Pretty sure the Yak-3U is much faster and a faster plane usually wins a fight, simply because it can always put itself in a higher energy state, particular when there is not much difference in climb rate to bank altitude over speed.
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For 1v1 dogfight there’s A sweet spot for speed vs turning.
Lf hits the sweet spot.
Yak3u leans more into speed but it’s not faster enough to transform it into altitude advantage without shootdown.
Lf using 150 octane is level above yak3u in it’s tech. Its got better boost and it’s full metal. So It’s not a very fair comparison anyway
Try the duels.
yak3u can outrate griffon spitfires in the horizontal and p51h’s in horizontal and vertical. It’s literally untouchable.
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Pretend that lf doesn’t exist
yak3u outpaces lf mk9 and has far better thermodynamics.
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Problem being war thunder is not a racing game but dogfight game
War thunder isn’t a dogfight game either lol like what? Energy and speed have always been king. What makes the 3U so good, and by extension, planes like the P-59, Strikemaster, and Yak-15 so strong is the combination of crazy turning performance and speed, which makes being at an energy disadvantage a death sentence. The LF mk9 turns better and about matches the climb of a 3U, but it’s just too slow to be much of a threat to some of the best superprops.
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Every Yak in this game vastly over-performs for its BR, not to mention they have flight models made of pure science fiction with their energy retention and ability to pull 20G turns without any structural damage.
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Years have passed, Shvak went from bad to good, to bad to absolute hammer of god in 2023 after real sh*tter 3.0, while German guns received 1 nerf after another. Fw 190 A5 series got nerfed into the ground.
The amount of all-airspawn maps have increases like 3 times which removes any advantage planes like Do-335 and Ta-152 might have had.
Plywood bug 2.0 prevents most HE shells from fusing on large parts of Yak-3 fuselage and wings.
And despite all of that, we have pay2win Yak-3 at 4.0, basically same Yak-3 at 4.3 (both should be 4.7), then we have Yak-3U and VK at 5.7 (these are not really affected by plywood bug 2.0, but they benefit a ton from all-airspawn and Shvak buffs) that would still be damn excellent at 6.0.
Why does it work like this? No idea.
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i dont even think removing that yak would do anything cuz from my experience most the time the 4.3 yak will also face 4.0
but yea yaks dont have any right to be as good as they are even the low tier ones
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Both should be 4.7
Which would also put Yak-3 in its historical matchup vs Bf 109 G6 Late (the one we have in game).
Now of course the game actively degenerates with all-airspawn maps going from 1/5 of the total to like 2/3 which completely breaks balance at certain tiers. F.e. Do-335 B2 used to be a powerhouse at 5.7
Now it’s fighting an uphill battle due to energy disadvantage.
Ta-152H doesn’t even have the speed, and getting BnZed by A6M5s that climbs better, can pull 13G at 650 IAS (“realistik!”) and somehow accelerates better while diving way over its top speed (I mean, my Dornier has a ton of excess thrust at 650km/h, same for Ta at 610km/h A6M5 has a ton more drag than thrust already at 560km/h, yet I can’t out-accelerate in a dive usually, I basically have to hit Zero’s rip speed) and barely decelerates while out of the dive (again, realistik!) is not fun.
So Gaijin’s changes to maps is ruining balance. But there are no BR adjustments.
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After reading the entire thread and now that it’s 2026, I’d like to share my experiences. I’m a German main with extensive experience flying other nations, so I can only speak from the perspective of someone who has to fight a Yak-3U on the opposing team. Well, what can I say? I wasn’t looking for posts about this aircraft for no reason. I’ve enjoyed flying the Fw 190 D9 on and off lately, but this time I’ve taken a liking to the Bf 109 K4. In matches, there’s no aircraft I dislike more than the Yak-3U (perhaps the Rafale in top tier, but that’s another story). I’d much rather take on a Spitfire or even a P-51-H5 than a Yak 3U. The flight performance is, in my opinion, not normal, and when I see the P-51-H-5 at 6.3, I seriously wonder what the Yak is doing at 5.7. I know this post is probably not very helpful, but fighting against an aircraft with no significant weaknesses is downright frustrating.
You can’t boom and zoom this plane because it can evade almost without losing speed; you can’t out-turn it, you can’t outclimb it, and you can’t let it overshoot because its flight characteristics are otherworldly. To exploit the advantages of the Bf 109 K4 in vertical combat or stall maneuvers? Not a chance!
