Some updates are just built different. While live-service games require fine tuning at almost every corner, the War Thunder Dance of the Dragons update does all that and more. Adding a whole slate of new air, land, and sea vehicles to the free-to-play military game, this quarter sees extensive upgrades to tank customization, the addition of custom sights (our personal favorite), and changes to helicopter models. War Thunder just got even better.
So let’s start with the big things: new vehicles. There are 40 new additions across air, land, and sea, with several of the war game’s current roster set for an overhaul as well. Note that, of all the new tanks, planes, and ships we’re about to list, the Swedish KV-1 m1942, as well as the French Sea Hawk Mk.50 and VTB-9 are available premium vehicles.
War Thunder Dance of Dragons update: New vehicles
The War Thunder Dance of Dragons update adds the following new vehicles and packs. We’ve included anything that’s getting visual changes here, too:
New ground vehicles
USA
- T1E1 (90)
- M41A1 — vehicle visual model has been updated.
Germany
USSR
- ZSU-23-4M2
- T-80U-E1 — vehicle visual model has been updated, a camouflage net has been added.
Great Britain
Japan
- CTWV RCV (Squadron Vehicle)
China
- ZTZ99A — vehicle visual model has been updated and some inaccuracies in the geometry have been fixed.
- Antelope ADS
- Al-Khalid-I (Pack)
Italy
- Freccia — vehicle model has been updated: Janus optics system has been added.
France
- CV9035NL (Squadron Vehicle)
Sweden
Israel
New aircraft models
USA
- A-10C
- F-111F
- AV-8B (NA) (Pack)
Germany
USSR
Great Britain
China
- JF-17 (Squadron Vehicle)
- J-10A
Italy
France
- Sea Fury FB 51
- Sea Hawk Mk.50 (Premium)
Israel
New naval vessels & closed testing for French Coastal Fleet (which users can take part in)
USA
Germany
USSR
Great Britain
Japan
Italy
France
- VTB-8
- VTB-9 (Premium)
- VTB-11
- VTB-13
- VTB-14
- VTB-19
- MTB-96
- L9059
- VLT-1
- La Combattante
- Arras
- Mogador
- La Surprise
It’s worth flagging P730 La Combattante here, as the speedy 1963 patrol vessel is armed with four S.11 anti-tank missile launchers, two 12.7mm MGs, and a mighty Bofors 40mm. Combining speed with some pretty hefty firepower, she’s not to be underestimated.
Note that The French Coastal Fleet is still very much in its testing phase and its performance is subject to change, so it’s worth keeping that in mind.
Enhanced tank customization
While all of these new editions are, of course, exciting, the tank customization update is maybe the best part of War Thunder’s Dance of Dragons update. You can finally change the textures of your drop tanks when you add camouflage to them, and Gaijin has added basic green camo for South African ground vehicles and tricolor camo for post-war Italian ones. It has also updated the North African tricolor camo after concerns over its historical accuracy, and fixed the tricolor late camouflage pattern for post-war Italian vehicles.
Dance of Dragons finally adds the highly-anticipated customizable tank sights, too. You can find it in ‘sight settings’ in the ground vehicle ‘battle settings’ menu, where you can start building your own reticles or, alternatively, choose from a curated selection. You can toggle the lighting to see how they look in thermal cam or at night, and there are new indicators, too (rangefinder, turret rotation, sight field of view and shot readiness). Several fan-requested scopes are available as presets, too – Gaijin sees your hard work, folks.
Helicopter damage model changes
Helicopter damage models have always been a little confusing, and as a result Gaijin has given them a more uniform overhaul. The AH-64s and Ka-52 have completely new damage models, and the rest have had their systems temporarily added to the fuselage. The team plans on adding “separate modules responsible for their functionality,” but hope that this cuts down on the amount of empty space in the meantime.
Game interface adjustments
While small when compared to over 40 new vehicles and the new tank customization, Gaijin has also made some quality of life adjustments ship towing. If you accidentally find yourself running aground, an automatic tow request will be sent to nearby allies. Additionally, a new naval minimap is now displayed for any air reconnaissance vehicles that are launched at sea.
Looking to the future, we can expect to see reworked APHE Shells (with a focus on increasing frag damage and adjusting its patterns, as well as the option to keep the warhead post-explosion). In the meantime, however, if you’re looking for the full list of changes, you can check it out right here.
So, why not dive into War Thunder? With all of these new vehicles (most of which are available for free) and a lot more in the pipeline, now feels like the perfect time.