(Disclaimer: For people with 0 Gacha or market equipment, only Gold and Dollars, if you spend money on this game, then this post is not for you)
As a F2P player, I struggle to keep up with the P2W players, especially when a new item drops. Hellcat being probably the most absurd aircraft in the game. So how can we survive in this meta? Especially for CV people.
So generally, there are 3 different builds for 3 styles, and you could be the 4th one😅.
There are things in common in all builds, those being:
- Missile: Best use YJ-29 or Hycore, not X-51 because you want to fire and go use a heli or something.
- GL: Type 726-4A for anti-torpedo and subs
- AA: Singles slot (Ulyanovsk, ROKS CVX) --> Garpun, Missile and gun hybrid.
- AA: 2 Slots (America, 003 Fujian, Gerald R. Ford) --> Garpun + KSAM, KSAM is good for ballistic, won't block all, and is not good at intercepting swarms of weak missiles
- Heli: Black Ghost Ka-58
- Auto-cannon: BOFORS 40/L70, Can boost AA
- Fighter: J-20
- Drone: FL-71
The difference is in the builds promoting these playstyles is mostly in the strike aircraft.
1) Shoot From Afar, Safe play:
| F-35 | SU-57 |
|---|---|
| Good Long range, can shoot missiles beyond 6Km with ease, but can be flared easily | Good Long range, can shoot missiles beyond 6Km with ease, but can be flared easily |
| Highest store Burst Damage, Almost the double of any other, yet ironically the lowest surface DPM of all. | Higher Surface DPM, faster, more durable, more agile, but more detectible. Does not hover like F-35. |
| (+) Good As a long-range static missile platform | (+) Strike-rearm cycle is shorter, causes more damage overall |
2) Mid-range, Chaos
| Rafale M | F/A-XX | FC-31 |
|---|---|---|
| (+) Damage Vs Subs, high arial DPM | (+) Fastest, most agile and stealthiest, highest arial DPM | (+) Highest Surface DPM, most durable, and strongest Burst and best gun |
| (-) Weakest HP | (-) Lowest Surface DPM | (-) Only 2 pieces, and least mobile |
| (!) Shortest range (5KM) Gun excluded | (!) Has Unflareable missile, low damage, medium range (5.33Km), gun excluded | (!) Longest Range (5.67Km) |
| (>) Shortest Gun Range (2.67Km) | (>) Shortest Gun Range (2.67Km) | (<) Longest Gun Range, and generally the strongest on F2P aircraft (4KM) |
3) Cruiser-Mode, Vodka go brrrrrt: (Ulyanovsk only)
Use whatever you would use on a cruiser, not recommended for players who hate slow ships. Ulyanovsk is Good for people who have 0 experience with CVs and want a less aviation dependent CV (details: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModernWarships/comments/1sc03fl/what_is_a_good_beginnerfriendly_carrier_in_tier_3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button )
This is a list based on my personal experience (I'm LV.46) with CVs, I had the MiG-31, but my playstyle favoured the FC-31
Last thing I want to say is that your playstyle defines what you use, and i personally favour the FC-31, because of its high damage, and it has 2 figures with high HP, meaning they are more durable individually, making losing them less frequent, while the 3 figures with lower HP individually, but slightly higher combined HP, I usually lose 1 of the 3 figures, but less frequently with the 2 figures.
That's all I have to add, and if you have access to good market equipment then ignore this post and go somewhere else.
If you have better loadout options please share in comments. (Remeber this loadout is totally F2P, and the items were compared to one another and not with AC equipment or Gacha. Try Them to check the suitable one)
Good Luck, & Fair Seas (Skies)