Can These Premiums Get Any Worse? | F-4J(UK) War Thunder

I actually cannot stand playing the F-4Junk. Without a doubt my least favorite rank 7 premium, and for a tree with not much going for it to boot. Couldn't they have at least made it a proper FGR or something instead of... This?
00:00 Intro
00:46 F-4J (UK) Compared
02:43 Matchmaker
03:05 Missile Kit
05:45 Least Favorite Rank 7 Prem
BGM: • Ace Combat 7 Motif (Fa...
Outro Music: • Fights On - Summer Ski...
Discord link: / discord

[@Loudward__]

Its quite simple, Bad trees get Bad Vehicles, its just in this case it isn't a disappointing vehicle, its 70 dollars in the drain.

[@Flying__Scotsman]

uk has a top 3 air tree atm, also the J(UK) is supposed to get AIM9Ls but gaijin just said no

[@GrapeFlavoredAntifreeze]

@@Flying__ScotsmanSo can the F-4E

[@jpc6485]

@@Flying__Scotsman lol UK is top 8

[@mrshar1000]

@@Flying__Scotsman For the longest time up till now it had a very weak top tier, this jet was added when Britain really had no top tier outside of the phantoms and the Tornado, which was different, game has changed a lot since the F4JUNK was added.

[@BugattiONE666]

@@Flying__Scotsman Yeah shut up as stop thinking saying Ludicrous things make you hard, it doesnt. Top 3 air trees? Yeah ok cos the Canberra, Bucaneer, Harriers and the fucking TORNADO are good then? Gaijin dropped all the F86s and Mig15s in b.r BUT NOT THE FUCKING HUNTER?

[@Tuhrue]

I can sew why the FGR.2 and FG.1 are 11.3 because on top of the PD radar, you got the superior spey engines. Like I see those thing almost keep up with F15s for the first few km after takeoff. But this thing... F4JUNK is a fitting name, no redeeming characteristics

[@_ace_defective_]

It really just goes to show how crazy the BR compression is. Looking purely at the Phantoms... - The F-4S is an F-4J with better maneuverability and very slightly better IR missiles (at the same BR) - The FG.1 and FGR.2 have stronger engines, no HMD, and worse radar missiles... at the same BR - The F-4JUNK is an F-4J without HMD or AIM-7Fs... at the same BR - The F-4E is 0.3BR lower, lacks pulse doppler and AIM-7Fs, but gets maneuvering slats - The F-4EJ is the same BR as the F-4E but has bad radar missiles and no maneuvering slats - The F-4EJ Kai is 0.3BR higher than the F-4J with an internal gun, an F-16 radar, and 9Ls How are all these aircraft within 2 BR gaps of each other?? It's ridiculous.

[@anrw886]

Literally, and you say the F4EJKAI is only 0.3 higher but if it itself went any higher it'd be absolutely awful too. It's absolutely awful at these BRs

[@cookiecraze1310]

This would all be solved if Gaijin decompressed to 14.0, kinda. Kai and Kurnass to 12.0, F4S and F4J to 11.7, F4JUNK and the other British Phantoms at 11.3, and all the none-PD phantoms at 11.0. You get the 2 best phantoms in their own bracket, the 7F's locked at 11.7, the first PD radars at 11.3, and the non-PD radars at 11.0. And even the 12.0 ones would be further from fighting top tier jets than they are now.

[@anrw886]

@@cookiecraze1310 the non PD phantoms are so weak I'd put them at 10.7 imo

[@_ace_defective_]

@@cookiecraze1310 If I had my way, I'd have enough decompression that the F-4EJ and F-4EJ Kai could never face each other, the difference in capabilities is too big. But this is the same game where flareless F-104s can face R-73s and Magic 2s....

[@cookiecraze1310]

@@anrw886 nah they're too fast for 10.7 and they're alright enough at everything to be fine at 11.0. They can hold their own in a dogfight against non-fighters and beat most fighters in a missile fight. + With these BR's they wouldn't have to fight the good Mig 23's except in .7 up tiers, only the ones with 12 countermeasures (which after the nerf they may be able to beat in a dogfight.)

