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XB-11 Bombers |
furtim
Admiral
Joined: June 06, 2005
Posts: 27
|  Posted: 2010-11-16 23:54
I just made 1RA and got access to the ICC Border Cruiser with its fighter bays. Techniques for using most of the other fighters are pretty obvious, but not so much the bombers.
The problem, as I see it, is that the reload delay on the fighter bays is just too long for the usual "cloud" tactic for getting through PD. They seem doomed to take on a planet's defenses piecemeal and get shot down along with their bombs.
So, my question is, what's the most effective way to deploy the XB-11s? Hang back and launch them all from stand-off range? Get in close and try to shield them with your own ship? Or is the only option to grab some buddies who also have fighter bays?
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SpaceAdmiral
Grand Admiral
Joined: May 05, 2010
Posts: 1005
| Posted: 2010-11-17 00:28
well when you get larger ships with more fighters (think command station's  it will kinda auto cloud if you launch them. (cmon you launched 8 bombers, thats at least 8 bombs if not more) Plus the enemy def bases might try to pd the bombers first and not the bombs, and seeing how bombers mostly only do one run anyways that a good thing.
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Lrd_Hunter
Grand Admiral
Joined: August 16, 2006
Posts: 245
| Posted: 2010-11-17 01:15
i am with furtim on this. i have yet to find an effective way to use the bombers. i mean yea in big group they work but how about just soloing with a station or dread carrier. it like they drop on bomb then get pd then the bombs get pd. so anyone found an easy way to solo with them yet.
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furtim
Admiral
Joined: June 06, 2005
Posts: 27
| Posted: 2010-11-17 01:25
Yeah, same sort of goes for the Missile Cruiser's Planet Siege Missiles. There are techniques to effectively solo-bomb with MIRVs, but there don't seem to be any real techniques to PSMs or fighter-bombers, apart from just spamming. Although I'd love to find out that I'm wrong about that. 
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Forger of Destiny
Chief Marshal
We Kick Arse
Joined: October 10, 2009
Posts: 826
| Posted: 2010-11-17 01:36
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So, my question is, what's the most effective way to deploy the XB-11s? |
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Use ECM. You certainly have heard of ECM-Bombing if you know cloudbombing.
Also, the general maximal range of fighters is epic. Ten thousand GUs for assault, interceptor and reconnaissance fighters. Add two thousand for bomber fighters.
So, if you have scanners you can begin a true cloud-fighterbomber run from 5000 GU or more. A cruiser's maximum speed is the speed of bombers, so the cloud will be easy to form. This results in 12 fighters plus 24 bombs=36 object-apocalyptic death cloud for a planet.
Because (length of run)/(ship speed)=5000gu/20gu/s=250 seconds, or a lil' over 4 minutes. A planet can certainly do a 180 degree turn in 4 minutes, if not doing a 250 degree turn. Even with the minimum range of 2500 gu for launching 3 batches of fighters, you will still give the planet 125 seconds to rotate. That's a lot of movement if you wanna get a decisive hit on specific structures.
So, well, stick with ECM bombing. The border cruiser has 3 sensor slots for them, if i remember rightly.
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Panduh
Grand Admiral
Pitch Black
Joined: June 03, 2007
Posts: 250
| Posted: 2010-11-17 01:40
There's the age old tactic of launching from whatever the max range is at the moment, jumping to the location of your fighters, launching another wave, and repeating until you reached the planet.
For example;
Start: 15k from planet.
Launch ftrs.
Jump to 13k from planet.
Wait for ftrs to catch up, launch second wave.
Jump to 11k from planet.
Wait for ftrs to catch up, launch third wave.
Repeat.
That was how it could be done waaaay back a couple years ago, I haven't tried it since, however.
Obviously, timing would be different now. I don't know the max range for ftrs at the moment anyways.
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furtim
Admiral
Joined: June 06, 2005
Posts: 27
| Posted: 2010-11-17 01:58
Good points both. Actually, I did use full ECM during my attempts, but I think I failed to keep my bombers covered. I was using the ECM mainly to mask my own sig. Next time I try, I'll see whether I can keep up with the bombers to keep them ECM-cloaked and maybe jump in a bit closer to start the run.
I was about to object to the jump-cloud on the grounds that the JD takes too long to recharge... but, on reflection, I'm pretty sure the fighter bays take even longer. So that probably works, too. ;P Although, if the Cruiser's top speed matches the bombers like Boomshot says, there's no need for all the jumping.
