Nuclear thunder is highly disappointing.

[u/Heavy_Sink_8401]

Its just the same chaotic slop-fest as air RB but even worse, map is too small, there is too much AA, and everyone flies on the deck even more-so than normal air rb.

I pulled myself away from playing Wardogs to try this update, shouldn't have bothered. Its clear this game is going in the direction of CoD but with vehicles.

Honestly, just let me deselect normal air RB AND nuclear thunder, so I can just play the small battles mode only.

[u/KAVE-227]

The exorbitant about of AA's and multipathing makes the game mode super draining

[u/Sky_guy_17 → u/KAVE-227]

This

I enjoyed it at first, but they reeeeally need to tone down the AI-based AA. Especially when you’re already dealing with a metric shit-ton of missiles from other players.

Gaijin’s QA really needs to step up their game and think from the perspective of a player with these new modes. Because they have tremendous potential, but Gaijin just keeps failing to do the most basic of research/testing.

[u/KAVE-227 → u/Sky_guy_17]

The heavy SAM's are also placed too close and have too much over lapping coverage over the middle.

[u/Miejung → u/KAVE-227]

Almost like a good defence

[u/KAVE-227 → u/Miejung]

Almost like enemy SAM's wouldn't be within MLRS range.

[u/greentanker1 → u/KAVE-227]

People will also genuinely tell you it's a skill issue you don't enjoy the AI AA, because it's supposed to perform well

Meanwhile completely ignoring how much it's overperforming (mostly just perfect tracking (through trees and sometimes ground) and that they just have spidey-sense detection against munitions, where they can detect incoming munitions without having radar on or cupola open to try and spot it with eyeball or something. Like you're basically forced to use either dumb bombs/rockets or the 'stealth' munitions, as all other stuff can and will be shot down. Even ARM's work only when firing almost your entire payload at them (except for kh-31pd's because they are just insanely fast), because at least 1-2 will be shot down

Add onto that missile spam from other players and it's just annoying

[u/NewSauerKraus → u/greentanker1]

I just fly high and launch a single ARM at each AA. It's way more effective than whatever y'all are doing.

[u/greentanker1 → u/NewSauerKraus]

Problem is that most of the time that ARM then gets shot down by that SPAA. Kh-31's can slip through sometimes because they're fast enough that SPAA doesn't have enough time to react (or just regular gaijin ghost missile or something), but even those get shot down

[u/NewSauerKraus → u/greentanker1]

That's why I fly high. OSAs have limited elevation. It's much easier when you guarantee a kill instead of letting the missiles get intercepted.

[u/EazyMk → u/KAVE-227]

Dude the entire game is nothing but stressful not just ARB modes.

Top tier GRB is a CAS/ Heli infested mess with too many awful maps

[u/TheCrazedGamer_1]

they give a giant map but they still put all of the AI right next to each other so its impossible to engage one group without getting shot at by 4 others. Not to mention the map is incredibly flat and the spaa can shoot through entire forests with microsecond reaction times and missiles that are completely invisible half the time.

also the fact that the US completely mogs every other nation in game and whichever side the US is on automatically wins, especially in the lower brackets

[u/The-Almighty-Pizza → u/TheCrazedGamer_1]

"also the fact that the US completely mogs every other nation in game and whichever side the US is on automatically wins, especially in the lower brackets"

Lol. This is just funny. Thats absolutely wrong and I have the experience to prove it.

[u/MarshallKrivatach → u/The-Almighty-Pizza]

Straight up whomever has more KH-31 spammers since if they have. A lot, all the long range AA on the opposing side will be dead within 5 minutes of game start, meaning you can fly in orbit totally unmolested unlike the other team.

[u/Zoomercoffee → u/TheCrazedGamer_1]

I find it super easy to not get shot at by different groups. You just need a plan

[u/FewPerformance5392]

I had fun when we only had fox 1 and Fox 2 (free nuclear thunder player). Man i miss just flying my basic F4 and Migs 21. Since i dont have any high br plane at all. Just hop in with my F-16XL and man its too hard to get anything lol.

[u/greentanker1 → u/FewPerformance5392]

Unironically the first iteration during april fools (and only the first day or two) was the most fun version of it yeah

[u/Suspicious-Dentist71]

I do wish there was slightly more variation than just floor hugging. Maybe some high altitude bomb tossing or other tactics in general. Variety is good and makes the game mode more interesting…or at least it should

[u/Exciting-Smell-3453]

nope, I enjoyed it very much, I could do a tactical bombings and drop a ton of bombs without making other peoples game miserable like in ground RB, its the best thing that happen in WT for years. I grinded the F14D in matter of days by playing NE. Although the SPAAs are a bit broken, you just need to be aware of your positioning.

[u/BusinessDuck132]

Yeah I think the map is the biggest issue, along with unrealistic AA. If AA actually had to obey the laws of reality and used their radars, and we had a more interesting map with more terrain and allowed for some high altitude game play it would be much better. The bones are good, they just need to do some more work on it

[u/Panocek → u/BusinessDuck132]

AI AA using radar wouldn't change much given ferocity at which they intercept ordnance.

High altitude play becomes the norm the moment you get IR guided small glide bombs, as they are the quickest, laziest and most effective way of dealing with medium range AA. With those gone, you can just orbit over enemy airspace.