[@Jaeger_89]

Amazing how Gaijin gives zero shits about whether the game is enjoyable or not. They need a proper competitor so bad. Though if that ever happened, I can see War Thunder going down the drain in a couple of months...

[@CrispyMuffin2]

their closest competitor right now is World of Tanks/Warships, soooo.. probably not anytime soon sadly unless gaijin by some miracle has a change in management that cares more about games than money

[@Jaeger_89]

@@CrispyMuffin2 Yeah, that's why I said they need a "proper" competitor. Because indeed, World of Whatever-the-f*ck is a joke in comparison lmao

[@DigitalShaolin]

Maybe I’ll lock in and finish that ballistics and damage system project lol and I’ll see wheee it goes from there

[@r1pper_r00]

Considering the south african Gripen has been added to the british TT, they could replace this thing with the south african Mirage F1, which didn't have the Super 530F, but could carry the V3C Darter (basically a helmet cued Magic2-equivalent missile)

[@spray916]

It gives me great joy to hear the anguish in your voice as you relive the F-4JUNK.

[@GeneralLee2000]

EVIL MAN

[@leogibney]

Dude when the F-4J (UK) first came to the game in Apex Predators, it was actually balanced. With the full RWR kit and only very rarely seeing F-16As and MiG-29s, it was more than manageable. Then it lost its RWR. And got power kept to see F-15As every single game. What a fucking scam as someone who bought it before it was shit.

[@joshuamueller3206]

When I looked it up this thing was basically an emergency stop gap anyway. In 1982 Britain sent so many F-4s to fight in the Falklands they believed they left the British Isles open to Soviet attack so they quick bought surplus USN F-4s.

[@geerdi5222]

It feels Like Gaijin messed up something with the F4 Radar… BVR shots with the F4S beyond 20km are nearly impossible over 50% of my missiles just doesn`t track at this distances. And overall the AIM 7F doesn`t feel any reliable on the F4 anymore

[@crazeelazee7524]

Gaijin's ability to release premiums that are either unplayable or make an entire br unplayable with no in-betweens need to be studied.

[@criticalthinkingtryit]

nice vid earned my sub

[@RedTail1-1]

Back when I played, this was the one Premium I would not get. I was the guy with the Kfir Canard, F-4S, A-10A, F-5C, MiG-23, Su-25K and even the F-4EJ ADTW lol.. I still would not get the F-4Junk. Adding on. I basically only played the game to fly jets in SB. So my gameplay experience is much different than RB players. Although I did spend quite a bit in RB just grinding... grinding... grinding...

[@GeneralLee2000]

Yeah this thing is just really really not fun IMO

[@FirstDagger]

And with the F-4EJ ADTW you can at-least grind superbly SB during events.

[@Karkade_StG]

This is why i grinded British planes with Sea Vixen. Very fun plane, highly recommend to try it

[@Amexel]

Skyflash gotta be the most inconsisten SARH missile in the game. Using it on the Viggens, it sometimes pulls off insane stunts but also just completely misses a third of the time for no logical reason.

[@TheSIyFox]

F4EJ ADTW: No PD radar, even if you do it's only the basic 7E. You only get 9Ps. But yes, please send me against all aspect IR missiles and 4th gen fighters. This is one of the few premiums that I almost consistently struggle to even perform decently every game. Even in full down tiers against f5's you'll struggle to find opportunities to get kills unless you just triple gunpod head on everybody.

[@oniceguard9205]

i have the F-4EJ (Techtree) and god is awfull. The best i have ever done with it is a 5k game in 12.3 (i was with a friend that was using an 11.3 plane) and i can get a couple of 3k here and there. But it relays on luck / blind or straight up bad enemy players or 3rd party kills.

