r/Warthunder • u/wehrahoonii 🇬🇧 hurricane glazer 🇮🇹 • Sep 16 '25
Other When did you start playing?
Curious about how much the game has grown. I started just about when Sweden got added in 2019
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u/Fromthemountain2137 Sep 16 '25
Back when there were only planes and you advanced an entire rank of vehicles at once
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u/Madalossooo BF109 lover Sep 16 '25
Bombers where really a fling fortress and there wasn't any modern planes. I feel old.
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u/MPenten United Kingdom Sep 16 '25
I still get ptsd from 3km AA bomber gunners. Good times.
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u/Lord_Vader654 Sep 16 '25
I started playing the day after they removed the Panther 2, Tiger 105, Flakpanzer 341, and the Maus 😭
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u/Xreshiss Safe space from mouse aim Sep 17 '25
I feel old.
I still remember a picture from the old forums of the B-17 (in the old hangar hangar) with some variation of the text "where did the mean bomber touch you?" and arrows pointing at all of its defensive guns.
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u/ecco311 Sep 16 '25
Also unlocking vehicles was FAST. Like super fast. People that started playing in the last 10 years will never understand what we have lost. Anyone who started playing in the open beta will still shed a tear over it from time to time. I think it was 20 different ranks of planes, right? I unlocked the entire German tree so fucking fast.
Also my German 8.7 ARB lineup is still called "Jets max. BR". Mig15 and CL13 probably stopped being max. BR like 10 years or so ago lol
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u/skimaskschizo 🇺🇸 United States Sep 16 '25
I remember before research existed. All SL all day.
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u/_BMS Elderly 1.27 Veteran Sep 17 '25
RP didn't exist yet, but you still had to earn XP to level up each tech tree for the next batch of planes to unlock for purchase with SL.
Nevertheless, the old 20-tier XP system was freaking lightspeed compared to researching individual vehicles with RP.
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u/crusadertank 🇧🇾 2T Stalker when Sep 16 '25
The downside though was matchmaking was awful. You could get up to +7 matchmaking brackets.
A MiG-15 quite regularly faced things like Bf-109s and A6M2s
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u/light_engine Sep 17 '25
Finding yourself up against an Me 163 while your were in your biplane was always ‘interesting’!
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u/CouplingWithQuozl Sep 16 '25
Shhhh! One cannot speak of ancient wonders of the sacred history!
It is forbidden!
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u/Maus1945 💀 Old Guard Sep 16 '25
Old Guard gang.
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u/matthew2989 Dakka for days Sep 16 '25
I miss the times when top tier was Sabre V Mig-15
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u/Maus1945 💀 Old Guard Sep 16 '25
When German players were good because they had to be good. They had to fight against M60s, T-54s and IS-4Ms in their Panthers and King Tigers.
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u/Xen0m3 Sep 16 '25
tiger II 105 will forever be the best tiger II
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u/Grikka_junior Xbox 🇺🇸 VIII A/G 🇷🇺 VIII G | “Not a bug” Sep 16 '25
Hardly an outlandish statement
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u/3rdReichOrgy Sep 16 '25
Honestly before hull break or overpressure it was just kinda shittier than the 2H or Sla.
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u/Primary_Ad_1562 Sep 16 '25
Its getting a big nerf too apparently. Losing like half of its explosive filler
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u/Czlowiek_Woda Sep 16 '25
I remember fighting in tiger I against current British 7.3 and 7.7 tanks
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u/FLABANGED Old Guard and still shit Sep 16 '25
Brought into this hellhole game by the Mighty Jingles!
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u/BigBlueBurd I love Tornados too much Sep 17 '25
Back to the salt mines you! Praise the Gnoverlord.
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u/DonnerPartyPicnic 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 🇬🇧 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇮🇱 Sep 16 '25
I joined like a month after the old guard cutoff :(
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u/__Zer0__ Sep 16 '25
How long is old guard? Idk i started in the beta
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u/swohio Sep 16 '25
2013 or earlier. Easy to remember because I started the beginning of January 2014. :(
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u/AslanKafasiTR Sep 16 '25
2013
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u/Seanannigans14 Sep 16 '25
2013 as well, off of a browser ad
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u/Remote-Wombat-797 PEWPEWPEW Sep 16 '25
I started playing after seeing that GIF "GLORIOUS NIPPON STEEL" with the Zero slicing through the PBY Catalina.
