War Thunder News

Vehicles from many countries have been in the spotlight for our events, and now it’s Israel’s turn! For playing in air battles, you can get the Israeli Meteor FR Mk.9 jet fighter as well as themed decals and other rewards.

[h3]From April 16th (11:00 GMT) until April 30th (11:00 GMT), earn mission points in Air Battles, unlock stages and receive rewards![/h3]

[h2]Meteor FR Mk.9 — An Event Vehicle Jet Fighter for Israel at Rank V[/h2]
British Meteor FR Mk.9 reconnaissance fighters were supplied to Israel in the mid-1950s. This aircraft became the first jet fighter in the Israeli Air Force to achieve an aerial victory. In the game, this jet is a good early fighter with powerful guns, a good rate of climb and the ability to carry rockets.

The Meteor FR Mk.9 is a modification of the famous Meteor and will be of interest to collectors and those who have just started to get acquainted with jet fighters. You can get this aircraft without having to research any of the Israeli Aviation tree.

The conditions for obtaining the Meteor FR Mk.9 during this event have been adjusted to balance the difficulty of obtaining and the value of the reward.



Among the rewards in the event is also this chest. When opened, there is a chance to receive one of the following items:

• 50,000 - 100,000 Silver Lions
  
• Silver Lion and Research Point boosters
  
• Random Wagers and Orders
  
• Universal Backups (1 - 3)
  
• A random camouflage for a vehicle you own
  
• 1 day of Premium Account
  

[h2]How to get all rewards[/h2]
Each stage is unlocked for 30,000 mission points and brings a new reward.

Please note: Once the stage is unlocked, you will need to claim your reward manually. To do this, click on your profile, select the Eye in the Sky category, and click Claim Prize.

You’re able to earn mission points in Air Battles at Rank III or above in Arcade, Realistic and Simulator Battles. The number of mission points to complete a stage depends on the game mode and the maximum Rank of the vehicle that you use in battle. There’s a multiplier for earning mission points, which is shown in the task description in-game.

You can also earn mission points by using event vehicles that are Rank I and II. Event vehicles that can be used have the name of the event that they were obtainable in on their stat card.

[h3]Stages change every two days at 11:00 GMT: April 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th.[/h3]

[h2]Rewards are given when you complete a specific number of stages[/h2]

• For 1 Stage: trophy with a random reward
  
• For 2 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 3 Stages: the “Infantry Backpack” silver chest
  
• For 4 Stages: one of the decal rewards
  
• For 5 Stages: the “Infantry Backpack” silver chest
  
• For 6 Stages: “Emblem of the Nevatim Airbase” decal
  
• For 7 Stages: a non-tradable coupon for the Meteor FR Mk.9
  

[h3]Discounts on purchasing stages using Golden Eagles[/h3]
Incomplete stages can be purchased for Golden Eagles, but if you’re significantly close to completing a stage, its price will now be significantly reduced.

Let’s say you have earned 85% of the required mission points to complete a stage, then the price of purchasing this stage will be halved. If you’re near the finish line for a stage and are at 95% progress, then the price will be reduced by five times. For example, if you’ve earned 26,000 mission points, then the price for unlocking this stage will be 499 Golden Eagles. If you’ve earned 29,000 mission points, then you’ll only need to pay 199 Golden Eagles. Remember to keep this in mind if you cannot complete a stage on time!

[h3]The Upgrade for coupon [/h3]
When you complete 7 stages, you’ll receive a non-tradable coupon for the Meteor FR Mk.9 where using it will immediately activate the vehicle onto your account. If you don’t want the vehicle and would like to sell the coupon on the Market, you’ll need the “Upgrade for coupon” item.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item can be earned in parallel with the stages throughout the event from April 16th (11:00 GMT ) until April 30th (11:00 GMT) for 550,000 mission points.

After receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” item, you can convert a non-tradable coupon for the vehicle into a tradable one and sell it on the Market. The tradable coupon can be sold after 5 days from the moment it’s created.

The “Upgrade for coupon” item is valid until May 3rd (11:00 GMT). Until this time, you can use it or exchange it for War Bonds. Afterwards, it’ll disappear from your inventory.

