In case you think that the 4.0 and 4.3 versions are too strong for the current BRs of 4.0/4.3 in Air RB you might want to support this post in the current BR change round:
The need for a BR increase comes imho from the fact that gaijin “forgot” to increase the BRs of ShVak armed fighters after they transformed the cannon from the worst to imho the best 20 mm (ballistics, damage and aim as center mounted) cannons in the game:
I created last year a similar post - unfortunately just 2 fellow players like it:
They are excellent aircraft and dominate entire lobbies.
Whilst the lower Yaks are similar dominant (mainly Yak 1B at. 3.0) but can be tamed by stuff like the 109 E-4/7 or the B-239, the Yak-3 (e) and “standard” USSR Yak-3s need a dedicated turnfighter like an A6M or Spit to fight them in a 1 vs 1 on equal terms as planes at higher BRs get heavier and less nimble.
Main strategy is to make them slow (<200 kmph), but it takes ages to drain their energy thx to their excellent energy retention. So it gets tricky to kill them if you can’t drag them above 6 km (when they lose engine power) or can’t catch them in a way lower energy state at very low alt.
But this was always the case - the Yak-3s suffered like all other USSR aircraft with 20 mm ShVaks from a low damage output (=more hits for a kill) and rather limited ammo count. Things got complicated with real shatter 2.0 & 3.0 as the ShVak can now kill a fighter with one or two hits.
So the initial reason and justification for their low BRs vanished - but Gaijin has not increased their BRs.
Any aircraft needs a higher BR if absolute rookies manage to score 3-5 kills with one ammo load with them - just by killing other rookies. The only other aircraft in this BR range which has a similar impact on lobbies is the Ki-44 II (JP & CHN) at BR 3.7. You can witness this daily in Air RB.
I see this from the perspective of average pilots fighting each other - and the Yak-3s are meta planes with severe climb, speed and turn advantages vs most opponents - and since RS they have also an extremely effective cannon.
So even if you are experienced enough to handle (or at least neutralize) them - your less experienced team mates get slaughtered by similar experienced players just because they fly a way better plane sitting at the same or even lower BR.
This puts immense pressure on you as Air RB is mostly a TDM mode.
I am not talking about experienced pilots using them - like this guy (link) - i see him frequently and there nothing wrong with scoring 25k kills in various Yak variants.
The Yak 3s play a similar role like the A7M2 or Ki-84 at 5.3 - they allow way too easy kills for average players - and as soon as you identify an experienced player flying them you are forced to focus on him, otherwise your game is lost.
I love my premium french Yak but I agree, they all need to go up, they’re so easy to use and do well thanks to their is godlike flight perfomance. Combine that with their laser guns and any decent pilot will be a nightmare to fight, even with a massive advantage.
The only times I die in one is when my whole team crumbles and I’m left 9v1, and usually I take like 3 guys down with me before I get shot down!
And can we talk about the yakKABB as well? Why is that monstrosity so low?
4.7 seems fair. It’s where it is in SB and tend to find their presence not overpowering. Granted, controls and context is different but still means it has precedent.
I am not sure that arguing that an undertiered aircraft should stay at the same BR just because other aircraft are undertiered too is a valid strategy 😉
The XP-50s got tamed thx to airfield spawn and is a preferred rookie vehicle - and the XP-55 lives from the insane firepower, very high dive speed and high speed turn & agility; otherwise the plane is slow af - you can outrun it in almost every aircraft - and are quite rare whilst you see Yak-3s in any match with a 4.3 - 4.7 BR playing a much more important role.
Your mentioned La-7s are a minor threat - u can actually outturn them in a P-47 D-28 - and the majority of F8F-1 players i see use them either as base bombers or utilize the very good climb to head-on the first target with a marker.
The lack of ground pounding loadout of Yak-3s enforces a use as a fighter - and even as they have buffed the La-7 a while ago a Yak-3 is imho the bigger threat at a lower BR.
But you already knew this - you are way too experienced mate 😉👍
I have always maintained that the Yak-3 is the best fighter at its BR 4.3, in fact I have always wondered why after all this time, its BR has not been increased.
I don’t see the F8F-1s as real threat at 4.7 - they suffer like all US props from their players.
A 4.3 Yak-3 is even in a full uptier a massive threat as long as you don’t use a JP or UK fighter - or P-47 D 28/30 and get asap above 5 km. Yes, the Pyoerremski beats a Yak-3 rather easy, but the plane is rare even as it was available in the war bond shop; the MG 151/20 is way worse than the ShVak.
Yaks performance quite acceptable, the only problem might be the Damage Model. The composite wood just compromises the HE round, and its has a very low chance of catching a fire for its fuel tank, which is way more effective than the Lavochkin’s inerted fuel tank. Thus it can absorb incredible amount of damage and makes it too tolerated to any mistake in combat. I think it should be fixed.
