How to play with the F-84G in RB

The F-84G is often one of the first jets for many players. It can be used for both air combat and ground attack, making it a solid multi-role aircraft. Although it is a bit older compared to jets like the MiG-15 or F-86, it can still hold its own and compete well against these more modern aircraft.

Plane Characteristics

The F-84G offers solid overall performance. Although classified as a fighter, it has qualities that make it an exceptional multirole aircraft. It has a decent turn rate and an impressive top speed, even when carrying bombs. It has combat flaps that significantly increase its turn rate, as well as nose-mounted armament that excels in long-range, head-to-head combat with a large amount of ammunition. In addition, its tracer ammunition has exceptional incendiary power, giving it a distinct advantage.

Unlike many of the aircraft it can face, such as versions of the Me 262, it has an airbrake that can be used to provide some advantage in dogfights. It has armored glass, which helps in frontal combat, but it is also inefficient at stopping large caliber weapons, such as the Russian 23mm and 37mm. Despite being a solid aircraft, there are many others that can be worthy opponents. One example that can be particularly strong is the Su-11. As it has similar statistics to the F-84G, boasting an admirable turn rate and incredible guns, as well as good acceleration, similar matchmaking. Confrontations like this will require the skill of the pilots to determine the victor.

The F-84G’s top speed at sea level is impressive when compared to most of its competitors. Overall, it can even outperform some more modern fighters, making this a standout feature. However, several aircraft surpass the F-84G in both top speed and acceleration. Notable examples include the F-86, MiG-15, Me 163, G-91, and La-200, all of which are highly regarded by the player base.

Overall, the F-84G has an average to good turn rate, but it is recommended to avoid dogfights, as it is less agile than its rivals in this regard. There is also a long list of aircraft that outperform the F-84G’s turn rate, with the MiG-9, MiG-15, Vampire, F-80, Me 163 and Meteors being the most notable. And perhaps a dogfight requires more expertise from the pilot to win the fight. Many of the problems can be compensated with experience and the use of flaps and airbrakes.

Armaments

The F-84G is equipped with the formidable .50 cal M3 Browning machine guns. All are positioned close to the center fuselage, with a total of 1800 rounds evenly distributed among the six guns. This weapon is not devastating, but it is consistent for air battles. In Ground Battles, it is possible to destroy light tanks and anti-aircraft. Some medium tanks can be destroyed, but it is recommended to always use tracer ammo. These M3 tracers are incendiary, which makes it easier to set tanks or planes on fire. It is also recommended to avoid engaging bombers.

Although it does not have the heavy destructive damage of 20mm or higher-caliber weapons, with the exception of highly armored glass, it has enough penetration to kill pilots in head-on engagements. When shooting, click as if you were using a semi-automatic weapon, but multiple times. This will save ammunition and can often do enough damage to take down the target with just a few shots, especially due to the chance of starting a fire. Be careful not to lose your patience and use up all your ammo at once; a common mistake made by players with early jets.

The secondary armament of the F-84G can be considered adequate to good.

It has a good payload for ground battles. The bombs are mounted on central hardpoints; the dropping of only one does not cause serious destabilization of the aircraft. However, the lack of ballistic computers is a notable drawback, especially considering the presence of radar-equipped anti-aircraft autocannons such as the Gepard, M163, ZSU-23-4, and others.

Speaking of High Velocity Aircraft Rockets (HVARs), even in a balanced match, the majority of heavy tanks that can be found are equipped with thick layers of steel armor, for example: Jagdtiger, IS-4M, Tiger II, M103, T-32, and Maus. As a result, HVARs can hit these vehicles, but often fail to inflict enough damage to destroy them. To destroy almost any target with them, you have to try to hit directly on the top plate of the vehicle, or directly above the turret, where there is usually thinner armor. However, it is difficult to guarantee a hit at these points, as the rockets are unguided and can be fired at random. The rockets remain useful against light tanks and SPAAs.

