Played a match as a Minelayer but really didn't enjoy it. Pretty much flew around dropping mines every so often. I tried to set traps by placing mines in certain areas but after they were deployed I couldn't tell if they were effective.

 

Maybe I'm biased because I'm used to playing bombers a certain way or maybe they're just not for me.

 

What has your experience been with the bombers?

 

Note: A group of bombers on my team took over node B on Kuat by dropping a load of mines and drones of all sorts. It was pretty funny. I made my contribution then just flew around for a while trying to get some kills via my lasers. I was able to get 2 assists but no kills. Not sure if they were from my lasers or mines.

I haven't flown them yet but I've fought against them. I'd say that it greatly depends on team organization. The last TDM I was in the Imps were well coordinated and kept drawing us into a minefield (pre-made? they seemed to have an uncanny ability to know when the bombers were under attack and I'd often get about 3 ships gunning for me once I went after a bomber). Likewise I was also in a match where the bombers weren't protected and so rendered completely ineffective.

 

I kinda like the idea of a support ship that does need a fighter escort but I'm somewhat cautious of how that will play out since premades will be best equipped to support bombers.

Agreement: I've been against groups with Bombers. It isn't pretty.

 

Statement: I'd like to say that there needs to be a change to the number of drones/mines around a satellite at any given time. But what I've seen may just be the result of all the new players combined with the bad ones that my server is full of. Bad group compositions and such.

 

Rumination: I have the feeling however is that it's not because of the number of mines/drones at the satellites. But it's actually the fact that the Imps on my server are almost all running premade groups. In both WZ and GSF. While the Republic meatbags do nothing but bicker about everything and refuse to work together.

 

Statement: It's sad really. It's worse when they don't read the guides available and call you a all kinds of things.

Edited February 4, 2014 by HKtheindomitable

Bombers so far!

 

• Tough Armour

• Extremely slow

• Easy to shoot down

• Do NOT get anywhere close to them

 

-----------

 

- I've noticed that they are an extremely great asset when it comes to guarding sats; placing mines & sentries underneath the sats prevent people from circling around them, since they really do pack a punch.

 

- However, Bombers seem to be a 100% support class - on their own they cannot dogfight & they are in need of escorts.

 

- The mobile warp beacon is incredible useful, but you have to be careful with its placement. Tho being able to spawn right in your sats, or behind an obstacle close by to one, is invaluable.

I also find them relatively easy to shoot down.

 

The drones and mines are an annoyance if anything. I find myself having to "bob and weave" more often because of them. They can also be extremely distracting, in terms of clutter, but my guess is we will get used to them.

I think bombers are going to be rather overpowered in Dominion and rather underpowered in TDM.

 

In Dominion people are forced to cluster around objectives. A bomber can go in and just completely devastate a node and once captured turn it into a fortress. In TDM people almost never clump up and the bombers are left exposed. As a scout in TDM I can just ignore them and pick off the enemy scouts and fighers while my team's Strikes and Gunships kill the bombers I bypassed.

I think bombers are going to be rather overpowered in Dominion and rather underpowered in TDM.

 

In Dominion people are forced to cluster around objectives. A bomber can go in and just completely devastate a node and once captured turn it into a fortress. In TDM people almost never clump up and the bombers are left exposed. As a scout in TDM I can just ignore them and pick off the enemy scouts and fighers while my team's Strikes and Gunships kill the bombers I bypassed.

 

I do think bombers will have an easier time in Domination, but it's my hope that their existence will push the fighting off the node. A fortified satellite will not be something you want to run in and hug, so you'll need to clear everything off it from a distance using EMPs and longer range weapons. Conversely when defending the node, anyone but a bomber will have to come off the node to attack the inbound ship or risk getting CCd down and killed from a distance.

 

We'll see if it works that way after the initial influx dies down a bit...

Edited February 4, 2014 by Brewski

Dominion:

Bombers can pretty much singlehandedlly hold points and with hyperspace beacon being dropped in smart positions can also get reinforcements on the fly.

 

Gunships is definitely a counter to them, so a bomber should always be paired up with a Scout/Striker to take out any gunships.

 

I have noticed being tagged as non-contributing even though my drones were shooting people. That is quite annoying.

 

TDM:

Honestly I do not see any point playing anything else other than a Gunship or a Scout there.

I think bombers are going to be rather overpowered in Dominion and rather underpowered in TDM.

 

In Dominion people are forced to cluster around objectives. A bomber can go in and just completely devastate a node and once captured turn it into a fortress. In TDM people almost never clump up and the bombers are left exposed. As a scout in TDM I can just ignore them and pick off the enemy scouts and fighers while my team's Strikes and Gunships kill the bombers I bypassed.

