Tomcat Gaming is Back | F-14A War Thunder

[@thenotlout]

12.7 feels like a blessing - the F-14A and GR.7 are two of my favourites to fly (and even managed to get a free talisman on the Tomcat, if only I had anything left to grind for in US air :^) Overall pretty happy with these BR changes, save for the F-15 staying 12.3, the F-5E at 10.7 (lmao) and the Sagittario going up. Just wish we'd get more decompression across the board

[@batlax18]

Lol the F15 needs to go up. Idk if you’ve played it but 80% of my games are downtiers 😂😂 I am gonna take full advantage of it at 12.3 though

[@thenotlout]

haven't played it since the BR changes, maybe I'll try it again for those juicy downtiers you mention >:)

[@deannguyen1910]

@@batlax18The BR changing point was that F-15 cannot compete with Su-27, Jas39C, F-16C and maybe that they are planning adding a new F-15C. It is at 12.3 the right number, unfortunately, there are not many players around that BR so that downtiers often happen. However, compete an F-15 is not that hard since it is not a true maneuver cause of its ripping wing problem.

[@deannguyen1910]

@@batlax18 It doesn't make sense if you put every 12.3 to 12.7, which means there is no changing at all.

[@batlax18]

@@deannguyen1910 idk how in the universe you rip it, but it should be at 12.7 and I’ll tell you why. Is it better to have an entire battlerating struggle to kill one plane, or is it better to have one plane struggle a _little_ bit at a higher battlerating. The answer is pretty straightforward imo

[@Registered_Simp]

One single change would make the F-14's notably better BVR fighters. Increase Aim-54's loft angle for the love of god. Tested its standard auto-loft vs high loft with some friends and the results were staggering. Shot at 8,000m Mach 0.95-1.00 at 80km and the missile felt like it was just barely flying by impact. Tried a manual loft to 45 degrees timing my release for the same speed, altitude, and distance and I swear that Aim-54 was still cooking at perhaps even Mach 1.8 when it hit. F-14A is still a vibe with the new BR changes though. The cat is back boys

[@cl3matis]

the event Mirage 2000 is seeing pretty much constant downtiers now, it's pretty nuts. also thats a nice outro man

[@GeneralLee2000]

o7

[@lucasdevries5131]

I play the event mirage and in 70 games I’ve had probably 3 uptiers to 12.7, most games are 11.0-12.0 games, so a semi downtier

[@Zhogun408]

Finally... Paid 40 clams to get crapped on all the time

[@LordGangrel]

It's been great for the event dorito. The worst I've had were matches where the enemy team imploded so fast I literally couldn't get in position for a sure kill on anyone. Not like the previous matchmaking felt bad, either. It's a very competitive plane. If only I understood the radar a bit better so my 530s stopped going in random directions every now and then it would be perfect.

[@wg4112]

the 11.7 mirages are super fun right now, best 11.7 imo

[@GeneralLee2000]

F-14 SWEEPS

[@wg4112]

@@GeneralLee2000 mirage 2000C > f14A, just has to be said here i cant get the mirage disrespect

[@LordGangrel]

Curiosity about Martha's magic killed the cat

[@realmealdeal1999]

I’ve been playing sim in the tomcat all day and the only thing I’ve had issues with are the IRCCM from the French magic missiles.

[@wg4112]

@@realmealdeal1999 magic 2s are insane flare resistance and acceleration wise

[@bendawg8-wi4dr]

When 12.0 was top tier, I only ever got a full down tier 2 times out of I think 100+ games in 11.7 jets, especially the F-14A. It was such a rare sight and a absolute slaughter fest when it did happen…

[@kunaukedi4850]

Had the mig 23ml and f4s gone on sale coz those things be messing up the matchmaker 12.0 downtier and 11.0 uptier almost always

[@Jaeger_89]

These changes seem like a rare Gaijin W, except for the F-15s ofc...

