Season Update 1.24.1: “Dark Waters”

In this update, you can expect to see the following:

• Fleet: Rank VII, new researchable ships, and a missile defense system.
• Scotland: improvements to the underwater terrain.
• New top-rank vehicles and their blueprints in seasonal Trophies.
• A new season of the long-term event with unique vehicles in the Trophies.
• A new season of the Battle Pass.

Read more about the changes in the Dark Waters major update in the article below.

New vehicles

Tanks

• Vilkas IFV (Rank XI)
  (standard and premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)
• AGS light tank (Rank XIII)
  (standard and premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)

Ships

• USS Bunker Hill missile cruiser (Rank VII)
  (standard or premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)
• Pr. 971 nuclear-powered submarine (Rank VII)
  (standard or premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)

Aviation

• F9F-2 Panther jet fighter (Rank IX)
  (standard and premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)
• Sea Hawk FGA.6 jet fighter (Rank IX)
  (standard and premium versions can be obtained from the trophies during the Dark Waters event)

New Rank VII Ships

As previously announced, the naval campaign is expanding. With this update, Rank VII ships have been added to the game, bringing the following changes:

• Several ships have been moved from Rank VI to Rank VII – details covered in this article.
• Ship costs have been recalculated to account for the new rank and the partial rebalancing of vehicles between Rank VI and VII.
  • The cost of ordering and upgrading to the premium version ships of I-V Rank has been reduced, while the battle reward multipliers (Experience, SL, GE) have been increased.
  • The cost of ordering and upgrading to the premium version ships of VI Rank has been slightly increased, while the battle reward multipliers (Experience, SL, GE) have been increased.
• Four new researchable Rank VII ships have been added:
  • German corvette Braunschweig;
  • Russian Pr. 1134B anti-submarine destroyer;
  • British frigate Type 31;
  • Japanese destroyer Chōkai.

New Feature: The CIWS System

The headline new feature of the season – a gun-based Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) designed to intercept and destroy incoming missiles for ships of Ranks V-VII.

For ships historically equipped with this system, we have added the ability to shoot down enemy missiles using rapid-fire anti-aircraft guns.

How it works:

• The CIWS doesn’t fire continuously. When missiles appear, the player presses a button to fire the CIWS guns – and it engages for the duration specified in the ship's card, then goes into reload (the reload speed depends on the weapon type).
• If an ally is nearby, your CIWS will automatically engage missiles aimed at them as well.
• The system is not 100% effective, just as in real life. Activating it doesn’t guarantee complete protection. Accuracy, tracking speed, and range inherit the settings of the guns the CIWS uses.
• The CIWS doesn’t shoot through superstructures, masts, or other ship constructions. If a missile approaches from a side blocked by turrets or the bridge, the system may be powerless.
• The system can be overwhelmed by a simultaneous volley – with a large number of targets at once from different directions, the CIWS may shoot down no missiles at all.
• On Rank V battleships, the effectiveness is low, but the ship now has a real chance to shoot down several missiles and survive a duel with a missile ship. These are not perfect countermeasures like ECM, but weapons that are historically and technically available for this class.

Underwater Landscape Improvements

We are beginning to build out the underwater world across naval locations and want to share our progress so far. The road ahead is not straightforward: any changes to terrain and vegetation affect performance, requiring careful tuning of new effects and close FPS monitoring.

The first result of this work is the Scotland map. There, submarine captains will discover a transformed underwater world featuring unique terrain and vegetation in the Dark Waters update.

Once the updated Scotland map enters rotation, we will continue monitoring performance metrics and adjusting settings as needed to achieve maximum visual quality without FPS drops.

This is only the beginning – improvements to the underwater world across all sea maps, along with quality updates for other locations, lie ahead.

*The updated Scotland map will be added to the rotation on Monday, approximately.

Season “Dark Waters”

Complete the Dark Waters combat missions, earn War Bonds and Keys as rewards and unlock trophy containers with valuable prizes for them.

The “Dark Waters” season will last from June 10th to Julye 9th, 2026.

War Bonds and Keys cannot be used in the next season. After the end of the current season, War Bonds and Keys will be automatically used to open the relevant trophies in random campaigns. If you want to get rewards from a certain campaign, you have to use the War Bonds and Keys yourself before the end of the season, until 10:00 (GMT) on July 9th 2026.

Leaderboards

To get into the campaign leaderboard, you need to fight at least 5 battles using vehicles from the relevant campaign (tank and ship take-offs don't count for access to the Aviation Campaign).

The rating season ends on July 2nd, 2026 at 10:00 (GMT). Rewards will be distributed within a few days after the leaderboards are frozen. It’s important to note that rewards may be given out at different times for different leaderboards.

Battle Pass

Complete special tasks, level up your Battle Pass and receive rewards for your completed steps.

When you purchase the VIP pass, you instantly receive special camouflages for one vehicle from the trophies of each campaign, as well as automatically completing 10 steps from the Battle Pass lineup. If you have already purchased an upgraded BP, the cost of the VIP pass will be reduced.

The unique camouflages are given when you purchase a VIP pass no matter if you have a vehicle.

Announcements

During season 1.24.1, War Thunder Mobile players can look forward to a variety of in-game activities.

Here are the key events:

• New special Operation Pass Event – from June 23rd.
• Scheduled themed events.
• Collectors' Trophy Week.
• Mini-events to increase the discount in Offers.

We wish you victory and a great experience playing War Thunder Mobile (WTM)!