33 replies to this topic

[Maqor]

We did tier 9, let's talk about 8. A lot of players make it to tier 8 and there are a ton of strong premium planes waiting to greet them. Which tech tree tier 8's do you like? Can any stand up to the premiums? Any horror stories or unbearable grinds at tier 8? Personally I think it's a great tier, but that doesn't mean every tier 8 plane is worth flying.

 

Please, I'd love to hear any of your insights and knowledge about which of these planes to fly, how to fly them, and which ones you would not recommend. Hopefully some newer players will see them and learn something helpful

 

Edited by Maqor, 11 May 2020 - 11:49 PM.

[SkyWolf__WM]

Ok. 

[trikke]

great idea for a thread, Maqor!        ty for all this work!

 

hated the pignose P.1056,  i will never fly it again 

[qu33kKC]

The Pancake is my second-most flown plane.  Absolute go-to, love it to pieces.  I just got the Me-262 today, I think that I'm going to like it a lot as well.    I enjoy the high-tier German GAA quite a lot.  The Ta-152 is tech-tree derptastic, deleting light fighters from a klick away NEVER gets old.  The batplane is also a fun plane, even if a bit limited in power.  I rather enjoy the Tempest, even if I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be doing in it. 

 

I HATED flying the P-51H, enough so that I free XP'd about half way thru.  The Ju-288C is the bomber that I struggle the most with out of ALL of them.  Was SO happy to get past it to the tier 9.

 

I don't fly Soviet lines, so can't comment upon much of the options. 

[losttwo]

All tier 8 premiums are my favorite

[Captain_Rownd]

trikke, on 11 May 2020 - 10:51 AM, said:

 

hated the pignose P.1056,  i will never fly it again 

 

I hate pignose orcs - gygax was just plain WRONG on that one!

 

I never hate planes, though - no matter how painful they may be

 

Edited by Captain_Rownd, 11 May 2020 - 10:28 PM.

[Maqor]

Ki-94-II, IL-20 (Spit14 too probably, haven't flown it) are planes I'd recommend as your first tier 8. They're very similar to previous planes in their respective trees and very straightforward.

 

Yak-15, BVP210, J7W1, XF5U are similarly good if you have trigger discipline and can avoid overheating the guns. Can't hold down the trigger at all. Gotta tap, tap, tap. Still, these are turn-n-burn planes besides the Pancake (which out turns other heavies).

 

Me329 is strong if you can figure out when to and when not to spend time hunting planes. Not your plane if you want pure ground attack and totally ignore everything with wings, but don't fly this just as a multirole either.

 

P.1056 struggles to get out of trouble. It works well in horizontal boom-n-zoom just into its yellow altitude, if you make sure to kill things in 1 pass. It doesn't have a lot of extra speed or turning. It does have two excellent gun choices: six 20mms (better for killing fighters and multiroles) or four 20's with two 40's (for GAA's, bombers, and heavies).

 

La-9, Me209A, Tempest: need situational awareness to get a jump on your hard counters or avoid them. The La-9 is mostly relegated to turn-n-burn in the middle, but benefits a lot from the Engine Cooling consumable when it needs to move around. The others change roles depending on matchups. Sometimes they turnfight in the middle, but when true turn-n-burners are around they can either take to higher altitudes (Me209A) or hop from zone to zone capping (Tempest).

 

F2G needs similar awareness plus as good of turning equipment as you can afford to get it on par with the Tempest. As a bonus, it gets an enormous bomb in addition to the typical Corsair rockets.

 

Su-9 has a very specific playstyle: slow down almost to stall speed and weirdly tumble around to maximize turning (h/t SFMY). Like the Yak-9's, you gotta hit your shots to survive. Save this plane until you've played a lot of other tier 8's first.

 

Me262 started to work for me with Marksman 1 and an Advanced Sight. That plus no turning. It's like most of the previous German heavy fighters except it's guns are harder to hit with due to being inaccurate and short-ranged on a very fast jet. Don't make this your first tier 8 or even your first tier 8 heavy.

 

XP-72 - A bit lacking. Good at capturing zones with Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Uprated Engine. Does well against heavies, GAA's, and bombers. Can tangle with some multiroles too. Just run away if a fighter starts paying attention to you. Can't recommend.