 

Agreement: They are. They are exceptionally powerful in *Domination. If not too powerful.

 

Observation: From what I have seen, if the opposite faction (Imps on my server (who btw are always premades with the good PvPers while the Republic are all bickering and "I'm gonna do my own thing" meatbags)) caps the middle node, the bombers just place mines, repair/missile/rail gun drones all over it (even when they're from two bombers only, it is practically impossible to break through) and then they just have to fly between A and C and win. Add to that that 90% are scouts on their teams too. I know it's only day 1, but my win/loss is already 1/8 for Domination.

 

Statement: However, for Team Death Match, I'm 2/4. But the losses are a lot closer than the typical 1000-5 Domination losses.

 

Observation: So far the biggest problem for Domination is the Bomber. The Scout is too, but they're easier to deal with than they were. The other problem, is that unlike the Imp side on my server, the Gunships for Republic are left to fend for themselves.

 

Extrapolation: Essentially it's become like it is in War Zones. The Republic players leave the Healers to fend for themselves. If the healer points out that nobody helped, they get called a "noob" and have hate spewed at them, despite the fact that it wasn't their fault. Meanwhile, the Imps are protecting their own and winning with great ease. That makes me wish I could put a blaster pistol to my behavior core an pull the trigger.

 

Recitation: The other problem is that everyone, as I said, wants to do their own thing instead of working together. Because of that, there are no premades running on Republic side. Meanwhile the Imps are all working together and are almost always premades.

 

Statement: For TDM, the biggest problem is when there isn't any Focus Fire going on. Which is, again, a huge problem for Republic players in WZs. It's now leaking into GSF. However, there there is no one ship that out does another.

 

Admission: I don't expect to win every time, especially on Day1 where all the F2P meatbags are on in their non upgraded ships and lack of experience.

 

Conclusion: Communication and teamwork is highly needed in order to succeed. Domination wouldn't be so hard if that was utilized more, as well as the guides and tips that are provided right here on the forums and the instruction given by those during a match that are way more experienced.

 

Statement: I do want to see what flying a bomber is like. But I'm not sure if I should go with the Rampart Mark Four, or the Warcarrier.

Well on my server teams are just running bombers getting 2 satellites, spreading all kinds of drones and **** around it and then just sitting under it.

 

Instant win.

I do think bombers will have an easier time in Domination, but it's my hope that their existence will push the fighting off the node. A fortified satellite will not be something you want to run in and hug, so you'll need to clear everything off it from a distance using EMPs and longer range weapons.

Whilst this is true, hugging a satelite is required to actual capture the thing. Bombers might not be as effective at weaving in and out of obstacles as a scout, but there's little to stop them circling and putting out mines whilst people are trying to capture it.

 

My general experience playing a bomber today involved just kind of hanging around satelites putting out railgun drones, repair drones and seeker mines. Occasionally pinging away at ships when they get close enough with lasers. Then the game ends and I'll have 14~ assists from targets I generally never saw. I won't say I don't feel useful as a bomber, but it's not exactly an exhilerating experience.

Havent flown one, I flew one mission before I was going to buy one, saw how stupid they are and didn't buy one. Just a dumber brother of the gunship ( I didn't think that was possible)

Just had a match with my brand new, un-upgraded war-carrier in domination, and well, I felt as if it was almost too easy, granted it was against mostly the fresh meat of F2P players, I saw one sting and one Quell on the Imp side of things, the Pub's on my side had a Flash-fire and me....

 

I did a full burn to A, and just held A for the entire match, what I learned from that round, was the Bomber can be a beast, if you don't try to play the dog-fighter game. by the end of it, I had 4 kills, and then I just circled the sat for the rest of the match, as the imps just gave up on the game, once we had all three sats.

 

Nothing like a 1000-30 inside of 6 minuets....

Havent flown one, I flew one mission before I was going to buy one, saw how stupid they are and didn't buy one. Just a dumber brother of the gunship ( I didn't think that was possible)

 

I will never understand the mindset of someone that draws conclusions on fun factor before testing them out, so closed minded.

I played a mine layer a few times today. They're certainly effective tick repellant but I found the game play kind of underwhelming. It basically breaks down to circling a sat and pushing two buttons with not much active interaction with the enemy,

 

Being told you killed someone with a mine on the other side of the sat lacks the impact of seeing the kill with blasters or missiles.

 

My 2 cents

Bomber is way overpowered. I really enjoyed Star Fighter, was my favorite thing to do, but now I don't even like getting on.

1. They can deploy too many drones

2. Drones may have a weak defense but their firepower is over the top for a drone

I don't have a problem with the ship itself so much as I do the drones.

Overpowered, overpowered, overpowered.

