izigame.me

The ASF-X Shinden II, designed by Macross creator Shōji Kawamori, may not have some crazy special weapon like the other DLC aircraft, but that's a good thing because otherwise this plane would actually be too overpowered. The ASF-X's unique mechanic is not multi-missiles, dual railguns, massive bombs, or joint ECM/ESM pods. You wanna know what it is? The ASF-X's power comes from its stall.
...Yes, I'm serious. Those players who remember how this plane flew in Assault Horizon and Infinity know exactly what I'm talking about. The ASF-X is the ONLY aircraft in Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown to have a unique stalling mechanic where the plane changes its stall speed depending on its wing layout and can maintain that stall for a much longer period of time without dipping its nose low.
"Okay," I hear you say, "it can keep a stall. So what?" This is where we go back to its "lack of powerful weapons". Despite the comparisons to the other DLC weapons, the 6AAMs are one of the best anti-air weapons; nothing beats the LASM for anti-ship battles; and the RKT, while certainly disappointing, isn't without its use cases. Making use of the stall mechanic allows you to dish out 6AAMs, RKTs, or LASMs, plus your standard missiles, without moving too much from your position on the map. If you're in a safe spot, this means you can almost hover in one spot while just throwing weapons over and over at mid-range or distant targets, cleaning up a wide area before you even get there.
"Ohhhh," I hear you say as the gears start turning. Now you can see where this comes in handy. Imagine holding your position north of Farbanti, south of the Njord Fleet, right above Stonehenge, or far away from the Alicorn, and always firing your weapons while barely moving an inch (or a mile, since this is a plane). The ASF-X's utility is in being able to wipe out scores of targets at range and barely moving while doing it. This makes for very, very interesting scenarios in both PvE and PvP. Master the ASF-X's stall mechanics, and you'll master the battlefield.
Sure, firing weapons while stalling isn't a mechanic that's easy to grasp, but neither is the CFA-44 in general. While the CFA-44 has more destructive weapons, the ASF-X at least gives you familiar weapons that you already know how to use. It just has an added twist on how the plane moves to give you a chance to really hone your skills with mid-stall combat, a phrase that just doesn't make sense for other aircraft, even others that can perform post-stall maneuvers. The ASF-X is truly in a league of its own.
And yes, it helps that it looks damn cool as well.