 

I-250 - Kind of a poor man's Mk108 Me209A. Make the 37mm hit or prioritize targets you can't miss. A good gunsight is very helpful. Not all that fast and just okay at turning. I personally like it but can't recommend it.

 

Haven't flown or fully upgraded yet: Tu-10, Ju288C, Spit14, Ta152, P-51H

 

These are my takeaways as an average player that was determined to learn how to get by in tier 8. I moved up in a lot of lines at once and then focused on the ones that felt easiest to me first. Then I progressed to the more difficult ones, adding knowledge and skills bit by bit along the way.

 

Any players better, more knowledgeable, and/or more experienced than me are encouraged to correct my misunderstandings here. Please do so.

[hoom]

I've actually played them all now:

P-51H I've recently re-purchased, enjoying the heck out of it, would be a keeper but I don't really like it visually.

XF5U I'm working on Specialising, so-far fairly meh, was a pretty rough stock grind starting with MGs & slow.

F2G like the P-51H I like the performance but not the grille on the top of the nose.

XP-72 I love the look of it & its fun tearing around at high speed with the firepower of F-86A. Not so fun when caught low-speed & out of boost.

La-9 my first T8, still love it even if its quite outclassed by many other T8s.

Su-9 I did not enjoy, its an uglified, sluggish & altitude restricted 262 with a derp.

Yak-15 I didn't think much of on the way through, dig the look though. Re-purchased & working on Specialising on strength of trouble caused to Vampire by Player Specialists. I think its going to be really powerful once Specialised.

I-250 was nothing special grinding through, could be interesting Specialised & geared up but not a pretty plane.

Il-20 powerful but ugly as sin.

Tu-10 is a Bomber in an era that Bombers are awful to play.

Me 209A I fairly enjoyed but played with the Mk 108, re-purchased & Specialised 109 G instead.

Ta 152 has a lot of potential if I could just get the guns to land reliably, working on Specialising.

BVP.210 Just started playing this weekend, its a ball of fun.

Me 262 has that high-altitude, high-speed absolute dominance feel, you're up high & fast, nobody else deserves to be up there with you  (carefully ground up other lines first so it got 2d best engine from stock)

Me 329 is quite an enjoyable GA, the quad 108s, quick loading bombs & effective tailgunner are nice.

Ju-288C see Tu10 but nobody can hear you scream up there.

Ki-94II only just started flying this weekend, a somewhat faster Ki-84 but in this tier that may not be enough to stay competitive.

J7W1 just finished the grind to W2, started out fun, ended up an unpleasant grind. Does hit hard & kinda cool looking.

Spitfire XIV sleek, decently quick, quad 20mm, Spitfire turning, arguably a bit samey.

Tempest oh glorious beautiful Tempest with your quad 20mm, good speed & solid 10s turn  (even though in practice somewhat outclassed vs the likes of Vampires)

P.1056 ugly as an ugly gecko thing, I expected very little, had an absolute ball playing it with its monstrous firepower

Actually much less fun when I came back to Specialise it for some reason, probably mentally over-estimating its ability & putting it where it shouldn't be.

Edited by hoom, 12 May 2020 - 04:08 AM.

[Captain_Underpants53]

The Tu-10 has a very powerful and effective turret, at least on a par with the RB-17,  Bombs a bit anemic but fly it low and mix it up with the ADA.

 

The Ju-288C has good turrets and good bombs.  Nothing outstanding but it gets it done.

 

[CorvusCorvax]

I used to love the Ta-152 - it remains as my most-flown LF from before the nerf.  After the nerf, I do not like it any more.

[Vann_the_Red]

Interesting.  In a game into which I've invested many hours, there appear to be many planes I like and few I do not.

[crzyhawk]

I haven't run across any T8 that I abhor.  Ok, the Ta-152.  I do not like it at all.  I kept my P-51 H and my Spit XIV.  I'm specializing my Tempest right now, but don't know if I will keep it.  I'd originally planned to keep it as my T8 MR, but the specialist grind is killing me; it feels like the progress is sooooo slow because of how MR gain spec points.  Ditto the F2G, will definitely not keep that ugly thing once I am done with it.  Me-209 I like to fly, but I won't spec or keep it.  I dislike the 30mm that I'll be forced to use.  It will get sold when I unlock the T9.  the Ta-152?  I don't know that I will even grind out the next plane.  I've got some other T8s that I have unlocked but never purchased including both of the Japanese T8's.

