War Thunder has spawned enough surrounding work that the ordering question comes up constantly.

Short answer

The short version: it is canon where the developers say it is, and enjoyable regardless.

  • Look for an official assets page before downloading anything.
  • Buy from the publisher's own store where one exists.
  • Read the whole sequence once before doing the first step.

War Thunder models more of the vehicle than it tells you about, and the grind punishes guessing. Canon status is decided by the developers rather than by the adaptation's writers. Fan work is frequently better than official work and is not the same thing.

Where to find it legitimately

If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. Licensed soundtracks are the most likely part to be missing from a re-release. Adaptations take liberties, and the interesting ones take them deliberately. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.

Official art books contain material that never appears in the game itself. Release order and chronological order are different, and both have their advocates. Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows.

What exists officially

Assets circulated online are often ripped rather than released, which affects what you can legally do with them. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds.

  • Expect licensed music to be missing from re-releases.
  • Credit fan artists if you reuse their work.
  • If a menu path does not exist for you, your build is older or newer than the one described.
  • Play first if you mind spoilers — adaptations rarely respect them.
  • Check whether something is official before treating it as canon.

Whether it is worth your time

There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. The short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see.

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

Where it fits with the game

War Thunder is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

What is fan-made

It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it.

Where people go wrong

  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Treating a rare edge case as the normal behaviour and planning around it.
  • Assuming a guide from an older season still describes the current version.
  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.

War Thunder FAQ

Do I need it to understand the game?

No. It adds background rather than filling gaps the game leaves open.

Is it canon?

Where the developers have said so, yes. Adaptations produced under licence are frequently their own continuity.

Does this work the same on console and PC?

The logic is identical. Menu paths and button prompts differ, and any real difference is flagged above.

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.

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