Fundamentals

Go through the Fundamentals section to get the hang of the gameplay basics before taking your warbird to the skies.

Hangar

Once you have logged in, take your time to explore and familiarize yourself with the Hangar .Whether you need to repair or change your aircraft, customize, upgrade or buy a new one or just manage your crew, the Hangar is the place you need to be.

	Player's name and account type	View your in-game name and current account type.
	Number of players online	View the total number of people currently logged into the game client.
	Tech Tree	Browse all the aircraft of a particular tech tree and filter them by nation.
	Service	Repair your aircraft, load ammunition and add consumables.
	Upgrades	Research, purchase, and mount modules and purchase and mount equipment.
	Depot	Buy or sell your aircraft, upgrades, ammunition, equipment and consumables.
	Paint Shop	Customize the look of your aircraft by applying various paint schemes to its fuselage, wings and tail.
	Profile	Check your victory/defeat statistics, awards and special victory marks earned in battle.
	Crew Panel	View the crew of the currently selected aircraft.
	Game Menu	Access the game settings, disconnect from the server and exit or return to a game.
	Get Gold	Refill your balance with gold.
	Currency Exchange	Convert gold into credits.
	Experience Exchange	Convert battle experience into Free Experience.
	Aircraft Experience	View battle experience earned on the current aircraft. You can use XP to research modules or new plane from the same tech tree.
	Current aircraft type and mode	View the model and name of your currently selected aircraft.
	Current aircraft specifications	View the general specifications of the currently selected aircraft.
	Current aircraft image	View a 3D image of the currently selected aircraft.
	Aircraft panel	View all your available aircraft.
	System Notifications	Access the system notifications overview.
	Battle Menu	Access the different battle modes.
	Battle!	Click to join a battle.
	Flight Menu	Rally a team to battle.
	Channels	Search, join, and create channels.
	Contacts	View your World of Warplanes contact list.
	Filters	View the filters that enable you to customize the Aircraft panel view.
	Missions and Specials	Get all currently available battle missions and special events.
	Tokens	A uniquie World of Warplanes currency that can be received for  completing daily missions.
	Buy/Extend Premium Account	Purchase or extend your Premium Account.

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Aircraft

In World of Warplanes you can choose between various aircraft types and categories.

When preparing for battle, browse through your aircraft specifications to learn more about each aircraft and its capabilities.

Aircraft Categories

Aircraft Specifications

To maximize your battle performance and give an advantage to your team in combat, get familiarized with your aircraft specifications.

General aircraft specifications are displayed in the Hangar beside the currently selected aircraft. For a detailed view, click the arrow beside each specification.

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Crew

Each aircraft is operated by a crew, which may consist of a pilot and rear gunner, or just a pilot. Note that the number of crew members may differ, depending on the aircraft type.

Crew Training

Each crew member has proficiency and a set of skills. The level of proficiency greatly influences aircraft effectiveness in battles.

Accelerating Crew Training

This training mode is available for Elite and Premium aircraft only.

If selected, all experience received on these aircraft is spent on crew training. The least experienced crew member will be trained twice as quickly as the rest of the crew.

To accelerate crew training:

1. Select an Elite or Premium aircraft in the Aircraft panel
2. Select Accelerate crew training.

Crew Skills

Along with proficiency, a crew member can also have various skills that become available when 100% proficiency is achieved.

Types of skills:

• Universal Skills. Improve aircraft characteristics and last throughout the battle.
• Special Pilot Skills. Activated automatically in specific battle scenarios. Available only to pilots.

