D-112 "Green" Eagle - Discontinued

D-112 "Green" Eagle
Real Name: SU-47 Berkut

 

I do not own a green eagle but have fought against many of them.  These suckers just do not die.  They have regenerative armor (jokingly called an Invincibility Rating in this altered graphic).  Their health is constantly regenerating after you strike them.  So much so that the only way you can really kill them is to hit them repeatedly and quickly with Bisnovats or possibly other high damage missiles.  If you just have Phoenix, RAAMs or Sidewinders, forgetaboutit, you are going to have a hell of a time taking this green bastard down.  

  See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

The youtube video link below will give you an idea as to just how fast this suckers health regnerates.  Checkout the video at about the 1 minute 30 second mark - you'll see its health improving very quickly.

Youtube video of Green Eagle

So... what to do when you are up against a green eagle???   The achilles heal of the green eagle is that they are as slow as friggin molasses.  These tanks just chug along like a tired old turtle.  If you are up against one, do not expose yourself by going head-to-head with it.   If you have an agility class plane or even a weapons class plane, a close range engagement will stymie the green eagle.  You will be able to easily circle around him and catch him from the side or from behind.  He will likely attempt to do a run away from you to get out of the circling match, but increase your throttle and stay with him (see maneuvers section of this site).  You should easily be able to stay on the rear of this sloth and obtain at least a 0-0 draw.  If you can manage to get a kill on him with lower class missiles, let me know (I've never been able to do it).  Good luck!!!

Beautiful shot of a real SU-47 Berku

Another great shot of this Russian experimental jet

Click here for more shots of this amazing looking aircraft

I am curious if Z2Live is going to bring back the green eagle - it has not shown up since the switch to the Wingman game. 

F-113 Eagle-X

F-113 Eagle-X: Weapons Class
Real name: SU-47X Berkut

I have much respect and admiration for the F-113 Eagle.  It was my first big aircraft purchase in MetalStorm Online.  After toiling away to save 10,000 credits, I was ecstatic to purchase this aircraft.  Not only does it look awesome with its wing design and jet black & red skin, it is a solid performer.  A fully upgraded Eagle has great weapons range, allowing you to lock onto distant targets and fire your missiles long before your adversary has a bead on you.  If compared to the much more expensive Hawken (the gold standard of weapons class planes), the Eagle is much slower at missile reloading, but its long lock range is a definite advantage and it actually packs slightly more missile and cannon damage than a Hawken (see PLANE COMPARISON TABLES).  A skilled pilot flying an Eagle can take down lesser adversaries with better planes.

Beautiful shot of the SU-47X Berku

The Russian experimental plane banking right

Click here for more shots of this amazing looking aircraft

The F-113 - a solid weapons class plane

Sleek lines - this is one beautiful jet

Great missile locking range is a big advantage

C-101 Annihilator

C-101 Annihilator:  Agility Class
Real name:  Chungdu J-10

Real life pict of a Chungdu J-10

Click here for more real life picts of the Chungdu J-10

When I started playing, the C-101 was the starter plane that beginners were supplied with.  I believe that this is still the case.  This agility class plane is quick and nimble.  My recommendation for beginners is as follows:

1.  If you like speed and agility, stick with this plane for awhile and make some upgrades.  This plane doesn't have very good armor but it is quick and nimble and difficult for your opponent to hit.  Upgrades are very important though.  Flying a non-upgraded plane will severely limit your planes performance and cost you alot of wins.  With the Annihilator, you will be faster than many of your opponents and be able to out-circle them and catch them from behind or to the side.   See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

2.  If you like to weather attacks better with thicker armor and like to have your planes weapons be more lethal, upgrade to the F-7 Wraith.  The Wraith is a formidable plane when upgraded and can even take down much more expensive planes with the right pilot behind the stick.  The Wraith will be slower than the Annhilator though - it is a trade off - you can't have it all!  Either go with speed or go with weapons/armor!

If you choose the Annihilator,  try to avoid too many long distance engagements.  The Annhilator, like most agility class planes, is a better close quarters dogfighter than a long distance missile shooter.

The Annihilator has a special spot in many players hearts as it is the plane most of us learned to fly with.  Good luck pilot!

E-14 Tempest

E-14 Tempest:  Defense Class
Real name: English Electric Lightning

A real life shot of an English Electric lightning

Click here for more picts of the real life English Electric lightning

 The E-14 Tempest is what you might call a beginners upgrade.  I remember when I first started playing, I was excited that I had the option of upgrading my plane.  With the small amount of credits that I had, I had a choice between the Tempest and the F-7 Wraith.  At the time, I had no clue on the differences between plane classes so I basically picked which plane I thought was the coolest looking.  It turned out to be a mistake.  I started flying the Tempest (with 1 or 2 tech upgrades) in versus matches and quickly found that I was getting my ass kicked in a whole variety of ways.  The Tempest is just not much of a plane for versus matches and I do not recommend spending much time, credits or coins on this antique.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Now days, when I see that I am flying up against a Tempest, I lick my chops and get ready to score some kills.  With a Hawken, I can usually get 8-10 kills on a Tempest.  They are slow and ponderous planes and even though they are defense class, their armor isn't very impressive.  The Tempest might be ok for campaign and survivor mode, but if you want to do any type of versus mode dogfighting, forget it.  If anyone has anything positive to say about the Tempest, please chime in.  My recommendation is to save your credits and coins for a Hawken and don't waste your time with the Tempest.  (You will see this similar recommendation for many of the lower cost bargain planes).   If you are a beginner and looking to upgrade, go with the F-7 Wraith or if you like speed, stick with the Annihilator and make some upgrades.  Either choice would be better than this dog.