[@GeneralLee2000]

F-15 REALLY should have gone to 12.7 regardless of stats. The F-5E also needed 11.0

[@saltysteel3996]

US F15A is not competitive at 12.7 And F5E would be fine at 11.0 if they gave it AIM-9J missiles instead of the useless E model.

[@Sturmtige10]

​@saltysteel3996 F5E does have aim 9js and F15 is definitely competitive at 12.7 it's literally one of the best if not the best plane in the game

[@dutch24]

@@Sturmtige10 No HMD, less AIM-9Ms/IRCCM compared to other planes. Also gets outsped by a maneuvering Gripen

[@Sturmtige10]

@@dutch24 HMD doesn't really matter. 4 aim 9ms are enough if you get another 4 aim7ms with it. also dogfight don't really happen that much.

[@chasesaviation84]

Thanks for making this video Lee. F-14A is one of the better planes in War Thunder but no one plays it anymore so thank you 🫡

[@PizardWickle]

Love the 14A and B, but I’m still waiting for the 14B to get its 9Ms 😢

[@dankmemewalker7738]

Likely to never get 9m but the F14D will get them probably and with maybe 2 AMRAAMS if gaijin is feeling in the mood

[@Ryan-go6id]

@@dankmemewalker7738AND the F-14D gets Link16 so it’s compatible with F15,16,18 in Datalink if that ever comes.

[@jonathancolon4079]

And smokeless phoenixes...

[@kcgaming6719]

I never had the strengh to start playing the tomcat after people told me its hotter than phantoms. It already feels borderline impossible to beat 9js in f4

[@mikeyplayzwrld]

It's hotter, but can pull way harder and manuver better overall.

[@F-18Super]

There’s no way you’re dying to AIM-9Js…..

[@Hunting_Party]

Skill issue. Drop your god damn afterburner.

[@Jacky-zt5ch]

Lemme guess, you’re on afterburner the whole time?

[@F-18Super]

@@Jacky-zt5ch bro has to be because there’s just no way

[@AlphaJulietBravo1]

Give 14B 9Ms that it historically had and bump it to 12.3?

[@Joey_Liu]

very stupid as to how it takes a month for these changes to happen. but lets count our blessings in war thunder when they happen. Love your Vidoes Lee!

[@GeneralLee2000]

Appreciate it@

[@СергейНикольский-я2ц]

6:19 “Tomcats RWR is terrible for 11.7”, meanwhile every soviet and German plane except 29SMT and G: “is it?”))

[@mathewtheis9139]

Glad to hear I’m not the only one having issues with the sparrows since the update. Sky flashes of been funny to.

[@ВячеславФролов-д7я]

In my experience Phoenixes are a great tool to fight high altitude enemies. If you are flying at high alt, they are a must have, especially against r27er planes, I can usually kill high flankers/fulcrums with them if I spot them early enough. For more common ground hugging style they are just a waste of pylon space

[@brendensmithmusic278]

I just unlocked the f14a 2 weeks ago. This thing is awesome. I was planning on doing the f14a. Then the f16a but now that i got the phoenix unlocked im drooling for the f14b. Better phoenix missiles and you get all aspect ir missiles with the aim9l. I just wanted the f16 for the aim9l as dog fighting really isnt super practical at this br unless things go wrong. Have not had any luck whatsoever dog fighting anything yet. It just gets out turned by most top tier aircraft unless your out of missiles. I climb to 5-6k alt with radar in tws set to 100mi launch ny first phoenix 50-25mi. Then launch the second on a seperate or sometimes the same target between 10-20mi and usually get 1-2 kills per match from it. Then i start looking down with my aim7f sparrows and if all goes as planned can usually get 1-2 kills with the sparrows on unsuspecting low guys dogfighting. And after i fire the first sparrow i try seeing if i can get a lock on anyone with the aim9h with their back to me or on fire. When i was not spaded and just had the 2 aim9d the aircraft sucked. Even with the 4 ds. But 2 aim9h 2 aim 54 pheonix and 4 aim7f sparrow loadout has me averaging 1-4 kills a match plus whatever ground kills i strafe when everyoens hunting down that last player or 2.