Pilot Skills

Icon	Skill Name	Skill Points	Description
Universal Skills
	Fire Resistance	1	Reduces fire duration and damage by 20%.
	Eagle-Eyed	1	Increases range at which enemy aircraft are detected by the pilot by 20%.
	Aerobatics Expert	2	Increases maneuverability in all axes by 2%. Provides a significant advantage in close maneuvering combat.
	Battle Tested	2	Reduces chance of injury to the pilot by 20%. Improves aircraft controllability by 25% when aircraft wings, tail, and fuselage are critically damaged.
	Marksman I	2	Increases accuracy of forward-firing weapons by 5%. Significantly increases chance of hitting a target.
	Marksman II	3	Increases accuracy of forward-firing weapons by 5% and accuracy of firing at actively maneuvering targets by 10%. The effect is cumulative with the effect of the skill "Marksman I".
	Engine Guru I	2	Increases engine thrust by 3%. Significantly improves aircraft acceleration.
	Engine Guru II	3	Increases engine thrust and top speed by 2%. The effect is cumulative with the effect of the skill "Engine Guru I".
	Expert Rocketeer	2	Increases chance of hitting aerial targets with rockets by 25%.
	Demolition Expert	2	Increases damage caused by bombs and rockets and their blast radius by 15%.
	Aerodynamics Expert	2	Increases effect of Aircraft Polish, Polished Covering, Lightweight Airframe, Control Surface Adjustment, and Improved Flaps by 40%.
	Protection Expert	2	Increases effect of Improved Covering, Reinforced Airframe, Additional Armor Plates, and Concealing Livery by 40%.
Special Pilot Skills
	Fire Fighter	1	Extinguishes fire by active maneuvering. Gain and maintain a high angular velocity in any axis to extinguish a fire.
	Cruise Flight	2	Increases the pilot's view range by 20% and engine thrust and top speed by 3% when the aircraft does not receive damage for 20 seconds. The effect wears off once the aircraft is fired at or hit.
	Resilience	3	Repairs all critical damage and heals all crew injuries, reduces engine and weapon overheating by 50%, and increases maneuverability and engine thrust when the aircraft loses 70% of hit points. The skill is activated automatically once per battle and is effective until the end of the battle.
	Evasive Target	3	Reduces damage received and chance of receiving critical damage and pilot injuries by 25% when actively maneuvering. Gain and maintain a high angular velocity in pitch and roll axes to activate the skill.
	Raptor Strike	3	Increases chance of setting an enemy aircraft on fire and causing critical damage by 50% when diving and attacking with forward-firing weapons. Effective when aircraft speed approaches maximum dive speed and pitch angle exceeds 45°.
	Adrenaline Rush	3	Reduces weapon overheating by 25% and increases firing accuracy by 10% after destroying an enemy aircraft. Effective for 10 seconds.

Rear Gunner Skills

Icon	Skill Name	Skill Points	Description
Universal Skills
	Endurance	1	Reduces chance of injury to the rear gunner by 20%.
	Vigilance	1	Increases range at which enemy aircraft are detected by the rear gunner by 20%.
	Armorer	2	Increases burst length of a rear gun by 20%.
	Defensive Fire	3	Reduces damage from an enemy aircraft which the rear gunner is firing at by 30%.
	Ballistics Expert	3	Increases firing range of a rear gun by 15% and effect of Rear Gun Stabilization by 20%.
	Quick Reflexes	2	Reduces aiming time of a rear gun by 50%.
	Precision Gunner	3	The rear gunner concentrates fire on the most vulnerable sections of an enemy aircraft. The chance of causing critical damage by a rear gun is significantly increased.
	Weakest Link	4	The rear gunner concentrates fire on enemy aircraft with the fewest hit points.

Mastering Skills

If a crew member has a sufficient number of skill points, you can master several skills at once.

To master skills:

1. Right-click the required crew member in the Crew Panel to open the Personal File.
2. Select one of the skills available.
3. Confirm your choice by clicking Master Skills.

The new skill icon appears in the Personal File of the crew member.

Resetting Skills

Already used skill points can be retrieved by resetting current skills. The retrieved skill points can then be spent again to master a new set of skills.

Skill reset requires in-game currency:

• Gold. The amount of gold depends on the number of skills being reset.
• Credits. The amount of credits depends on the number of skill points spent on skills.

To reset skills:

1. Right-click the required crew member in the Crew Panel to open the Personal File.
2. Select skills you want to reset.
3. Click Reset Skills.
4. Select skill reset option.
5. Click Reset. 
6. Confirm your choice by clicking Reset in the pop-up window.
   The specified cost is charged from your balance.
   

Transfer and Retraining

Transfer

Every member of the crew is competent to fly one specific aircraft. However any crew member can be transferred to any other aircraft within the same nation.