To make a tradable coupon, select the “Coupon Meteor FR Mk.9 (Israel)” in your inventory and click the “Modify” button.

You can track the progress of completing stages and receiving the “Upgrade for coupon” by clicking on your Nickname > Achievements > Eye in the Sky. If you don’t manage to complete a stage on time or would like to purchase a stage, until May 5th from the Achievements window, you can purchase each stage with Golden Eagles which will give you the corresponding rewards.

[h2]Aircraft[/h2]

• Su-27, Su-27SM, J-11A, J-11B — a bug that caused the vertical stabilizers to be absent from the Damage Model has been fixed. (Report).
  

[h2]Naval Vessels[/h2]

• SMS Derfflinger — the amount and sizes of the ammunition storage rooms have been corrected.
  

Patch notes reflect only key changes, meaning they may not include a complete list of all improvements made. Additionally, War Thunder is constantly being updated and some changes may not require an update. Changes reflected in patch notes are formed by taking reactions and requests of the community from the bug reporting service, forums and other official platforms into account. Bug fixes and changes are implemented in order of importance, for example a game-breaking bug will be worked on and implemented sooner.

The sounds of the first tanks and aircraft engines from The Great War gradually fade away now, but even after the end of this large-scale war, the need for resources and support on the battlefield has not gone away! The infantry backpack, an essential attribute to any infantryman, is filled with valuable rewards from past War Thunder events and handy consumables.

[h3]

When: From April 10th (11:00 GMT) until May 7th (11:00 GMT), the “Infantry Backpack” is available in the in-game Item Shop for Silver Lions.

[/h3]

The “Infantry Backpack” can only be purchased by players who have bought at least one researchable vehicle at Rank II or higher.

[h2]What’s in the Infantry Backpack?[/h2]
A large number of prizes from past War Thunder events! From the spring and autumn crafting events, to the April Fools events, football competitions, Friday the 13th event and the new vehicle events that have been running from January to April inclusive.

The Infantry Backpack costs 60,000 Silver Lions.

In total there are more than a hundred different rewards:

• 47 vehicles, including the legendary Object 279 and interesting VT1-2
  
• 14 camouflages
  
• 31 decorations
  
• 65 decals
  
• 13 player icons
  
• 8 loading screens
  
• 2 ship flags
  

Some of the vehicles:
[expand]

[/expand]

All prizes are immediately credited to your account. However, there’s a chance of receiving some of them in the form of a coupon unless otherwise stated.

A full list of items that can be found in the “Infantry Backpack” (open spoiler):
[expand]
[h3]Vehicles (will be immediately activated on the account or in the form of coupons):[/h3]

• Object 292
  
• Jaguar IS
  
• SMS Baden
  
• PLZ83-130
  
• LOSAT
  
• F-100F (China)
  
• IJN Kurama
  
• Ki-48-II otsu
  
• QN506
  
• A-7K
  
• Shcherbakov
  
• AMD.35 (SA35)
  
• Alecto I
  
• USS Davis
  
• Kfir C.2
  
• T-72M2 Moderna
  
• Pо-2М
  
• SMS Ostfriesland
  
• Jaguar E
  
• CCVL
  
• SU-76D
  
• JDS Yūgure (DD-184)
  
• F-4F Early (Germany)
  
• XM8
  
• Pbil m/40
  
• HMS Mohawk
  
• F-5A
  
• PT-16/T14 mod.
  
• Sd.Kfz.234/1
  
• SGB Grey Goose
  
• AU-1
  
• Object 279
• 
  
• Sd.Kfz.251/10
  
• Lübeck
  
• BI
  
• Merkava Mk.3D (USA)
  
• I-180S
  
• MPK Pr.122bis
  
• VFW
  
• Ju 388 J
  
• HMS Tiger
  
• Merkava Mk.1 (USA)
  
• MBK-161 early
  
• H-34
  
• VT1-2
  
• Tiger (Germany)
  
• Kingcobra (USA)
  

* — the chance of obtaining an Object 279 is visibly lower than for the rest of the vehicles and is around 0.001%

[h3]Camouflages (only in the form of coupons):[/h3]

• Jaguar IS: Bicolor Indian camouflage (first time as a coupon)
  
• SMS Baden: Tricolor geometric camouflage (first time as a coupon)
  
