy fighting, They have a large variety of play-styles and are good for an learner to fiddle around with but are very frustrating to get through the early levels as first few planes up to level 6 are not very newbie friendly. German bombers carry a good variety of payloads but are slow (exception are the S.79's they go faster then some fighters) and are rather week and are not all the well defended.

overview; Italian fighters are not so fast, poorly armed but can fill a myriad of roles, The Bf-109 line is large and has many great aircraft all bar the bi-plane and he 112 are energy fighters, The Fw-190 are just 'heavier' 109's, People often find they prefer one or the other. The heavy fighter line is fairly large, a few can carry good bombs and they hit rather hard, Problem is a large target is easy to hit- just keep your speed up and you should be fine. The Ground attack stuka line is more for fun then anything, they are slow, but carry good bombs- they can be good aircraft in the right hands though. German bombers are a bit painful to grind out the pylons, but are moderate afterwards, the Ju-88 is pretty good.

Highlights;

Bf.109F-4

Fw 190 D-12

Bf-109G-6

Mc.202

S.79

Speed; 3/5 Armour; 4.5/5 damage 3.5/5 Turn 2.5/5

Russians are Good dogfighters and they can all dive very well, have great firepower but suffer from very low ammunition reserves. The bombers carry great payloads, are fast and are moderately defended. The ground attack planes Russia gets are varied and many, some are past some are slow- but all have sub standard defenses but great payloads and often many rockets.

Overview; yaks are all good dogfighters and are cheap to run, but can chew through bullets so quick it's not funny. The early fighters in the 'MiG' line are fast, very agile and have fast firing guns- only problem is you need to hit something a lot of times to see any 'real' damage, the Lagg-3 is rather 'heavy' in the air but a good dog fighter and can carry some nice rockets. The La-5/7 are great dogfighters, they can climb well, Dive well and hold speed moderately, You 'can' energy fight if you like, but your wings tear off at fairly low speeds compared to German energy fighters. Su-2/IL-2's are all great attack planes, but are slow and don't climb all that well- but turn rather quickly despite this. The early bombers are fast and carry good payloads, the Late bombers are slower but carry huge amounts of bombs, but suffer from constant elevator damage- Just be wary of pylon upgrades.

Pe-3 are heavy fighters and can carry some bombs/rockets, quite agile and fast but very from low ammo, pe-2 are good, fast bombers but carry small payloads.

Highlights:

Yak-9t

SB 2M

IL-2M

Yer-2

la-5

Speed; 3/5 Armour; 2.5/5 damage 4/5 Turn 3/5

Japanese Fighters are extremely good dogfighters, They turn very well, climb fast and hit moderately, Just be careful being hit back as you are soft as paper. Japanese fighters are split into land and sea based, Land based can energy fight if need be, but sea based are better dogfighters. Japanese bombers are Fast, well defended but suffer from small payloads, Be careful with the H6K4, it is tough- but large so anything with cannons will make short work of you. Japanese planes are very expensive to use however.

overview; zeros are quite often called the best dogfighters in the game for their tier, just be careful with cannon ammo, and being hit. The N1K fighters are rather well gunned, but do not perform as well as zeros but cna carry bombs/rockets. Ki-43 is an amazingly nimble aircraft but has 'small' firepower- great for it's tier however. Ki-61's are very efficient planes, fast, can dive well and have good guns but are costly planes to run, and don't turn as well at very slow speeds. Jap bombers are fast, and should be kept high to avoid prying eyes as you are easy to shoot down, D3A1 is a good dive bomber however. Again- japs are expensive for what they are so be careful with running costs.

Highlights:

Ki-43-II

H6K4

A6M3

A6M5

Ki-61-Ic

Speed; 4.5/5 Armour; 1/5 damage 2.5/5 Turn 4.5/5

*please note that all "scores" are self rated and are based on personal opinion.

CREWS

CREW EXP POINTS ARE GENERATED AT AROUND 2.5 POINTS PER 1000 EXP GAINED IN AN AIRCRAFT; DO WELL, GET MORE POINTS.

2.5;1000 REMEMBER THAT

Say you earn 10,000 exp in one match- that right their is 25 crew points.

When applying Crew points there are two ways of 'spending' them, #1 is to simply press the [+] button to the right of the level progress bar, #2 is to click a location along said level progress bar- the progress indicator will 'jump' as close as possible to the location you clicked, So rather then click the [+] button 100 times to bring G-force training from 0 to 100 you can click near the end of the progress bar and if you have enough crew points it will jump to 100.

Quick overview of the skills

Pilots skills.

Keen vision: the chance of you seeing stuff.

Visibility: The range you can see stuff.

