Nov 11 2013
War Thunder – Frustrations of an Arcade Bomber
The more I play War Thunder the more tired I get of flying out fighters. I’ve racked up about 9,600 aircraft kills. It gets a little boring. So I’ve decided to spend more time in my bombers. I’ve got about 5,600 ground kills. It’s a decent amount.
The decision to go after ground targets or air targets is always a tough choice. Air targets are generally easier to get if you’re in a fighter, but in a lot of matches, you win by eliminating all of the ground targets (tanks, pillboxes, armored cars, etc).
The most frustrating thing about flying bombers, however, is you almost never get any air support from your allies. Everyone in a fighter gets tunnel vision and focuses on whatever enemy plane is closest to them. It’s shocking to see the number of planes that will get on just one enemy plane and try to take it down. It’s not uncommon to see more than half a dozen planes trying to take down one fighter. All because everyone wants the kill. The more kills you get, the bigger in-game rewards.
With everyone trying to get the easiest kill, a lot of people won’t go out of their way to cover an enemy bomber. They know the bomber is going to attract multiple enemies. Any good fighter knows that shooting down a bomber is a good way to win the game because the team will eventually run out of bombers, which will in turn allow for more ground forces to stay alive.
I just got out of a match which took place on one of the newer maps. It’s got a huge ravine that is filled with ground targets. Tanks, AAA, armored cars, and pillboxes line the ravine’s base. It’s ripe with targets, more than thirty for both teams.
I didn’t do that well in the match. I racked up ten ground kills and one aircraft kill (haha, bomber shot you down) between two bombers. Both times I had a single LaGG-3 on my butt the entire time. My apparently cross-eyed rear gunners can’t hit anyone despite having five experienced gunners. I maxed out their vitality to give them a fighting chance.
Cover your bombers, fighters. You should know where the bombers are. Over the ground targets. Give them a hand.
I never got a hand and both my Havok and B-25 bit the dust in that Arcade match. It’s amazing how much of a beating both planes can take. With even one fighter escort, I bet I would have stayed alive the entire time.
Gaijin should also work on the economy. Bombers don’t get nearly enough lions and XP for killing ground targets. It’s more lucrative to get in a fighter and shoot down whatever fighters you come into contact with.