[@StealthyShot]

3:00 it is INCREDIBLY FUN (also satisfying)TO GET KILLS WITH PHOENIXES WHEN U KNOW THEY CAN BE DODGED 90% if not 100% of the time

[@Kiwi_taken]

I like the guy in chat at 7:23

[@vihurah9554]

I held off on touching the tomcats because i heard a lot of dooming about it, but its been a blast with the A. Only issue is the slow stock engines, but performance, missiles, and radar have been a delight

[@ThePrimordialArchon]

The reason why the F-15A is staying at 12.3 is because its an intermediate heavy fighter, its basically a transitional jet to get you ready for the pure performance that the F-15C will provide, its also basically the F16A ADF of F15s meaning its got weaker missiles and radar (in this case 7Ms and incorrectly modelled AN/APG-63) as a tradeoff for the lower BR, the F16C is a better dogfighter and is way more agile than the F15, its also harder to break radar lock off the F-16C

[@leong2002]

Congrats on 15k🎉

[@RedTail1-1]

The BR changes aren't enough to make me wanna come back and play when SARH missiles are in the worst state they've ever been. I played some custom matches the other day to see if it was worth coming back to WT and almost every Aim-7M I fired from the F-15 and F-16 either missed or went off to Narnia. Almost every R-27ER I fired went off somewhere else. And the radars on every jet I flew seemed like they were allergic to tracking targets. Definitely not coming back for a while. Maybe when the Medium Range missiles finally show up I'll give it a try since I won't have to grind another aircraft to use em, but I doubt just having those in the game is gonna change my mind.

[@robertgaudet7407]

They’ve made it really really easy to notch the SARH stuff. If you don’t have the ability to switch out of pulse doppler to regular mode mid-lock like the mirage 2k does you are at a huge disadvantage right now.

[@k1t5une94]

11.7 is viable again. I'm stacking kills with the M2k like never before. Same applies to similar BR aircraft. Also 11.0 is good now, it feels so good man

[@dutch24]

F-14B allegedly went from 190 to 610 KN in way under 10 seconds, in game it takes half a minute. It's also just not as fast as it should be, both models. Thank you for your time, please give accurate AIM-54C, I'll watch the video now.

[@OwenBeyer-nr3dv]

Finally my beloved is back.

[@donthunder5288]

Haven’t bought my f14 yet but I might do it after this br updates

[@Frogg-YT]

im not the only one playing this, finally!

[@Pelliq_E]

Tornado is still bad but atleast playable now, i can actually grind gripen which is nice

[@antonisashitteragain6993]

"fun" yeahhhh like when you pass the stock grind hell and have the sarh missiles, yeah, pretty cool

[@Hunting_Party]

Same. Spaded the mirage 2000 cs5 last night and never had a 12.7 game.

[@crwspy6484]

there are some massive blunders in the br changes such as the sagittario... i do think f16s, migs 29s etc should be moved up from 12.0 to 12.3, move the re 2005 serie 3 down to 5.3, move the f84gs to 8.0 as they dont have air spawn or the flight performance.

[@barryallenporter8127]

fuel load being preset amounts and not a slider like ammunition is still such a BS mechanic

[@bluefox9436]

Agreed

[@hazlikewise]

how to switch form pulse doppler to normal pulse mode while locking?

[@mutingp]

12.7 is grate and all but it really should be 13.0 by now

[@tartzmir7934]

They need Feed us the F-4S, god damn the AV-8B plus is 11.7 but not the F-4S, let me remind you it has PD and HMD, it's totally OP without 4th gens stomping it

[@exhausting_thoughts]

The F-15 while being outrageously opressive at 12.3 and in full downtiers, it is okay as it is. You can draw an entire board explaining how useful it is the artificial maneuverability, great 9Ms, but it still carries a mediocre SARH and it is outclassed by any single metric other than bruteforce, which is -for the era the game is now into- not enough of a statistic to put a plane into top tier.