• M551: Football camouflage "Dragon"
  
• M551: Football camouflage "Tiger"
  
• Sd.Kfz.234/1: Black camouflage
  
• SGB Grey Goose: Black camouflage
  
• AU-1: Black camouflage
  
• Object 279: Black camouflage
  
• I-180S: Summer camouflage
  
• MPK Pr.122bis: Deforming tricolor camouflage
  
• VFW: Tricolor summer camouflage (spots)
  
• Ju 388 J: Bicolor grey camouflage
  
• HMS Tiger: Deforming camouflage
  
• Merkava Mk.1 (USA): Tricolor camouflage
  

[h3]Decorations (will be immediately activated on the account or in the form of coupons):[/h3]

• Green Dragon (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Anti-tank rocket launcher (China) (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Best Footballer 2024 (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Spikes (first time as a coupon)
  
• Iron Flame (first time as a coupon)
  
• Best striker 2023 (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• 8-mm machine gun
  
• Grenade launcher
  
• Quadcopter
  
• Ceremonial Cris
  
• Golden Ball
  
• Golden Boot
  
• Golden Glove
  
• Silver Ball (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Silver Boot (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Silver Glove (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Super Cup
  
• The Magic Hat
  
• Hat with Feather
  
• Foil Cap
  
• Viking Helmet
  
• Leprechaun's Hat
  
• Pirate's Hat
  
• Rabbit's Ears
  
• Sombrero
  
• Uncle Sam's Hat
  
• Cap and Bells
  
• Slasher’s Mask
  
• Slasher’s Hatchet
  
• Chainsaw
  
• Cannibal Axe
  

[h3]Decals (will be immediately activated on the account or in the form of coupons):[/h3]

• Black Dragon decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Green Dragon decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Jaguar Pilot’s Patch decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• No. 5 Squadron Patch decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• SMS Baden decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Emblem of the County of Baden (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Born to Hunt decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Missileman patch decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Hit the Ball decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Dragons Team decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Mad Girl: Looter decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Mad Girl: Mechanic decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Mad Girl: Gunner decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• "Tokushu Heiki" decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• "Football-graffiti" decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• "Soccer ball of champions" decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• Emblem of MI MBCT 1
  
• Emblem of the ShMP 1st Assault
  
• House of the Bull
  
• House of the Hawk
  
• TailSpin
  
• "Cunning and Fury" decal
  
• "Dragons" Team banner
  
• "Tigers" Team banner
  
• Fiery Ball (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• "2OP" Decal (immediately activated on the account only)
  
• "SDI Forces - Harpy" badge
  
• "SDI Forces - Hydra" badge
  
• "SDI Forces - Minotaur" badge
  
• "Bloody Friday" Decal
  
• "Massacre" decal
  
• "Mantrap" decal
  
• "Bad Turn" decal
  
• Soccer Ball of Argentina
  
• Soccer Ball of Australia
  
• Soccer Ball of Belgium
  
• Soccer Ball of Brazil
  
• Soccer Ball of Colombia
  
• Soccer Ball of Costa Rica
  
• Soccer Ball of Croatia
  
• Soccer Ball of Denmark
  
• Soccer Ball of Egypt
  
• Soccer Ball of France
  
• Soccer Ball of Germany
  
• Soccer Ball of Iceland
  
• Soccer Ball of Iran
  
• Soccer Ball of Japan
  
• Soccer Ball of Mexico
  
• Soccer Ball of Morocco
  
• Soccer Ball of Nigeria
  
• Soccer Ball of Panama
  
• Soccer Ball of Peru
  
• Soccer Ball of Poland
  
• Soccer Ball of Portugal
  
• Soccer Ball of Russia
  
• Soccer Ball of Saudi Arabia
  
• Soccer Ball of Senegal
  
• Soccer Ball of Serbia
  
• Soccer Ball of South Korea
  
• Soccer Ball of Spain
  
• Soccer Ball of Sweden
  
• Soccer Ball of Switzerland
  
• Soccer Ball of Tunisia
  
• Soccer Ball of England
  
• Soccer Ball of Uruguay
  

[h3]Profile icons (will be immediately activated on an account):[/h3]

