I might be wrong but I'm sensing that something Epic is going to take place involving GSF and the new hangar. Maybe a "world event", something like regular attacks on Fleet requiring everyone to scramble their fighters from the hangar. I'm sure there's a reason the fighters in the hangar look like they are prepped for launch...I seriously doubt this is just cosmetic. I'm also pretty sure that our Class ships are doomed, hence the escape pods that serve no purpose at the moment but are clearly meant for something. If you're new to GSF don't give up just keep practicing, all the veterans experienced the same headaches. You will get annoyed and you will get frustrated but you will learn from every failure and every death. If you have concerns regarding balance speak your mind and keep the conversation going. There's a lot of potential for GSF and the entire game if we give it a chance. Its probably well known that I don't like bombers, for reasons that need not be explained at this moment, but I believe we should still do our best to encourage as many people as possible to keep playing. There is no doubt that the "OP" and "Nerf" threads can be overbearing but the "L2P" and "Quit Whining" threads are just as bad, and if there's one thing I can stand its a condescending attitude because it stinks of an inferiority complex. When it comes to balance there are many legitimate concerns, so if you really want GSF to be a success try to be constructive instead of adversarial. Bottom line, it will never be perfect but lets try to make the game better by helping the DEVs get GSF to a state of balance that we can all can enjoy. p.s. Long Live the Wheel (aka conventional bomber combat)!

Check out this video. He did absolutely nothing and didn't really need to use any special tactics or maneuvers learned from being a more experienced player. F2Ps are easy prey for veterans but they are also easy prey for a novice bomber pilot.

Still not keen on calling them OP but yeah that is kind of crazy. My main contention is that a bomber pilot can achieve these results by simply mashing buttons and letting the AI do all the work. To get those results in my Striker I would have to work D@MN hard!

Video of Bomber getting 10 kills 11 Assists: Note: This is not my video

Video of Bomber getting 10 kills 11 Assists: Edit: Apologies wrong thread.

Destroying a drone counts as a kill...best guess is that its supposed to serve as an incentive to Gunships and fighter's with EMP. I was disappointed when I found out about this and I refuse to destroy them simply based off principle.

I saw a team mate's EMP missile go off near me yesterday, the visual effect was awesome and I was immediately like "Now that's what bombers should be doing!"

Begun the drone wars have....

OP: I rather enjoy the teamwork aspect that comes from a joint effort to take down a target. With that said, if a bomber's mine gets a kill or assist, to me its all good. Mines have a short range which means you have to play smart when placing them. Not sure if this is how it works at the moment, but I think mines should be invisible to enemies when they are placed behind obstacles or they should at the very least have an upgrade that allows this. It would create more interesting and engaging play. Drones, however, are completely different story because it takes zero effort to place a drone at random that can rack up kills and assists with its 5-10k range. Even in ground PVE you have to use your drones (Companions) wisely and they are limited to attacking targets that you actively engage. Unfortunately this is not the case in GSF but like I said, maybe Bombers were designed this way for future PVE content...in that case it makes some sense.

Question: Do drones attack enemy drones? How about mines?

This is great to know and and I'm very happy for you! Edit: This actually got me thinking as to whether bombers were designed this way for future PVE content. They would perform well as tanks against a boss Cruiser or Capital ship. All they would have to do is get the boss to chase them while deploying drones and mines at periodic intervals. In the mean time other fighters will organize attack runs.

I've actually never flown in a premade. I'm talking strictly from a teamwork perspective, pugs or premade. I understand what you are saying because I have seen this take place with and without premades. During my first experience flying a bomber I noticed a group of my teammates enveloping a satellite with mines and drones. When I saw what they were doing I simply joined in because I had nothing else better to do. This was my first experience and most likely my last, if I ever do get to play in a pre made they will literally have to pay me creds to get me to pilot a bomber.

Only real "problem" I have bombers is the serious lack of fun factor for those who play them. As a dogfighter I love the repair drones. As a team player I think the mines are great support weapons but add to the boredom factor for those playing bombers. IMO they are equivalent to a system weapon/component. I can't stand the EDIT: attack drones..period...because I know they add to the boring playstyle for bomber pilots and at the same time they can accumulate kills with zero skill involved. I had a drone steal a kill from me yesterday and it was annoying as hell and I really wouldn't have minded if another pilot actually put in the work to get the kill because thats part of the team effort.

IMO, it kind of takes away the element of surprise when its so obvious which direction your enemy is facing. I use Gunships as an example because their role/play style provides the pilot more opportunities to observe the map and process the information.

I was extremely grateful for this until I realized the other side can see the exact same thing.

The new map icons (arrows) for fighters. Does it balance things out by allowing other fighters to see where Gunships are directing their attention and vice versa OR does it heavily favor Gunship's by increasing their situational awareness, thereby allowing them to easily determine which attacks are incoming?

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.

Agree! Just finished my first match, great fun! I didn't even bother looking for the power-ups!

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 think that's a pretty cool tactic but I guess we're looking for "precision" bombing. Correct me if I'm wrong but from my understanding you really have no control over which target a mine hits once its deployed.

If they designed one of these and included some or all of the capabilities we've discussed I would buy it in a minute...h3!!...I would buy Cartel Packs until I got one.

To fit within the current game modes any type of bomb would require some sort of propellant or guidance system. So then, as you correctly stated, it all comes down to size and scale of effect. Anything with a large blast radius (AOE) provides a bombing effect. The EMP missiles are the closest things we have to bombs because they have a large blast radius designed to affect multiple targets. They are categorized as missiles because they are small, fast and self propelled.

Agreed, but if you think about it we actually do have targets to "bomb" (Sat Turrets), its just that the current bombers are not designed for this. With the EMP missile Pikes will, for all intents and purposes, actually be bombing targets. Once its heavy ordinance that can AOE it can be considered a bomb. The middle ground between missiles and bombs should be heavy rockets like this; http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Proton_rocket.

Pretty much and hopefully more maps and game modes are in the pipeline that will actually require some sort of bombing. I would like our current bombers to actually fulfill a bombing role at some point also.

http://www.swtor.com/patchnotes/game-update-2.6-galactic-starfighter Many thanks to the Devs! Appreciate these changes. Still seems most of the love went to Type 2 Strikers though, with the Ion missile range increase and addition of EMP missiles.