[@derritter3873]

I haven’t played in a while, but I have 2 11.7 planes that are probably really nice to play right now arent they. I guess this latest br change gives me an excuse to take out the EJ Kai again.

[@No1harris_98]

I wonder what the GR.7 will play like.

[@sebastiandelgado2642]

I just got my f14a going for the b then the f16 then the f15 but I really want to start grinding for su 27 sounds like a ti fighter

[@robidius]

Ok how do you switch from pulse to regular? Is it the same button it would be when you switch between tws and src?

[@GeneralLee2000]

Yup! Just while you're locked on instead.

[@piskoootek]

@@GeneralLee2000 @robidius Guys im currently at F-14 and im kinda confused by what you say. I would realy like to have Button for "next radar mode" and another for "previous radar mode" so i only work with lets say 2 of them instead of doing whole circle of 4 radar modes. (or is there a way to "custom" bind some stuff in War thunder?) What you both saying is that if i have locked tartget and press button for radar mode change, it will circle only between SRC and PD. When i dont have any lock on target, same button will circle all 4 radar modes? Thanks alot for more information

[@jovanni_orb5116]

I think they are working on the spotting system just to make it worse. When I first started playing years ago the spotting seemed to work far better than now.

[@Hatfieldfarms44]

I’d say F15 should go to 12.7, and the Su27 should got to 13.0, the grippen,the mirage, the Mig29G, and the Mig29 SMT can stay at 12.7, I would love the 11.7 match maker for 12.0 so the F14B can have this fun

[@ferrous3262]

su27 are even if it goes to 13 so should the f15

[@commanderkris93]

4:40 Im sorry I do bombing but also try to kill any enemy close enough that does not notch with my sparrows that love ground or not guiding cause I lost track with my PD for 3 seconds.

[@farmcat9873]

The RWR didnt even go off when the F-4E nailed you with that AAM

[@rainsilent]

Won't get a RWR ping if you aren't locked on by radar. That was an AIM-9 that hit him. AIM-9s don't rely on radar.

[@farmcat9873]

But you see that the F-4E wasnt even spotted ? now passed over from DEFYN video@@rainsilent and the other video he posted up with the Kurnass think there was some of that there also.

[@rainsilent]

@@farmcat9873 Yes, he wasn't spotted because he was to the rear where your CPU pilot's spotting range is less than 1km. This is why looking around and keeping your situational awareness up is so important. This isn't a spotting issue. It is a player not doing a good job keeping spatial awareness up issue. To reiterate the spotting system only provides the ~7km max auto spotting above, forward and through about 120 degrees to either side. Below and behind, including behind and above, is deliberately left as below 1km spotting to simulate actual general pilot awareness. It is up to the player to keep looking around to keep the spatial awareness up in the blind spots of your CPU pilot akin to a real fighter pilot in real life. Again, getting killed like this isn't a demonstration that there is an issue with the spotting system as it shows that the spotting system is working perfectly as intended. It is a demonstration of a player getting caught unaware. If you think a player should be punished for being caught unaware, even if it is for the briefest of moments, or not is an entirely different matter than there being an issue with the spotting system.

[@axm2689]

Can you explain how to have staged afterburner please?

[@romantziferblat6744]

i wonder how viable the kfir will be with the new br, since it will no longer see top tier, it could be actually good for its own br with 4 python 3s, maybe next video on it?

[@GeneralLee2000]

Not next but I'm considering it

[@tyupiopumpkin3313]

Quantitive matchmaking??? All my F5C players who always get uptiered, rise up.

[@BlockyRaptor]

The f5 should have gone up

[@BugattiONE666]

Imagine thinking the Tomcat was oppresed when there is literally A HARRIER at the same b.r

[@rustyrolla5432]

That Harrier has 9ms though and it has a great ground load out. Personally I think it's warranted

[@BugattiONE666]

@@rustyrolla5432 *is subsonic*

[@weltall7283]

Despite the F-15 not going up to 12.7 being controversial, downtiers due to premium spam were about half my matches, and it was genuinely fun trying it with friends yesterday. I can say i had fun using a plane i liked in high tier for the first time in months

[@GeneralLee2000]

It's incredibly oppressive in 12.3...

