War Thunder’s Eagle’s Shadow Update Is Out Now on Xbox, Led by the F-15EX

War Thunder’s Eagle’s Shadow major update is out now on Xbox, and Gaijin has spent this one making the battlefield look a lot less like a video game. Alongside a rendering overhaul, reworked effects and more realistic weather, it adds customisable Battle Ratings for selected aircraft and helicopters, plus a fresh batch of vehicles led by the F-15EX Eagle II.

Pick your loadout, pick your Battle Rating

The headline gameplay change is customisable Battle Ratings. Selected aircraft and helicopters can now have different Battle Ratings depending on the weapons they carry, which directly affects matchmaking. Bolt on advanced missiles and you can take on tougher opponents, or go with a simpler loadout and stay at a lower Battle Rating.

Gaijin says researching a better weapon does not force your vehicle up the ladder. You choose between the available options in the hangar before each battle. The studio adds that the mechanic will spread to more vehicles over time, but only where the gap in weapon power is significant.

A big visual overhaul

Gaijin describes major graphical improvements. The rendering engine has been reworked for more natural lighting and shadows, with new local tone mapping to balance bright and dark areas, improved ambient occlusion and better reflections on armour, fuselages, wet roads and snow. The studio says most of these come with virtually no impact on performance.

Visual effects have been rebuilt too. Muzzle flashes have been redone for guns of all calibres, naval shells now leave ripples and foam on the water, and bullet and shell tracers trail volumetric smoke that twists in turbulent air. There are also more realistic aircraft damage effects, exhaust flames on some ground vehicles and, yes, working brake lights.

All twelve weather presets have been overhauled with more realistic clouds and improved lighting, and the Sun City and American Desert ground battle maps have had visual overhauls while keeping their familiar layouts.

F-15EX, H-39 and more

The F-15EX Eagle II gives the update its name, and the official update page says it arrives for the USA and Israel with 12 active radar homing missiles in its payload. It is joined by dozens of other vehicles, including:

• H-39 (Germany): a never-completed successor to Bismarck, and now the longest ship in the game at about 277 metres, with eight 406 mm guns in four twin turrets.
• Fulmar Mk.II (Britain): a Second World War carrier fighter with eight 7.7 mm machine guns and 8,000 rounds of ammunition.
• BMP-3F (Indonesia): an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle built for the Indonesian Marine Corps, listed in-game under the Japanese tree.

Other arrivals include the Leopard 2A8 with Trophy active protection, the Su-15TM, the AW249 Fenice attack helicopter and the IJN Takao heavy cruiser. The full list is in the official changelog.

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