The A-10A (early) at 10.3 gets 2 AIM-9Ls stock. The flight performance between the -A (early) at 10.3 and the -C at 11.7 are identical (but the -C will be stock and have worse FM) and the only difference between the two is when stock other than the aforementioned worse FM is access to HMD. Similar things can be said about the SU-25T and SU-25 (10.3) other than losing a few of your essentially ∞ countermeasures and 50 bullets but getting a slightly more powerful engine (to make up for the extra weight) and a better RWR.
Normally I’d not complain about a later version of an aircraft having the exact same armament stock as an earlier version but the whole gimmick with the A-10 and to very large part SU-25 is having access to strong missiles (at their respective BRs) but being slower than everything else. If such planes do not get access to their only true killing power until later they become essentially useless and your teammates flying them become essentially useless too. At 11.3/7 (and +/- 1.0BR) the overwhelming majority of planes do get access to flares so it’s not like they’re undodgeable like the -9L and R60M at 10.3. The Su-25T is slower than everything else it can face as well (other than the A-10, of course) and as such falls into a similar position.
You can argue whether or not planes like those should be added in the first place but they’ve been added and I just want to make the best with the cards we’re dealt. With the SU-25T you could remove the stock R-60Ms so that you still have a little bit more killing power to grind for.
and it shouldn’t be.
They’re strike aircraft, their air to air capability should be severely limited.
this “gimmick” is stupid and has led to ridiculously strong missiles at very low BRs.
The game would be better if these lost missiles entirely tbh. Then at least you could put them at some BR where they don’t ruin the game for flareless or otherwise underequipped jets.
I already brought up the question about if they should be added in the first place as they’re hard to balance but that’s another topic. I don’t think that aircraft should super-limited in the A2A role just because they’re not purpose built fighters. I want planes to be balanced. And unlike the 10.3 variants of these planes almost every plane in the MM that can face them have flares, making them actually possible to evade unlike the flaress ones a whole BR lower. Though requiring extra effort assuming that they’re on your 6 but engaging them is completely optional, you always control the engagement.
I do think that they should have at least some A2A capability at a BR where they range from “usable” to “rather competitive”. What you’re suggesting is either a. removing their A2A missiles (or replacing then with inferior crap) or b. increasing their BR. I don’t know about you but I don’t like to have dead weight teammates. What you’re suggesting would just force them to be dead weight. So x SU-25Ts+A-10Cs in your team would essentially mean a 16(-x)vs16 match. 4 of those planes in your team would then functionally be a 12vs16. Fun.
It’s not like you can base bomb with them either. The battle will nearly if not already be over by the time you get there.
Your “solution” would just any teammates flying them free RP piñatas. “Muh historical matchmaking” be damned if it means some planes get to be completely useless for no good reason.
Edit: I get that many A-10C/SU-25T players are already dead weight. Removing their missiles/increasing the BR won’t change that. It will however punish anyone actually trying to help their team to win the match actually win the match.
they can still groundpound and lower tickets, I won a few matches thanks to A10 players doing their part and striking stuff instead of painfully climbing to 5k and slowly flying in circles trying to bonk a 1950’s flareless jet with an all aspect. Remove the stupid missile and they would actually be MORE useful for the team.
I agree, I refuse to even attempt stock grinding the A-10C until it gets stock 9Ms. It’s basically just a worse A-10A at a MUCH higher BR without the 9Ms, with minor improvements like the HMD (that shouldn’t cue IR AAMs but does anyway bc gaijin) and MAWS (which has to be unlocked).
