While War thunder has been very enjoyable for the past 3 years that I have played it (both on steam and before steam), I can no longer recommend it to new players.

While War Thunder does successfully make you feel as though you are piloting an aircraft, even with the use of a mouse and keyboard and has gorgeous graphical fidelity it has several game breaking issues that prevent it being enjoyable past unlocking level 2 aircraft.

The first issue you will encounter upong reaching higher levels is something referred to as 'battle rating'.
It is the system War thunder uses to pit aircraft and vehicles against each other that have similar capabilities supposedly.
However this is not the case.
Several vehicles and aircraft are unfairly matched with battle rating, either being placed too early against other vehicles that can't handle them, or too late against vehicles they can't handle.
While such an impact is negligable in arcade mode, in realistic battles and simulator battles these minute changes impact the gameplay significantly causing some aircraft and tanks to legitimately be unplayable, while others are completely overpowered.

The next problem you will encounter after reaching level 2 vehicles is the economy.

War thunder used to have a very respectable economy, that, while it was a bit of a grind to say the least to unlock the higher tier vehicles, you still felt as though you made gradual progresss towards each new vehicle and component.
With changes they made several patches ago, this is no longer the case.
Even with a premium (paid for) account time, unlocking later teir vehicles is not only a grind, but nigh on impossible making the game feel stagnant as you go into battle again, and again, never reaching your goal vehicles.

These two experiences combine alongside clear biases towards certain vehicles performances that make War Thunder not only unenjoyable since several patches ago, but near unplayable as a progressional game.

In its current state, I can not recommend it to anyone, neither would I recommend anyone sinking a dime into it.

If you're looking for a flight simulator or ground combat game, I'd recommend looking at World of Tanks, Armoured Warfare, World of Warships, and Digital Combat Simulator.

Tl;DR

Broken mechanics, avoid and do not spend money on.
look elsewhere for aircraft and tank simulators.

While War thunder has been very enjoyable for the past 3 years that I have played it (both on steam and before steam), I can no longer recommend it to new players. While War Thunder does successfully make you feel as though you are piloting an aircraft, even with the use of a mouse and keyboard and has gorgeous graphical fidelity it has several game breaking issues that prevent it being enjoyable past unlocking level 2 aircraft. The first issue you will encounter upong reaching higher levels is something referred to as 'battle rating'. It is the system War thunder uses to pit aircraft and vehicles against each other that have similar capabilities supposedly. However this is not the case. Several vehicles and aircraft are unfairly matched with battle rating, either being placed too early against other vehicles that can't handle them, or too late against vehicles they can't handle. While such an impact is negligable in arcade mode, in realistic battles and simulator battles these minute changes impact the gameplay significantly causing some aircraft and tanks to legitimately be unplayable, while others are completely overpowered. The next problem you will encounter after reaching level 2 vehicles is the economy. War thunder used to have a very respectable economy, that, while it was a bit of a grind to say the least to unlock the higher tier vehicles, you still felt as though you made gradual progresss towards each new vehicle and component. With changes they made several patches ago, this is no longer the case. Even with a premium (paid for) account time, unlocking later teir vehicles is not only a grind, but nigh on impossible making the game feel stagnant as you go into battle again, and again, never reaching your goal vehicles. These two experiences combine alongside clear biases towards certain vehicles performances that make War Thunder not only unenjoyable since several patches ago, but near unplayable as a progressional game. In its current state, I can not recommend it to anyone, neither would I recommend anyone sinking a dime into it. If you're looking for a flight simulator or ground combat game, I'd recommend looking at World of Tanks, Armoured Warfare, World of Warships, and Digital Combat Simulator. Tl;DR Broken mechanics, avoid and do not spend money on. look elsewhere for aircraft and tank simulators.