what
Well , i can’t disagree with the arguement…the solution however is decompression and a dynamic BR including what loadout you have (type of missile etc) , because after 10.0 at least there has to be a change since the weapons matter more than the vehicle , in many occasions.
I used the IL 12.7 16A in the gunfight event it was very good, even if i was rusty. It could tangle with 4,5 gens . IN A GUNFIGHT.
That being said , in normal RB , as much good it can be because of the FM it becomes very mid because of the missiles. Everything can 1pop your 9Ls, while in every match 12.0 and above you have PD/SARHs that can really mess your BFM and ACM capabilities because they can 3d party you from afar.
People like to compare in 1v1 scenarios, which is not wrong… but in RB you have to see where a plane stands in a mass scenario.
Example, if it could only see 12.0 to 12.7 let’s say it would be fine, but even in 12.3 it can see 11.3s which it just demolishes anyway…
And that’s the problem with the MM in general, you can’t find a balanced spot …it’s just too compressed. All jets.
You can’t ask from a 16 from the 80s to play along with things 20 and 30 years after it in armament/capabilities… as good as a gunfighter it can be.
I’ve played the 4J and depends on the scenario it may or may not be better. It will be worse in an uptier to 27ER territory, because its sparrow capability doesn’t really say much and at the same spot you may have 54s as well so it will have much less air to move and it will be defensive from the start , so there 16 is better. If we compare strictly 12.0 -12.3 then yes a 4J/S may have an advantage , especially in the initial stage of the fight and before any furball.
In 1v1 the 16 will just smoke the 4J/S if it plays well, the 16 just needs the merge and then the thing is over.It doesn’t even need missiles to be fair.
I’d much rather be in a F4E than F16A in the same match. Having no Fox 1 and no IIRCM Fox 2 is a really bad combination, and even if the F4 can’t win that turn fight, it has the edge in a headon just because of the sparrows, not to mention that the F16 can’t easily do a 180 and chase down the F4 if the latter is at max speed and didn’t turn because F16’s top speed on the deck is not that much higher.
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“Its the strongest at its BR” Where the evidence?
Last time i checked stat shark its no where near the best around its BR… infact its one of, if not the worst performer.
it WAS at 11.7 at one point and it just shits on all F4 Phantoms, mig21, mig23, and every other plane it faces lmao. Was fun while it lasted cuz f16a got amazing airframe and engine for the BR. It got raised to 12.3 which is rough but deserved.
Put the guy in the Starfighter-G and see how it goes
Much be funy, MIG23 cant die by AIM 9L anyway, I remember the day my MIG 23 one tape 9L from 500m rear aspect when full afterburn.
The only way F16A can kill MIG23 is gunkill.
Anyway, I think the F16A should be higher than the MIG-23 by 0.3 BR, but those poor F4s at 12.0 that are crying.
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Just Strongest in 1v1 situations which not happed frequent.
I have to disagree. The per-shot damage and spread of the Colt Mk.12s is far more valuable than the fire rate of the M61.
Aight, just finished spading it over the course of the event.
And I must say that my opinion on it…didnt really change from my first impression of it.
First thing first - disclaimer. Im by no stetch meaning im good with it. I always say Im rather mid when it comes to ARB, so what Im saying is being said from position of average player.
With that out of the way, as I already mentioned - my opinion didnt change that much. Its incredibly fun plane to fly, it just doesnt fit the current ARB meta due to lack of presence.
Its pure joy setting up gun kills with it. Approaching someone in 1v1, dodging their missiles until merge and then working on them until I have firing solution was one of the best experiences ive had, solely enabled by the F-16A airframe. The 9Ls, while far from reliable, are workable - once again the issue isnt as much with missiles as it is with how ARB is played out.
The biggest issue is the lack of presence. No radar missiles means no presence in initial missile joust, no IRCCM on sidewinders means low presence once furball develops. Once furball is concluded, either most enemies are dead, or most friendlies are dead; both scenarios being suboptimal at best.
Still, the “most friendlies are dead” scenario would be salvagable if it werent for one crucial issue with current ARB setting - the spotting system.