[@haroonmaqshar1258]

yes please make a video on the J7D as a plan on getting in the future to grind china air

[@TheBuccaneerIsHot]

The F4J is used to get Aim9Ls tho, once it gets them it could be quite a competent aircraft especially at low altitude

[@unoriginalplays120]

The sky flashes also tend to crit or just give you a hit, because of the 15m (I think?) proxy fuse range

[@why4950]

On the viggens the skyflash work really well so it may be the radar

[@iondina8081]

Personally, I like you and Tims Variety for your more upbeat nature during videos. I don't dislike the rant, but I almost feel like Defyn and Joob are my "rant" channels, whereas you are a voice of reason. That being said, if this game gives you gripes and drives you nuts, a rant once in a while is certainly not the end of the world

[@EricThyKaiser]

Big up on Lee actually suffering just to save us the money

[@WOLFER.]

Every single reason I told my friends why I won't waste 70 dollars on that *thing* has been said, Britain needs a better rank 7 premium, hell I'll be happy with a rank 6.

[@TazziedoesWT]

I wanted this because of the aircrafts history. I remember being so annoyed when it was made a premium :/ The worst thing is, the alternative skin they give is incorrect. IRL they painted these planes wrong and they were actually blue irl, with the black tail, similar to an aqua colour.

[@Blue_onyxxxTTV]

ive never understood why people hate skyflashes, well now i know. ive never had an issue with them and they're by far my favorite radar guided aam

[@myhugedeck8518]

I am glad you got that out of your system

[@GeneralLee2000]

Phew, I feel so much better

[@Juho-uf8si]

well somewhere i remember gaijin mentioning that premiums wont be top br and with less effective weapons than tech tree ones at the same level but some really are clearly worse than others and some things even better than tech tree vehicles (j35xs)

[@R60Routine]

The days when the skyflash on the fgr2 were top dog.. 😔 how times have changed

[@Timber-043]

Lee I know it’s a bit off topic but the Fox-3 devblog came out and it looks like the F-15C might come out next patch

[@GeneralLee2000]

I'm ready

[@Timber-043]

@@GeneralLee2000 it’s time for more Eagle posting RAAAAAHHHH 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅

[@cleverlaziness]

You can get the full fidelity F-4 for around the same price on DCS 😭

[@No1harris_98]

I have said this multiple times but I honestly enjoyed grinding with this F-4, and I will admit it’s better to grind by base bombing but the missiles were honestly fine but I do believe I picked it up on the anniversary sale in 2023 so it might of changed in that time.

[@GeneralLee2000]

Yeah the only way I could see this thing being remotely able to grind is with base bombing

[@No1harris_98]

@@GeneralLee2000 I’m honestly so excited for this new update, and from the dev blog I’m honestly hoping there is a new flanker with R-77s

[@atikabubu]

If the Bison really lands in the UK tree then... well, this F-4 is absolutely dead, shot behind the barn lol

[@kiranplays2688]

you know when the video starts with OAALRight everybody! you know its gonna be a good one...

[@GeneralLee2000]

Appreciate it!

[@Tech-Savvy1]

F4J(UK) isn't great and is probably one of the worst F4 jets in the game but somehow I've mastered it and gained over 13 million silver lions. But this jet is definitely not for anyone.

[@suzybean13]

Wassup lee? No, it doesn’t get much worse than the F4-JUnK

[@BlastingBison]

what would you recommend for grinding the British tech tree since the f-4j (uk) is so bad.

[@GeneralLee2000]

Honestly something like the Sea Vixen or Meteor mk 8 up to rank 6, then just talisman a rank 7 to use 😅

[@BlastingBison]

@@GeneralLee2000 ok thanks

[@shabah2644]

I grinned out the entire British air tree with this thing. yeah it sucks, it's a plane introduced a year and a half late to the meta, fighting mig29s and f16s was hellish. that said in a full down tier it was quite fun smacking f5cs

[@cabbageashthe1st594]

one can only imagine a British player happy

[@benbased7740]

So, basically american F-4E with aim-9gs but without wing slats, extra CMs and an internal gun. And oh yes, .3 BR higher.

