Most people ask this after committing to one line and realising the next one starts from scratch.

Short answer

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

  • Check what each unlock gates before spending on it.
  • Note whether respec exists before committing.
  • 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. Time estimates online are written by people playing far more than you probably are. The mid-section is where progression slows sharply, and knowing that in advance helps.

What is safe to skip

Anything that behaves differently on console than on PC is flagged where it matters. Skipping the tutorial content usually costs more later than the hours it saves now. Respec and reset options exist in some of these games and not others, and that changes how careful to be. Patch notes move numbers around constantly; the shape of the answer holds even when a specific value shifts.

A line finished is worth more than three lines half-done, in every game that works this way. Unlock costs rise faster than income does, so early efficiency compounds for a long time. Everything below is framed around the current state of War Thunder rather than a launch-week impression.

How long it realistically takes

The game rarely tells you that a prerequisite exists until you are standing in front of it. If a step reads as obvious, do it anyway — the obvious ones are the ones people skip and then wonder about. There is no hidden trick here that the game is keeping from you.

  • Do the repeatable early content while it is still efficient.
  • Ignore the fastest route if it skips the thing that teaches you the game.
  • Expect one number in every guide to be out of date; the method is what matters.
  • Finish one line before opening another.
  • Expect the middle to be the slow part.

Where people stall

Where something depends on your platform or region, that is called out rather than glossed over. 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. If your result differs from what is described here, note what is different first rather than starting over.

The community wisdom on this is roughly half right, and the half that is wrong costs the most time. There is usually a fast way and a reliable way, and it is worth knowing which one you are choosing. Treat anything stated without a version number as provisional.

The order that works

Screenshots age faster than text, which is why this describes rather than shows. A single check up front replaces a lot of guessing later. The developers have changed their mind about this at least once, which explains the older advice.

It helps to understand why a step exists, because then you can adapt it when your situation is slightly different. 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.

What to unlock first

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 short version is near the top on purpose; the reasoning is there if you want to know why. If you are coming to this after a long break, the terminology has probably moved on.

Where people go wrong

  • Trusting a video thumbnail that promises a result the video never actually shows.
  • Changing five things at once and then not knowing which one helped.
  • Rushing the last step, which is usually the one with the actual requirement in it.

War Thunder FAQ

How long does this take?

Minutes if it goes cleanly, an evening if you hit the edge case in the caveats list. Neither is unusual.

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

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

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.

How long does it take?

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

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