I’m 200 games into the F-14A and I only have a 1.1 K/D (181 to 160) in it, no doubt due to skill issue, but I find myself struggling with the low countermeasures count as well as poor mid-game and late-game presence in even the slightest uptiers.
The main “gimmick” of the aircraft are the AIM-54As, which allow the plane to have tremendous early-game presence at its BR, but these can also be dodged quite consistently once technique is learned; Whether or not I get kills with them seem to largely be out of my own hands, even in the most optimal launch conditions… And once I expend my Phoenixes, I am left with only two AIM-7Fs and AIM-9Hs paired with a radar that are completely outclassed by HMS slewed R-27ERs and R-73s only 0.3 BR above me.
Yet in downtiers the F-14A is a menace that can easily claim 2-3 kills just with the AIM-54As just by capitalizing on the poor RWRs that many aircraft such as the MiG-23ML have.
So what is your playstyle in the F-14A? How do you feel about its mid-game and late-game presence, its battle rating, and do you think the Tomcat should be changed (I.e., given single-pop countermeasures like the F/A-18C Early)? if so, how?
Sorry if this post is confusing. English is not my first language.
My F-14A-Early games are before IRIAF one was a thing. But i did grind mods for the IRIAF when it was 12,7 and then played it at 13.0 .
So, for the part of the grind that i had AIM-54As, essentially i had F-14A early.
The situation was bad, not because AIM-54A was bad, i could make kills… when the IRIAF ones were not in the game. Just because Fakour is faster, it is common shoot on the same target and Fakour Fakours you to waste the missile because target is already killed.
Also if there are F90s in the other team you are already on the defensive.
I went from 1:3 K/D with the AIM-54s to over 1:1 with the F90s and playing 13.0 , just because of that reason. In fact at start i couldn’t do s–t. So, in order to grind the mods up to F90, i started playing late so i would have the CMs when i need them (dogfights) and R27Rs (or AIM-7Fs in your case) start to matter. AIM-9H (or P in my case) , don’t have much to give in a same or overtier …though with 9H you could do some longshots or top down and if it passes undetected you get a kill.
I wouldn’t play the F-14A Early in the current situation… It has 70s equipment and except the longshots with AIM-54A , that matter against same tier (downtiered) …it’s completely outclassed at 13.0 (slight uptier) just because F90s will be in the game.
It is a plane that got shafted big time by the compression in one hand and by making event vehicle the same but stronger. Because the difference with 54A and C is not that big to mess your game (when i was playing the TT 14A) , but the difference 54A vs F90 is huge and you will have them in your team and the opposing team for the most part.
I don’t go to SARH and IR territory, because both of the missiles you carry are 12.0 weapons, not 12,7 and so does the CM count. Flight characteristics are good though, if you find yourself in 1v1 … but that’s rare.
Thanks for your insight. How do you feel about the F-14B?
I do feel that the Fakour-90 is quite a big menace to F-14A-early and even F-14B - From my own experience, their high speed forces F-14B & A-early to be on the defensive (like you said), and pressures F-14B & A-early players to make hasty shots with their own AIM-54s, or even not shoot at all.
It’s quite tricky to fight against them, though it is a bit rarer to see F-14A IRIAF now.
Sometimes I feel like that too. It feels like they are largely dependent on the skill of the defender and not mine as the shooter, even the map sometimes feels like it works against the AIM-54; Maps with a lot of open water make finding good targets even trickier. But that applies to all active radar missiles, really.
The main problem is that you can’t get guaranteed kills in the Tomcat. Aim-54s? Nah. Aim-7s? Maybe in a head-on really close, but for the most part, they can just turn away and defeat your radar. Aim-9s? Still had the worst IR missiles for its BR at its previous BR…
The entire plane revolves around the enemy handing you free kills. At top tier that just doesn’t happen.
Instead, the F-14 is guaranteed killed by superior weapons and avionics and it’s own BR.
I find that players 13.0 and above usually know how to evade AIM-54. I don’t think I’ve gotten a single kill on a Su-27 player, though one did crash while trying to multipath my AIM-54.
I’ve gotten AIM-54 kills on MiG-23ML, F-4S and F/A-18C Early players the most, likely due to the fact that they’re usually new to the game, and in the case of the MiG-23ML, a poor RWR that is not equipped for launch warning.
I dont like f14s much. I like the aircraft irl but not ingame. Aim7s are usable but theyre terrible compared to r27s, aim54s i used to bring 2 for the novelty but now that i cant theyre a useless weapon, aim9hs are good i guess, but aim9ls are needed, radar is terrible.