Help Choosing the Best air Vehicle for Grinding

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Hello everyone,

I’ve been playing for a few months now, and I’m absolutely loving ground RB. I’ve managed to grind the USSR and Germany tech trees to 10.3+. Along the way, I’ve been taken out by CAS quite a few times, so I thought it was time to add some CAS to my own lineups.

Here’s the thing: I’m not a fan of older tanks or prop planes. I really enjoy the 9.3–11.3 bracket, and since I don’t see myself grinding tech trees without a premium vehicle, I’m hoping to get some advice before making a purchase during the upcoming sales (hopefully).

I’ve narrowed my choices down to a few options and would appreciate your input:

Germany

Germany doesn’t seem to have any premium vehicles that are worth the investment. The IDS Tornado only has dumb bombs, which feels underwhelming for its BR. As for the SU and MiG, they’re already available in the USSR tech tree, so they don’t feel unique. Looking at the entire air tech tree, nothing really stands out as attractive compared to what the USSR or the USA has to offer.

USSR

Initially, I was considering the SU-25K because it fits perfectly with my lineup. However, I realized it might be a better choice to get the MiG-23ML instead. This way, I can grind the tech tree SU-25 while also having a solid option for farming higher-tier jets.

The issue is that I’ve read the MiG-23ML was recently nerfed, and I’m worried it might not be worth it anymore at its current BR.

USA

I know I originally said I wanted CAS for Germany or the USSR, but I keep hearing great things about the USA’s CAS capabilities. After facing the A-10 a few times, I was impressed (and destroyed) enough to consider it.

However, since the A-10 has a tech tree version, I’m thinking of picking one of the USA premiums instead: F-4S, F-5C, or AV-8B.

• F-4S: Seems like a great mix of fighter and ground-attack capabilities.

• F-5C: The weapon loadout seems a bit awkward for me.

• AV-8B: It feels slower and more focused on ground attack, which isn’t my preference.(for a air grind vehicle)

If I go with the F-4S, my plan is to use it to grind to the A-10 and, with the leftover GE from the pack, buy the Wolfpack to start grinding the tank tree. This feels like the most cost-effective way for me to grind an entire tech tree from scratch. I already have some experience with vehicles similar to the Wolfpack (like the Boxer MGS), and while grinding an entire tech tree with one tank isn’t ideal, it’s the most cost-effective option for me.

Since I don’t plan on buying more than one pack (even during sales), this seems like the best way to make the most of my budget, as even at half-off, the prices are still quite high.

TL;DR:

What’s the best premium CAS vehicle if I can only buy one?

• USA: F-4S Phantom?

• USSR: MiG-23ML?

• Germany: ??? (Feels underwhelming compared to the other two.)

I’d love any advice, as I only plan on buying one pack and want to make sure it’s worth it. Thanks for reading, and I’ll be checking the comments regularly to discuss!

Quick edit I thought the CAS term was used for all planes regardless of it being a fighter or striker aircraft. In the post I’m looking for the best plane for farming out the whole tree not just to use the planes as strike aircraft.

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Hi!

Im happy to see that you are enjoying the game :)

I can give you this comprehensive guide on which premium aircraft to choose during this sale:

You can just skip to the end of each chapter to see the tierlist.

But keep in mind: He is ranking the aircraft by efficiency in Air RB.

In my personal experience, for ground RB, i recommend either the Su-39 or AV-8B NA.

For a pure grind of the air tree, either MiG-23ML or F-4S are the best choices, but prepare yourself for sensory overstimulation at top tier air rb :)

Make sure to watch more DEFYN tutorials to learn how to use each aircraft and systems that come with them.

I hope i could help you and wish you a merry christmas!

Regards,

Game Master
ottaro

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It’s still good. It’s not a dogfighter, but I can put up a fight against something like a phantom or tornado. R-24Rs are good SARH missiles at that BR, and you get 4 R-60Ms as an ok secondary missile. The worst thing about it is the RWR, but the MLD fixes that.

The main issue is that gaijin doesn’t let you choose between MTI (moving target indicator) and standard SRC anymore, which can be annoying at times. The flight model was changed, but it isn’t bad.

The Mig-21 lazur is a pretty good 11.0 fighter, and I enjoy playing the TT version. I’ve heard that the tornado is more suited so sim rather than RB, especially since it’ll be outran by phantoms when getting to a base. It’s bomb lol can destroy 2 bases at that BR, but it only gets 2 Aim-9Ls at 11.3.

Germany also has a decent air tree (contrary to popular belief), with some unique variants of Soviet planes (Mig-19S, Lim-5p, Mig-23BN), as well as some decent western planes like the F-4F, Cl.13s, Alpha Jet, and of course the Typhoon. The early jets (except the He-162) aren’t that good in my opinion.

I can’t speak for what premiums are best for America, but it’s one of the best air trees in the whole game, and I’ve heard that the F-4S is good. The F-5C is a great dogfighter at its BR too.

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