War Thunder Assault Mode: Wave Tips

Assault waves are attrition tests: the mode does not ask you to win one fight, it asks you to survive six without losing your lineup. That changes the priorities. Kill-count chasing loses runs; target discipline and ammunition discipline win them.

Rule 1: Focus fire on the priority target

Waves kill you through cumulative damage, so the order you delete enemies matters. The priority list:

1. Threats that can kill you fastest — anti-tank units, missile carriers, and attackers bearing on your position.
2. Threats that are killing your teammates — a focused enemy dies in seconds; two enemies shot at once both survive.
3. Everything else — the wave collapses once its dangerous elements are gone.

Call the target, shoot the target, and do not spread fire across the wave. A dead priority target removes damage from the board permanently.

Rule 2: Move between cover, not through it

AI advances on objectives and will find you if you sit still. Between engagements:

• Reposition to a new firing angle rather than holding one crest.
• Keep hard cover between you and the wave’s main advance.
• Never advance past the point where you can retreat to cover.

If you find yourself being shot from multiple directions, you have stayed too long — relocate before trading shots.

Rule 3: Ration ammunition

Later waves punish empty racks. Ammunition discipline:

• Fire in controlled bursts at targets you can hit; suppressing fire against AI that is closing anyway wastes shells.
• Keep a reserve for the final waves, where enemies are densest.
• Check your remaining shell types between waves — a rack of the wrong shell for the coming wave is a dead lineup.

Shell choice for mixed targets follows the same logic as any loadout decision: carry the round that handles what you expect to meet, and keep a specialist round for the exception.

Rule 4: Play the objective, not the kill farm

The run ends when objectives fall, not when your kill count looks good. Stay near the points that advance the battle, use them as anchors for your repositioning, and leave kills that take you off-objective alone. The mode basics — wave structure, AI patterns — are in Assault mode explained.

Rule 5: Manage the lineup across waves

• Lead with your strongest vehicle early while you are fresh and the waves are thin.
• Save a capable all-rounder for the final waves, where enemy composition is most mixed.
• If a vehicle is damaged but alive, pull it back from the front rather than trading its last hit points for a marginal kill.

Whether this discipline is worth the time in pure reward terms is a separate question — see Assault mode rewards for the comparison framework. For the matchmaking side that decides how hard your waves hit, battle rating explained covers the mechanic.