War Thunder vs. World of Tanks: 5 key differences between the two vehicle-combat MMOs

An intense debate between the player bases of War Thunder vs. World of Tanks has been raging for a while. Both games belong to the genre of vehicle combat MMOs, and might look similar from an outsider’s perspective. However, each title has key differences that make them unique.

Thus, this article lists five key differences between War Thunder and World of Tanks.

5 Key differences: War Thunder vs World of Tanks

1) Vehicles

War Thunder has realistically designed vehicle models (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

War Thunder and World of Tanks have drastically different vehicle options. While World of Tanks exclusively features tanks and other armored ground vehicles, War Thunder has ground, air, and naval vehicles all integrated into the same game.

This allows the latter to have a combined arms warfare element in its matches. For instance, a ground battle can have tanks, planes, and helicopters and a naval battle can include ships and planes in the same match. World of Tanks lacks this ability, and you have to play other Wargaming games like World of Warships and World of Warplanes to be able to use ships and aircraft.

Another major difference is that War Thunder uses historically accurate vehicles. World of Tanks is more relaxed when it comes to historical accuracy, and some vehicle modifications being completely fictional.

War Thunder has over 2000 historically accurate vehicles from the interwar period to the present, while World of Tanks has over 600 tanks and armored vehicles from the First World War to the Cold War.

2) Gameplay

The vehicle information bar at the bottom left of the screen showing the damaged modules of the tank (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

World of Tanks has arcade gameplay, which makes it easier for new players to learn the game. The firepower, fire control, survivability, and movement of tanks do not equate to realistic conditions and are managed in a way that make the vehicles easier to balance.

Vehicles in WoT are also faster than their real-life counterparts and have a hit point-based health system. Enemy tanks are marked, making it easier for players to aim and shoot.

War Thunder, on the other hand, is much more realistic when it comes to gameplay. In fact, it is one of the most realistic games in the vehicle combat MMO genre. The vehicles, in general, act in a manner that is historically true to their real-life counterparts.

There is no hit point based system in War Thunder either, and vehicles mostly have accurately modeled armor, modules, and crew. To destroy or disable a vehicle, you need to hit critical modules or crew. For example, if the engine is destroyed, the vehicle cannot move and has to be repaired, and if the crew is killed, the vehicle is destroyed.

The most popular gamemode in War Thunder, called Realistic Battles, does not have enemies marked, and requires you to spot them on your own.

3) Sound Design

World of Tanks is more generic when it comes to sound design. All large caliber guns have the same sound, while smaller caliber guns and engines sound the same.

You do not need to have a keen ear in order to understand where the enemy is, as they stay marked on the map if they get spotted. In addition to the gameplay, the sound design also makes WoT a much easier game to learn for new or casual players.

In sharp contrast, the sound design of War Thunder is very complex and is a major part of the overall gameplay experience. Different engines, guns, and vehicle classes have their own historically accurate sounds, and Gaijin, the parent company of the game, regularly updates sounds to enhance accuracy and gameplay.

You also need to have a keen ear in order to understand where enemy vehicles are since they are not marked on the map. Engine and gun sounds are cues that you need to keep in mind to guess where an enemy vehicle might be.

4) Gamemodes

World of Tanks has various gamemodes, including random and ranked battles, and you can only bring one vehicle to the match. One death means that you are out of the match.

There is a gamemode called Stronghold Battles, which is a resource-based gamemode where you can bring a line-up of tanks. All the modes are arcade and have the same gameplay experience.

War Thunder also has various gamemodes with increasing realism. The most popular gamemodes are Air Realistic Battles and Ground Realistic Battles, which are at the middle tier when it comes to realism.

The ttle features arcade gamemodes as well but they are more realistic than World of Tanks. The most realistic in this game would be Simulator Battles, where you have to play from a first-person perspective with no friend or foe markings, and you can even engage in friendly fire. All the gamemodes of War Thunder allow you to bring line-ups of vehicles, which can respawn multiple times.

5) Monetization options and perks

You can buy premium time and vehicles in War Thunder from the Gaijin Store (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

World of Tanks has a fairly expensive premium time-based subscription system that can be paid for with real money, with 180 days of premium costing over 57 USD.

Premium time, apart from making progress faster, also drastically improves a player’s perks and benefits. You can have single-use modules in a match with premium, have your vehicle stats increased, and buy expensive premium ammunition easily, making it harder for nonpremium players to counter. This aggressive monetization makes the Wargaming MMO title somewhat pay-to-win.

Although War Thunder has a premium time-based subscription system as well, it is much cheaper, with 180 days of premium costing 40 USD. Here, premium time makes it easier for you to progress and research components and vehicles, giving you more currency per match.

Although the game has premium vehicles that are available with money, but they can be easily countered by someone who is more or less experienced in the game. As a result, War Thunder is more pay to progress than pay to win.

There are various other minor differences between WoT and War Thunder which you can experience upon playing them yourself. All in all, this article should give you a good idea of how these vehicle combat MMOs are different.

For more related content, check out:

Edited by Arundhoti Palit