Why is the Ki-84 the only respected Japanese fighter?

[texastc316]

Ki-84s make me shudder.

[BaldEagl]

Since I fly Spits a lot I'd say the Ki-84 is generally pretty easy to beat.  It's the Ki-61 I hesitate against.

[dkff49]

As several others have said, it is an all around good plane. It does many things well and couple this with a great climb rate and in the right hands (like all planes in AH) it is a plane to respect.

***disclaimer****results listed below may not be the norm****

I have had lots of luck in the KI. Nearly beat 3 ponies at the same time, fought many 1vs 1's and 2vs1's, fought several many on 1's and most of those were against planes that have different fighting styles (ex 1 plane prone to BnZ and 1 plane prone to TnB which to me is an extremely difficult situation) and managed to get at least one kill most times if not win the engagements. All this with relatively little time in the plane. Now I may be lucky and definitely not good but there are several ways that this plane is forgiving. Either way respect the KI even the 61.

As far as the N1K is concerned, I think many label this as a dweeb plane because of the cannons it carries. All you need is one slapshot with this thing and parts will definitely be falling off your opponent's plane. Not to mention that the ballistics of these guns are up there with some of the higher ranked ones and the rate of fire is nothing to laugh at neither.

Finally the zeeks don't get much attention because of their lack of speed. Hard to really press a fight with these things when your opponent comes in with a ton of alt and is in a plane that handles it well. Not to mention if your in one and you start to lead turn to drain a con's "E" down the next con just comes in and takes advantage of your state and will usually pick you off. I do love flying these though when the furball makes it over my own field. It is amazing how fast you are discounted when others are upping in the more "uber" rides.

Really all of these deserve some respect as far fighting against them. It is so easy to become complacent when you see them that you can easily help that enemy beat you.

[klingan]

Community:  "The Ki-61 is a POS."      I now just agree.  

I agree!! 

 

[Bruv119]

The Ki84 is a brutal fighter plane, 

I've seen Kazaa and wilbuz take on many guys at once and make it look very simple.  It has the characteristics of a spit16 and climbs just as well,  It is durable if you don't get hit in the tail section but the same can be said for other planes,  with the fast firing 20mm the guns are pretty lethal from close range.

drain the wing tanks and she rolls well too.

Most people fear the spitties and lala's,  the bnzers go straight for the runstangs and 190's  yet this thing is capable of beating them all.

Infact It should be perked 

[Shifty]

Reading the BBS today something struck me.  It seems to me that the only Japanese fighter that is respected here is the Ki-84.  Fans of the European theater will often fly it as well. The N1K2-J is savaged as an aircraft for unskilled newbies.  The Ki-61 isn't reviled, but gets put into the category of aircraft one uses if they want to show off, the category with things like the C.202 and P-40E.  The A6Ms are both dismissed due to their slow speeds and lack of any protection.

But the Ki-84 is actually generally liked.  Why is it treated differently?

I think it's the nature of the Main Arena Karnak. Put any of the Japanese Fighters in a fairly historical setting for that model and they are all to be feared.
In the LWA only the latest and greatest will get any mass respect Just my opinon of course..

[StokesAk]

Well it climbs good turns good rolls good and accelerates good. It can keep up with an F4U or the most part. Its just a overall well plane except for the fact if you dive you elevators rip off.

[Anodizer]

Next to the 38, this is my favorite ride..  As Del says, it's a P-38 with training wheels..  It's fun to fly, does what ever you want it to do if you know where to keep it speed wise. 
It will turn with or better than just about anything in the game..  For me, it feels like training mode sometimes..  I'm more than happy to dive into any situation where I will be
vastly outnumbered.  Nothing is more fun than not even looking ahead of you because you're trying to dodge every other bird behind you wanting a piece.  Seriously!!
The way this thing roles, turns and climbs: you can get out of almost any situation or put yourself into almost any situation
Only thing I still have an issue with is the guns..  I tend to set the convergence to 200 and try not to fire farther out than that.  Otherwise, I can't hit anything..
Poorer ballistics probably..

[SlapShot]

The A6Ms are both dismissed due to their slow speeds and lack of any protection.

That may be true in the LW arenas, but I fly mainly in the MW arena and both A6Ms, when encountered, are not to be taken lightly in that arena.

Mash ... I don't fly the Ki-61 as much as I did in AH I (it was a real sleeper then), but still love to jump in it every now and then and it's still a "sleeper".

[B4Buster]

The Ki84 is a P38 with training wheels.

Knew that was coming LOL

oh and don't tell Karaya this

[Saurdaukar]

But the Ki-84 is actually generally liked.  Why is it treated differently?

Because its really the only meatball plane that can compete with late war ETO fighters from a performance perspective.

[Vudak]

I think it has much to do with the kind of players that fly them.  It's been my experience that guys in the Ki-84 either know what they are doing, or wish to learn how to do so.  It's much like a P-38, Corsair (away from furball lake in the DA) or P-51B in that regard.  Generally, when I run into one, I know I'll be up against someone putting in an effort.

This, combined with the fact that a Ki-84 vs. a -1A is one of the best angle-fight matchups in the game, and I'm very happy every time I run into one.

[bongaroo]

As a fighter, I used to think the Ki-84 was superior to the N1K, but after flying them more I've changed my mind.  I believe the N1K is superior because it doesn't have all of the weaknesses listed above.  You lose a little bit of speed, but the ability to dive without fear of losing parts is a big plus, and the control surfaces remain effective past 400mph ias.  The truckload of 20mm doesn't hurt, either.

I've never felt very threatened by a Niki in my Ki-84; unless my SA slips and I don't spot them until they are 400 off my 6 and opening up.  The Ki-84 is a step above the Niki.  Once you've engaged and moved the fight into the verticle the Frank will quickly gain an advantage when your speed hits the magic number to drop flaps.

As far as high speed manuevering goes you need to disable combat trim.  Similar to the P38, the Ki84's combat trim will fight you at higher speeds.  If your coming around in a low yo yo with some real juice but feel that no matter how hard you pull you aren't getting close to riding the black out you should just try giving it a bit of elevator trim.  That will pull you right into your maximum turn.

I haven't lost parts on my Ki84 in a dive for a year at least now.  You can certainly dive a bit but if the p51 or hog wants to get away and has some air beneath them you should go ahead and slowly level out.  You can follow them a ways and if they decided to come back up to play you've got all the advantages you need.

The way I think about it is the Ki84 is the complete opposite of the P47.  In a P47 you want the fight to be constantly going downward, in the Frank you want it to be nose up as much as possible.

As far as the OP goes I tend to think that a lot of the playerbase really has no idea of what a Ki84 is or is capable of.  I'll routinely catch all but the fastest of the planeset; the Ki84 has a great top speed on the deck.  I'll destroy spixtweenies in the verticle or in a turning match.  Often p51's only option is to dive and run and if they don't have enough E stored to get away before I hit critical speeds they are in trouble.

If the Ki84 wasn't modeled with inferiour construction and crappy japanese gasoline it would have to be perked.  Especially the 4x20mm version.  :drool:  mmmmmmmmmm

[bongaroo]

Since I fly Spits a lot I'd say the Ki-84 is generally pretty easy to beat.  It's the Ki-61 I hesitate against.

DA?   

[BnZs]

Funny, I almost thought you were talking about the typical P-51D.

The difference is that that the HOing P-51D will come out on the short end of the stick if I'm in one of my ornery moods.