Against most anti-aircraft, if you hit the rocket close enough, you will be able to destroy it. It is viable to try to launch a rocket “artillery barrage” from more than 1–1.5km to try to destroy it. It is also more interesting to try to avoid anti-aircraft guns by getting out of their sight and flying low enough to confuse them. Remember that the F-84G does not have any kind of ballistic computer, countermeasures, or RWR.

The F-84G offers a customizable payload, with the highest achievable destructive capacity being 24x HVAR rockets and 2x AN-M65 1000 lb bombs. An important difference from earlier variants of the aircraft is that the wingtip hardpoints can be equipped with HVAR rockets instead of fuel tanks. To be clear, these wingtip fuel tanks do not affect performance. However, they are points that can be hit and cause fires. By installing the HVARs, you can remove them and reduce the risk of fire.

It is also important to note that the HVARs, when combined, create more drag than the bombs themselves, which affects the overall performance of the aircraft. Depending on your objective, in both air and ground matches, it is important to eject them to avoid losing the performance of the aircraft. I always suggest ejecting them in air matches, and if you find that your team has a lot of F-84Gs interested in trenches, it is interesting to eject the bombs as well. In Ground Battles, it is interesting to keep some of these rockets to have a “pseudo-artillery” against SPAA’s.

Ground Battles

In Ground Battles, Preset 1 should always be prioritized. If you don’t have enough spawn points, prioritize the bombs. While it is possible to switch to ground target ammo, it is generally not recommended. Although ground target ammo offers increased penetration, not all ammo in the belt offers this benefit. Tracer rounds, on the other hand, are easier to aim and more effective at igniting enemy vehicles. Focus on targeting the engines of heavier tanks and prioritize lighter tanks for maximum efficiency. It is recommended to respawn with minimum fuel, as the F-84Gs have 7 minutes of autonomy, which is usually enough for this type of match. You will have enough time to use all your air-to-ground weapons and eventually rearm at the airfield, plus you will be lighter and more agile.

In ground battles the player just needs to attack his enemies with his weapons and watch out for the anti-aircraft. Any anti-aircraft weapon that has a tracking radar will be a potential problem, for example: M163, ZSU-37-2, ZSU-23-4 and Gepard. If an anti-aircraft gun is aimed at you, try to avoid getting too close to it. Try barrel rolls and sudden changes of direction to get out of the shot and make it harder for the anti-aircraft to shoot. When doing this, try to go far away and fly close to the ground, using the terrain. Many radars have difficulty maintaining or even locking on to targets that are flying very low. Even for those that do lock on, it is very common for the radar to lock on a “ghost target” between the ground and the aircraft, forcing the player to manually correct for the difference.

If they still can’t see you or are busy with another player, you have two options. First, you can fly low and try to destroy them when you’re close. But this can be risky, as they can see you while flying and decide to attack you.

The second option is to fly at a reasonable altitude, and when you’re a certain distance away from the fight, just do a massive saturation attack with the HVARs. You can use the distance to the A, B or C flags of the game as a guide. To do this, try to align the plane with the anti-aircraft position, and since the F-84Gs don’t have a rocket ballistics computer, keep making a vertical zigzag with the nose of the plane, down and up, while firing the rockets in a rhythmic fashion. This is a strategy to avoid having to aim precisely to inflict damage. In any case, it is recommended that you be careful with these anti-aircraft. They will be a problem in the game that you will have to solve somehow.

Air Battles

In air battles, players have the option to focus on either aerial combat or ground attack. Because of its rank, F-84G often faces opponents that do not have airspawns. In addition, most of the ground attack aircraft the F-84G faces have a lower top speed and acceleration than the F-84G. This creates an excellent opportunity to attack trenches and secure game tickets. You can use the performance and ammunition of the F-84G to destroy ground targets, as it has the power to reach trench formations before enemy fighters even enter the fight.

Even for players who prefer air combat, it is possible to manage ammunition effectively by reserving some for ground targets and some for enemy aircraft. It is recommended that you avoid attacking mini-bases, as the F-84G lacks the firepower to destroy them alone. Instead, focus on attacking trenches.