 

EDIT:  I've never flown my Yak-15 either.

Edited by crzyhawk, 22 May 2020 - 05:46 PM.

[legoboy0401]

Maqor, on 11 May 2020 - 03:49 PM, said:

Ki-94-II, IL-20 (Spit14 too probably, haven't flown it) are planes I'd recommend as your first tier 8. They're very similar to previous planes in their respective trees and very straightforward.

 

Yak-15, BVP210, J7W1, XF5U are similarly good if you have trigger discipline and can avoid overheating the guns. Can't hold down the trigger at all. Gotta tap, tap, tap. Still, these are turn-n-burn planes besides the Pancake (which out turns other heavies).

 

Me329 is strong if you can figure out when to and when not to spend time hunting planes. Not your plane if you want pure ground attack and totally ignore everything with wings, but don't fly this just as a multirole either.

 

P.1056 struggles to get out of trouble. It works well in horizontal boom-n-zoom just into its yellow altitude, if you make sure to kill things in 1 pass. It doesn't have a lot of extra speed or turning. It does have two excellent gun choices: six 20mms (better for killing fighters and multiroles) or four 20's with two 40's (for GAA's, bombers, and heavies).

 

La-9, Me209A, Tempest: need situational awareness to get a jump on your hard counters or avoid them. The La-9 is mostly relegated to turn-n-burn in the middle, but benefits a lot from the Engine Cooling consumable when it needs to move around. The others change roles depending on matchups. Sometimes they turnfight in the middle, but when true turn-n-burners are around they can either take to higher altitudes (Me209A) or hop from zone to zone capping (Tempest).

 

F2G needs similar awareness plus as good of turning equipment as you can afford to get it on par with the Tempest. As a bonus, it gets an enormous bomb in addition to the typical Corsair rockets.

 

Su-9 has a very specific playstyle: slow down almost to stall speed and weirdly tumble around to maximize turning (h/t SFMY). Like the Yak-9's, you gotta hit your shots to survive. Save this plane until you've played a lot of other tier 8's first.

 

Me262 started to work for me with Marksman 1 and an Advanced Sight. That plus no turning. It's like most of the previous German heavy fighters except it's guns are harder to hit with due to being inaccurate and short-ranged on a very fast jet. Don't make this your first tier 8 or even your first tier 8 heavy.

 

XP-72 - A bit lacking. Good at capturing zones with Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Uprated Engine. Does well against heavies, GAA's, and bombers. Can tangle with some multiroles too. Just run away if a fighter starts paying attention to you. Can't recommend.

 

I-250 - Kind of a poor man's Mk108 Me209A. Make the 37mm hit or prioritize targets you can't miss. A good gunsight is very helpful. Not all that fast and just okay at turning. I personally like it but can't recommend it.

 

Haven't flown or fully upgraded yet: Tu-10, Ju288C, Spit14, Ta152, P-51H

 

These are my takeaways as an average player that was determined to learn how to get by in tier 8. I moved up in a lot of lines at once and then focused on the ones that felt easiest to me first. Then I progressed to the more difficult ones, adding knowledge and skills bit by bit along the way.

 

Any players better, more knowledgeable, and/or more experienced than me are encouraged to correct my misunderstandings here. Please do so.

 

"Me262 started to work for me with Marksman 1 and an Advanced Sight. That plus no turning. It's like most of the previous German heavy fighters except it's guns are harder to hit with due to being inaccurate and short-ranged on a very fast jet. Don't make this your first tier 8 or even your first tier 8 heavy.

 

Umm, I did, and I'm at least adequate with it, I'm not a burden to my team when I play it, I'm reasonably competent in it.

[Maqor]

legoboy0401, on 03 September 2020 - 10:41 AM, said:

 

"Me262 started to work for me with Marksman 1 and an Advanced Sight. That plus no turning. It's like most of the previous German heavy fighters except it's guns are harder to hit with due to being inaccurate and short-ranged on a very fast jet. Don't make this your first tier 8 or even your first tier 8 heavy.

 

Umm, I did, and I'm at least adequate with it, I'm not a burden to my team when I play it, I'm reasonably competent in it.

It's a great dueling plane. If you have the time it can kill anything besides a few counters when top tier, but it just can't reliably capture zones on demand. For me it's been a 50% plane that scores decently but doesn't carry the battle. Now that I'm using rudder effectively I may go back to it and find different results (I recently have with the Hornet but not the F7F).

