Is it just me or is the Meji Zero Fighter wild underwhelming?

[smidstrup]

I was playing my son, and instead of my usual bomber spam, I decided to build a swarm of Zero planes for a change.
I knew they wouldn’t be great against districts, but I was hyped to take on a massive land and naval army for some epic fun.

Sadly, my Zeros aren’t packing much of a punch. Am I using them wrong, or are they just not suited for this? Any tips to make my air swarm shine?

Zero (Civ7)

Back to List of units in Civ7 The Zero is a unique Fighter air unit of the Meiji Japanese civilization in Civilization VII. Unique Aircraft Unit. Has increased attack range. Increased Combat Strength against other Aircraft Units. The Mitsubishi A6M was a light, maneuverable fighter aircraft. It...

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[evonannoredars]

They're suited for combat against other air units, they won't be any different against land and naval armies.

It is a p niche combat bonus, I don't know how much of a difference it would make in dogfights but it seems underpowered

 

[vorlon_mi]

Last night, I was fighting a multi-front war in Modern, trying tto finish the Military legacy path for the first time.I was playing as Prussia, which has a unique unit for the "trench fighter" / close air support aircraft. Most of the time, my bombers or Stukas bombed their land units without issue. Later in the war, as I attacked Meiji Japan (who had declared on me!) I noticed some of my aircraft taking damage from their Zeros.

Consider staging squadron commader near the front line with your son's territory. Deploy some Zeros there, and look for his biplanes, circling on patrol. Use your Zeros to engage and shred them. If he replaces them, shred them again. While they are circling your aerodromes or squadron commanders, they should engage with any bombers coming through, trying to attack your units.

As @evonannoredars wrote, they don't have any more advantages for ground attacks than regular fighters or their upgrades. You will still want bomber spam to knock down the walls and kill units coming for your cities. Choose the promotion that gives commanders the extra slots.