[@Sky_King7]

4:08 missile problems probably because of that track rate XD

[@AdaaDK]

This is the main reason i havnt purchased ANY lategame prem after getting the AV8A on a sale 3+ years ago. I havnt found ANYone that seems competetive in the 11.0+ br ranges. ANd thats even with a relatively rough UK and Italian grind that i am doing in stock techtree stuff. I did get upto near max br for USSR and germanny (GER via the R4) and Russia via the techtree Mig21/23´s, without too much of a hazzle.

[@garrettobrien5197]

The Skyflash is so annoying to use. I try to make it work with the Gripen and Viggen but it’s just not worth bringing over the RB74M

[@ansongarcia4747]

Well i used it to grind the british tree in air arcade. With the squadron harrier and the event jaguar. It does suck tho lol😅😅

[@baddestmove3446]

Step 1: Watch Video and agree how terrible the plane is Step 2: Play a game in it, get full uptiered, get deleted by aam-3 Step 3: Play another, get full downtiered, get 6 kills and 3 bases Conclusion: Overperforming, nerf it, take away gun and missiles.

[@mrgarland5210]

In SIM it is so annoying. The Arguably better FG1/2 are 10.7 and have the same load out as the F4JUNK which remains at 11.3. Even the mig23 is lowered to 11.0. How it is still 11.3 is ridiculous.

[@astraphical4155]

Please try the ADTW version pls!

[@IThisguy007]

surprise surprise, the aircraft (which has been updated through the years) with an airframe from 1960 (mig-21 1959) isn't all that great against aircraft that were built decades later.

[@Alemikkola]

I can't put to words how much it irritates me that Gaijin refuses to call this thing Phantom F.3 AS IT HISTORICALLY WAS CALLED!

[@danielstaviar9527]

Hint if you have shitty plane with bombs/rockets, use it in sim, thats how i grinded 8.7 japan with f-4ej and 9.3 uk with harrier gr.1, + the radar missiles seem better in sim from my experience with f-4ej

[@ItzCPU_]

This plane is proof that things like premium bias don’t exist.

[@ActuallyNotIlmatar]

You want us to bomb bases in a plane? What has the world come to. That's it, I'm watching Defyn from now on!

[@jcool017]

Can it get any worse? Yes. Yes it can. You could be flying the F4 EJ which is just a F4 E without the agile eagle package and no 7E DF missiles. Makes me die inside every time I have the misfortune of flying it out. I know you said that you preferred it, over the J but downtiers in 11.0 are still incredibly rare and at least you have a functioning radar and missiles that don't take 2 seconds to start working properly with this one

[@hotrodgreg504]

lets be honest, gaijin doesnt give a shit about selling good products anymore

[@user-jd1zj3bh2g]

still waiting for F-15C, F-14D, F-18A

[@alexanderv.7704]

Definitely a pretty bad jet. Pretty much just used this up until i got the Tornado F3 (which took about 200 matches) and never looked back since. I would just take the missiles, gunpod, and 6 bombs, rush for a base, then try to kill whatever i can with the Skyflashes before inevitably dying. Worked reasonably well in grinding new aircraft.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

All phantoms are just over tiered, if they played in 11.0 or 11.3 they'd be great but they almost never get into their own BR. Gaijin also just hates the UK, so many planes are missing from the tree but USSR gets literal non existent planes at top tier

[@compmilk]

britain truly suffers

[@silkyzoid]

Nooo I didn’t have time to watch this till know

[@kittyrusher242]

Yes please do j7d

[@AnWildPig]

I bought this, I live to regret it.

[@blubbbbulb2998]

I‘d rather have them make „bad“ premiums than op ones to be honest.

[@GeneralLee2000]

Fair, but I would like ones that are good but not OP 😅

[@SwissCowboy87]

whats worser this or the Tornado?

[@jamimanful]

At the very least, Gaijin could and probably should give the UK phantoms (and maybe those in other trees) AIM 9L

[@MrDemonSlayer147]

the reason they wont fix their game is cuz they have no real competition, i mean players have barely any choices and with a game like warthunder there would just be nothing to compete with

[@spookygulag9342]

Can someone explain why when missile come close to a enemy jet at low alt the radar lock goes below the jet ?

