The comment about an extreme amount of time needed to grind to get the same thing as a purchaser is correct and I should have included it in my critique. In War Thunder, one can grind to the top tiers without paying. According the players that I know that have accomplished it said it took them about 7 years to do so. (Assuming average playtime).
For those who don’t know what the Gaijin War Thunder Monitization Model is, the following is an example:
In War Thunder, let us supposed you are interested in Korean War Jets, let us say the F86 Sabre. To grind to get it, you must start with pre ww2 (1930s) aircraft, grind out research points and silver lions to pay for additional new aircraft. In many cases, you must purchase a prior aircraft before being able to
buy the next aircraft. Said aircraft are “stock” and need research points and silver lions to be upgraded and competitive. At any point, you can spend “golden lions” or real money to speed up the process.
To be effective to be able to advance to higher levels in War Thunder Air combat, you need 5 planes in the hanger, When planes are damaged in combat, you can pay real money to repair then or have them repaired for free. A damaged plane cannot be used in combat and in higher teirs, it can take about a week of real time for a plane to be repaired for free and available for combat. You may grind for a year or more to get into position to purchase the Sabre, playing with vehicles you are just not interested in.
To avoid the grind, one can purchase a single F86 sabre for $49.99US. You will need 5 planes to be effective so you would have to pay about $250US to be effective. The purchase will allow you to gain more then average experience points and more then average silver lions, the latter being the in game currency. However, if the planes are damaged in combat, you will have to wait days to get them repaired for free or pay real money to get them repaired and available. It is quite possible to spend several hundred dollars a year to keep these planes flying just so you can play.
The question here is, what is your time worth? You can grind and acquire these planes. The ones you grind for will not give you extra experience points or extra silver lions when you get them.
The above is a typical War Thunder Monitization Model and it works. Every step to advance can cost you real money if you want to advance. This includes not only the aircraft, but also the pilot, and the ground crew. (You can reduce the repair time by investing experience points or real money) You can make the pilot better (percs) by increasing his stamina, vision, and more. A bomber and crew will cost you more because not only do you have a pilot, you have gunners that need percs.
The above description is not perfect, but you should get the idea.
You can pay to avoid the grind and advance, or just grind away…perhaps for years. Your choice. No one forces you to pay. It was announced previously that Enlisted would follow the War Thunder Monitization Model. Here it comes.
Thanks.
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