War Thunder regularly hosts events that offer rare and unique vehicles as rewards.
Sounds exciting, right? It is, but Gaijin has found a way to turn these events into a profit-maximizing machine.
Let’s take the most recent event as an example. Every two days, you’re given a new mission: score 40,000 points within 48 hours. The event runs for 24 days. On paper, it seems manageable. But here’s the catch: you need either insane skills or a ridiculous amount of free time to get through it.
The fastest I’ve ever completed a mission was in two hours of non-stop playing, and that required a lot of luck and excellent performance. On average, though, it usually takes me 3-6 hours to complete a single mission.
Let’s break this down:
- Best case: 2 hours per mission, 12 missions = 24 hours total.
- Worst case: 6 hours per mission, 12 missions = 72 hours total.
That's up to 72 hours of grind in 24 days! Who has that much time?
And it’s not just the time commitment it’s designed for you to fail at least a few missions. Why? Simple: money, money, money. “Oh, you missed a mission? That’s unfortunate. But for just $10, you can complete it and still get your coveted reward!” It’s a blatant cash grab.
Don’t get me wrong I enjoy playing War Thunder most of the time, and Gaijin has made some solid improvements over the past year. But these events are specifically designed to stress players out and push them toward spending money to “get free stuff.”
The bigger problem is that this grind-heavy, pay to win structure burns players out over time. It stops feeling like a game and starts feeling like a job. And once it feels like work, people stop logging in.
If Gaijin doesn’t adjust this approach, they risk alienating their core player base. No rare tank, jet, or boat is worth turning off the people who love your game.
The text has been partly edited with Ai
War Thunder was always fun to play with my mates, until I stopped playing.. sucks they make the events a massive grind or pay to win, best to avoid them if unable to sink time into it and keep enjoying the game.
Right, i no longer take part in such events, it just feels like work.