War Thunder Update 2.57.0.25 completely overhauls the stock ammunition grind for top-tier ground forces, replacing outdated stock APFSDS shells with significantly more competitive rounds. Alongside these major ballistic upgrades, the update restores four previously disabled maps to the matchmaking rotation and resolves a critical performance drop tied to aircraft radar systems. These adjustments, as published on Steam, target some of the community’s most persistent complaints regarding high-tier matchmaking.
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer game developed and published by Gaijin Entertainment, available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Aircraft
A major performance bottleneck has been resolved with a fix for the bug that caused frame rates to drop significantly whenever an aircraft’s radar was turned on. This is a massive relief for top-tier pilots who rely on active scanning to survive. ESA radars will also function correctly now, fixing a bug where cyclic target switching failed to acquire targets outside the current scan area.
Several individual aircraft received targeted corrections to their weapons and models:
- MiG-29KR (9-41R): The pilot model has been replaced with a proper naval aviator model.
- EF-2000 (Germany) and EF-2000 (AESA) (Germany): Fixed a bug that disabled thermal imaging in the seeker view of HOSBO guided bombs, restoring their viability in low-visibility conditions.
- Su-25T, Su-39, and Su-25SM3: Resolved a bug where the sole target in the view zone was not highlighted by a frame in RWR mode.
- Tornado IDS MLU (RET.8): Added a hard restriction preventing the simultaneous loadout of AGM-88 missiles and conflicting weapon configurations.
- F-16CM PoBIT: Fixed an issue that blocked players from creating custom loadouts featuring incendiary bombs on MAW pylons.
- MiG-29M (9-15): Pilots can now use the airbrake while carrying an external fuel tank, resolving a bug that previously locked the brake.
- F-4 Phantom (all variants) and AJS37 / AJS37 (Early): Fixed a visual bug where external pods were permanently displayed in the X-ray view.
A minor text key bug affecting the ESM description in the pilot’s X-ray view has also been resolved.
Ground Vehicles
The most significant balance shift in this update targets Battle Rating 12.7 tanks, completely replacing their default, unresearched APFSDS ammunition with superior alternatives. This drastically reduces the painful stock grind at the absolute top of the matchmaking bracket.
- M1A2 SEP, M1A2 SEP V2, and M1A2 SEPv3: The stock M829 APFSDS round has been replaced by the much more capable M829A2.
- Leopard 2A5 PSO, Leopard 2RI, Leopard 2A6, and Leopard 2A7V: The default DM33 APFSDS round has been replaced by the DM43.
- T-80BVM and T-90M (all variants): The stock 3BM42 APFSDS round has been replaced by the 3BM42-2.
- Challenger 2E and Black Night: The stock L23A1 APFSDS round has been replaced by the L26. The modification to research the L26 round has been entirely removed.
- Leclerc (all variants): The stock OFL 120 G1 APFSDS round has been replaced by the OFL 120 F2.
- Strv 122 (all variants): The stock DM23 APFSDS round has been replaced by the Slpprj m/95. The DM53 APFSDS round and its corresponding research modification have been added, while the DM33 round and its research modification have been removed.
Beyond the stock shell overhaul, several critical mechanical bugs have been addressed. The M1A2 SEP V2 no longer suffers from a bug where equipping the laser rangefinder mistakenly downgraded its M829A3 round to the older M829A2. The M829A3 shell itself has also been corrected; previously, direct hits into enemy ammo stowage failed to trigger ammo fires, and hits into fuel tanks failed to ignite them. The NOMADS air defense vehicle can now perform pivot turns, allowing it to rotate on the spot. Finally, the Churchill Crocodile will no longer suffer instant destruction if its fuel trailer explodes.
Nuclear Escalation
High-tier tactical options face tighter restrictions. The BUK-M3 TEL has had its capabilities reined in, and players can no longer fire its missiles if the Tracking and Detection System (TADS) has been destroyed.
Locations and Missions
Map variety returns to Ground Battles after a series of stability fixes. A game-crashing bug has been resolved on Seversk-13, Aral Sea, North Holland, and Abandoned Town, allowing all missions on these maps to be re-enabled in the matchmaking rotation. Conversely, all missions on the Battle of Hürtgen Forest map have been temporarily removed from rotation while the developers address a collision bug.
Interface
Anti-radiation missile (ARM) stat cards now feature an option to view which targets emit radio waves in specific frequency bands, allowing for much better pre-flight planning. Missile comparison has also been streamlined. Players can now open the ground vehicle missile comparison window directly from the missile’s stat card inside the modifications menu, or from the tooltip of the weaponry displayed around their vehicle in the hangar. A bug that prevented a missile from being added to the comparison list when opening the window from its stat card has been fixed. For console players, bugs preventing the display of modification descriptions and blocking the ability to save decals as favorites when using a controller have been resolved.
A bug where tooltips for certain systems were not displayed on ground vehicle and ship stat cards has also been fixed.
Graphics
Cockpit visibility has been restored for pilots using high-end settings. A bug where enabling both SSAA and motion blur significantly dimmed the cockpit brightness has been resolved.
Player Impact
Top-Tier Stock Grind Relief: Players taking brand-new 12.7 BR tanks into battle tonight will experience a much fairer fight. Replacing outdated stock rounds like the DM33 or 3BM42 with DM43 and 3BM42-2 means stock vehicles can immediately penetrate front armor plates without needing to flank. This flattens the power disparity between fresh vehicles and fully upgraded opponents.
Restored Lethality for American Armor: The fix to the M829A3 shell directly improves the combat reliability of top-tier American tanks. Direct hits to enemy ammunition racks and fuel tanks will now reliably trigger catastrophic explosions and fires. This eliminates the frustrating scenarios where a perfect shot resulted in zero post-penetration damage.
New Counterplay Against BUK-M3 TEL: Ground-to-air defense dynamics shift now that the BUK-M3 TEL cannot fire with a destroyed TADS. Pilots can actively neutralize this threat by targeting its radar and optical systems first, disabling its offensive capabilities without needing to destroy the entire vehicle. This forces anti-air players to position themselves far more defensively.
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