Here are some tips on how to attack the most common bots in aerial combat:

• Howitzer or AAA without modeled crew: Fire a short burst of 10 to 20 rounds directly behind the gun, near the armament tripod. If you hit it, it should be disabled. If you find it difficult to hit with a single burst, try firing 2 to 3 short bursts in a row. This may use more ammunition, but it can be effective in neutralizing the target, but be careful of the sandbags that may be around.
• Light Pillbox: Try hitting them with bursts of up to 40 shots, aiming directly at the window if you’re approaching from the front, or the door if you’re coming from behind. Light pillboxes can take a lot of damage, but targeting these areas often results in quicker destruction and requires less firepower.
• Patrol Boat: Try firing a burst of about 50 shots at the bridges, if there are many of these ships together consider dropping a 1000 lb bomb.
• BTR-152: Fire short bursts of 10 to 20 shots at the front, directly over the engine. This can cause fires, and bots in air mode never extinguish fires.
• PT-76-57: Try to hit them directly on the side, just below the turret, from a distance of max. 800 m. With tracer ammunition you can penetrate the armor, kill the gunner and commander and disable the vehicle.
• Studebaker Trucks: You have the option to shoot the front of the vehicle, destroying the engine and causing fires. Alternatively, you can try to kill the driver and passenger, which will disable the vehicle.
• AAA truck (no crew/module modeling): With short bursts you can destroy them from practically any distance. Just be careful with the latency of the server, as it can cause them to make strange zigzag movements.
• Air bots: Airplanes don’t have many secrets, but I recommend always trying to shoot them down with short bursts.
• Pillbox, T-44-100 or heavy/medium tank without modeled crew : If you don’t have bombs, I suggest you avoid trying to destroy them.
  

Since ammunition is plentiful, you will have plenty of freedom to attack the ground, but when engaging convoys, it is suggested that you destroy the engine of the first light vehicle or truck in the formation. This will cause the entire convoy behind the first one to simply stop, and it will be easier to ensure that the targets are destroyed, increasing the efficiency of the F-84G and using even less ammunition.

If the player plans to remain active throughout the game, carrying 11 minutes of fuel is usually sufficient for most scenarios. With this amount of fuel in the F-84Gs, the player will probably need to reload the plane weapons before it runs out of fuel. Even so, be aware that in the F-84Gs these 11 minutes are exactly 11 minutes of maximum acceleration, since the F-84Gs do not have WEP. However, choosing the minimum fuel load can provide better performance for the aircraft, although this may require a landing to refuel rather than just a landing to reload.

Since the F-84Gs have air respawn, they can easily gain altitude to intercept bombers. However, it is not recommended due to the relatively low damage output of its .50 caliber machine guns. While incendiary ammunition can ignite bombers, the approach is risky and may not yield reliable results. Furthermore, as is common for these earlier jets, the further away from sea level the less efficient the plane’s engine will be. As mentioned earlier, sticking to ground attacks and looking for opportunity kills will help you play more consistently and better matches.

Avoid prolonged dogfights in aerial combat. Like other jets of this generation, the F-84G is very susceptible to slowing down and has difficulty accelerating. This situation can be particularly embarrassing against piston aircraft, which can result in a loss. So choose carefully when it is “allowed” to slow down. Experienced players can perform corner kills, mainly by selecting enemies and using flaps and air brakes. However, this requires some practice and knowledge of the enemy. Instead, focus on getting opportunistic kills using the energy of the F-84G. The F-84G is particularly effective at executing boom-and-zoom, especially against opponents with a BR of 8.0 or lower.

Speaking of airfields in air matches, you will notice that on virtually all of the maps in which your BR engages, your team will have two airfields: one with an improvised and shorter runway that lacks anti-air defenses, and another with a longer runway equipped with extensive anti-air defenses provided by Rolands and some anti-air cannons. With Preset 1, this plane cannot take off from the short runway, so the game must respawn you flying after reloading, which can be an interesting advantage. And note that on the long runway you will have to use it almost entirely to take off, and on some maps you will have to use a takeoff flap. Considering all this, if you are safe, it is recommended to reload on the short runway, just to leave the airfield flying, without the need for a long takeoff.