To no ones surprise. The BR changes and recent updates have not improved the gameplay loop for American props in the slightest. It’s almost like the issue doesn’t lie within the BR rating but rather with the laughably bad and inaccurate flightmodels/instructor and the low-alt dogfight meta.
American props will always lose unless paired up with a nation that can carry them and stomp the competition (USSR/Japan)
The meta needs a change. American mains are tired of climbing because they’ll be the only ones left against an entire enemy team by the time they get to battle. And then they’ll still lose because everything outclimbs them and can catch them no matter where they go. It’s much easier to just fly straight forward, hope to get someone in a head on, die and then queue for a new match because of the “soon I will unlock a jet and things will be different” mentality.
The fact that this mentallity is the norm really proves how awful the current Air RB meta is.
But hey. Keep lowering their BR and soon we’ll see Mustangs lose to Biplanes.
I got 3 base related special & daily tasks (2 x kill 20 bases, 1 x kill 6 bases) in a row - 39 matches: 30 wins, 9 defeats whilst playing the B7A2, the D4Y3 and the war bond UK P-47.
The defeats were either based on steamrolls or ticket defeats.
If i see experienced pilots flying out the CHN or French P-51C - they have zero problems with the FM, instructor or the low alt dogfight meta. They just perform well and clap the US boys flying the same hardware.
US has the highest number of air spawn planes - stuff like P-38s is a pain in to fight if flown properly. Same as a P-51C - they are way too fast, and if they learned energy management even P-51Ds are a pain to catch.
As long as 70-80% of US players have no clue about ACM and attack the wrong targets (=bombers or strike aircraft) or use their fighters for base bombing this prediction is not totally out of range:
I’ve had times I cheered because my team climbed with me, then they spotted a wyvern or a ju or some other attacker/bomber and suddenly 5 planes all broke off to give chase. I’d understand 1-2 planes, but five?
I imagine the grind contributes to that behaviour though, so I do not entirely blame them - getting a bomber kill can make the difference between measly 300-400 RP and actually getting over 50% battle activity before dying. Problem is of course, if people stayed together we’d die far less often.
ACM/Defensive flying is another thing. People fly in straight lines or just roll their ailerons when attacked. This is nice as an attacker, as it’s easy targets. It is less nice if it means your teammates disappeared while you were busy energy fighting someone.
Warthunder seriously needs to improve its tutorials. They don’t even work right as is -
Behold, the quality of tutorials - a most joyous, thrilling experience while I was learning mouse joystick:
There should be a tutorial about how to perform the basic maneuvers (yoyo, switchback/pitchback, barrel roll/lag displacement, scissors), maybe using those “hoops” the landing tutorials use or I don’t know.
Yes for more complicated stuff like radar modes or defensive flying vs incoming missiles, but also
No for basic stuff like ACM or knowledge about strengths and weaknesses of own and enemy aircraft - it needs no effort to go to yt and find a lot of helpful stuff.
But without passion for flying / ACM and the willingness to invest some time to learn basics i see no need for excessive “hand holding”…
My personal highlight last year (regarding US teams) was to witness 7 of my (assigned) US team going headon with a He 219 - ofc all 7 went down.
Followed by a F4U-4b and a US premium Spit dying to return fire of ai gunners of a bot Ju 288 above their own airfield - the Ju 288 was already burning and peppered by af aaa, but both managed to get killed… (and i watched the replay to report the bot - he was in bombardier view).
To be fair - USSR players tend to do the same things, but their 20 mm have a way higher instant kill probability…
It’s closer to the P-51D-30 in horsepower and power to weight than to the D-5, which is exactly why it wasn’t dropped in BR even though Gaijin planned for it initially.
Yeah. I wish I had purchased it when it on sale during that last sale. But I didn’t have the money at the time. It should be coming back for US AF day though hopefully
The long game is dead these days because ticket bleed and base aaa. That seriously neuters US planes. The short game meta drives people to engage quickly and try to get a numbers advantage. Part of US planes when co-energy has always been to bore your opponent to death so he will turn off because they can’t catch you giving you an energy advantage. But if they are stubborn or you are the only one left they can just climb on your tail and push a stalemate at least. So the only real true advice any one can give is to get good at head ons (not full commit) and merging. Stealth belts in 50s don’t do quite as much damage usually but they are deadly in a head on. And allow you engage from farther range in your attacks as well. Because very often your opponent won’t recognize your firing and will just fly in a straight line waiting on tracers.
On a side note planes like this or any fast weak turning plane in any nation benefits far more from a wingman. It’s a force multiplier. Sure any plane gets better in a squad. But nothing like fast planes that can just drag N bag playing monkey in the middle with the enemy team. Friend me in game I will fly US stuff with you.
Yeah, but it is imho not solely based on the inability of using certain US aircraft, the grind at lower tiers is simply way too easy - meaning that the players progress way too fast up to rank IV.
And to be fair, using any P-51D or P-47 requires very specific (and imho extremely boring) play styles to make them work - and, ofc, the ability to “read” a game, so making the right decisions at the right point in time.
The transformation of Air RB into Air AB+ is part of the problem and i do agree that flying certain other nations require way less efforts to have some fun, but if you look closer most rookies simply believe the fairy tales of “P-51 = best fighter of WW2” and are deeply disappointed when their game results do not fit to this narrative.
The P-51 Ds are excellent aircraft above 6km coming in with altitude and numerical advantage - even Hartmann was shot down by P-51s above Romania - but the wt meta kills those advantages.
Yeah planes like the P-51C and F4UA and F4U-1D are pretty under tiered and some of the easiest and fun planes to fly.
Yeah. I personally like the P-51’s playstyle and don’t mind having to avoid the initial brawl and just mopping everyone that is low. Idk about the 47 though. It’s just too heavy for me and I never got into it. Playing mustangs defiantly helped me learn how to read a situation and game a lot quicker than any other plane probably would have. Same with the XP-55 which is probably one of most favorite planes in game.
What’s that? The AB+?
That was me when I first played the D20 XD. Then I realized that I just needed to learn how to play XD. Now I love mustangs in game. I’ve always loved mustangs and do believe it was one of the best planes of WW2, but after playing and growing up more I have more respect for other planes as well
I’ve even found that they are good at lower alt’s but you have to stay fast, so basically dive, attack extend, do a climbing turn then do it all over again. But yeah, WT meta is not in favor of the mustang sadly :(
Essentially Gaijin caving in to people demanding “faster matches” because “climbing is boring and for sweats/old people”. I have been called a sweat for binding pitch-up/down on my keyboard, when I complained about the new weapon selector keybinds, on reddit.Tiny maps, too many players for aforementioned maps and the like.
What I find amusing though is some arcade maps have pretty nice objective placement with clear separation between hotspots that work decently for making engagements less of a furball. Why RB doesn’t have that, I know not.
P51s only have 2 stage supercharger. They are not bad at high alt but they are nothing special except they excel at maintaining an energy advantage. But their performance above 6k is nothing special compared to most contemporaries. P47 and P38 on the other hand are super and turbo charged giving them a distinct advantage at high alt. Comparing anything in Air RB to irl is pointless.
The reason why the A6Ms are way too high with their BRs is the fact that most players fumble with the “extending” part (too steep and allowing snap shots) - and the majority of Mustang pilots underestimate their energy loss of such dives in combination with the ability of enemies to regain energy.
