Tip of the Day: The plane classes

There are four types of planes in World of Warplanes – Fighters, Ground Attack Planes, Heavy Fighters and Carrier-Based Fighters. Each of these classes has individual strengths and weaknesses.

First of all, you need to know that regardless of the class, each plane belongs to a certain tier. There are ten tiers in the game with Tier I being the lowest (for the weakest planes) and Tier X being the highest, reserved for only the most exclusive and powerful planes in the game. In every class, you’ll find that all the planes are divided into these ten tiers. When comparing planes, you need to focus on their tier (which is the main indicator of their proficiency level) and secondly on their class. While the tier tells you how good the plane is at something, the class shows you what speciality and battle role the plane excels at.

Fighters are the core units of each nation’s air fleet. They are light, quick and highly manoeuvrable planes that carry medium-sized weaponry. They are mainly designed to engage in close one-on-one dogfights, defend slower allies and intercept hostile machines. If you’re looking for high-speed adrenaline-pumped battles chasing other equally quick machines through the skies, then a fighter is the best choice for you.

Ground Attack Planes are only available in the Soviet tech tree and are very unique planes. Due to their increased size and mass, they lack a Fighter’s agility and tend to be played in a more calm manner. As they are not manoeuvrable enough to out-turn or outrun a lighter attacker, they often depend on assistance from other players to keep them alive while they carry out their assignments. These consist of mainly taking out ground targets with heavy weapons and bombs. However, while Ground Attack planes may seem like an easy target, they are actually very sturdy and will take a great deal of effort to take out due to a great deal of armour and a dangerous rear gunner.

Heavy Fighters can only be found in the German tech tree and are a bit of a mix between the two aforementioned classes. Their heavy armament is more like that of a Ground Attack plane, while their sophisticated engineering gives them an almost Fighter-like agility to be effective against targets in the sky as well as on the ground. While they will still not beat any Fighter in a high-speed racing contest, they can stand their ground against any possible incoming attacker and can be used both for offence and defence to help you achieve greatness for your team.

Carrier-Based Fighters are the fourth and final class in World of Warplanes. These can only be found in the American and Japanese warplane fleets. They are excellent machines for intense dogfighting and can produce formidable results against ground targets due to their ability to carry rockets and even light bombs. However, this increased firepower and mobility usually comes at the expense of hull armour, which is why Carrier-Based Fighters need to watch out and not to get hit during their flights.

A team will usually consist of planes of all kinds of classes, so it will be up to you to carry out the role of your plane as best you can. Remember, ‘think teamwork’ to be successful both on and above the battlegrounds.

Get Airborne!