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

Short answer

Pick one line and finish it before branching. Spreading across several is the single most common way to stall.

  • Note whether respec exists before committing.
  • Do the repeatable early content while it is still efficient.
  • 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. Respec and reset options exist in some of these games and not others, and that changes how careful to be. A line finished is worth more than three lines half-done, in every game that works this way.

What is safe to skip

Where two approaches both work, the one with fewer moving parts is the one to keep. Unlock costs rise faster than income does, so early efficiency compounds for a long time. The game rarely tells you that a prerequisite exists until you are standing in front of it. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.

Time estimates online are written by people playing far more than you probably are. Skipping the tutorial content usually costs more later than the hours it saves now. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

The order that works

The mid-section is where progression slows sharply, and knowing that in advance helps. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts. It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different.

  • Ignore the fastest route if it skips the thing that teaches you the game.
  • Finish one line before opening another.
  • If a menu path does not exist for you, your build is older or newer than the one described.
  • Expect the middle to be the slow part.
  • Check what each unlock gates before spending on it.

How long it realistically takes

Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. Half the pages on this topic were written for a build that no longer exists, which is why they stop matching what you see. The awkward part is rarely the step itself, it is knowing which step comes first. Nothing here assumes a particular playstyle beyond wanting the thing to work.

What follows assumes you are on a current install and have not modified it. None of this needs a paid tool, a third-party launcher or an account on a site you have never heard of. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

What to unlock first

Most of the disagreement you will find online is two people describing different builds. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later.

War Thunder is not shy about hiding useful information two menus deep, so some of this is simply knowing where to look. Do the cheap check before the expensive one — that ordering alone saves most of the frustration. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about.

Where people stall

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

Where people go wrong

  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.
  • Ignoring the platform-specific note and then wondering why the steps do not line up.
  • Skipping the prerequisite because it looked optional in someone else's summary.
  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.

War Thunder FAQ

How long does it take?

Longer than the guides say, because guides are written by people playing far more hours than most.

Can I change my mind later?

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

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.

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

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

If you only take one thing from this: the answer near the top is the part that matters, the rest is context.