[@batlax18]

Same, I enjoyed playing top tier. Thats not something I say very often, it definitely needs to go up though. I will play it like crazy until it does, play it occasionally after, and then probably switch to the Netz because it has about the same matchmaker. (80% downtiers at 12.3 btw)

[@weltall7283]

@@GeneralLee2000 that's the fun part my guy. I'm going to enjoy it while I can

[@KjllShot]

Honestly I'd take an f14 over an f15 anyday, aim7's are terrible on the f15 and it's basically a top tier f4 anyway, F14 is the type of jet that may not be best at anything specific but it gives you the tools to be good at everything, you just have to work with its weaknesses, i still believe it's one of if not the best all round jet in the game

[@dukeofdream]

I stopped playing the F-14A before getting the Aim54s 😅

[@norske_ow3440]

So how do you get games in the f14a that aren’t against 6 f14Bs? Cause that’s all mine have been

[@JosheyG34]

Launch them Phoenix missiles above Mach 1.01 they perform so much better.

[@nottbone_180]

My fav load out is 2 9Hs and 4 7Fs and 2 54s

[@NotoriousSkillIssue-dm7hg]

they need to fix the mix games or like i love to call them civil wars

[@rileyxbell]

US team in that 11.3 -12.3 ish bracket is so cancer to play with all the noob f4s premium players. I swear whenever I get an 11.3 match there's almost a dozen f4s level 10 f4s players and our team gets rinsed in 2 seconds.

[@farmcat9873]

@General Lee was that person at 7:22 talking about you ? Just wanna know to make sure that person is targeted first on any team they are on? LtFord2010

[@Soggy-Soy-Toy]

Spotting is all fucked up since new jets

[@SkiddyOcean117]

Correct me if im wrong but lately I've tried 3 different sparrows. The 7M with the F15, the 7F with the F14A, and the 7E2 (DF) with the F14A. The 7E2 (DF) has without a doubt gotten more hits than the other sparrows. I've played a LOT of games and this is just how it feels. It may be worth looking into.

[@ВячеславФролов-д7я]

From my experience 7f/m doesn't maneuver good enough in first seconds after the launch nowadays. So when enemy is closer than, say, 5km frontal aspect 7e2 will be the better option. On the other hand, I love getting 15+km sparrow kills, so 7f is still my preference, especially cause its smoke trail looks great when it's trying to hit a maneuvering target

[@Denkmaldrubernacht]

Couldn't agree more. 7E2 fits the meta at the moment

[@Ryan-go6id]

How does that premium F1C get irccm missiles?

[@Brooo0-x6y]

wdym how?

[@Ryan-go6id]

11.3 iirc IRCCM vs 10.3 first of all

[@Brooo0-x6y]

@@Ryan-go6id true, but should it be 11.7 with that dogwater airframe and r530F dogwater radar missiles?

[@Ryan-go6id]

@@Brooo0-x6y idk, I guess it’s “balanced”

[@MidnightSilv]

F4S's 9L when? 🤔

[@SoulSl0th]

I’m at the 104 rn grinding for tomcat and f15 and f16

[@ryanp5790]

Are you thinking of playing the F2H Banshee sometime? The wing tanks are now able to drop and the flight performance is amazing

[@GeneralLee2000]

It's what got me into WT, I've been really thinking about this

[@ygorsantos223]

i tried to play the f-4e this morning... was one of the worst experiecnces i've ever had in war thunder

[@bluefox9436]

I'd write skill issue but that plane really is suffering if it gets uptiered

[@ygorsantos223]

@@bluefox9436 i didnt get a single game without a f-16a ou a f-14

[@glatinet2595]

i won a 1v2 in my av-8b plus today against a f-14a and mirage 2k (yes i like suffering by playing italy)

[@ThePolecatProcess]

*has one good game at BR and gets uptiered 37 times in a row*

[@henryatkinson1479]

Mind-blowing that this thing is a lower BR than the MiG-29 9-13.