G-force training: This affects your ability to withstand G-force, this makes black-outs and red outs less common and in historical this is VERY important; that black edged screen is crippling in a dogfight. It also affects accuracy in Mouse control.

Stamina: Take a guess.

Vitality: This is a given.

Gunners: THESE SKILLS ARE ONLY USEFUL FOR THINGS WITH TURRETS; NOTHING ELSE!

Number of gunners: if this number does not match the number of turrets on the plane you will suffer penalties to the gunner skills. (It will tell you at the top how many you need for the plane.)

Fire accuracy: The chance of those vodka drinking fools manning your hitting anything with that twin 50.cal

Fire precision: the chance that the guys manning the guns actually hurt the enemy plane.

G-force: This keeps your little gunner buddies shooting in high-g turns and accurate in those turns.

Stamina: Take a guess- again.

Vitality: This is a given.

GROUND CREW; EVERYONE USES THESE!

Repair speed; the time it take to repair your plane in the hanger and on the airfield in-game gets reduced the higher this number is. This reduces the overall time of the repair of the aircraft in the hanger by 1% per level; you can disable automatic repair by clicking on an aircraft in the hanger; and down the bottom left their is a wrench to click: turning of auto-repair.

Repair rank: You need this number to match the level of the aircraft to have it get repaired faster in the hanger.

Reload spee:; Reload them bombs/Rockets/mg's/cannons/torpedoes- everything, faster; In arcade this helps greatly has you reload in the air. In historical this helps you get back into the air after you land.

Healing speed: the time it takes to fix and injures to the gunner or pilot when you land.

CREW EXPERTISE:

this represents your crews level advancement: get the number you need for that plane: ie. 150 crew level for a LAgg-3 and then pay the lion the cost for expert ( this could be 20,000 lions) and 6 skill: Keen Vision, Visibility, Fire accuracy, Fire precision, Repair speed and reload speed will all receive +30 (this means if the current level of the reload speed is 10, it will receive +30 to the current amount- 10+30= 40 effective.)

THIS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE; IF YOU LOVE A PLANE- BUY THE EXPERT LEVELS! If you love it lots Shell out some cash and use some Golden eagles to bring the level to ACE, adding +50 to those 6 skills.

For pilot training it goes as such.

*note these are my recommendations and not a strict guide-line. Level as you feel what helps you most for your play-style in that aircraft. You may either dedicate a crew slot to a fighter, bomber or just play mix and match as crews remember how to fly a plane they were trained to previously.

FIGHTERS!

Train in the order they appear to about 15, then fill out as desired.

G-FORCE TRAINING

RELOAD

KEEN VISION

VISIBILITY

VITALITY

now bring everything else up to the point where it costs 3 points to level, now go back to those first 5.

BOMBERS!

Train in the order they appear to about 15, then fill out as desired.

NUMBER OF GUNNERS SHOULD MATCH AIRCRAFT!

RELOAD!

GUNNER ACCURACY

GUNNER PRECISION

GUNNER VITALITY

GUNNER G-FORCE

REPAIR SPEED

G-FORCE- PILOT

now bring everything else to the point where it costs 3 points to level, now go back to those first 8.

GROUND ATTACK AIRCRAFT

Train in the order they appear to about 15, then fill out as desired.

G-FORCE

RELOAD

GUNNER ACCURACY

GUNNER G-FORCE

REPAIR SPEED

PILOT VITALITY

now bring everything else to the point where it costs 3 points to level, now go back to those first 6.

Remember-

Chasing a bomber in your bi-plane is not always the best idea.

Pick your targets well, use terrain intelligently.

Capture airfields, This gives are large amount of EXP and lions.

Never go into a fight alone, always try to be with friends or engage solo targets if you feel like being a bad-ass (Disclaimer- I am note responsible for all deaths caused by bad-assery.)

Keep an eye on the Mini-map as it gives you a good idea what what is going on, where you should be, and what you can do to win.

Choose what plane you like the best.

Be warned! Planes have an 'exp bar' When that fills up the Exp bonus on that aircraft is gone (meaning you will earn 20% exp, if a tank gave you 100 before the bar was full it will now give 20 exp) but the money bonus stays. So you can play all the aircraft and level fast, or play a select few, have fun and advance slowly. Note that this effects premium aircraft currently as-well.

TYPES OF COMBAT/ BOMBING!

DOGFIGHTING!

This is the most basic form of A2A combat; I recommend a Spitfire, ki-43 or F2A for thi,; they are nice and cheap planes to learn this.

Dog-fighting is essentially; getting behind the enemy- blasting his ass and staying behind him no matter what he does. Learn to watch his movements and match them, And keep and eye on that lead indicator, Eventually you will be going 9-0 no time.

