Two Effective Tactics to Strip Bombers Off Satellites

[havokhead]

One of the most frustrating features of the game is when several bombers load up in a satellite turning it into a virtual fortress. This can be particularly unfair to new players who do not have the tools or knowledge to deal with this situation.

In my opinion there are two very effective tactics to use and both require a little coordination but after a few tries it isn't too bad.

 

Tactic 1 - Dual Gunship Pincer Attack of Doom

 

You'll need two AoE ion capable gunships, stay at max range (15000) and 1 gunship goes below the satellite facing up while the other goes above and faces downward. Both volley ion cannon in rapid succession, remember, you don't need to target the bombers!! You only have to hit their mines, drones or the defence turrets and the AoE will spread to eliminate the other mines & drones while also depleting bomber shields. Once bomber shields are low (should only take 3 or 4 ion shots) then immediately switch to slug railgun and blow up the bombers. Alternate between ion & railgun until all bombers are eliminated. The bombers will have no where to go since you've pincered them from above & below the satellite. Feel free to cackle in delight as you watch the bomber ball disappear into space debris. This is the safest & most effective tactic as you get the range advantage and 2 good gunships can strip 4 bombers off a satellite in less than a minute.

 

Tactic 2 - Ion Spamming Gunship with Hard Charging T1 Bomber

 

Again, a gunship stays at range and spams ion AoE, your goal is to eliminate all mines & drones ASAP. Again, you don't need to target bombers directly. When enemy defences are low, the T1 bomber charges the satellite blasting defence turrets and spewing seismic & concussion mines, the enemy bombers will be weak & have no assets and will be quite vulnerable to your mines. You'll have mines, they won't. The reason you need a T1 bomber is it has Charged Plating & Deflection Armour to resist any enemy mines that may have been missed. The seismic mine is the deadliest mine in the game. Once the bomber is on the satellite, the gunship looks for targets of opportunity while switching from ion to slug.

 

Why do I consider these tactics the best? It requires the least amount of resources, 2 ships, which means simpler coordination and freeing up more ships on other sats.

 

I have EMP missile & that rocks too right? Uuuummmm, no, it doesn't. EMP missile has shorter range which means you're vulnerable to railgun drones & bomber HLCs. It has a longer re-load time, you can squeeze off 4 or 5 ion shots in the time it takes to fire 2 EMP missiles and EMP missile more or less stuns mines or drones, you need 3 EMP missiles to take out tough drones so you could've gotten off a dozen or more ion shots from a safe distance. Possible? yes, effective? No. The same goes for the T1 scout's EMP Pulse, is it possible? Yes. Is it fun to kamikaze dive at a satellite popping EMP Pulse? yes. Is it effective? No!!

 

What if I don't have an Ion Gunship? Get one noob!! And keep it on your hangar bar even if you hate to use gunships, the ion spam is worth it.

Edited August 21, 2015 by havokhead

[Drakkolich]

As the T1 Bomber in your second scenario I would recommend using Interdiction mine to slow enemy bombers so your teammate can destroy them easier and Deflection armor instead of Reinforced armor to amplify the damage reduction given by Charged plating.

 

As a bonus if your teammate Gunship is using the slow ability on Ion railgun it stacks with Interdiction mines slow to give the enemies 0% speed and they literally cannot move. Very effective at killing Bombers that are good at LOS ing.

[Bolo_Yeung]

Personally, I prefer to use double missile T3 with EMP+Interdiction missiles as a second GS, maybe because I don't like failguns (use'em if I am forced to, but it just isn't Star Wars thing...),

 

And take into account that EMP missile stuns the interdiction drones - that's more important than damaging; also it has greater pulse radius than the ion rail).

 

Edit: hah funny typo... maybe Freudian typo?

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bolo_Yeung

[caederon]

Personally, I prefer to use double missile T3 with EMP+Interdiction missiles as a second GS, maybe because I don't like failguns (use'em if I am forced to, but it just isn't Star Wars thing...)

Yes, I remember well all those exciting times in the Star Wars movies when Luke Skywalker saved the day by firing off a very timely EMP missile! I'll never forget the scene when he blasted those TIE fighters with the EMP missile and it disabled their engine abilities for 15 seconds. What a classic. Or that time Han said 'Chewie, load up the EMP missiles, we have to shut down those turrets!" That was one of the most memorable moments. Nothing says Star Wars like EMP missiles.

 

Despon

[havokhead]

Ya Drak I meant the deflection armour, sorry, it was a late night at work and I was bored so I wrote it up but was exhausted but you're correct.

 

-Edited-

Edited August 21, 2015 by havokhead

[Bolo_Yeung]

Yes, I remember well all those exciting times in the Star Wars movies when Luke Skywalker saved the day by firing off a very timely EMP missile! I'll never forget the scene when he blasted those TIE fighters with the EMP missile and it disabled their engine abilities for 15 seconds. What a classic. Or that time Han said 'Chewie, load up the EMP missiles, we have to shut down those turrets!" That was one of the most memorable moments. Nothing says Star Wars like EMP missiles.

 

Despon

 

Oh dear... while EMP missiles weren't common, the EMP disruptors were often mentioned. Unlike railguns, practically non-existent. Also, no railgun could fire FTL projectiles...

Edited August 21, 2015 by Bolo_Yeung

[Armonddd]

Solid strategies. The first step to clearing out any bomber nest is using ion AoE to take out the mines. The next step is taking out the bombers themselves. These are two very efficient ways to do just that -- though against unskilled bombers, a single gunship may be able to position themselves to get the kills with slug.

 

I still dislike that bombers are so effective that they need two ships to flush them out.

 

Oh dear... while EMP missiles weren't common, the EMP disruptors were often mentioned. Unlike railguns, practically non-existent. Also, no railgun could fire FTL projectiles...

 

I don't really remember EMP being mentioned. On the other hand, long-range ion weaponry was prominent at the Battle of Hoth and showed up from time to time in other parts of the movies. It's not very surprising to me that someone figured out how to miniaturize it for snubfighter combat. (The effectiveness of that miniaturization, on the other hand, does.)

 

Also, it's not a FTL shot. Bear in mind that max range is 15 km, while the speed of light is pretty close to 300,000 km/s. Light travels that distance in 1/20,000th of a second. If you're running at 60 FPS, your shot goes 900 km/s, or 3.24 x 10^6 km/h, which isn't something humans see every day but still an order of magnitude under some particles.

[Archonitek]

As a T1 Scout, have laser cannons and pods with range capacitor. Park yourself under a sat 5km out and just shoot upwards. Most bombers either stay under the satellite so this means you have a solid 3-4 seconds to whale away at him. 5km also keeps you out of range of any mines in the area.