To transfer a crew member to a new aircraft:

1. Right-click the crew member you want to transfer.
2. Select Send to Barracks in the pop-up window.
3. Select new aircraft in the Hangar for transferring.
4. Right-click the vacant crew member slot. 
   If the slot is occupied, send the current crew member to the Barracks or dismiss him to free the slot.
5. Select the required crew member in the pop-up window.

Right after the transferring, the crew member receives temporary proficiency that affects battle performance. The level of temporary proficiency is set automatically and cannot be changed.

The temporary proficiency level and capability of skill usage depend on the new plane and the plane type the crew member is trained for:

If crew members of a premium aircraft achieve 100% of their main proficiency, they earn experience and receive skill points. A Premium aircraft gives 20% more experience per battle to its crew.

Even if crew members of a standard or elite aircraft achieve 100% of their main proficiency, the level of temporary proficiency does not allow them to receive new skill points.

Retraining

Any member of the crew who was transferred to another aircraft can be retrained for the new aircraft.

Retraining a crew member resets their proficiency level for the current aircraft.

To retrain a crew member:

1. Right-click the required crew member in the Crew Panel.
2. In the open menu, select Personal File.
3. Click Retrain.
4. Select a training level for the crew member.
5. Click Retrain.

After retraining, all skill points and skills of the crew member remain unchanged. Capabilities of the retained crew member depend on the main proficiency level:

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In-Game Friends

An important part of the World of Warplanes experience is the ability to battle with your friends against enemy forces. Playing with friends offers quite a few strategic advantages and considerably impacts the gameplay.

When playing together as one unit, called a Flight, you can let your inner strategic genius thrive by launching better coordinated attacks that provide a heavy volume of covering fire, and generally have more fun.

Contacts

The Contacts window is your gateway to interacting with other World of Warplanes players. You can use the Contacts list to keep track of your in-game friends.

Adding a friend to Contacts

To find and add a friend to your contact list:

1. Click Contacts .
   In the search filed, type the initial letters, or the player's full name.
2. Click the Find button .
   The search results are displayed in the field below.
3. Click Add, or right-click the player’s name and select Add to Contacts.
   The selected player is added to your Contacts list. 

If you do not want to receive any messages or invites from a contact, you can always add the player to your Ignore list.

To add a player to your Ignore list:

1. Click Contacts.
2. Right-click a contact.
3. Select Add Player to Ignore List.

Removing a friend from Contacts

To remove a friend from your Ignore list:

1. Click Contacts > Ignored.
2. Right-click a contact.
3. Select Remove from Ignore list.

The player is removed from your Ignore list. 

Flights

You can team up with a friend in a Flight to form a unit of players that always enters matches together. Flights consist of up to two players.

Inviting to Flight 

To invite a player form you Contact list to a Flight:

1. Click Contacts  . 
2. Right-click a player you want in your flight > Invite to Flight.

The battle starts after the Flight member sets their status to ready and the Flight Leader clicks Battle!

Joining a Flight

To join a Flight:

1. Click Play in Flight.
2. Use Auto-Search to find an available player.
3. Hover over the player's name and click Invite.

The battle starts after a Flight member clicks Battle!

To leave a Flight, click Leave Flight.

Chatting

You have several means at your disposal to communicate with your friends.

Flight Chat

Once you have created or joined a Flight, the Flight chat window appears on the Hangar screen automatically. Use Flight chat to communicate with other Flight members. Invite friends to your Flight by clicking Invite Players.

Voice Chat

You can talk to your friends using a microphone or a headset if you have enabled the voice chat in the Settings menu. Hold Z during battle to enable voice chat.

Group Channel

User channels serve as an alternative to the chat. Use them to interact with closed user groups.

To create a Channel:

1. Click Channels > Create Channel.
2. Enter the channel name.
3. Click Create Group Channel > Invite Players.
4. From your Contacts list, select players you want to invite.
5. Click Invite.

To search and join a Channel:

1. Click Channels.
2. Type the initial letters or full name of the channel, into the search field.
3. Click the Find button .
   The search results are displayed in the field below.
4. Double-click a channel to join.

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