There is a simple version of this and a complete version, and both are below in that order.

Short answer

The direct answer is above the fold; the reasoning underneath is there for when the direct answer does not fit your situation.

  • Check which version any conflicting advice was written for.
  • Note the exception cases — they are specific rather than vague.
  • Give a method one honest attempt before deciding it does not work.

War Thunder models more of the vehicle than it tells you about, and the grind punishes guessing. Most of the disagreement online comes from people describing different versions of War Thunder. Edge cases are genuinely rare, which is why the simple answer is usually the correct one.

Why it works this way

Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. It is worth separating what the game does from what players have concluded it does. Nothing here depends on a setting you are unlikely to have. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

Testing this yourself takes a few minutes and settles it definitively. The mechanic behind it is simpler than the discussion around it suggests. War Thunder is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look.

Worth knowing alongside this

The accepted community answer is broadly right and wrong in a specific way that matters here. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing.

  • Test it yourself where testing is cheap.
  • Revisit after a major patch if the behaviour changes.
  • Region and platform change more than people expect, so confirm both.
  • Try the straightforward approach before the elaborate one.

What to do instead

A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different.

When the usual advice fails

Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep.

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Everything below is framed around the current state of War Thunder rather than a launch-week impression. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

The practical answer

What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first.

Where people go wrong

  • Downloading a helper tool for something the game already does in its own menu.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.
  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.

War Thunder FAQ

Why do other guides describe this differently?

Most were written for an earlier version and never revisited. Compare the steps against what your build actually shows.

Is this still accurate after the latest War Thunder update?

The method is; individual numbers may not be. If a value on your screen differs, trust the screen and keep the sequence.

What if none of this works for me?

Then something in your setup differs from the assumption — version, region or platform. Check those three before anything else.

Do I need any mods or third-party tools for this?

No. Everything described here works with the base game on any supported platform.

Come back to the caveats list if it does not work first time — the answer is almost always in there.