[trikke]

it's coming up to 4 months since this poll went live...   25 well-respected pilots, plus myself, have weighed in

 

the 262, the 329 and the Tempest are tied in 'likes' at 14 each

 

the Su-9, and the 288c are leading in 'dislikes', with the P-51h and the XP-72 just a point behind

 

 

i'm just floored that the 262 made anyone's 'like' list, and only 7% chose 'dislike'            i have 3 battles 'selected at start', but 14 sorties in it, so...         but it was long ago

 

okay, i'll try it again

[legoboy0401]

trikke, on 04 September 2020 - 08:20 AM, said:

it's coming up to 4 months since this poll went live...   25 well-respected pilots, plus myself, have weighed in

 

the 262, the 329 and the Tempest are tied in 'likes' at 14 each

 

the Su-9, and the 288c are leading in 'dislikes', with the P-51h and the XP-72 just a point behind

 

 

i'm just floored that the 262 made anyone's 'like' list, and only 7% chose 'dislike'            i have 3 battles 'selected at start', but 14 sorties in it, so...         but it was long ago

 

okay, i'll try it again

You want to flight sometime? I have one.

[trikke]

trikke, on 04 September 2020 - 12:20 PM, said:

 i have 3 battles 'selected at start', but 14 sorties in it, so...        

 

okay, i'll try it again

 

that's just... ridiculous         how would i get 14 sorties from 3 "selected at start"      so i must have averaged 4+ deaths each time i flew it

 

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe    14 3 8 0

 

Aircraft Description

Parameter Average per sortie Total

Aerial Targets Destroyed 3.14 44

Damage Caused to Aerial Targets 1,964.86 27,508

 

i probably turned in it        a lot

 

but i'd obviously been up the german heavy line up to the 262, and nobody does well by turning 410s and Zwillings, so...    what could be the difference?

 

wait!  it was long before specialization arrived, and i hated the quad 108 30mms on the Zwilling, so i dropped back to the 20mms   

 

it was also my first time to notice that you got locked into the highest guns when you specced      (please give me the name of the devil dev who thought of that, BF?)

 

so that's why i hated the 262      i had no 20mm backup plan, so i just jumped it to the HGII, and fell in love with the faster firing, higher damage MG-213/30

 

so...   why would i try the 262 again?        that's the plane that taught me to be wary of the wretched spiteful 108 30mms       i remember now  

 

it's just like jalapeno peppers       once you get burned by something both going in and coming out...  you learn to say no

Edited by trikke, 06 September 2020 - 04:31 PM.

[legoboy0401]

trikke, on 06 September 2020 - 08:21 AM, said:

 

that's just... ridiculous         how would i get 14 sorties from 3 "selected at start"      so i must have averaged 4+ deaths each time i flew it

 

Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe    14 3 8 0

 

Aircraft Description

Parameter Average per sortie Total

Aerial Targets Destroyed 3.14 44

Damage Caused to Aerial Targets 1,964.86 27,508

 

i probably turned in it        a lot

 

but i'd obviously been up the german heavy line up to the 262, and nobody does well by turning 410s and Zwillings, so...    what could be the difference?

 

wait!  it was long before specialization arrived, and i hated the quad 108 30mms on the Zwilling, so i dropped back to the 20mms   

 

it was also my first time to notice that you got locked into the highest guns when you specced      (please give me the name of the devil dev who thought of that, BF?)

 

so that's why i hated the 262      i had no 20mm backup plan, so i just jumped it to the HGII, and fell in love with the faster firing, higher damage MG-213/30

 

so...   why would i try the 262 again?        that's the plane that taught me to be wary of the wretched spiteful 108 30mms       i remember now  

 

it's just like jalapeno peppers       once you get burned by something both going in and coming out...  you learn to say no

It's not bad though, I like it.

[Maqor]

trikke, on 06 September 2020 - 11:21 AM, said:

so...   why would i try the 262 again?

It flies like the tier 9 heavies but never has to face the tier 10 bombers.

[trikke]

Maqor, on 07 September 2020 - 01:34 AM, said:

It flies like the tier 9 heavies but never has to face the tier 10 bombers.

 

ooooooooooooo wheeeeeee!