Today i spend 5000GE purchase the F104S TUF to research the italy aircraft tech-tree.This plane is a joke.In 11.3,there is no chance for you to get the window and the AIM-9P almost useless.So,GAIJIN,please play your game and at least let the people who willing to pay for it have fun!
Three hours spend in it and the only thing i get is desperate.Only 24000 research point one hour.
9Ls would make it a minimum of BR 11.7, potentially higher because it could bomb bases with 6x 9Ls which not even F-111F can do.
At 11.3 it’s the same BR as F-4E while being the fastest fighter-bomber at the BR.
Did you even do any research before buying it? This plane is widely considered to be bad, if not one of the worst premium planes for its BR, and has been for years. There are numerous threads on forums about it.
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Load napalm and rush to bases, then you can try to help your team in the air.
They won’t give you AIM-9L, first, TAF has never used it on their F-104s, second, just look at ASA and think at what br F-104S with adequate RWR and AIM-9L would sit.
PS You are playing Italian tech tree, get ready to get br penalty for every plane, but ones which are also represented in other nations TTs.
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I‘m Chinese and every video in there say that it’s a good plane to research the italy tech-tree…
cant speak for chinese social media, but on WT forums as well as standard platforms like youtube, F-104S TAF is often considered to be bad, if not the worst premium plane for its BR, and has been for years.
Only strategy where it might be viable as grinder is to use napalm and just go for the bases. Its up to you in you find fun in that; on top of the fact that lot of people do spam the TAF(and other planes with napalm) the exact same way, so you will have some stiff competition.
Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you effectively wasted your GE on it.
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It’s good for fire bombing but arguably overtiered as a fighter. The problem is that f104G at 11.0 has the exact same engine as 9.3 f104, meanwhile 21bis at 11.0 has a much better engine than the 9.3 one. F104G should probably be 10.7 and 104S 11.0.
It just probably makes lots of money firebombing unfortunately keeping it at 11.3
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Its a classic case of effeciency over common sense.
On paper, the F-104 is fast, can carry napalm and probably can fairly consistantly get base kills at 11.3. To gaijin, this means its fine.
But when compared to something like the F-4E… Its woefully underpowered. with only 2x Aim-7Es and not Aim-7E-2s. The 9Ps are okay for the BR, but far from the best and the overall equipment on the F-104s is not great. Like a very weak RWR (probably why ive never had an issue just farming kills against them in the Tonka ADV)
I do see some minor concerns about moving it down… but those would be minimal at 11.0. In the long run, a decompression is needed
It’s a bomber
Increase the BR? :P
Clearly but no add what i posted, you can read Lego can’t you?
The 23ML is one br step higher
+Far better radar
+Far better missiles
+Higher speed
+Far better flight model
+Better defensive suite (RWR/CMs)
-CCRP/CCIP
You can add 9Ls and they’re still miles apart. A BR reduction to 11.0 or 10.7 even is absolutely necessary.
F-104S is faster in both acceleration and top speed.
They carry a similar amount of countermeasures.
CCIP is identical on both.
Both carry mid IR missiles.
Both have weak radars for high altitude.
So low altitude Mig-23ML is better with radar missiles, at high altitude it doesn’t matter cause chaff.
That radar missile difference warrants 0.3. And we’re not doing 1v1s so the FM difference isn’t as big as your post portrays.
If F-104S goes to 10.7, then F-15E to 13.3.
F-104S is the fastest 11.3 in the game with a kit equal to F-4E.
It should just get what i listed above, it would be a nice boost to its performance and it can be given to the F-35
When it come to having any fun i choose to play the Mig-23mf 10/10 times over the f-104. The f-104’s are only such a high br because they’re in Italy. look at the f-104j vs the f-104G the j has 6 aim-9p/j and the g has 2 aim-9js while the j is 10.3 and the g is 11.0 and the only difference besides that is having countermeasures
How can you say the f-4e and the F-104s have the same kit? while the f-4e has 4 radar missiles and doesn’t have to sacrifice its gun to use them. Not to mention its insane ground arsenal. 4 2000lb self guided bombs and 6 self guided missiles. Its vast quantity of dumb bombs, and with all that it hardly is any slower than the F-104s
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Its more dis-similar than just that.
F-104 has 2x Aim-7E (if it gives up the gun)
F-4E has 4x Aim-7E-2s. I believe those are quite a notable upgrade over the Aim-7Es for WT as they will work far far better at closer ranges (1.8 vs 0.7 second guidance delay difference)
F-4E definetly has the advantage in A2A combat, completely.
The problem. F-104 is probably the better base bomber, and thats all Gaijin cares about. How well something performs generally.
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Its not even better at base bombing. it can take out one base by the time it can take out another one the f-4e already took out 2 and got 4 kills
F-4E trades a hilarious amount of speed for 4 chaffable Radar missiles
F-4E can’t even do the same speed as an F-104S that has 2 bases of bombs equipped… when the F-4E is A2A only.
F&F munitions aren’t notable for air game modes.
F-104S can bring up to 3 bases of bombs and still be faster than F-4E with 1 bases of bombs.
F-104S is the F-15E, and F-4E is the F-15C.
F-104S is the fastest fighter-bomber of 11.3.
F-111F is the fastest fighter-bomber of 11.7.
I usually bring 1 bases of bombs with 6x 9Js.