The State of War Thunder's Playerbase in 2026 Is Genuinely Disheartening

Let me start by saying that I've been playing War Thunder since 2017. I have over 10,000 hours in the game, own hundreds of vehicles, and have reached top tier in at least one tech tree for every nation. I've stuck with this game for years because of how challenging it is.

I understand that my experience gives me an advantage, and I'm not expecting every player to perform at my level. I also understand that as a game becomes more mainstream, the average skill level of the player base naturally decreases. However, when I can consistently get seven kills and two capture points in a single spawn at top-tier Ground RB, or four kills within a few minutes in Air RB, it starts to feel less like competitive gameplay and more like seal clubbing. Over the past three years, the average player quality has declined so much that it's honestly disappointing.

When I first started playing Air RB, I remember constantly dying without getting a single kill because I didn't understand the fundamentals of energy management or basic fighter maneuvers (BFM). I had to learn through lots of practice and experience. These days, many players don't even seem to understand basic defensive flying. Very few know how to reverse an opponent into rolling scissors, or even perform simple defensive jinks.

I mainly play top-tier Ground RB because it used to guarantee a baseline level of competence. Unfortunately, that no longer seems to be the case. Many players lack even the most fundamental gameplay skills. They have little map knowledge, rush around corners without checking for enemies, or expose themselves to the entire enemy team just to secure a single kill. A large number of players seem to blindly rush toward the enemy spawn in an attempt to spawn camp, die twice with zero kills, and immediately leave the match. That leaves the rest of the team trying to win while already at a severe numerical disadvantage. My personal theory is that this is one of the reasons Russia's win rate is consistently so low.

I also regularly see players spraying machine guns at completely invisible enemies through solid cover, which strongly suggests the use of ESP or aimbots. Ironically, many of these cheaters are so bad at the fundamentals of the game that they're still incredibly easy to kill. At this point, I don't even bother reporting most of them because their cheating is often so blatant that War Thunder's anti-cheat usually catches them anyway.

In conclusion, I believe the introduction of top-tier premium vehicles is part of the problem. Many players can skip the learning process entirely instead of gradually developing their skills while progressing through the tech tree. That progression teaches positioning, map awareness, vehicle knowledge, and general game sense. Without it, players reach top tier without understanding the fundamentals that earlier generations of players had to learn.

I also think the player base has changed significantly. When I started playing, the community seemed to consist primarily of military enthusiasts and current or former service members. Today, the audience is much broader, which isn't inherently a bad thing. However, I still believe the decline in average player competence is far beyond what could reasonably be explained by the game becoming more popular.

TLDR After 10,000+ hours since 2017, I feel the average player  tier has dropped significantly. Premium vehicles let players skip the learning process, resulting in weaker fundamentals, more one-death leavers, and less competitive matches overall