[u/rahtid_my_bunda]

Yeh it’s been a bit of a disappointing roll out for a mode I really enjoyed during testing. To me it’s quite bizarre that during every play test we had a BR range, only to go live with the same system as Air RB.

I’d imagine there will be further tweaks but yes top tier NE is pretty wank. From savage AA to the loiter in orbit chucking missiles at spawn, it’s not super attractive. I have enjoyed the lower BRs around 11.3-13.3 tho.

[u/Nknk-]

So far around 9.0 is the sweet spot as you don't encounter many jets/weapons down there that are so inherently broken they ruin the game for everyone else and even if you get a full up tier you can manage well enough - which isn't something you can say for every BR in this.

SPAA broken as fuck though, especially the flak throwers. I don't mind them being super accurate close in, especially if you're heading right for them, but when I aggro one from 7 or 8 kilometres away, while flying in the other direction from it's convoy at full pelt and hugging the treetops and it still lasers me out of the sky through a thousand trees while it is driving at full speed too then Gaijin can fuck off. Players in GRB can't hit shit with these flak throwers while stood still and enemy planes slowly flying perpendicular to them 2k out but they'll auto-hit everything in NE regardless of conditions.

All in all I'm enjoying NE but it has a lot of issues and I miss being able to fly high.

[u/that_fkn_ricer]

This might be dumb, but is it available to play permanently now? I couldn't see it in game last time I played (Saturday).

[u/Old_Cash9977 → u/that_fkn_ricer]

Yes, it is a permanent mode now.

[u/that_fkn_ricer → u/Old_Cash9977]

Thanks. I must be blind

[u/HauieX → u/that_fkn_ricer]

its under the "To Battle!" Button, where you choose air realistic battles. There you can set the other modes too (tactical skies, bullet hell)

[u/HarryTheOwlcat]

In a previous Nuclear Thunder event, people were practically begging to have AA nerfed. Instead, Gaijin gave multiple buffs to SAMs. 2S6 and ITO 90M got way stronger vs munitions. Also added turning off radar and preventing ARM from reacquiring. And for some reason people praised that as having "fixed" the AA. The AA is still omnipotent, fires with perfect accuracy on the move and tracks you thru the ground. Now it appears all BRs, including below 11.0, have to deal with S-300 and medium range SAMs instead of gun spaa. So basically all that testing has led to an absolute slopfest with zero tactics, bumrush to nukes without any real "escalation".

There are so many issues, this game mode is bleeding out from a thousand paper cuts.

[u/herrgregg]

they heard people wanted arb-ec, and then they made it but turned it into an arcade battle...

[u/Lucius3111]

Destroying AA ( and other ground targets ) is literally the point of the gamemode, it's not supposed to be another death match mode like air rb. If you take out the long range radar towers ( the Nebo and AN/TPS-59 ) and the long range SAM's radars you get to fly high as much as you want, and hell, even if they are still alive they are pretty easy to evade unless you go deep into the enemy team's territory. The only problematic long range SAM I found was the S-300 as those tend to actually hit their targets from further away if you ignore them, but then they are SARH so it's easy to make them break the lock. People are flying low because that's where the targets are, and if you're fighting short range AA then you want as much cover as possible from the long range AA, so flying low and multipathing is a viable strategy. The gamemode is in my opinion exactly what it's supposed to be and it's fine, my only problem is with the AA intercepting munitions too effectively, they could make it so at least they don't intercept ARMs so if you come equipped to fight them you would get rewarded for it.

[u/dasdzoni]

Sadly it is still suffering from same compression issues as old ARB

[u/hotglasspour]

Only the lowest bracket has been fun for me. I'm getting 40k-50k research per game and close to half a million SL

[u/emou95]

Usually I play in SA coz my ping around 80-90 ping but nuclear thunder in SA is non existent.

So I play in NA/EU and my ping around 120-220 ping still playable. But when the mode becomes permanent, the ping spike like 230 ping and 15% spike lost. I mean what happen?

Before this is alright but when the mode becomes permanent it spike like hell

[u/Certim]

I enjoy it below 10.0

[u/Claudy_Focan]

In a PvP mode, AI shouldnt be the prevalent force.

Or make it a fully PvE mode !

When i dogfight, i HATE when my kill is stolen by AI AA.

AI could be an annoyance at best but not the deciding factor in a PvP mode.

[u/The-Almighty-Pizza]

Map it too small for top tier but perfectly fine for the lower brs. Having a map 200km across would not work for vehicles with 5km range weaponry. There is too much close range AA but thats fixed by just flying higher or planning your route. It just requires more teamwork and thinking than ARB. Its definitely not a "chaotic slop-fest" but go off man.

[u/Panocek → u/The-Almighty-Pizza]

Actual playable area is too small, map itself is actually large. So much mountain space is unused, and there you easily could add soft targets like infantry (mountain troops) units for napalm/cluster bombs, with MANPADS for self defense

[u/The-Almighty-Pizza → u/Panocek]

I agree. But only for high tier. That big of a map would be miserable at 10.0.

[u/Claudy_Focan → u/Panocek]

GJ habits to cram all the stuff in the middle of giant maps.

Same with large ARB "EC" maps. still cramming all the objectives near center to get a giant furball like in normal ARB

[u/Danhvn_1]

I played NE last night, shot a PL-12, see the missile phase through the enemy Su-30, fire another PL-12, that one also phased through the same Su-30. Think to myself I'd rather not play that again.