World War is a special mode where War Thunder squadrons go into battle to fight for world domination. Every action by every player – capturing a point in battle or destroying an opponent in a duel, every team victory or loss – will affect the situation on the World War map. Welcome to the live, constantly changing map of this global confrontation!

 
This is where squadrons have the chance to replay the most significant historical battles of the period and even alter the outcome. Each operation has strictly defined victory conditions for each side. Each side’s forces are divided into armies, which move across the strategic map, attacking the opponent and holding strategically important positions known as sectors. Victory in any operation depends on the concentrated efforts of the soldiers in the fights and the leaders in the strategic command.

Let’s take a closer look at each stage in World War mode.

Global map
Every player in War Thunder can get to the World War global map directly from their hangar. The map is an interactive globe with current military operations marked on it. All operations are divided by theatres, and each theatre can have several operations in progress at any given time. Click on a point on the globe to find out which game nations are participating in the corresponding operation. The full list of operations is displayed on the right – pick the one you want and head into battle!

Operation
Operations are a new feature for War Thunder that essentially offer a real-time strategy experience, a game within the game. This is where commanders move their armies across the map, planning offensives, organizing their defense, and managing their resources and reinforcements. In each operation, the opposing sides are divided into groups of armies, and each group is at the disposal of a specific regiment. The regiment leadership has various forces under their command – ground, air, artillery, and reinforcements.

By moving their forces across the operation map, capturing enemy sectors, and protecting their own, commanders try to complete the operation objectives – the list of conditions each side must fulfill to achieve victory. These conditions may include capturing enemy sectors, defending your own territory, outnumbering the enemy in sectors, etc.
 
The forces controlled by the army group commanders have a range of abilities that you must bear in mind in order to manage them effectively. First and foremost, each army has a predetermined number of vehicles, which you can see in the army’s pop-up hint. The type of vehicles is very important – this determines how fast your army moves, as well as specific special abilities, such as fortifying defenses to protect a sector, for example. If an army loses all of its vehicles in battle, the army is eliminated.
 
The battle begins when the forces of two opposing sides meet, and players can use their army’s vehicles to try to meet the mission objectives.

Battle
Battles in World War mode reflect the circumstances under which the armies clash – for example, an air raid, an assault on an entrenched army, etc. This is why we added several unique mission types to World War mode. In Convoy missions, players have to defend a column of AI vehicles against the opposing team, which can attack the convoy using air or ground forces. Defense missions are tank battles where one team must defend a strategic point against the enemy. In Anti-Air Defense missions, the aircraft of one team must bomb the fortifications of the other team, which must repel the raid using anti-air guns. Cover missions are bomber escort missions. Collision Course missions are like Cover missions, but with bombers on both sides. Air Supremacy missions will be familiar to War Thunder old-timers – air battles with a restricted capture zone.

Battles take place in a common mode – RB with markers. We made this decision because, logically, there can only be one world war happening at any one time, and so there should be only one mode available. Enemy vehicle markers aren’t visible across the entire map, but the detect-enemy function is higher than in classic RBs.

One of the most obvious differences in World War mode is its unique respawn system, which we have already tested a few times in Events. Each side has several types of vehicles, and the number and types of vehicles are determined by each army’s current resources. Players on each side are randomly assigned vehicles from the battle-specific selection, but only the types and quantities that the army has in possession for the current battle.

Make use of strategic opportunities on the operation map to gain the upper hand in battles, reduce your opponent’s numbers with each vehicle you destroy, and drive back the enemy with each victory – the outcome of some of the most important operations in the Second World War now depends on you!

The start of the “World War” mode we will announce separately. Follow the news!

The War Thunder Team