[@valerysdrageryion9085]

It's weird... I agree it's a bad plane. Very bad. But somehow, I've had more success with it than with most of the other and objectively better fighters on this br. I'd say I'm a very average player. Not very good, but not very bad either, but I've had surprisingly good results with the F-4J(UK). Luck has certainly played a big role often, but I've rarely had a battle with less than three kills (a decent score for me), and once I even won a 1v3 dogfight, and my personal record with this plane is 7 kills and one base destroyed, and that's without landing and rearming. When I flew this thing, I could feel that it was bad plane, but somehow I managed to do very well with it. I don't get it.... Edit: I'll just add that I bought it as a grinder after the F-16, Mig-29, and Su-27 were already in the game. Not shortly after it was added, but only relatively recently.

[@Joey_Liu]

I actually bought the Indian Jaguar. Why? So I don't have to grind the Naval British Phantom and manage to obtain the Gripen. All of which cost me about 25 to 30 bucks :)

[@EdgeR2]

at least J7D is workable lmao

[@blobert62]

Ok I’m yet to start the video but I know you’re gonna hate this thing. I personally really don’t understand it as it’s actually been one of my most fun and best performing top tier premiums right there with the MiG-23ML and J35XS. I don’t know maybe I like pain but eh, I like the plane

[@batlax18]

Me in my Kurnass2000 with the good performance, almost 300 CMs, internal gun, and Python 3s 💪

[@GeneralLee2000]

Yeah...

[@batlax18]

@@GeneralLee2000 maybe you should play an Israeli plane, been awhile since you’ve made a Netz or KfirC7 video

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

Buyers dont care, they buy, they spam and they "gRiNd"

[@MadGelo]

F-104S TAF is disaster. F-4J is at least somewhat useful.

[@urbancoyote4840]

Gaijin survival and existence depends on premium..if not they won't make money

[@AstroGamer_da_real]

F-4J yuk

[@Ghost_FEU]

Stat card made me think f4s was the same as the f4j its not?

[@GeneralLee2000]

It has wing slats which makes it turn better, kinda like the F-4Es

[@jmaddy3]

Italian F104

[@emonster317]

You know it’s a real piece of shit when general #1 base bombing hater Lee recommends base bombing as the preferred method of grinding

[@Deviss2]

Skyflashes are good Lee

[@GeneralLee2000]

If they work they're mid, they're still worse than every other 11.3 radar missile except for the 530

[@user45g-4c5rf]

🤣🤣

[@Potato-jd3ws]

idk why everyone dogs so hard on this jet like sure it’s bad in comparison but i’ve had a good time with it. this is coming from someone who mains Mirages so idk how that skews the perception. the missiles honestly work amazingly for me specifically in head-ons and i get sub 2km shots with the sky flashes. now i do agree it’s the worst 11.3 phantom, but i also feel like people over exaggerate how bad this jet is. like at least it’s not the ADTW

[@benjaminrawlinson9318]

6:08 do I hear ace combat??

[@-Hari-03]

F-4J(UNK)

[@major_kukri2430]

10.7 or 11.0 No higher. There's no reason it should be 11.3

[@aimesblack]

I mean it basically has junk in the name what can you expect lol

[@coloneljason9094]

Is it only me who loves this plane and has 3:1 KD with it? Its much better than mig-23ml, thats for damn sure.

[@anrw886]

You're insane lmao Jokes aside I think it's a matchmaker thing. If you play a smaller nation such as UK, players are typically better, meaning you fight a lot of the bad premium spam players resulting in more kills

[@coloneljason9094]

@@anrw886 No, I'm not. I own both MiG-23ML and F-4J UK and I perform much better in F-4J UK, even in the bad situtions. And I despise R-60M, under ideal conditions R-60Ms are either missed or gave me a crit hit while AIM-9G under ideal conditions never failed to impress me.