You simply can’t beat a Yak-3U in a Bf 109 K4 unless your opponent makes some mistakes or simply doesn’t notice you. I always thought game balance was supposed to make everyone more or less equal, but Gaijin proves me wrong every time. This flight model, post-war or not, is completely broken.
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My Yak 3U isn’t spaded yet but I’ve noticed that it loses performance above around 14kft fairly drastically. They also lack in regards to straight line energy retention compared to the Sea Fury even on the deck from my experience so Mustangs etc should also be able to walk away from them if you get in trouble I’d imagine.
As for the 109’s all I can say to try is to fight them up high. Fight them on the deck and you’re dead.
so it is?
And lf9 beats both planes easily so?
The LF9 is a different story, but compared to the Yak-3U, the LF9 is more prone to speed bleed, and the higher you climb, the faster its power drops. With the Yak, on the other hand, I had the feeling that it wasn’t affected nearly as much. In turns, it maintains its speed seemingly as if nothing were wrong, and at higher altitudes, while it does lose power, it doesn’t do so as drastically as other aircraft in its battle rating.
I’m currently testing this with a Bf 109 G-10. While it’s generally inferior to a K4, I’m hoping that the G-10’s lighter weight, slightly better roll rate, and somewhat better turning characteristics will give me a better chance once the battles slow down. I don’t yet have any real experience against a Yak-3U in 1v1 combat with this aircraft, but the G-10’s engine power at high altitudes definitely saved my bacon a few times yesterday.
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I am not sure if you get happy with that plane.
Based on my preferences (i don’t like Spits due to their FM with stick settings) just 2 planes i flew are able to kill a Yak-9U reliably: The A7M2 and the P-59A.
- Whilst the A7M2 has no issues to out-turn a Yak-3U (Air RB with Hotas and without instructor) you need to set up your fights properly to ensure that they can’t run away.
- The P-59A turns also better but has a severe top (low alt) and rip speed advantage and their massive speed drop after tight turns helps a lot to avoid overshooting. I achieved the best results merging at low alt but with very high speed - avoiding/dodging the head-on and your initial turn plants you at their six (all crews with maxed pilot skill & expert qualification).
I stopped playing both as the A7M2 is way too easy to use and in the P-59 i need a hell of brain power in order to stay alive and to focus on them as main threat - whilst the armament is not really supporting “one pass” kills…
The main issue is always the time you need to kill them - like vs any Yak - so you have to wait (or create) an undisturbed 1 vs 1 in order to avoid getting 3rd partied - but on the other hand you need to kill them whatever it takes as you can’t win as long as they are alive…
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LF mk9 has more speed bleed but i do believe it can pull harder due to being a spitfire so its trade depends on your play style which is better
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That was well written.
As for the G-10, I’m still not entirely sure whether I’ll be happy with it or not. When you go from a K4 back to a G-10, the difference in performance is immediately noticeable.
However, you also notice small differences that I personally appreciate. For example, in dives, the G-10 doesn’t drop quite as quickly, and speed is easy to manage. The extra power seems to be available continuously, and the engine overheats the slowest of all the Bf 109s. Last but not least, there’s the lighter weight, which makes it feel more agile, even though it’s still one of the heaviest 109s.
But as I said, I don’t yet know whether the advantages or disadvantages will outweigh each other in the long run. Maybe I’m just not good enough.
But ultimately, this doesn’t really help us with the Yak. I don’t even think that a higher BR would really be the right solution. What would be more crucial is a revision of the flight model, and we all know that will never happen.
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This is imho leading to the right direction - a lot of planes have a busted flight model whilst others are severely hampered by instructor limitations. If you dig deep enough you find a lot of examples that mainly mouse aim players (imho 99% of Air RB pilots) of certain nations have to deal with that.
So whilst i agree that gaijin won’t nerf USSR flight models it would be great if they would consider a de-nerf of their opponents.
Example:
My Swiss C-3604 (flown with a Hotas, SFC and disabled instructor) kills any Yak in the BR range and can dogfight and win vs Spitfires (and the even better turning Hurricanes) whilst i have severe issues with the JP Bf 109 -7 or the also broken MB 157. 😂
There is a reason why 1 vs 1 duel specialists use FR controls in their tournaments.
1 Like