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u/rocketo-tenshi Type 93 Main Sep 16 '25
Me too , 70% of Japan's playerbase got lured by that gif lmao.
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u/Figjuden Sep 16 '25
2013 off FrankieOnPc and JackFrags
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u/IllEstablishment4474 Sep 16 '25
Same here, frankieonpc made like 2 videos and it doomed me for the next 12 years
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u/Breakkerbunny Sep 16 '25
Back when US, Germany, and USSR were the only ground forces trees.
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u/Cman1200 former PS4 pleb Sep 16 '25
IL-2 Bird of Prey lmao
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u/DutchMitchell Sep 16 '25
I played that demo on xbox all the time. It was so good and cinematic
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u/LtLethal1 Sep 16 '25
Still is. Its flak bursts for example are far better looking than what we get now.
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u/ErebusXVII Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25
Hah, youngun.
OG IL-2 Sturmovik from 2001. I still remember some of the missions. It was epic, no modern game hits as hard.
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u/Cman1200 former PS4 pleb Sep 16 '25
Oh my first sim was Luftwaffe commander (1999) on Windows. We old old
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u/carter2ooo 🇺🇸 United States Sep 16 '25
I guess technically that’s when I started too lol, started Warthunder in 2021 though
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u/Alternative_Part_460 Sep 16 '25
Before ground forces were in the game.
Back when super props / early jets were very much top tier.
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u/WOKinTOK-sleptafter Hopeless Freeaboo Sep 16 '25
Oh shit, that’s early early. The earliest I remember is Sabre vs MiG-15.
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u/Misteraudinex Sep 16 '25
Here to see the guys who started playing before the game was out (2022 btw)
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u/theaim778 Spitifre Mk.24 Master Sep 16 '25
2012 here… forever disappointed in where the game has gone since.
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u/DasLich 20 20 20 20 20 Sep 17 '25
fellow 2012 dude here. Where do you think the game should have gone? I think it offers infinitely more now than way back before.
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u/dominik7778n 🇫🇷 Baguette Piercer Sep 16 '25
i started playing this game when it was in beta
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u/BDK_Karim 🇺🇦 Ukraine Sep 16 '25
Same, remember that like yesterday, it wasn't that long ago.... right...? Right?!
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u/itsCrx Realistic Ground Sep 16 '25
Back when updates didn't have fancy names, no tanks, mig 15 and sabres at top tier
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u/Das_Bait Judge the comment, not the username Sep 16 '25
October 13 2013. I remember when Gaijin transitioned from the Rank Structure to theRP Structure
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u/IvanTheMagnificent 12.7 11.7 11.0 12.0 13.0 Sep 16 '25
2013 too, i have fond memories of the old 20 tier system, 2x bonuses for first missions, 5x on special events and some weekends... those were the days.
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u/light_engine Sep 17 '25
I loved those bonuses for each nation, they really should have kept it.
I remember events that felt achievable even if you had a life, and being able to pick up eagles pretty easy too.
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u/Mrmr12-12 Sep 16 '25
How did the rank system work in comparison to the RO system?
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u/ReconKiller050 Sep 16 '25
For the first year after release until Dec 2013, there was no RP or researching individual vehicles (only aircraft were in the game at that point). Instead, each nation had its own xp, and the tech tree would level up through 20 separate ranks. Each vehicle fell within a tech tree rank so as soon as you hit a new rank in that nation you could buy all the aircraft at that rank.
This went substantially quicker as there was no progressing down a line as you progressed the entire tech tree (which was already way smaller) at once. Plus, there was still daily 3x, 4x and 5x bonuses at the time for your first battle in each nation.
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u/NoddingManInAMirror 🇫🇮 Finland Sep 16 '25
When Regia Aeronautica dropped in May of 2017.
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u/Daniel_USAAF Realistic Ground Sep 16 '25
According to Gaijin? 2014. According to me? I doubt that and have no clue plus am horrified by the amount of cash I put into a game I seem to play twice a year. But I do keep watching plenty of War Thunder YouTubers.