F-16A is perfectly able to act as “assasin”, jumping at lone planes and taking them out. Hell, at multiple occasions, I was able to dogfight multiple people. But the moment its spotted, its basically game over as now everyone will focus it and unlike, say, F/A-18A, it doesnt have Sparrows to put pressure onto the attacker. If my position wasnt broadcasted live to the entiriety of the enemy team, Id be much more succesfull in F-16A.
To conclude, Id say F-16A finds itself at perfect BR with relatively good kit - just in the wrong game modes.
Sadly, the spotting system is not going away anytime soon, and neither we can change how average match plays out, so what else can be done?
The way I see it, one possible option is there - to make US F-16A equivalent to the F-16A OCU. But im currently saving my final judgment on this till I had chance to play OCU, which should be somewhere around end of January, if my calculations are correct.
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I agree with everything except this. The BR isn’t correct if you decompress, it’s far too low. It is correct if you simply mean for the current state of BR compression.
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Yea, this. Obviously around 13.0 the game is ultra compressed which also affects every BR around it.
Most players think it’s bad.
They be right. at BR 12.3 the great FM just gets you 3rd partied by a tornado with worst FM in game. Funny how it works
Are you even playing this game?
Now compare to the other 12.3:
Oh look, this one is piloted by American Walletwarriors and is still doing better:
Let’s be honest. You guys haven’t played the F-16A in the past months, have you?
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Well, compared to the F/A-18A, the F-16A is rocketship
Once you bleed your speed in Hornet, good luck getting it back with those fan blowers
Not to mention the uptiers to 13.3 where you are sitting duck for the Su-30 duo
Also after playing F/A-18A for a while now, it’s kind of mediocre (I will admit, this might be a hot take for some) and I somewhat get it why its at 12.3.
Putting it any higher will make it redundant. Why use 18A at 12.7 when you have 18C(e) at same BR with more Sparrows?
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Mostly agree. The F-18A is quite good on paper, but in reality has about the same battle presence as a phantom.
When I started playing the 12.3 F-18A everyone cryed it was OP, I was suprised I didn’t do much better than the aim9L only F-16A that got most of its missiles flared away.
The main drawback for the F-18A is the slow speed, not only makes it a very easy target because after some manouvers everyone will attack you since your teammates are faster and harder targets by consequence. By being slow everyone looks at you and starts salivating. Almost the same experience as playing an harrier GR.7 after being spotted.
Then the slow speed also makes the Aim7Fs far less dangerous.
I still think it should be 12.7, provided the battleratings get decompressed, because it cannot be at the same BR as the premium ones with Aim-7P at the same time.
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I don’t bleed speed in the F-18A… never have outside of landing, because there’s never a reason to bleed speed.
I bet you called the Gripen mediocre when it first released… XD
Unless you have double standards…
The F-18A is as powerful at 12.3 as Gripen was on the first 6 months of its release.
There’s a reason my KDR in the F-18A is 4:1, and it’s not because that’s my skill level in the game.
The F-18A is the 2nd best dogfighter from 12.0 to 12.7.
So you defy the laws of physics with your Hornet? You tell me you never turn in Hornet?
You will always lose some speed turning. It’s impossible not to, especially with rather mid T/W ratio 18A has
Never really bothered with it and if I recall correctly, I always tried to deal with Gripens in “BVR”
Fair, but MM goes other way around too. What’s with 12.7 to 13.3? Don’t disregard the uptiers because it’s pretty hopeless there.
I won’t deny that 18A is powerful in downtiers. Good all aspect radar with good maneuverability (but that only shines below Mach 1). Other than that… Pretty mediocre. I spaded mine today and I don’t really plan of flying it that often anymore. It’s just too tiresome to deal with jets like Su-30s which just fire off those Fox3s.
EDIT: Also F-16A just flies away if you try to chase it.
The sustained turn rate of the F-18A is in-between the F-16C and the F-16A when fuel is normalized [which I do in air RB as do many other players].
The F-18A has a TWR of 1.05:1 with loadouts equipped.
The only thing that can reliably deal with F-18As played by someone of equal skill are 1v1s in an F-16A, or Su-27s and F-2As… which are 13.0.