Progression here is long enough that a wrong turn costs real time, which is why the order matters more than the picks.

Short answer

Follow the route below in order — each step unlocks something the next one assumes you have.

  • Do the repeatable early content while it is still efficient.
  • Ignore the fastest route if it skips the thing that teaches you the game.
  • Prefer the in-game option over an external tool when both exist.

War Thunder models more of the vehicle than it tells you about, and the grind punishes guessing. Skipping the tutorial content usually costs more later than the hours it saves now. The game rarely tells you that a prerequisite exists until you are standing in front of it.

Where people stall

There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you. The mid-section is where progression slows sharply, and knowing that in advance helps. A line finished is worth more than three lines half-done, in every game that works this way. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first.

Unlock costs rise faster than income does, so early efficiency compounds for a long time. Respec and reset options exist in some of these games and not others, and that changes how careful to be. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.

What to unlock first

Time estimates online are written by people playing far more than you probably are. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different.

  • Expect the middle to be the slow part.
  • Check what each unlock gates before spending on it.
  • Read the whole sequence once before doing the first step.
  • Finish one line before opening another.
  • Note whether respec exists before committing.

The order that works

Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over.

The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional. Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters.

What is safe to skip

Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Everything below is framed around the current state of War Thunder rather than a launch-week impression. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

How long it realistically takes

There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Where people go wrong

  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Copying a setup wholesale from a streamer without understanding what each part does.

War Thunder FAQ

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.

Is there a way to skip the grind?

Only partly, and usually by paying. The route above is the efficient version of doing it properly.

Can I change my mind later?

Sometimes, at a cost. Whether a reset exists is the first thing to check before committing.

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.

Bookmark it if you like, but honestly, once you have done it once you will not need to come back.