Bomber is way overpowered. I really enjoyed Star Fighter, was my favorite thing to do, but now I don't even like getting on.

1. They can deploy too many drones

2. Drones may have a weak defense but their firepower is over the top for a drone

I don't have a problem with the ship itself so much as I do the drones.

Overpowered, overpowered, overpowered.

 

I found that in TDM (Team Death Match), my bomber rather underwhelming compared to domination mode. That is a mode really built for the Flash Fire / Sting / Gunships....

Really liking my drone carrier. Calling out where I put a heal is super great, esp in death match.

Tested out a drone carrier on my republic side character, and minelayer on imp side, also flew against both types with my standard strike fighters.

 

 

On minelayers:

These feel extremely gimped in deathmatch. I can see how they might be good in domination around satellites, but deathmatch just puts everything against them. The mines on their own will not kill a target, not unless you manage to hit someone with 2-3 of them at once. The target needs to be weakened first, either by your own blaster fire or by an ally, which requires more coordination than you're ever likely to see outside of premade groups.

 

To me, it seems that minelayers were designed to excel at extreme close range combat, due to the 1500-2000 meter range limit on mine tracking/detonation. Problem is, you're flying a shortbus that has no burst laser cannons and lacks the maneuverability to fire at enemies at those ranges. Your mines wont usually kill the target on their own, so without an ally backing you up you're going to get tromped by any strike or scout. Bombers also have no evasive manuvers like barrel roll to move across vast distances quickly, so they're easy bait for gunships.

 

 

On Drone Carriers

I can see these being -somewhat- useful if set up as slow, missile-oriented heavy strike fighters. I'm thinking heavy lasers, concussion missiles, a missile sentry, and a focus on heavy defensive boosts. However, one thing I notcied while trying this very setup tonight is that the turn rate (pitch/yaw) on bombers is too low to keep any moving target in your firing arc long enough to lock on with concussion missiles, not unless they're at max range or you get lucky. My strike fighter can pull off concussion locks almost every few seconds, but my bomber was lucky to get one lock a minute. The manuvering rate on these ships is just too low to be able to use any standard primary or secondary weapons.

 

Fighting against drone carriers... now that's the part I hate. The railgun drones seem too powerful in my opinion, they're as bad as gunships at picking you off while you're fighting. Drones and mines both need to be far more obvious to enemy players as well - they're too hard to spot, and have too small a targetting circle on them to spot in the frantic, fast-paced atmosphere of gsf combat.

What's most annoying is that the missile drones only do like 300 damage with their concussion missiles - not a real big deal. However, they give you the same missile lock on tone that player missiles do, which makes you waste an evasive manuver or panic trying to avoid a potential concussion missile up the tail pipe, and that leaves you wide open for an enemy to use a -real- missile on you while your evasive is on cooldown.

 

On 'support' bombers

These things will -never- work with the current balance of GSF. Scouts, strike fighters, bombers, and gunships alike can all kill an enemy player in a matter of seconds and a handful of shots. Healing 130 hull damage every 3-6 seconds, on ships that have 2000+ hull, is absolutely pathetic.

The burst damage to survivability ratio simply does not allow for 'healing-oriented' bombers to be effective at all.

Well on my server teams are just running bombers getting 2 satellites, spreading all kinds of drones and **** around it and then just sitting under it.

 

Instant win.

 

1. Not instant, takes effort on their part

2. Stop them from doing that? (whatever they are doing, YOU can also try...)

On 'support' bombers

These things will -never- work with the current balance of GSF. Scouts, strike fighters, bombers, and gunships alike can all kill an enemy player in a matter of seconds and a handful of shots. Healing 130 hull damage every 3-6 seconds, on ships that have 2000+ hull, is absolutely pathetic.

The burst damage to survivability ratio simply does not allow for 'healing-oriented' bombers to be effective at all.

 

I'm pretty sure you are missing the point of a repair drone...

 

Win a fight but get pretty beat up in the process... heal at one of these for like 15 seconds, then get back in there.

While it's possible to die instantly, in practice that doesn't always happen. Unlike the insulting and useless +35 from the dumb copilot ability, the drone heals are useful and only require a small amount of time to actually heal someone to full, while the totem mechanic makes it not something guaranteed to work in the heat of battle.

IMO the bombers just ruined the game

They are way OP in Domination as they effectively make 1 or more satellites totally off limits for the other team for the entire match with out having to actually have players defending it.. Attacked a satellite that was not being defended my a player with 4 wing men for an entire match and did not even get a turret down. May as well have been flying into the nearest asteroid right after spawning. They don't miss and they 1 shot me batter than gun ships.

I kind of see Pikes getting a job finally. Love my flashfire, but double missile at range seems like a good tactic against bombers as this point. Going to have to give it a couple tries and see.