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Aside from the respawn mechanics that were added to the new Conquest game mode, we now have another feature that allows our players to be as efficient in battles as possible.

Continuing a battle on a damaged aircraft is, of course, a source of adrenalin and additional impetus to put all your flying and shooting skill to the test. Yet sometimes it is still ultimately a present for the enemy team who get to shoot you down easier. Moreover, quite often a player would choose to crash their riddled warbird into the ground so that they can re-enter the battle on a new one after respawn. That’s not the best use of your aircraft, which is why we implemented repair mechanics.

The game mode has two ways that your warplane can be repaired: in special zones over the airbases and “field” repair in moments when you find yourself in safety.

A special wrench pictogram on the airbase icon, both on the mini-map and radar, shows that the territory has a repair zone. This denotes the location of a special object, where in a 750 meter radius the player’s aircraft would be repaired if:

• The airbase is controlled by the player’s team.
• The player’s aircraft did not take damage and did not open fire in the last 5 seconds.
• There are no enemy aircraft within a specific range around the player’s aircraft (the range is determined by the battle level).

As soon as these conditions are met, the repair will start and will replenish 10% of the maximum HP count every second. Additionally, it will fix all critical damage to the aircraft and crew one at a time with a 3-second interval. You can check if all conditions for repair are met through a wrench pictogram next to your aircraft’s HP scale once you enter the repair zone. If it’s red then something’s not right, for instance, there might be an enemy bomber roaming overhead.

The structure responsible for repair can be destroyed. Even though the attacking team will not get capture points for it, the defending team will lose their ability to quickly return to full battle readiness. Also keep in mind that when the airbase is captured, the repair structure does not self-destruct as other objects do: if it was intact at the moment of capture it will immediately become available for the controlling team, if it was destroyed — it will respawn along with other buildings and defenders.

The second way to restore your aircraft’s HP is to leave the area of immediate combat and wait for the field repairs to start. This method will only partially restore the HP though and will not fix critical damage. There are several conditions for the field repairs to start:

• There should be no detected enemy aircraft or hostile defenders within a specific radius defined by the aircraft tier and class. The hostiles that are actually inside the radius but are concealed due to mechanics like camouflage, cloud cover etc. will be ignored.
• The player’s aircraft is not the chosen target for AA guns.
• The player’s aircraft has not taken damage or opened fire for 5 seconds.

Different classes can restore different amounts of HP through this mechanic. Fighters will restore 40% of their HP, multirole fighters — 34%, heavies and bombers — 30% and bombers can restore up to 20% of their maximum HP count. The more heavily damaged your warplane is, the faster the initial repair will be, slowing down gradually as it approaches the maximum repair amount.

On the one hand, this mechanic provides players with a chance to make mistakes when they misjudge their abilities in battle. They can disengage, make repairs, and re-engage the enemies. On the other hand, the aircraft “lifetime” remains valuable — you either need to dedicate some time to reach the airbase and repair fully, or be content with faster but only partial field repairs. Additionally, this further defines the differences between every aircraft class.