Short answer, the F-8E offers the best performance for BR.
Long answer, Rank 7 US has a bunch of slightly above average aircraft who aren’t top dog in any one area. the 10.7 aircraft are currently in a poor spot since some very high performance aircraft just moved down in BR, and 12.7/13.0 is very popular right now, leading 10.7 to be sucked up to 11.3/11.7.
Rank 7 is where doctrine changes from guns and early missiles to much more advanced options. The F-5 and F-8 represent the last of the old doctrine, where the F-4’s are the beginning of the new era. as such, the F-5/8 are absolute beasts in downtiers, but really can’t keep up in uptiers.
Another good option, especially if this isn’t your first high/top tier nation, is the F-4J once unlocked (or F-4S if you have the money and it’s on sale). both require systems understanding, keybinds, and game knowledge that is 100% required to perform in rank 8, which, if you’ve played at this tier in other nations, you already have. While they are a bit overworked, it’s not as bad as it once was, and developing the skills necessary will be required anyway.
Quick note, if this is your first rank 7+ nation, this is the most common tier to see players rushing to bomb bases, is fighters. at this tier, expect 4 to 8 players competing for bases, and as such, this strategy isn’t nearly as viable for grinding as it is at lower tiers. Feel free to try, but it will be a frustrating experience.
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I personally really have enjoyed the F-4E recently, and also the A-10A Late- but honestly the F-8E is the best overall performer there IMO. lower BR, great missiles, RWR, CMs, Good Flight Performance, and good guns. It’s really hard to top it as an all rounder.
The A-10A Late is great if you understand how to use Aim-9Ls and how to Dogfight. I enjoy it a lot but I know a lot of people do not.
The F-4E is fun but also a bit of a relic from the ‘old days’ of WT, where Missile Busses were king. It doesn’t really have the Flight Performance to keep up with what it faces in an uptier (The F-16A being a prime example). But still, I enjoy it.
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I see. This is also my first rank 7 nation and I don’t know the skills and keybinds I’ll need in the soon future. Thanks though.
i’d say F-5E or F-4E. F-5E is highly survivable, F-4E has good offensive power. But both have been powercrept by Gaijin’s stupid balancing decisions. End of the day, you’re not going to have fun.
That’s always tough. Luckily, this BR has nothing super duper advanced, so you should be able to learn the keybinds fairly easily rather than just jumping in to 12.7+ where you need to look at your screen more than your keyboard.
My biggest advice is to learn Radar missiles and how they operate/how to defend attack with them. If you don’t learn now, it gets really difficult to fix bad habits (as someone who had to fix bad habits, trust me it ain’t fun).
How can I learn?
Watch youtube videos, do the new tutorials, and play matches.
Back when I started they didn’t have tutorials for this stuff- so it was just watching videos (which I never did) and playing in game. Every now and again a friend may give some advice. There are a lot of good channels out there- just look up “War Thunder Radar How To” and youll get tons of good advice. I don’t have any specifics for now but Im sure in time I could get you some if needed.