[@loneirregular1280]

It wouldnt be bad, was it not facing F16A, F15A and F14s (and other stuff like Mig 29) Tbh within the current meta Id reduce the BR of all 11.3 Phantoms to 11.0.

[@immockingu3510]

F-4S or F-4 J(unk)?

[@GeneralLee2000]

F-4S hands down

[@boomcat1337]

F4s Also has Better radar missiles

[@oniceguard9205]

is not even funny. F-4S is just a monster between the F-4. PD, HMD, Aim-7F (hopufully no 9L), Wing Slats, the only bad thing is the lack of internal gun. Only second to the EJ KAI but that one is at higher BR

[@roberttauzer7042]

"Heavier gunpod" bro. That's a fully-fledged Vulcan. Which means "good". Alternate Gunpod is one of the feeblest high-tier guns in existence. It's utter sh*t. It's like some weak shotgun. It's useless.

[@rowanyuh6326]

Hardwing phantom with shittier missiles than 7f and no hmd ts should be 11.0 😭

[@user45g-4c5rf]

Ah ce F-4J(uk)... Je l'avais acheté en solde et j'ai bien fait car il vaut clairement pas son prix de base. Il devrait être en 11 voir 10.7 vu son armement et sa vitesse de merde.

[@IceGuadian]

the plane is not bad, i will never understand the youtubers having the worst opinion "this plane is not the best thing ever in the hecking history of war thunder therefore its the WORST PLANE EVER" and then everyone nods yes and regurgetates it

[@onezerotwo]

Wait are you trying to say the worst, least fun, air tree, the companion to the worst, least fun ground tree, has... a bad... nay... several bad premiums in it? My god.

[@foxtrotplaysgames]

Hallo sebastian

Yes. Why? At start they are op. After the people buying rate fall, they make it crap and comes with a better new shinny premium what people buy, because the old prem is crap. And start again...

[@ToreDL87]

Tbh for 70-80 bucks, the planes are pretty trash. Don't get me wrong, I get people not having the time to grind trees the slow way and not minding paying, and the devs have every right to sell them stuff. Where I have an issue is when any vehicle people buy is not only not on par with, but/or (also) NOTICEABLY better than their opponent in ONE aspect, than any other. In other words, what they should have done years ago, level the playing field to where skill & absolute knowledge, not wallet & luck/rng, decides the fight.

[@braindrn]

These planes farm sl and ge if you play them right. Load up with rockets and whatever missles you want. strip the fuel down so you have about 1-2 minutes of flying after hitting second base. Take off, rocket two bases, try and get one or two missle kills, die as fast as possible after base bombing, go to next game. There are no other planes in the game I have seen that farm as well as the f4's at high tiers. Admittedly, this one (UK variant) doesnt take out two bases fully like the american f4s but its plently capable of getting you thought the tree asap.

[@black_thunder2159]

ah yes, remember when people complains premiums were OP. now we complain the premiums are bad, what the fuck do u guys want? at this point i feel like people are just complaining at the game for the sake of complaining. I'd say u'd enjoy playing this vehicle & do just well if u actually liked the vehicle, with common sense $70 must be a no, and its $35 discount is the real price of these things. and get the idea u might have a "lower end" vehicle, but u're playing in a BR full of dogshit premium players as well. if its not competitive, then sit the fuck down, and try different approach in the match. this "F-4JUNK" might be bad, but is a usable utility & its versatile enough to be a premium, u can bring it in air RB, or ground RB, it destroys bases & have radar for air SB as well, like, i see nothing wrong with it, some premium can only dogfight, this F-4JUNK is a fucking LUXURY. Im not defending Gaijin & their shit business, but at least i have common sense to actually see either things is genuinely bad or people are just being angry at it for absolutely no reason just to get angry. Stop reviewing things based of meta, stop expecting people to play exactly like u are, stop unecessarily focusing on the shittiest part of the vehicle, instead encourage them to Like the Damn Vehicle, tell them why u should try it, tell them what are the reality, give them alternatives on how to play the vehicles THEY LIKED, make them LIKE the awesome history & story of the vehicle.