What should I buy?

The Academy - Players helping Players
22

Ok, if you REALLY want, you COULD ask for a refund for it BUT ONLY IF YOU DO NOT USE IT, NOT EVEN ONCE.

You would NOT be able to get the discount on the Abrams later, so you would need to purchase it now, and wait for the F-4S refund. It might take a while. Up to you.

But again do NOT use the F-4S if you want to do this route, do NOT even put it into a crew slot. If you do ANYTHING with it a refund will NOT be possible.

23

So, @AUScarlet the F-4S will not see the Su-30 spam, but the F/A-18 Early WILL see many many ARH missiles in ARB. The F-4S still might be a good/better option. Let me look at StatShark here quick for ARB.

Oh nice, April info just got added to StatShark.

Oh good, Bees is here too 🙂 Please add your thoughts too about my post above fren, perfect timing.

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24

Oh, I already put it in a crew slot, sooo nono to refund, let the grind begin
Also I’m pretty sure that Senrai Maidens packs will be available during the Summer Sale at a discount, they put like 99% of packs on this sale

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25

Of course this might be just my subjective opinion but i do believe 18C early is capable of handling uptiers relatively well

Not insanely powerful and outright easy to play but it has its perks

(Do i sense yet another opportunity for shameless self plug?)

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26

Ok! In the latest StatShark data, the F-4S is actually in 1st place for Win Rate in 12.0 ARB: StatShark - See All Player, Missile, and Vehicle Statistics

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Ah, not horrible, but under 50% Win Rate, and less than 1 K/D and K/S:

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Yeah, so if you really want to grind the US Air tree in ARB, the F-4S might actually be a more enjoyable experience. I do not play ARB, so I really cannot give a good opinion for ARB specifically.

And these are the latest stats from April, and take into account the Premium Su-30 spam from both RU and China.

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27

Just to elaborate, I have both, so im not saying it lightly that F-4S fell off when such beast as 18C early sits merely 0.7 higher.

It of course ultimately depends on what the buyer is looking for, F-4S can still throw a mean punch but it requires slight nuance with its HDN only PD radar.

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28

Actually ARB was my main goal until I realised that researching ground is way faster than planes and I switched

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29

100% this. Even in Arcade I have to focus diligently to use the Helmet Mounted Sight and PD/non PD modes at the correct times. Even in Arcade, the TRK mode (non PD) is a total crap shoot. Probably not even a 50% success rate, maybe even only 25% success rate any time the shot is not directly head on.

@AUScarlet if you need any help with the radar stuff I have a good playlist/good videos to recommend 👍

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30

Okay, HUGE thanks for you guys for helping
Also look at those cool decals I got with Phantom haha lol Im so stupid
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31

😂

Happy hunting bro! Is still a good plane.

Oh! I forgot to mention too, even though some people might say the F-4S “doesn’t handle well” it does have the wing slats that auto deploy even without turning on combat flaps (like the F-4E), I personally do not find it that bad. The F-4J does NOT have those leading slats and feels much more like a brick to me, fwiw 😉

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32

Yeah I saw this on F-4E while Nuclear Thunder event

33

OH and VERY VERY last thing
Should I buy crew points? I wanted to upgrade G-tolerance and everything related to it, and crew points are pretty cheap imo (I have 2015 GE right now)
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Spoiler

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34

Few tips, mostly for ARB if I may:

  • you want to play F-4S like missile bus
  • that means stasing high, staying fast and staying far away
  • try sideclimbing at the start of the game to like 8k alt ans gain as much speed as you can
  • this gives your missiles more energy which translates to less time to target which translates to higher hit probability
  • take more chaff than flares, since your primary mean of defense against IRs is not to get one shot at you, especially in uptier
  • stay away from furballs
  • multipath is last resort, not your primary mean of defense (important as you proceed beyond 12.0)
  • you can make your own loadout, which means you can run 5x sparrows / 2x sidewinders
  • HMS can lock targets only at certain range, otherwise you have to rely on radar
  • effective range for your missiles, assuming you have high alt/speed, is like 20km for headon with Sparrows, 5km tailchase for Sparrows, 1.5km for tailchase with Sidewinders
  • fire at ranges beyond 20km only when you have missile to spare, enemy is at same alt as you or you want to just supress the enemy, not neccesarily hitting him
  • do NOT contest either R-27ER or AMRAAM. You will lose, better write off the missile and go full defense.
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35

Yes.

G tolerance is essential, upgrade other stuff too till you can efford expert crew.

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36

Is it better to buy 17500 points for 1000 ge or 1500 for 100 but multiple times?

37

What level is your crew slot currently?

Imo, you really only “need” to get your crew slot high enough to get Expert Training. Not only the boost, but you don’t start on the discounted/free Ace training UNTIL you get Expert Training. Especially a good idea for a premium you are going to use a lot.

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38

Man i do t really know lol, open the calculator and calculate GE per exp point i guess

I dont do math 😭

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39

I just did this yesterday lol. Google AI actually makes this SO much easier. It has been spot on with exactly how many points are needed, and how many GE’s are needed to get high enough for Expert.

Only info that is needed is exactly what the crew level currently is, and what crew level is required for the F-4S’s expert training.

2 Likes
40

okay okay i will do, thanks everyone again

41

Also also! Crew Skill points are rewarded based on RP per match, NOT match score. So, premium time + premium vehicle, you get a TON of points. Really no need to push it past the Expert Training requirement imo. You will get to the Ace training and high crew level quite rapidly. Especially if you are grinding out new tree from Rank 1. You should have Ace on it before you finish. Again! Why it is a very good idea to immediately get Expert to start the Ace points.

1 Like