I just can’t wrap my head around the current battle rankings of the planes in the 12.7 to 13.0 bracket given their respective armaments and their flight performance. Firstly, I can just speak for planes like the F-16A, F-14B, AV-8B+, MiG-29 and MiG-29G (both Germany) as these are the only planes I own currently (F-15A is in the process of research). Secondly I currently only play AAB as I deemed ARB absolutly no fun for reasons (EC would be the exception and I so wished they would make this a default game mode, but this isn’t the topic here).
So, for the start, I don’t understand how the MiG-29, MiG-29G and the F-16A are at the same rank. The MiG-29G currently has the best SARH missile ingame and R-73s with IRCCM while the MiG-29 has the little brother of the mentioned SARH missile with less speed and range and R-60MKs without IRCCM (and additionally long range IR missiles with IRCCM for both, but the G with the longer range and faster speed). Otherwise they’re nearly identical so how does the much better AA weaponry not affect the Rank of the MiG-29G?
The F-16A on the other hand doesn’t even have SARH missiles and just IR missiles without IRCCM which is extremly noticable as the AIM-9Ls absolutly love flares and even prioritise them over a fully afterburning F-15 (two flares are enough to fool them completly even in rear aspect, in side or front aspect even one flare is enough). No joke, as I tested it out: Even my AIM-9J/G/H of my F-4E/J/S and A-7E are much more reliable in rear aspect than the AIM-9L. The only target it mostly reliably tracks even through flaring are planes with insanly hot engines like the F-111, Su-27, F-14, etc., but only in rear aspect (in side aspect it starts twitching wildly just to finally go for the flare shortly after).
The F-16A ADF just gets two AIM-7M in exchange for two of its AIM-9L and has exactly zero ground ordenance but sits at 13.0. What’s exactly the reason for this? Worse SARH missiles, worse IR-missiles and no optional ground ordenance in comparison to the MiG-29G but 0.3 BR higher? This gets even more insane as at the same BR of 13.0 sits the F-15A which gets four of the currently best IR missiles ingame with IRCCM in addition to four AIM-7M and additionally carry much more ground ordenance than the F-16 ever can and the same ranked F-16A ADF isn’t even allowed to carry while the F-15A can carry all of the mentioned at the same time without compromises regarding its AA armament. To top it off there is the french F-16A: Able to carry six! AIM-9M IRCCM missiles, its full ground ordnenance (including bombs additional to its full AA armament) and is ranked at… 13.0… What the actual f…
And now the Cherry on the cake: The AV-8B+. I absolutly love this plane as its BR is completly broken. It constantly gets downtiered from its 13.0 BR to fight 11.7 planes. Equipped with four AIM-120A ARH and two AIM-9M IRCCM missiles, an engine so powerful you can win a turnfight against an F-16 if done right and get to speed again in no time without additional fuel cost. In an uptier it can hold its ground because of its armament slinging your AIM-120s and AIM-9Ms around while skimming the surface at Mach 0.9. The lack of supersonic is absolutly bearable and even gets outweighted by its VTOL capability, the absolutly insane thrust/acceleration and its fuel effeciency which allows you to take off with minimal fuel load and last the entire match. There wasn’t just a single game were I got a K/D of 15:0 with this plane. To remind you: This plane has the same BR as the F-16A ADF which gets only two AIM-7M SARH (two less than the four ARH missiles on the AV-8B+) and flare loving non-IRCCM missiles.
So what I take from this:
The BR 12.7 is an absoluty odd spot currently as it can either get downtiered to 11.7 where things get a little bit too easy while an uptier to 13.7 means certain death within a matter of seconds or two minutes without a chance to either get even close to enemies or for you to guide your poor SARH missiles into their target.
The BR 12.7 to 13.0 definitly needs a decompression AND the planes need to get their adanced weaponry with IRCCM capability. Either downtier the versions of the jets without IRCCM and SARH capability so that they don’t have to face the Fox-3 and IRCCM madness in uptiers or give them at least their IRCCM loadout to be at least a serious foe at close range in uptiers. Or just make it easy: The bracket between 12.0 and 13.0 is locked and can neither get up- nor downtiered, but I wouldn’t call this a solution at all, more a plaster on an open bone fracture.
The AV-8B+ has to be at least 13.3 to not see downtiers to the 11.7 bracket where it’s becoming a fox in a hen shed. Nine out of ten cases my 12.7 roster of F-16A and F-14B gets uptiered to fight against 13.7 with their full ARH and IRCCM loadout. When it gets downtiered (which is funnily much more rarely the case than with my AV-8B+) these planes can be absolutly menacing against 11.7 like the whole F-4 lineup.
What are your thoughts and experiences on this? I can only speak for the mentioned planes and don’t know how the situation in other tech trees is.