In-Game Economy

The economy in War Thunder consists of three different aspects. The currencies with Silver Lions and Golden Eagles, which can be bought with real money, or more rarely given out as login prizes, though the game treats Golden Eagles as its premium currency. The progression with Research Points, and the bonus War Bonds. The economy of war thunder is largely based on two aspects. Research is done via the eponymous research points, and every other aspect in within the game is managed via silver lions. Research can be boosted by unlocking RP (After a match some of your RP will be converted into unlock able RP which can only be used by spending golden eagles to "boost research" e.e if you are researching a vehicle and need only 500 more RP points, you can spend some of your golden lions to "boost research" which then fills up you RP meter with 500 RP of your free RP supply, assuming you have enough golden eagles for 500 free RP points to be unlocked) Every other part of the game uses silver lions. You get research and silver lions based on individual match performance, though obviously a team win means that your earnings will be higher.

For silver lions, you pay to not only buy each plane, but also to place each plane in a crew slot. For example a plane costing 77000 SL will actually need 99000 SL to use, as once purchased the plane cannot be used unless you pay an additional 22000 to the 77000 to place it into a crew slot. Please note that simply researching a vehicle does not mean that you can use it, unless the vehicle is purchased and crewed. In addition you must research several vehicles in every tier to progress into the next tier, and most lines in War Thunder prevent you from even researching vehicles in the next tier unless you research vehicles directly above it. For example you can research the US naval fighter line and land fighter into the final tiers of war thunder (tiers 5/6), but unless you have also researched every single bomber up until that point, you cannot research tier five bomber, meaning that to then get a tier five bomber, you will have to research all bombers starting from tier 1. Not every line follows this rule, but at the time of this writing, lines that require sequential research make up the bulk of the progression. In addition if you have researched a vehicle and then research a vehicle below it, you cannot purchase the bottom vehicle unless you have purchased (not crewed) the above vehicle.

Lastly, SL is used to buy modifications, which can be unlocked either by Golden Eagles or by playing the vehicle the modification is on in any match. Modifications use the same type of sequential progression. Whilst you do earn SL in every battle, you also can also lose SL via paying for ammunition and repair costs (money charged to instantly repair a vehicle) and whilst you can freely repair vehicles, some vehicles take in excess of one week to be fully repaired. As their is no SL loss cap, it is not uncommon to actually lose SL at the end of a match, as the SL you are told that you have gained on the victory/defeat screen does not take into account the repair cost(s) you need to pay, and ammunition costs you need to pay. You never can loose research, but you cannot shift research from one vehicle to the next, locking all research put into that vehicle solely into that vehicle.

Currencies

Silver Lions

Silver lions are the main War Thunder currency, used in-game to purchase new crew slots (#3-5), standard vehicles, and modifications, as well as repairing damaged vehicles and purchasing ammunition and ordnance. These can be earned by playing games and destroying enemies and ground units, achieving kill assists, completing single missions and from battle trophies. With a premium account, players will earn an increased amount of silver lions per battle, helping to speed up their advancement through nations' aircraft and ground unit trees. Golden eagles can also be converted into silver lions if a player is running low and needs some quickly.

Golden Eagles

Golden eagles are a premium in-game currency, which can be spent on a Premium Account, which increases Silver Lion and RP gain, and other additional content: premium machines, faster crew development, additional places in a hangar, boost research, purchase talismans, and purchase Battle Trophies in the Item Shop. They can also be exchanged to another in-game currency — Silver Lions.

Researching

Research Points

Research points are used for researching new aircraft and ground units in War Thunder. These are earned in a similar way to silver lions - by playing games and achieving air and ground unit kills, and by achieving kill assists. Like with silver lions, research point gain can be increased by purchasing premium account time, to help players unlock their desired aircraft and ground units faster.

Convertible Research Points

Convertible research points (CRP) are a backup pool of extra research points that players gain each game. Usually, the gain is equal to the normal research points. CRP can be converted into regular research points with golden eagles under a tagged "researching" vehicle with Boost Research at any time if a player wants to research faster than by simply playing. The current rate is that 1 Golden Eagle will convert 45 CRP into research points.

Module Research Points

Module research points (MRP) are separate research units for individual vehicles meant to be used to unlock vehicle modules, which would then require Silver Lions to be bought. MRP are scaled like research point rewards in-game, though more dependent on an individual tank's performance in the game rather than the overall match time.

Crew XP Points

Crew experience points are points allocated to the individual crews of the hangar/garage for a particular vehicle slot. They can be spent on Crew Skills, which improve the capabilities of your crew.

Crew experience points are calculated based on research points as follows:

• In Arcade battles - 30 experience points for 1,000 RP
• In Realistic battles - 11.3 experience points for 1,000 RP
• In Simulator battles - 9 experience points for 1,000 RP

War Bonds

Main article: Battle tasks
War bonds are values that can be earned by completing the daily "Battle Tasks" that can be accessible at the top right area on the hangar menu. These can be spent in the Warbond shop for premium vehicles or other in-game items such as boosters and universal backups. The maximum balance of war bonds a player can own is 3,600.

Additional information (links)