Thank you for giving people who play the US tree and/or are from the US the biggest of middle fingers. Seriously - let’s even start with the fact that you added the D model as a premium in the first place. You made the Iranian version - with vastly superior missiles - an event vehicle, and the only version usually seen in Arcade. Had you made the ‘F-14A (Late)’ aka the F-14A+ before it was renamed the F-14B and only really had I want to say the engine upgrade and RWR change as a premium - could have lived with that. Which by the way - you should change the F-14B’s name to F-14B (Upgrade) cause that’s what it is. But you lock the definitive version - limited as it’s differences are from the B in terms of gameplay and all, behind the damn paywall?
But let’s get beyond that part. And keep in mind I’m an Arcade player I’m using Arcade BR’s. You gave Japan - in it’s tech tree, a 13.0 MiG-29 with RVV-AE’s - when it’s own premium F-2 with only SARH is at 13.0 which you seriously need to drop that things BR about 2 stages - that is consistently seen in the 12.7 MM range cause of setups people use to pull it down, on top of the lack of planes in certain BR ranges anyway. The bigger crime here for ARH missiles is the Su-30’s you added to Russia and China at 13.3, that have been getting pulled down in to the 13.0 MM bracket, absolutely caving everyone from at least 12.0-13.0’s heads in, 11.7-13.0 if the player is really unlucky and it swaps to beyond 1.0 matchmaking. With 6 of those missiles that can all be fired at once, I’d say about the IR missiles where they have more than a Tomcat but no one actually uses them on those planes.
But the US - ‘here, have the B with 50 miles more range you don’t need, an IRST, and a glass cockpit’. Cause that’s all this really is end of the day. And what - your gonna put it at 12.7 like the B? Or are you gonna say this somehow increases it? Either way you might as well sell it as ‘give us 80 dollars to get your head caved in every match by Su-30MK2 AMV’s and MKK’s’. Move it to 12.3 on the Arcade end, it might actually have some value, emphasis on might because the rest of it’s weapons at least are on par with the 12.3 Hornet to make up for the fact it’s not exactly nimble and the AIM-54’s are not only garbage, but you STILL haven’t given the AIM-54C it’s proper speed around Mach 5 for what little good it will do that missile. The tech tree versions as it is need a BR drop in Arcade with how bad they do, especially after all the Fox-3’s added after that are vastly superior (Iranian one needs to go up in BR to at least 13.0). And you can’t even be bothered to at least give it 9M’s? For real? What you should have given the US for it’s ARH premium is the F/A-18D (the two seater variant) with AMRAAM’s, even if it’s the worst version of them on top of the extra seat and all to lower it’s ability and BR and put the missionized B in the tech tree before the Harrier and the F after it - which should have honestly already happened. Or an F-15C back when they had the AN/APG-70, with the older model AMRAAM’s and strip off whatever ground ordnance, or better yet all of it back to an Air Superiority fighter, to get it to 13.3 BR to match the Su-30’s. Hell, a Block 30/32, 40/42, or even 25 F-16 with AMRAAM’s would be better at 13.3 to give us something actually on par with the Su-30’s you added. All of the option you had - but you went the F-14D? Unreal.
Know what - you better take that F-14D model, and take a page out of so many Russian vehicles, and the F-15C Golden Eagle playbook. Cause they had the plans and funding to add the AMRAAM to the F-14, but they passed it up eventually to free up more for LANTIRN, just like the GE upgrade for the 15C was passed up. So at least give us an F-14D (CSU) [Computer Software Upgrade] that can fire AMRAAM’s, and has better short and mid range missile options. And don’t try and give any nonsense about ‘compatibility’ or whatever - the Radar was literally designed for it and just needed the software upgrade, and the AMRAAM was more or less designed to replace Sparrows 1-1 so we know the Tomcat can carry at least 6 of them, and there is literally photographic evidence, for all I know even video evidence, of an even older model F-14 testing the damn things so it 100% can.
And even if you dropped the American Tomcats a stage in Arcade like they need to 12.0 and 12.3, and made this 12.3, I still would not pay 80 dollars for it, when it’s half off I’d at least consider it. Cause I’m still likely gonna have to deal with the vastly superior missiles of the Su-30 twins who get themselves put in to the 13.0 matchmaking.