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SpaceAdmiral
Grand Admiral
Joined: May 05, 2010
Posts: 1005
| Posted: 2010-11-17 02:05
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On 2010-11-17 01:25, furtim wrote:
Yeah, same sort of goes for the Missile Cruiser's Planet Siege Missiles. There are techniques to effectively solo-bomb with MIRVs, but there don't seem to be any real techniques to PSMs or fighter-bombers, apart from just spamming. Although I'd love to find out that I'm wrong about that.
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ICC dreads owned with psm... time normal missles correctly and they absorb the pd while the massive PSMs get through. BTW currently psms are quite overpowered, they do huge damage
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Forger of Destiny
Chief Marshal
We Kick Arse
Joined: October 10, 2009
Posts: 826
| Posted: 2010-11-17 02:29
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On 2010-11-17 01:58, furtim wrote:
Actually, I did use full ECM during my attempts, but I think I failed to keep my bombers covered. I was using the ECM mainly to mask my own sig.
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On a side note for your side note,
ECM range=500 gu + (Hull level*50 gu)
ECM strength={2.75 + (Hull level*0.25)}*(-1) signature units.
Basically, you can cover your bombers with 1 ECM if there aren't any sensors active, to a maximum range of 750 gu. Also, Each ECM will reduce your signature by 4 signature units.
On a full loadout of ECM, your own signature will be -11. Against a planet with 1 sensor base, you can approach it to its equator and not be seen. (This is countered by the base visibility of cruisers. Planets can target cruisers within 400 gu.)
Note : I wanna tell more, like whats the optimal range for fighterbombing in border cruisers, or how to reduce your signature, or even how to have more than 3 sensor devices, but...bleh...go figure lol.
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DiepLuc
Chief Marshal
Joined: March 23, 2010
Posts: 1187
| Posted: 2010-11-17 04:49
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On 2010-11-17 01:40, Panduh wrote:
There's the age old tactic of launching from whatever the max range is at the moment, jumping to the location of your fighters, launching another wave, and repeating until you reached the planet.
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Addition: the planet must be in scanner area. So there must be another player.
With 2 players, simply take 2 bomber frigates or 1 bomber cruiser and supply.
It's clear that cruiser can't cloud bomb fighters. Unless bomber cruiser has 4 bomber fighter along with 4 PSM and 3 ECM.
[ This Message was edited by: chlorophyll on 2010-11-17 04:54 ]
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Admiral C. Wilson
Admiral
Joined: July 06, 2010
Posts: 262
From: Arkansas
| Posted: 2010-11-17 06:58
Well for me i use them to kill ships. See when there a big battle going fighters help kill the bad guy faster, But I have seen pd kill them, bat again they helped me kill 3 or 4 dreads, abd god knows how many smaller ships
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Borgie
Chief Marshal
Pitch Black
Joined: August 15, 2005
Posts: 2256
From: close by
| Posted: 2010-11-17 08:34
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On 2010-11-17 01:25, furtim wrote:
Yeah, same sort of goes for the Missile Cruiser's Planet Siege Missiles. There are techniques to effectively solo-bomb with MIRVs, but there don't seem to be any real techniques to PSMs or fighter-bombers, apart from just spamming. Although I'd love to find out that I'm wrong about that.
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really? the PSM is one of the most effective way of bombing in the game atm. exspecially with the missle dred. it has the ability to sit 2-3k away from the planet, fire on it and level just about anything in a 2 diamond range on the planet. as for fighter bombers, there pretty much useless for icc untill you get stations with a mass group of fighters.
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furtim
Admiral
Joined: June 06, 2005
Posts: 27
| Posted: 2010-11-17 08:58
I don't mean that PSMs are not useful, just that there's no real technique to maximising their effectiveness beyond spamming the B key when they turn green. 
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SpaceAdmiral
Grand Admiral
Joined: May 05, 2010
Posts: 1005
| Posted: 2010-11-17 17:24
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On 2010-11-17 08:58, furtim wrote:
I don't mean that PSMs are not useful, just that there's no real technique to maximising their effectiveness beyond spamming the B key when they turn green.
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Tactic 1:
fire normal missles AND psms at enemy buildings
Advanced method: time it so that normal missles hit planet just before psms, requires practice but normal missles will soak up pd
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furtim
Admiral
Joined: June 06, 2005
Posts: 27
| Posted: 2010-11-17 17:30
Yeah, I've caught on to that. I've also noticed that standard missiles are just slightly faster than the PSMs, so basically it just requires spamming space instead of B. XD
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