The most barebones essential modification in top tier air is chaff. The fact that we have to grind or pay GE for the most important and basic countermeasure of modern aircraft is absolutely abhorrent.
Multipathing is no longer an effective strategy, especially when:
We have aircraft which are too big to multipath with.
We have aircraft with flight models that do not allow for mutipathing in rough terrain.
We have maps that are mountainous.
We have maps that are full of excessively large trees (and invisible ones too).
It does not work against ARH missiles incoming from above.
Not to mention, that Gaijin has actively disincentivized other consistent ways to grind, such as base bombing, by refusing to increase bases while increasing their respawn time. At the same time, they refused to incentivize any other effective method of stock grinding.
This is effectively forcing GE to be spent on every single top tier aircraft in game if you don’t want to experience the absolute hell of top tier without chaff. And remember the next generation of top tier aircraft to be added will have even higher GE costs for modifications including for ‘Flares/Chaff’.
I myself have spent countless amount of money on GE alone just for the most essential bare bones modifications, imagine what it would be like for those who just want to play the game without spending a fortune on it.
With this new Rank, its time for a better stock experience.
Another and I personally think a more impactful reason for it for rank IX especially than those that you’ve highlighted, is that AESA give incredible amount of situational awarness, enough to mean that its not really viable to flank or terrain mask.
Stock grinding the base Typhoon in the beginning of 2025 was fairly trivial, annoying sure, but it was easy enough to position myself to flank or base bomb in ASB for core mods.
Doing the same with the AESA Typhoon, was just not possible, no tactic Ive tried or relied upon stock grinding higher BR aircraft in the past 2-3 years worked. I was always spotted, always engaged and usually always died. I had to switch to an entirely different tactic of staying very defensive and at long range to survive until I got chaff.
The change in the past year or so alone has been significant and it was rough to begin with
chaff should be stock not just for rank 9 but also rank 8. Stockgrinding super hornet and typhoon was absolutely abysmal game experience which is already saying something given that youre already worse than everyone else that has a spaded top tier plane due to worse performance and less air2air missiles than everyone else thanks to missing modifications.
Its just ridiculous that you can face stuff like Su30s, rafales, F15 golden eagles and typhoons with 8+ ARH missiles while youre in your barely super sonic FA18C or E with no chaff, missing engine upgrades and 2x C5 amraams
i couldn’t agree more. Plus with the add of a new rank we need previous rank to require less rp and a cheaper cost, otherwise grind will only be worse than it already is
You can kinematically defeat ARH missiles if fired from longer ranges, but if they are fired within the LSZ, that wont work. Notching alone doesnt defeat ARH missiles, unless in top down where the seeker is forced to remain in PD due to ground clutter, but then the DL keeps it on target
