@Stona_WT why was this moved to machinery of war discussion when it’s not a historical thread?
The F4F Wildcat is one of the all-time worst fighter platforms across any nation in the entire game.
The 2.0 Ki-27 can stomp a 3.0 F4F-4.
When you’re completely outmatched even in a full downtier, you’ve got problems.
It would barely be any good at 2.3, let alone 3.0.
There’s a reason why experienced pilots call it one of the worst fighters across the entire game.
It feels like a fully loaded IL-2 in terms of flight model, just without the instantaneous turn performance.
- Horrendous acceleration
- Overheats quickly
- Among the literal worst climb rates of any single engine fighter in the game
- Horrendous energy retention
- Abysmal top speed
- Atrocious high altitude performance (you’ll never reach high altitude anyways)
- Sluggish roll rate
- Mediocre turn performance
- Good firepower
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it doesnt even have good firepower for the BR, the A-36 Apache and F4U-1A have 6x 50 cals with mid-war belts at 2.7.
Compared to say the Spitfire with 8x 7.7mm its got very good firepower. Though that being said. If im in something like the Spitfire MkII at 3.0 and I see an F4F. Unless im stupid enough to try and head on, its basically a free kill. Providing my 303s decide they fancy doing damage
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Because it doesn’t get played enough to move the algo. Its been nested for quite a while IIRC. New players grind past it to get down to the tree. Its extremely frustrating unspaded, and not even good when aced, so probably a lot of players give up on it. Probably the most play it gets is when its listed for a PoH event.
The Algortyhm killed whatever sense any Tech tree had,…
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No he just comments on it everytime he see’s a F4F when flying other props.
If you say so lol.
My experience is different.
That’s because you’re facing hordes of players with less hours in the game than I have hours being a famous movie star.
You can club beginners in any aircraft, the people you’re fighting probably don’t even know there’s a ‘freelook’ button or that they should be using the keyboard to control their plane too.
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OK i dont disagree, but the aircraft is solid.
Okay, that one made me chuckle.
You literally are disagreeing with me because you’re saying the aircraft is solid, whilst I’m saying it’s among the worst fighters in the entire game.
To clarify, I’ve ran into people before who say the F4F’s are fine, I challenged them to a duel whilst I had to pick aircraft a full BR below the F4F’s. I then proceeded to absolutely shred them without any issue.
I wish they’d change it’s BR to 2.0 - 2.3 in the next Major BR update.
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seems like you have a skill issue.
The aircraft is badass.
Skill doesn’t magically make the plane not garbage.
I can just link this again:
Besides, does DEFYN have a skill issue?
Because I can directly qoute him: ‘‘The F4F Wildcat is probably one of THE worst aircraft in the entire game’’.
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I think calling its performance like a Zero is a bit inaccurate, cause the A6M2 while slow will always be able to outmaneuver and outrate any fighter from 2.7-4.7br, and has somewhat decent low speed performance.
While the F4F has similar characteristics, the main differences are the fact it has really bad low speed performance and worse climb.
Tbh both the F4F-4 and all the Zeros are overtiered in their current BRs
On a 1 vs. 1 performance base, yet. But as long as the average player is getting kills with it, it’s balanced.
Just the nature of the game.
Not long ago i read a post that even if US teams had a P-47 at 1.0 you would see complains about lack of turn and getting outclimbed. Even is this is a litte bit over simplified - there is some truth in this.
If you try to see this chart from a neutral perspective:
You might agree that the low BRs of US and USSR fighters are just a result of abysmal bad usage by their average pilots. So even if i agree that the F4F-4 is rather a sad plane, i see them occasionally in full downtiers flown by very good pilots with good results.
So the 3.0 might be just the result of a few good pilots using the good firepower to their advantage. Idc if it is at 3.0 or 2.7 - but 2.0 or 2.3 is a joke. Ever thought about full downtiers?
Alone the fact that US fanboys found actually a not undertiered US prop-fighter is amazing…
Btw: I recommend every player to check the lobbies - every few hundred / thousand matches you will see gaijin bots in F4Fs. I witnessed them to score 2 player kills (a Do 217 5 or 6 years ago - and a 190 A-1 around a year ago) both full committed headons…
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Like I said earlier, you’re facing people who don’t know they can control their plane using the keyboard.
Of course you’ll get good results facing those people, that has nothing to do with the F4F being any decent though.
The F4F has 1.7 flight performance and 2.7 guns. 2.0 - 2.3 seems fair to me.
Those BR’s are populated with planes like the BF 109E-1, Hurricane, He 100D-1, Ki-27, Sea Hurricane, etc. and they’re all roughly on-par with the F4F’s.
I’ll be the first to say the F4U-1a and P-39N are criminally undertiered, but this topic isn’t about those planes.
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Lol that’s true
That’s so true
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I mean no offense but the pure fact that US noobs manage to die in F4U-1s does not make 6 0.50 cals a 2.7 armament.
With the same logic you need to to think about the F4U-4 at 4.3. I mean the flight performance is very close to the F4U-4b at 5.7.
I agree to disagree :-)
Yeah, but the context matters. If US props are undertiered and a single plane (due to whatever reason) not, it is imho very cynical to use undertiered planes as justification…
In any case - have a good one!
I like how this thread, and @Necrons31467 in particular, has managed to identify all of the F4F-4’s major weaknesses and why it makes it one of the worst fighters in the game BR for BR (terrible power to weight ratio of .17, abysmal climb, slower than almost anything it fights, sluggish roll, no energy retention to speak of due to high drag) and yet we still get “USA BAD!” posts just for disruption’s sake.
No matter how you feel about American props in general, it doesn’t change the situation of the F4F-4.
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