Air Realistic Battles in War Thunder have a reputation for punishing new players hard, and for good reason. You climb for three minutes, attempt a diving attack, miss, and then get picked off while trying to escape. Sound familiar? The good news is that almost every mistake new pilots make comes down to a small set of fixable habits, not raw skill. Fix the fundamentals and the kills start coming.
Why does Air RB feel impossible at first?
Air RB is, at its core, a positioning contest. As experienced forum member Real_K_Soze put it after reviewing replays from struggling players: the pilot with the higher energy state can dictate the fight and almost always wins. Energy means altitude and speed combined. If you arrive at a fight low and slow, you have already lost before a single shot is fired.
Most new players treat the climb phase as dead time. That is a mistake. Those three to four minutes of climbing determine every engagement that follows. You are not waiting for the fight to start. You are setting up your entire game.
What is the correct way to climb in Air RB?
Stall climbing is one of the most common rookie errors, and it costs altitude without you realising it. When your angle of attack is too steep, your airspeed bleeds off and your actual altitude gain per minute drops significantly. Each aircraft has an optimal climb speed, and for German 109 variants you should look this up specifically before flying.
Here is the practical checklist for climbing correctly:
- Find the optimal climb speed for your specific aircraft (check the War Thunder wiki's "usage in battle" section for each plane)
- Maintain that airspeed consistently, even if it means a shallower climb angle
- Avoid flying directly toward enemy formations while still climbing
- Stay out of low-altitude furballs entirely until you have an energy advantage
Flying below a group of enemies while still climbing is one of the fastest ways to die. As Real_K_Soze noted from watching actual replays, one player flew under 4 enemies on the Uranus map. That fight was over before it started.
How does energy fighting actually work?
German fighters like the Bf 109 series are energy fighters, not turn fighters. Every 109 above the E model is not built for sustained turning engagements. Trying to out-turn a Ki-43 or a Zero in a 109 will get you killed every time, because those aircraft are specifically designed to win turn fights.
Energy fighting means you attack from a position of superior speed or altitude, then disengage before the enemy can respond. The sequence is: dive, fire, extend away, climb back up, repeat. The War Thunder wiki's official Boom and Zoom guide describes this as "Dive, Attack, Run, Repeat" and that framing is accurate. You are not trying to stay in the fight. You are making one good pass and leaving.
The Me 410 A-1 at BR 3.3 is worth noting here. Forum veteran Real_K_Soze recorded 2,381 kills versus 113 deaths across just two aircraft (the Swiss C-3604 and the Me 410 A-1), which shows what happens when you pick planes that match your playstyle and learn them properly.
How do you set gun convergence correctly?
Gun convergence and vertical targeting confuse a lot of new players, but the concept is straightforward once you see it explained properly.
Vertical targeting adjusts the angle of your guns so that rounds arc up and then drop down to hit a target at a specific distance. If you typically fire at targets 700m away, setting vertical targeting to around 600-700m means you can aim directly at the aircraft without manually compensating for bullet drop.
For wing gun convergence, the setting controls the distance at which your wing-mounted guns' fire paths cross. Setting this to 800m (as mentioned in the forum thread) means your guns converge at that range. If you are typically firing at closer ranges, bring that number down.
Practical starting points based on community advice:
- Set vertical targeting to roughly the distance you actually open fire, then test and adjust
- If you fire at 700m, try 600-700m and see where rounds land in test flights
- Convergence at 800m works for longer-range passes; 400-500m suits closer engagements
Run test flights against stationary targets to dial in your convergence before taking it into a real match. Changing it mid-grind based on feel alone takes much longer.
What is situational awareness and how do you build it?
Situational awareness in Air RB means knowing where every enemy on the map is, what energy state they are in, and whether they pose a threat to you right now. Most players get killed by aircraft they never saw.
Air RB's markers are actually a significant advantage here compared to full simulator mode. Use them actively:
- Check the markers around you before committing to any attack
- Note which enemies are climbing, which are diving, and which are in level flight
- Identify the biggest threat first (the aircraft above you with more energy) before targeting easy kills
- Watch your replays after each match and identify exactly who killed you and from which angle
The replay system is genuinely useful for improvement. You can switch to any player's perspective and watch how experienced pilots set up their attacks. If a teammate had a great game, watch their replay to understand their decision-making.
Furballs (multi-aircraft turning engagements at low altitude) are death traps for new players. You lose track of multiple enemies, your energy bleeds out, and someone dives on you from above. Stay out of them until you have the situational awareness to track several contacts at once.
Does nation choice matter for beginners?
Honestly, yes. Germany at BR 2.7 to 5.0 is considered one of the harder starting points in Air RB. The aircraft are frequently described as overtiered relative to what they face, and the energy-fighting playstyle requires a level of game knowledge that takes time to develop.
If your goal is specifically to grind German planes for use in Ground RB (a very common reason players end up in this situation), the reality is you will have a harder time than players who started with Britain or Japan. That does not mean it is impossible, just that the learning curve is steeper.
Japanese aircraft like the Zero and A7M2 are turn fighters that reward a more intuitive playstyle for new pilots. British Spitfires sit between the two extremes, with strong engines and decent turn rates. Neither of these helps if your goal is German progression, but knowing why Germany feels harder can at least stop you blaming yourself entirely.
The old War Thunder wiki (old-wiki.warthunder.com) has a "usage in battle" section for every aircraft that covers both how to fly your plane and how enemy aircraft will perform against you. It is one of the most underused resources in the community.
How to actually improve faster
The fastest path to improvement combines three things: watching replays, studying aircraft profiles, and deliberate practice. Random grinding without reflection just reinforces bad habits.
Specific steps that experienced players recommend:
- Watch YouTube content from creators who focus on Air RB fundamentals and specific aircraft reviews
- Read the Dicta Boelcke principles (a real-world WWI fighter doctrine that applies directly to Air RB engagements)
- Look up each aircraft you plan to fly on the wiki before your first match in it
- Study what enemy aircraft can and cannot do, not just your own plane
The community on the War Thunder forums consistently points to aircraft knowledge as the separator between players who plateau and those who improve. Knowing that a Ki-43 will beat you in a turn fight means you never accept that fight. Knowing a P-47 compresses at high speed means you know when to extend.
For more strategies across all game modes, the War Thunder guides collection covers everything from tank tactics to naval combat alongside air.
Quick-reference settings checklist
Air RB rewards patience and preparation more than any other mode in shooter games. The climb is not dead time. The positioning before the first shot is the fight. Get that right and the kills follow.
For a full breakdown of every Air RB mechanic and more nation-specific tips, check the complete War Thunder strategy guides on GAMES.GG.