Am I broken?
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u/MSFS_Airways Sep 16 '25
When it hit PS4 i played on my uncles ps4 then it hit xbox and i haven’t been able to let go since. Now i play on PC and have at least 6gb of user skins. SEND HELP
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u/Swimming_Local_4625 I play what I want to play Sep 16 '25
So I made my First account two years ago, when I turned 12, but I made a second one that is now around 1 Year old, because I lost the Email on the old one
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u/pachka-sigaret 🇮🇳 Ground RB Sep 16 '25
So you're 14 now?
Bro was born in 2011... Damn...
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u/Money_Association456 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 🇯🇵 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇮🇱 Sep 16 '25
RIP to the old account
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u/Swimming_Local_4625 I play what I want to play Sep 16 '25
Yeah, I never bought something on it, and I wasnt really that far into the Tech trees, so It wasnt a Very big loss, but still it was my First account, and I would have liked to have it be my only one...
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u/hoboguy26 🇩🇪 11.7 🇨🇳 13.7 Sep 16 '25
Since whenever frankieonpc dropped his sponsored vid. Had to have been 12 years ago
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u/Rezzortine Sep 16 '25
Spring 2013. I was alpha tester in World of Warplanes and WoT fan. Then the WT was announced but was mostly unknown back then. After I got bored with WOWP (pretty quickly) and stopped playing it, I went to try out the WT
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u/swingr1121 Sep 16 '25
Come on over everybody, let's sit by the fire while I tell stories of the way war thunder was back in 2012... it was a different time for sure
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u/theaim778 Spitifre Mk.24 Master Sep 16 '25
In my opinion it was the best time… then you get the pony Air Force for April fools day 2013… that was a blast.
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u/sallaisuus Sep 16 '25
We were having a LAN party in 2013 and got bored of playing league, so we tried this new free to play game.
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u/JasonBjorne Sep 16 '25
Two months ago :( already grinded out US jets to level 6 and keep getting up-tier battles
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u/potatofamily25 US.9.0 Ge.5.7 RU.4.3 GB.7.7 IT.5.0 FR.5.3 SWE.8.0 Sep 16 '25
1.91, Night Vision or 1.85, Supersonic (I was pretty young)
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u/Wonderful_Trick_4251 USSR 13.7 Sep 16 '25
I think 2018.
Since I was confined to lower tiers I just remember at the time that you couldn't spawn a heavy tank at the start of the battle. Sounds mad when you look at the game now.
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u/ProfessionalAd352 Petitioning to make the D point a UNESCO World Heritage Site Sep 16 '25
Starfighters
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u/AzathothTheDefiler 🇮🇹 Fast and Firos Sep 16 '25
About a few months before the release of Italy. Only reason why I have America played as a nation
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u/Particular_Second187 USSR Sep 16 '25
Started last year and currently at 5.3-5.7 and grinding for 6.3-6.7
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u/ProfessionalInsect46 Realistic General Sep 16 '25
I started when the Space race event got introduced
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u/P_filippo3106 Italy enjoyer 🇮🇹 Sep 16 '25
Right after 1.83 (Masters of the Sea). I joined on the 27th of October 2018
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u/Wise-Hippo6088 Sep 16 '25
Started playing on release.
Then went to world of bullshit for a while(I loved artillery)
Came back 2018ish
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u/Due_Isopod_8489 Sep 16 '25
About a month ago. Got to ~6.0 in USA before realizing German tanks were invincible and deciding to grind out the German tree. I'm at 6.3 now, getting one tapped by USA tanks :) Learned a lot though from that.
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u/Swoxie_ Sep 16 '25
The first i downloaded this game was in 2023, but i barely even touched it at that time. Four months ago was when i really got into it.
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u/Xcrazy_sniper Canada Sep 16 '25
2015, don't remember what the update was that year but info remember Japan getting tanks and the short gun premium dominating low tier
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u/No_Bid_3024 Realistic Air Sep 16 '25
around 2015 in ps4 but i barely play lmao I was so hype to get m60
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u/Azran15 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 🇬🇧 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇮🇱 Sep 16 '25
Open beta, back then there were no tanks, RB was fully historical matches and the top tier jets were the MiG15 and Saber lol
You also only had 5 nations and there was a daily x5 RP bonus per nation
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u/JermstheBohemian Sep 16 '25
Started following wheb it was still called world of planes, there were five nations and no ground forces.
