I’ve been flying the MiG-29 in the 9.12–9.13 bracket a lot lately, and I want to point out what I see as serious balance and modeling issues. I hope the devs and community reconsider some of these.
BR (Battle Rating) is too high — should be 12.3, not 12.7
Many players argue the MiG-29 is underperforming at 12.7 and should be dropped to 12.3. One thread states:
“It does not have the missiles it historically carried, and fights utterly unwinnable fights in uptiers … the F-16 and F-18 start at 12.3, unlike the MiG at 12.7. This is not right … Either put it at 12.3 … or give it historic flight performance and R-73s instead of R-27s.” War Thunder — official forum
Another comment on the 9-13 variant:
“It has 2 of the worst radar missiles for 12.7, they are very unreliable unless you are third partying someone.” War Thunder — official forum
Many believe that the two R-27ER missiles the MiG carries are not sufficient justification for a higher BR. In fact, some argue that with R-27ERs, moving the plane down to 12.3 would make it too strong unless some nerfs are applied. War Thunder — official forum+1
Given the complaints, I strongly agree: just two radar missiles should not justify such a high BR if the rest of the package (flight model, maneuverability, systems) is weak. The MiG-29 should be placed at 12.3* or be buffed significantly to justify staying at 12.7.
Radar & missile issues — the “radar is trash / flawed”
Many in the community call the radar “trash” or inadequate for current 4th-gen matchups. One user said:
The radar just seems like pure trash. The R27ER never hits anything …” Reddit
Another user complains about radar behaving oddly in terrain:
“MiG-29’s radar is so good it simply doesn’t see the mountain … Your radar switches to TRK MEM when the guy goes behind the mountain. It’s just predicting … sometimes ends …” Reddit
Some praise certain radar modes (HDN, TWS) in specific circumstances. But the consensus is: in many fights, especially uptiers, the radar is not up to par. Reddit+1
Also, in the official wiki, it is admitted that the N019E (Topaz) radar of the MiG-29 is “inferior when compared to 4th-generation NATO aircraft” in many aspects. wiki.warthunder.com
In short: the radar is inconsistent, predictable, or weak in many matchups. It does not justify the high BR.
3. Some modeling / balance claims are incorrect or overstated
Some players claim the MiG-29 “never used R-27ER” historically, which is debated. But whether or not it historically carried them, in game the presence of the R-27ER is one of the few reasons it can sometimes compete. War Thunder — official forum+2War Thunder — official forum+2
Also, while critics say the flight model is poor, many players point out that the biggest problem is a nerf to the flight model over past updates. One comment:
“Gaijin has kept the airframe dogshit … it’s worse than the F-16 in every way except the long range missile and HMD.” Reddit
Another user:
“Until the FM is addressed, the mig29 will continue to suck … it legit feels like flying a faster mig21bis with worse …” Reddit
So yes, there are legitimate issues with the FM (flight model), but be careful to distinguish between what is broken (radar, loadout, BR) and what is perception (some pilots just aren’t used to its quirks).
4. Suggested fixes / improvements from community
From forum and Reddit discussions, here are proposals that seem popular and reasonable:
Give it R-73 missiles (short-range IR) as historically carried by many MiG-29s. This gives more flexibility and less dependence on radar missiles. Reddit+3Reddit+3War Thunder — official forum+3
Revert or improve the flight model to be closer to earlier performance, before nerfs. Many cite that earlier FM was more enjoyable and more representative of the real MiG-29. War Thunder — official forum+3Reddit+3Reddit+3
If the plane remains at 12.7, then buff systems (radar, maneuverability, missile reliability) so it can compete more fairly. Otherwise, drop the BR to 12.3.
I do perfectly fine with it. My best 12.7s are the yak141 the mig29 and the mirage2k, I got similar efficiency of kills/score between these and they are all fantastic in my opinion
I don’t think the mig29 should be undertiered. If you can’t do well it it I’ll say its a skill issue. R-27ERs at that BR are essentially 2 easy kills, and I can often get about 2 more kills with the remaining 4 r60m if I get time and opportunity to use all my loadout because games end so fast.
The main issue with 12.7s, all of them not just the mig29, is that more often than not you’ll be partially or full uptiered.
Most 13.0s are way better than 12.7s and that just 0.3BR above, nevermind the 13.3 and 13.7s that you will constantly face. So avoid 12.7 for now if you are having issues till gaijin wakes up and does some decompression around those BRs
Thanks for the reply. I understand the balance reasons, but it still doesn’t feel fair for the MiG-29. The Su-27 is 0.3 BR higher and has 8 missiles, while the MiG-29 only has 6 (2 radar + 4 R-60MK, which aren’t great). Adding R-73s or lowering the BR would make the MiG-29 much more balanced and enjoyable.
I also doesnt feel fair for the mirage 2000k or the F-16AJ or the yak141 or the F-18A/C early that the su-27 is 0.3BR higher. Almost forgot about the poor Netz
It has 10 and that includes up to 6 R-73s (though most people will only carry 4), better FM and more countermeasures. All for the low low price of one BR step.
Sounds good, they are totally game breaking OP. Shouldnt be available on anything below 13.3.
Sure, but would increase its BR to 13.0.
Was it? I have yet to see an accepted bug reports for the Mig-29 FM being wrong. Sure, I also havent gone looking for them. But Ive seen a lot of claims about it being “nerfed” without actually citing any bug reports that are accepted showing its underperforming. Just because it was “more fun” isnt a reason to allow it to overperform. It is not fun for everyone else
Its a solid 12.7 in its current state. If it drops to 12.3, then many 12.3s should drop to 12.0
12.0 - 13.0 is heavily compressed though, few aircraft in that range are overly healthy
That old flight model was over performing especially in terms of max lift.
This new flight model is much more accurate.
It adheres to sustained turn rate charts pretty well, slightly over performing some areas and slightly underperforming at low speed.
The only thigh i can find wrong with it is maybe the aoa it takes to actually sustain those turns, but there’s very little hard evidence of that, unfortunately Russia doesn’t do their em diagrams with bleed rates like the west does so it’s hard to accurately model the turn when it’s outside the sustained turn rate charts
Yep, which is what I thought. This is the soviets we are talking about. if it was underperforming. It would have been fixed ages ago. Just look at the Mig-23s, iirc, they are all overperforming still, intentionally
Yup, was gonna make a bug report on the mig 23 ml overperforming by 0.5 to 1 g at almost all speeds but then I realized it’s gonna be tossed in the trash like all the f5 bug reports lol