You’re the same guy who claimed the British versions are some of the best phantoms in the game, so that tells me everything I need to know. No amount of evidence or reasoning is going to change your mind about why these aircraft genuinely need these improvements. The stock grind is exactly where the problem becomes obvious. The F-4EJ Kai is stuck with AIM-9Ps and AIM-7Es at 12.3, while the F-4J and FGR.2 are forced to use AIM-9Ds. That leaves them at a significant disadvantage until they’re fully upgraded, which is another reason why these changes are needed.
The best flight models*, which remains true as proven by Statshark & in-game testing.
And yeah, the stock grinds of F-4J/FGx, Mig-23s, and a number of others are awful compared to EJ Kai. Something I’ve stated multiple times here, and hundreds of times across the years.
You’re just repeating my takes back at me.
Turn off afterburner or just spin and flare. Also what plane at 11.0 isnt able to sparrow roll??? Don’t get into positions where you know you wont get out of them. Also the flaw people have is rolling when its far away, wait for it to get near then juke it out, also drop chaff every 45 degrees in the spin as well for extra effect.
All jokes aside, people genuinely want to see these changes made to the British Phantoms because they’re in a terrible state. An overwhelming majority of players have voted in favor of these improvements, which shows there’s strong support for bringing the aircraft up to par.
There’s just one last hurdle: convincing Gaijin that AIM-9Ls aren’t the overpowered superweapon they seem to think they are. At this battle rating, they’d only provide a modest improvement to the aircraft’s overall effectiveness and not transform it into something overpowered.
The Tornado F.3 already carries AIM-9Ls at the same battle rating, so there’s already a precedent for it.
You should let go of this beating around the bush mentality where Gaijin only gives one aircraft these additions, because deep down you know they’re more than capable of giving both aircraft the correct loadouts.
You’ve read through the manuals, and you clearly care about these aircraft. The people who bought the F-4J(UK) deserve the chance to finally enjoy a premium that’s been underperforming for so long.
Honestly, the F-4J(UK) is the reason I joined the forums in the first place. It’s been in such a poor state for so long that I wanted to push for it to finally get the attention it deserves.
Please consider revising your suggestion before it’s too late. I don’t see any justification for increasing the battle rating or for giving the missiles to only one of the aircraft.
I intentionally excluded the F-4J(UK) from that post (perhaps I should have been explicit about that) as I wanted to make a point about the tech tree Phantoms. Out of the Phantom FG.1 and Phantom FGR.2 I would only like one of them to receive the improved armament, specifically because I want them to be different. There’s no point in playing two tech-tree jets that are identical in all but skin, by differentiating them and placing them at different BRs they both add something unique to the tech tree.
On the topic of the F-4J(UK) Gaijin seem pretty clear that AIM-9L = higher BR. I do not own the F-4J(UK) (though I do have plenty of experience in the F-4J, so have a pretty good idea how it plays - HMD and AIM-7F notwithstanding). So I don’t feel I can advocate for raising it’s BR in order for it to receive AIm-9L, that’s a change the players of the F-4J(UK) need to advocate for if they think it is a worthwhile change.
I have however added a section regarding the F-4J(UK) to my post as I feel the addition of Skyflash SuperTEMP cannot really be argued against.
The FGR.2 would sit at a higher BR than the Tornado while carrying essentially the same loadout. Gaijin moved the F-104s up because they were “too effective” at bombing bases and earning Silver Lions, which is a terrible excuse for moving it up.
There shouldn’t have to be trade offs for the FGR.2. In the current state of the game, it would perform very similarly to the Tornado F.3 with the same missiles, and I think you know that.
Gaijin seriously underestimates just how underwhelming these aircraft have become.
You need to learn the art of arguing with Gaijin. They have decided AIM-9Ls will mandate a BR increase, you will not change their mind on that, and if you try, you will just waste your time and get nothing. If instead you make the case that increasing the BR in return for better weapons is a actually a really good idea they might just do it. You have now got a Phantom with the improved weaponry you wanted; there are are then two possibilities:
It actually works quite well at it’s new BR
It sucks at it’s new BR
If option 1 is the outcome (however unlikely you think that is) then everyone’s happy. If option 2 is the outcome then at that point you can start arguing for a BR reduction, and if it really is particularly bad Gaijin’s statistics will also tell them it sucks. End result: you might get the outcome you originally wanted if Gaijin do indeed decide to drop the BR back down after a couple of BR change feedback cycles.
So following this approach you have a chance of getting the outcome you want. By comparison if you base your argument on trying to convince Gaijin that adding AIM-9Ls won’t necessitate a BR you have no chance of getting what you want, because Gaijin have made their mind up on that, you won’t be changing it, so you’ll get no-where if you try.