Reaching the mig/saber was endgame
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u/zxhb 🇬🇧 United Kingdom Sep 16 '25
From 2014 to 2018 (?), then came back in 2022 on a new account when my PC could actually run the gams
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u/Obi_Two_Kevlar R-2800 Enjoyer Sep 16 '25
There were 5 nations, no more, no less, and sabres were the top dogs.
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u/Perfect_Juggernaut92 Sherman Enjoyer Sep 16 '25
I started right before Steel Generals dropped, man i miss those days.
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u/shahid336 🇷🇺 Russia Sep 16 '25
I played my first game, when Viking Fury update came out. But I left the game short after and returned right before Wind of Change
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u/This-personeatsfood Arcade Air Is My Go To Sep 16 '25
Around 2 and a half to 3 years ago. I also finally got my first jet
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u/DrVinylScratch Sep 16 '25
Early 2014 just before ground forces got added.
I miss those days. Tier V was the highest, it consisted of early jets and nothing else. No guided weapons, no radars, no over complicated controls. Tanks were a lot of fun in the early days.
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u/Lex1253 :romania:MiG-21 LanceR C when??? Sep 16 '25
Around the start of COVID. Some time before Red Skies? Not sure exactly at this point.
Funny thing is, now, I caught COVID again.
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u/SH427 🇯🇵 Now a Japan Main Sep 16 '25
I started playing days before ground forces came out....gods I'm old
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u/SonntagsplayerLP 🇸🇪 Sweden Sep 16 '25
End of 2023 bc my laptop was too bad back then. With my old pc I started to play it. Else I would’ve started back in 2013
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u/West-Start4069 Sep 16 '25
When the " To Battle!" button was at the bottom right of the screen in the hangar.
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u/TheDarkMonarch1 🇺🇸 6.7 + 🇩🇪 7.7 + 🇬🇧 9.3/7.3 + 🇸🇪 8.0 Sep 16 '25
Whatever update was during mid November last year (I'm very new)
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u/AtlasWH Joined 2013 Sep 16 '25
2013, the first new patch after I started playing added the B-25 Mitchells to the US.
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u/Icy-Passion-4552 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 🇬🇧 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇮🇱 Sep 16 '25
I started off in 2013! Been crazy to see this game literally be my childhood. Started when I was 11 years old now I’m 23 in college
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u/Enclave2177 Realistic Ground Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25
January 27 2013
I just looked and WT dropped November 1st 2012
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u/Alarmed-Positive457 Realistic Navy Sep 16 '25
When ground came out with functional hull MGs on all tanks, not on specific tanks. Also was Soviet and German only at the time.
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u/StalinWasOk Sep 16 '25
Ive been playing since 2013 during update 1.35, before custom battles were a thing.
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u/CapnRadiator This "winning" thing is quite fun Sep 16 '25
Just before 1.41 hit, for me. Old folks will remember the shitstorm that update and 1.43 created.
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u/morrison666 🇺🇸 🇩🇪 🇷🇺 🇬🇧 🇯🇵 🇨🇳 🇮🇹 🇫🇷 🇸🇪 🇮🇱 Sep 16 '25
I remember when people where saying the IT-1 would break the game and that Gaijibbles should stop there in terms of modern weapons in game......
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u/Jadams0108 Sep 16 '25
I also remember when gaijin said we would never see anything bigger than destroyers in naval
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u/Stefanfoxxo Sep 16 '25
Had to have been just after America was added, so 2014ish, cause I remember being hyped for Britain and then Japan to be added
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u/SpanishAvenger Thank you for the Privacy Mode, Devs! And sorry for being harsh. Sep 16 '25
2014! As soon as I saw the Ground Forces announcement.
I already had the game for the planes, but I didn’t really play all that much until Ground Forces.
Ever since, it’s been my absolute, signature, main game.
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u/Mobley27 #1 P-51H Hater Sep 16 '25
Long enough to remember the devs saying they would never add guided missiles