World of Warplanes Your First Aircraft Guide

World of Warplanes Your First Aircraft Guide by Ziptop

Having researched, flown and fought the the first few tiers a few times now, and gathered stats from the latest of these adventures I present my “Short Guide to Your First Aircraft”
The opinion’s expressed in this post are precisely that, opinion, based on some quick statistical gathering but with lots of subjective opinion.
Others may have differing experiences with certain aircraft (results may vary ;-) ) – So, feel free to add any of your own opinion /experience to this thread.

Please note also, that all “relative strengths” with regards to firepower, speed etc are fully upgraded aircraft! My bad. I should have done a comparison on stock airframes.

TI  Ar-65 – Germany
At present this is a pretty handy little beast of an aircraft. Like all TI aircraft its quite fragile but also quite agile. Of the 4 options presently available it is also the most robust and has the greatest firepower of its tier.
While (on paper at least) it is the least maneuverable aircraft of this tier I have never experienced this as an issue. The guns….the guns!!!!

TI  I-5 – USSR
I am really very fond of this aircraft. As above, all TI Bi-Planes are agile and fragile. This one, packs a good punch (less than the Ar-65) is the second most robust and is mid-table in terms of agility. Its a good fighter though, and should win you enough battle’s.
Has good camouflage options which could (hypothetically) help it get lost in the terrain.

TI  P-12 – USA
On paper this should be a contender for the crown. It has the best agility and speed of all four TI aircraft. However, I have always found the firepower lacking, and I have never had much trouble shooting them down in other aircraft. The camouflage oprions are limited also, which makes this quite an easy aircraft to see on the map. Therefore, it sits sadly bottom of mid-table.

TI  Type-91 – Japan
With almost the same maneuvability as the P-12 it should be one of the better Turn-and-Burn fighters of the tier. It is however slow, the slowest aircraft in TI. It also has the least firepower in TI and shares equal lowest Hit-Points with the P-12. In the right hands it can score kills. But, you cannot absorb much fire (and this includes incidental ground fire.)
To a certain degree I consider this aircraft an “easy kill” and less of a threat in combat when flying against it.

Conclusion.
In the First tier, there is a lot of “Turn and Burn” fighting and this rapidly descends to ground/sea level. The faster you can finish one enemy and move onto the next in the furball the longer you will survive. Which means that the Ar-65 and I-5 take first and Second place respectively as they can both deal out the punishment faster once they have the enemy in their sights. Both the Ar-65 and I-5 can also take more punishment before they fall from the sky, which is extremely useful in the furball.
With their lack of agility compared to the P-12 and Type-91 however an early Dive into “Boom+Zoom” is probably appropriate for both aircraft (and thinking on this, my play style with these two aircraft may be “Energy Fighting” to a certain degree.)
The P-12 and Type-91 on paper have the agility to run rings around the other two, however, as mentioned it is my feeling that neither has the firepower required to make the “easy kills”

Tier 2

TII  Ar-68 – Germany
Oh Lord. This is now a NICE aircraft. According to my own performance statistics it is firmly mid-table, but it is powerful! and my fondness of the aircraft makes me think my statistics must be lying! I think I scored my Golubev medal in this aircraft. It is more than capable of up-tier kills.
Of the 4 aircraft persently available this has by far the greatest firepower. (once upgraded) It is also one of the two most robust and still has capable speed and turn characteristics.

TII  I-15 – USSR
I should really place this third in this list. It is the least robust fighter aircraft in the tier. Its firepower on paper matches that of the A4N and puts it in joint last place in terms of guns and while it is the most agile of the four, this is only by the tiniest margin.
However, I can’t bring myself to place it third! My own perfomance stats* indicate it is one of the best aircraft in the tier. It is capable of up tier kills. It has nice camouflage.

TII P-23 – USA
This could place higher. maybe I just need to give it more time, force myself to fall in love with it or something.
In CBT I recall this being a bit of a dog, and like its TI counterpart P-12 it has always felt like the guns just can’t kill. (low rate of fire?)
However, on paper, it shares “most Hit Points” crown with the Ar-68! and its firepower is hypothetically the second best in bunch! (although I-15 and A4N have a firepower score of 36 and the P-23 has a firepower score of 40…compared to the the Ar-68 packing a mean 63!!! There is not really much in it between P-23, A4N and I-115! on paper.)
By the tiniest of margins, this aircraft is the slowest of the four, it also turns only so slightly slower than the Ar-68
As you may guess, I am not fond of this aircraft, in the skies or on paper. BUT (and yes, its a big but) I have a pretty high Frag rate in this aircraft, which means that I am more likely to survive a battle in this aircraft than any of the others! The Kill ratio is more “mid table” but its not too shabby either.

TII – A4N – Japan
Along with the I-15 this is one of the most agile aircraft in the tier. In fact, on paper, it is almost exactly the same as the I-15 in firepower, speed and turn rate. (and has ever so slightly more hotpoints.) Why does it not rank higher? I’m not sure. I like the aircraft, it flies well and makes kills well and is also capable of up tier kills. Indeed it shares so much with the I-15 it can be flown the same way and you should expect the same results. I also percieve the A4N as a “threat aircraft” in combat. To be dealt with quickly. It’s not too hard to shoot down, but, do it before it decides to shoot you down.
However the stats suggest that I am more likely to get shot down in this aircraft than any other TI or TII aircraft. The stats also suggest that I am less likely to make lots of kills in this aircraft. (placing it lowest of my TII aircraft for Kill Ratio)

Conclusion.
Well, TII in my opinion is really very much a 1 horse race. The sheer weight of firepower that the Ar-68 can bring on a target is awesome compared to all the rest of the TII fighters. This is actually pretty usefull, because by TII you are facing higher tiers with more modern, more robust aircraft.
Apart from the firepower, there really isnt much on paper to set any of these aircraft apart. The I-15 and A4N are the best turn fighters. All four have comparable speed even the hitpoints are very similar.
There is no disputing the strengths of the Ar-68.  It sits Top of mid table of ALL my aircraft in my stats spreadsheet. I have been shot down by them, (same tier, up tier, down tier.) I percieve them as a threat that needs to be dealt with and I have scored enough “up-tier” kills with this machine to earn me the Golubev medal.
My own personal bias would actually put the P-23 at the bottom of the table. I don’t like the firepower, it is (by a tiny margin) the slowest aircraft in the tier and the second worst turn fighter. But apparently I dont get killed so often when flying one. Why? Well, maybe I take these weaknesses into account when I enter battle and try to avoid ALL risky situations.
The A4N and I-15 are so similar on paper it would be hard to tell them apart. Both fly well, both are very capable, I perhaps percieve the A4N in combat as the greater threat. Statistically however, I have a better kill rate and kill ratio with the I-15. Indeed, my kill rate/kill ratio in the I-15 is better than that of the Ar-68. perhaps its the camouflage? ;-)

*About “My Own Performance Stats” Calculating kills from battles fought gives me “Kill Ratio” Calculating Kills from deaths in combat gives me a kill to death ratio (Frag Rate)
Statistically, the Ar-65 has given me the best Kill Ratio and Frag Rate of all the TI aircraft. Likewise the I-15 the gives the best stats for TII