Basic combat maneuvers listed here; http://en.wikipedia....bat_manoeuvring

ENERGY/HIT AND RUN/ BOOM'N'ZOOM!

This is a little harder, Good planes to use for this are Bf 109's Fw 190s or beaufighters

Get higher then the enemy, about 1-2km above him, match his flight path and dive. Get all the speed you can and attempt to predict his movements, when you are in firing range let of a few shots then climb away to safety and repeat.

Guide here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhYaRX8plzU

BOMBING!

High alt Bombing, set your plane in a stead climb and get fairly high up. Take a safe path to the ground targets and either use the bomb sight (F7) or the free camera to drop you bombs near the target. Remember to lead the targets as bombs take time to fall.

Just make sure to watch your altitude and that no-one has come up to get you.

DIVE BOMBING!

Climb to a relatively safe altitude and locate a target, take a safe aproach towards it, when you are very close to it (about 1.4km away) get into a steep dive (60 degrees or higher) and in arcade a bomb sight will appear, In Historical you have to do this by 'eye' (it takes practice to learn when to drop- the cross-hair is generally accurate in HB at 350m) , drop your bombs around 300m away from the target and pull up, fly away and get to a safe height again.

SKIP BOMBING!

The hardest bombing their is- This is setting a detonation delay on your bomb and literally skipping the bomb along the surface of the water to hit a ship. It is very hard to do in this game and I recommend dive bombing as it is far easier.

WHAT BOMBS FOR WHAT!

Generally it is better to have 4 250kg/500lb bombs then 12 50 kg bombs, Depending on map; you'll have to find what works best for you.

Note; 100 lb = 45kg(50), 250 lb= 113kg(100), 500 lb= 226kg(250), 1000lb= 453kg(500), 4000lb = 1,814kg

TARGETS!

All these can be killed with the following;

--> pillbox

A 100okg or 500kg bomb, Direct hit is needed. 3-7 Direct hits with 250KG bombs, other wise at least 2500kg of near hits. 8-20 rockets can kill a pillbox.

--> Light Pillbox

250kg Bomb, Direct hit will take these out. 2-3 hits with 100kg, 5-6 with 50kg. Rockets work on these as well. 2-7 rockets will take out a light pillbox.

--> carrier

at least a 1500kg to the center deck, near the bridge. otherwise 2,000kg of hits anywhere else on the boat (if you set the bomb delay to 2 seconds you are more likely to kill it as the bomb penetrates the ship and explodes inside) Or 3 torpedoes.

--> battleship

at least a 1000kg to the center deck, near the bridge. otherwise 1,500kg of hits anywhere else on the boat (if you set the bomb delay to 1-2 seconds you are more likely to kill it as the bomb penetrates the ship and explodes inside) Or 2-3 torpedoes. 12-18 50mm cannon rounds from the Me.410 also works.

--> destroyer

at least a 250kg to the bridge, one 500kg, or two 250kgs will kill as well, One torpedo will also do the job. 4-10 rockets will take out a destroyer.

--> light / medium tanks

a 100kg will deal with these, you CAN kill these tanks with a 50kg bomb, But it must DIRECTLY hit the top of the tank. Rockets can kill this as well. 30mm+ cannons can kill tanks, about 2-5 hits on the rear, side or top Armour.

--> heavy tanks

at least a 100kg direct hit (you can kill them with two 50kg direct hits), 250kg recommended. Rockets require direct hits or very close near misses,

--> AAA

10kg+ bombs, you can use guns to take these out. Rockets of any sort work on these.

--> armored car

50kg bomb plus, again guns work too. Rockets of any sort work on these.

--> AA truck

10kg bomb plus, again guns work too. Rockets of any sort work on these.

--> Patrol Boat

50kg bomb plus, again guns work too. Rockets of any sort work on these.

--> Cargo ship

3 100kg bombs, or at least 4 rockets. 30mm+ cannons work too.

--> airfield

REQUIRES EXACTLY 16,500 KG OF HIGH-EXPLOSIVES! They must at least be 250 LB/100kg.

JAPANESE BOMB TYPES

type 97 mod 6, 50kg bomb: HE for use on land targets

type 98 mod 25, 250kg bomb: AP for use on land targets

type 99 mod 25, 250kg bomb: AP for use on Naval targets

Mod 25 mark 2, 250kg bomb, HE for use on land targets

Mod 50 mark 2, 500kg bomb, HE for use on land targets

Mod 80 Mark 1, 1000kg bomb, HE for use on land targets

Type 99 mod 80, 1000kg bomb, AP for use on naval targets

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_World_War_II_navy_bombs