Other Weapons Class Planes

Here are a few additional weapons class planes that were either limited edition or fell off the selection list over time:


F-41 Viper
Real name: F-18 Superhornet

A lower mid-level weapons class plane. Not much to get excited about here. One reader on this blog has the notion that this is a green eagle killer and has some sort of special powers against the green turtle.  I don't see any evidence to support this, but who knows ;-)

F-41 Viper

S-03 Saber

This plane is equal to the Hawken on weapons stats plus has lock range of +5%, however Hawken has much greater agility.   If you think that lock range is more important than agility (which I don't personally), then get the Saber.

S-03 Saber

F-106 Arbiter

F-106 Arbiter: Defense Class
Real name:  F-22X Raptor

 The F-106 Arbiter is the closest thing to a stealth fighter in this game.  Fully upgraded defense class planes already have a +20% stealth rating and the Arbiter adds another +10%.  This will make it much harder for your opponent to lock onto you with their missiles.  The boost in armor is good also.  I have a hard time getting too excited about the boost in energy, since defense class planes have a ton of energy reserves already.  The Missile resistance is a cool upgrade and is only available on the Arbiter and the Dragon.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

You don't tend to see many Arbiters in versus matches.  I am currently saving up for an Arbiter and looking forward to seeing how the stealth characteristics work - curious if other readers have used the Arbiter and if you have an opinion of its performance.

Amazing shot of a real Raptor breaking the sound barrier

Raptor banking left

Click here for more real life picts of the F-22 Raptor

M-11 Raven

M-11 Raven:  Defense Class
Real name:  MIG-35

The primary redeeming quality that I can see for the Raven is its Armor Regeneration of +5%.  Fully upgraded, this will give your Raven a full +9% of regen.  Not in the class of the green eagles 14%, but not too shabby.  Regeneration is one of the most powerful features that you can have in this game and the M-11 current offers the best available in this category.  Armor upgrade is best in class except for the limited edition Dragon and, of course, the green eagle.  Overall, a good defense class plane.  If you are going to pay coins for a defense plane, I would recommend this above the rest, solely due to the armor regen stats..

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life picts of the MIG-35

Click here for more picts of the real life MIG-35

T-18 Cyclone

T-18 Cyclone:  Weapons Class
Real name: Panavia Tornado

The T-18 Cyclone is a mid level weapons class plane.  I do not own a Cyclone but have been successful in defeating them with the Thresher, Hawken and Eagle.   I am not convinced that 145 coins is worth it for this plane.  There are really no outstanding performance features that I can see.  I would recommend the F-113 Eagle over the Cyclone any day.   If any readers have experience flying the Cyclone, please let us know your thoughts on its performance.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

A real Panavia Tornado

Click here for more great shots of the real life Panavia Tornado

F-12 Talon

F-12 Talon:  Agility Class
Real name:  F-16 Falcon

Unlike its weapons class twin, the Liberty, the Talon is a mid-level agility class plane.  It has good speed and agility but is basically 2nd rate to the Thresher and Marauder in all categories.  I don't see a compelling reason to get this plane - curious if anyone thinks otherwise.  I would recommend saving for a Thresher instead.

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life pict of an F-16 Falcon

Click here for more real life picts of the F-16 Falcon

Will provide more detail in future - setting up page to allow for commenting.

S-10 Thunderbolt

S-10 Thunderbolt:  Weapons Class
Real name:  J-37 Viggen

The Thunderbolt is another mid-level weapons class plane that I have not had the desire to purchase.  Its specs do not look particularly impressive and I usually don't have any trouble when going against a Thunderbolt with my F-113 Eagle.  The Thunderbolt has decent missile locking speed but that is about it - damage is not nearly as good as an F-113.   If anyone has any thoughts, advice or opinions of the Thunderbolt, please comment and let us know.


See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Great shot of a real life J-37 Viggen

Click here for more real life shots of the Viggen

F-105 Bobcat

F-105 Bobcat: DefenseClass
Real name: F-14 Tomcat


Its a shame that Z2Live has chosen to place Tom Cruises "Top Gun" classic as a low level defense class plane.  The Bobcat is not exactly what Maverick, Goose & Iceman would have wanted to fly.  The Bobcat really does not have any qualities that would compel me to ever want to buy it - if you want a defense class plane, save up and buy the Arbiter or Dragon with credits and don't spend coins on this thing.  It has some stealth which is cool, but its just not worth the price.

Maverick and Goose look pissed - they just found out that they've been assigned to a "Bobcat"

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life pict of the Tomcat - Highway to the Danger Zone

Click here for more real life picts of the F-14 Tomcat

U-9 Raider

U-9 Raider:  Agility Class
Real name:  SU-27 Flanker

Current U-9 Raider

Old version of the Raider sans speed boost

The Raider is a lower end agility class plane that basically has slightly better performance than the C-101.  Agility has been bumped up but is still not as high as the Thresher, Talon or Marauder.  The Raider also got an unannounced speed boost somewhere along the way by Z2 (see smaller pict of previous version).   My recommendation would be to stick with the C-101 and use those 65 coins towards upgrades of the C-101 or save up for a Thresher or Reaper.   Investing much coins and effort into the Raider just doesn't seem to be a worthwhile endeavor in my opinion.  As always, if you have a different opinion, please chime in!  :-)

See PLANE COMPARISON TABLES for detailed assessment of all the planes performance ratings.

Real life pict of an SU-27 Flanker

Click here for more real life picts of the SU-27