[@GeneralLee2000]

IMO they should give this thing 9Ls and move it to 12.0

[@henryatkinson1479]

@@GeneralLee2000I'd be on board with that. I'd like to see the 9.13 and 9.12 lose the ER and gain the R-73, they don't fit super well at 12.0 as they stand.

[@th3osl333]

Finally I can get some peace in my F14. BTW how are you killing people with AIM54 ? So far I only got 2 kills :(

[@bluefox9436]

There's a good amount of luck included since your only realistic chances of getting kills with it are to go for high flying targets that don't really pay attention.

[@cadet3902]

From what I've seen (my experience with them is DCS so not really transferable) but people said get some Altitude, Mach 1.01+ then point your nose 45 degrees and fire (this will manual loft it, it'll leave the rail fast and when it comes down on top of your target it'll still be like mach 1+ making it hard to dodge without notching and chaffing.

[@ВячеславФролов-д7я]

You either have to find someone flying high or simply spam enough of them on ground huggers hoping that some of them will sleep on their rwr

[@ВячеславФролов-д7я]

​@@cadet3902a tactic that works great for me is to launch 2 phoenixes at the same high alt target with approximately 10 seconds between them. People usually notch the first one but the second gets the kill. I've got a lot of high alt flankers with that tactic

[@austinbair8187]

Run 4 phoenix's 3 Aim-9Ls and a lightening pod, you will get on average 2 Phoenix kills and 2 Aim-9ls

[@jpppe]

F14a only has aim 9h

[@atvkid0805]

That's not true, u definitely can fight more than 4 in full uptier. Yesterday I was playing f4s and on a team full of f15s

[@L1B4NN1NHO]

F4s Killed air RB for me, It's so f***ng stupid how 90% of them die without doing anything

[@bluefox9436]

american teams in general seem to have a massive skill issue atm - I played like 30 games with the F16C today and got like 3 wins whilst I won all 4 games I played with my Su 27

[@Aceb_k]

F15 is staying at 12.3 until the Aim-120’s are added. Tbh it sucks for what it is right now so it deserves to stay at 12.3. After those are added it will definitely be 13.0++

[@exhausting_thoughts]

(At least) the F-15A/Baz it's not going to be raised to 12.7 when AMRAAM comes, the reason is that the radar in-game is not able to carry those missiles, they either have to upgrade the plane's radar to another model, or to bring another variant to the branch, which is the option i guess they'll do, otherwise the rumours about the AV-8B+ coming to the US must be true.

[@ferrous3262]

it isn't bad gripen is the only the f15 should be somewhat scared of

[@Eagle_union_commander]

Wait…I saw me we are same team 5:31

[@SeventhCircle77]

Know what is really pain? 9.3. Try out a 9.3 game and you will be uptiered to 10.0 99% of the time

[@suzybean13]

Wassup lee?

[@GeneralLee2000]

Yo, wassup?

[@mochabear88]

neat

[@any7iime]

All this people happy about the change, meanwhile me sufering grinding with F4EJ ADTW 🤡☠️

[@any7iime]

11.0 BTW

[@amc2167]

They should stop balancing the game according to player intelligence otherwise we will end up with every top tier aircraft (other than american) flying like cows and throwing unpropelled pencils. Watch them drop F-15C down to 12.7 after more F4S players get it and win rates drop.

[@jessegames5571]

sorry cant subscribe twice 😂

[@wanoumars]

Only fart breath players play the F-14

[@shutnugget4310]

The F 15 is so mid in this game. It’s just an F4.

[@PenguinNoodleSoup]

Nothing like an f4

[@mega_bruh]

That vid didn't age well)

[@gabeltottv6483]

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