A4e Early

[DoomsdayDuck555]

I just unlocked it, and I am struggling to do anything. I am 5.0 air, and this is my first jet. Any tips?

[Futuristic Hexagon]

Originally posted by DoomsdayDuck555:

I just unlocked it, and I am struggling to do anything. I am 5.0 air, and this is my first jet. Any tips?

A-4s are literally ground attackers primarily, so they can struggle a bit with fighters.

You do get AIM-9Bs at some point which are standard for 8.7. Best way to use those are against opponents within 1.25km that may not be paying attention. Just make sure no friendlies are within its line of sight or it might switch them being IR based.

As with all jets, best you can do is go fast and choose your battles carefully.

[DoomsdayDuck555]

Originally posted by Futuristic Hexagon:

Originally posted by DoomsdayDuck555:

I just unlocked it, and I am struggling to do anything. I am 5.0 air, and this is my first jet. Any tips?

A-4s are literally ground attackers primarily, so they can struggle a bit with fighters.

You do get AIM-9Bs at some point which are standard for 8.7. Best way to use those are against opponents within 1.25km that may not be paying attention. Just make sure no friendlies are within its line of sight or it might switch them being IR based.

As with all jets, best you can do is go fast and choose your battles carefully.

So I should play it like a bomber until I get the AIM-9B's?

[Nenne.]

Originally posted by DoomsdayDuck555:

Originally posted by Futuristic Hexagon:

A-4s are literally ground attackers primarily, so they can struggle a bit with fighters.

You do get AIM-9Bs at some point which are standard for 8.7. Best way to use those are against opponents within 1.25km that may not be paying attention. Just make sure no friendlies are within its line of sight or it might switch them being IR based.

As with all jets, best you can do is go fast and choose your battles carefully.

So I should play it like a bomber until I get the AIM-9B's?

Not bomber....Ground pounder....to be hounest that plane is fast to bases and ground targets.
use it as that..

if you try it out in Sim battle you will have very good use of it.

[JuX]

A-4E is pretty much intended for ground RB.

Don't put any stock in AIM-9B's, it's probably the most useless missile in the game that is only usable against NPC aircrafts.


Also expect to snap your wings a lot times if you use the instructor (mouse control). Until you reinforce the hull.

[Qu Rahn]

Bombing bases is your best bet. Aim9Bs are garbage, they manage to miss targets flying straight, even when you launch them from an altitude advantage and right behind the opponents back.

Alternatively, unlock the bullpups and go to GRB.

[Futuristic Hexagon]

As mentioned, AIM-9Bs are best when used against very specific and distracted opponents. The same goes for the copies, R-3S and PL-2, and the Shafrir 2, which while different, shares characteristics with the -9B in game. First gen IR AAMs are known to be not the most reliable on getting kills with, as opposed to missiles with superior G loads and tracking rates like the R-60 and AIM-9G and up.

I was going to recommend also strafing light pillboxes with your guns, as there are a lot of American guns that make quick work of them and a few other armored targets, but seems even on the F-11F with ground belts (same gun on the plane) it seems to struggle there more than others (then we have the Soviet style ammo limitation). So best might be using that CCRP on the bombs against ground targets when you do unlock them.

Flying it in a test flight, I will say, it gets a good roll rate with clean wings, but I can definitely see it struggling against most everything it faces outside of turning, and even then it tends to lose quickly, as I experienced with my Lim-5P and earlier on my Shenyang F-5 (possibly better example there as that crew is more fleshed out and experted). The Speed and acceleration even are no match for most mediocre of fighters, but the guns can do some serious damage to most planes it faces.

With this, your best bet will be to quickly do hit and runs on the softer targets until you get heavier weapons, and then go after things like light pillboxes. Those are IMO seriously underestimated in what they bring in for taking out.