• Dogfighting Pilot (first time as a coupon)
  
• Dragons team driver (first time as a coupon)
  
• Interceptor driver (first time as a coupon)
  
• "Tigers" team driver
  
• Mobile Warrior
  
• Burney Malleck
  
• Prince of the House of Hawk
  
• Kanaan Denali
  
• Fox Pilot
  
• Bear Pilot
  
• Pirate "Cunning"
  
• Pirate "Sullen"
  
• Minotaur Commander
  

[h3]Loading screens (will be immediately activated on the account):[/h3]

• Call of the Dragon
  
• Mad Thunder
  
• Tank football - Moment of Inspiration
  
• Mobile Infantry
  
• April's Fool Event — 2022
  
• Sky pirates
  
• TailSpin
  
• Warfare 2077
  

[h3]Naval Flags (will be immediately activated on the account):[/h3]

• Naval jack of the Kaiserliche Marine (1871-1919)
  
• Mad Roger
  

[h3]Silver Lions[/h3]

• 10,000 - 1,000,000
  

[h3]Expendable item[/h3]

• Battle trophy (RP booster)
  
• Battle trophy (SL booster)
  
• Universal back-up
  
• Universal back-up x2
  
• Universal back-up x3
  
• Random wager
  
• Random order
  

[/expand]

This article goes over some points from the VFX team about the improvements made to Ray Tracing technologies in the Hornet’s Sting update.

As promised at the end of last year, work on making Ray Tracing better doesn’t stop! First up, Ray Tracing is now enabled on all PCs, regardless of GPU Vendor. AMD Radeon and Intel Arc users can now enjoy all RT features. We’re still working to make RT available on Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 consoles.

By making several changes in the code, we’ve significantly improved RT performance.

• We have reworked the way rays go through foliage, which helps when going through a forest.
  
• We have updated the denoiser we use to process the RT results. The new version has a bigger improvement in speed, while maintaining the same quality.
  
• We have a new Shadow Quality setting. This is a big one. Low allows us to shoot half as many rays as before, while medium is contextual, but usually removes 30-50% of the rays in fully lighted or shadowed areas. This is a serious improvement, and you should be aware that even on the Low setting, the difference from the High setting is very small if you are using one of the advanced Temporal anti-aliasing methods, like TSR, DLSS, XeSS of FSR. They are for sure more demanding than less advanced methods, but surpass them in image quality in both native resolution and when doing upscaling. The Low setting is also less prone to performance drops in heavily loaded scenes.
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Don’t see much of a difference? Exactly. And as said before, Low demands two times less resources than High (which was used before the update).

All of these improvements can result in an overall 20-25% reduction of the GPU cost of the RT effects.

We’ve worked on the windows of buildings with Ray Tracing enabled. At launch they were way too mirror-like, but after some love they now look much more natural and physically correct.

Windows before vs after

We’ve also identified several code paths where RT became unstable, which lead to GPU or even game crashes. These are now greatly reduced, and RT is much more stable now.

That’s it for now! We’ve got even more great improvements ahead, so stay tuned.

Each month we share information about accounts that have been banned for cheating or for violating the TOS. We thank you for actively reporting players who aren’t playing by the rules: it really helps us! You can use the battle replay function on our website to report players who you suspect have violated the game’s Terms of Service and the License Agreement. Instructions on how to do this can be found here.

[h2]Banned accounts[/h2]
Since our last fair play, we’ve banned 4,268 accounts that were found to have violated the rules. Specifically 3.2.3 of the EULA namely in the automation of gameplay (using bots) and cheat software. For complete transparency, we’re publishing the full list of these banned players. This list will be available for two weeks after the publication of this article.

499 more accounts have been banned for a week or more for intentional teamkills.

[h2]Recommendations[/h2]
We recommend that you set a strong password for your account and enable two-step authentication in your profile security settings. We have the following 2FA options available: email, SMS, TOTP (Gaijin Pass/Google Authenticator), and Telegram bot, which we suggest trying if SMS 2FA messages are not reaching you.

We’d also suggest that you turn on 2FA for the email that is linked to your Gaijin account for additional security, as this will protect your account from fraudsters. And remember, don’t use prohibited client modifications and never share your account information with anyone.

The War Thunder Team