I'm definitely a newer player to War Thunder (steam isn't keeping track of my playtime; it's more like 40 - 50 hours, not 16) and I've been enjoying the game... to a point. Honestly, this game is good fun if you get put in the right matches, and like any other multiplayer game that normally would make sense. Some games are good, some are bad. Unfortunately, because of WT's current state, it's VERY pay to win/pay to progress. Let me explain.

I've been playing with some WT veterans and, after hearing their and the general communities complaints, I can say that I have experienced TRUE PAIN. War Thunder has these things called premium vehicles, and more often than not people will buy them so they can progress faster. These vehicles are not cheap, and can cost anywhere from $5 to $65. Let's not forget that you can also buy premium account time, which boosts your research point and silver lions from every match. This is essentially the ONLY way to progress without spending upwards of a year trying to unlock an entire tech tree. Have a job? A life other than playing WT? Than GOOD LUCK trying to progress AT ALL without dumping some not insignificant amount of money on this game. Not to say that this game isn't fun, but I just can't recommend it for how long the time to progress is.

I haven't come even close to experiencing all that the game has to offer, but that's mostly because most of what it has to offer is so far off in the future it seems unreachable. This is just how WT is. And don't get me started at how insufferable the spawn camping can be in ground battles. And of course, Gaijin won't listen.

Edit: STILL BAD!