I did lose an Onyx to CVA. I was embarassed. It went like this:
I logged into Yong after work. A trio of pirates we had tussled and talked with was docked, one with GCC. One CVA in local. Thinking nothing of the above, I undocked in my Onyx after the CVA guy undocked. He was in an Occator, and warped to Gemodi gate (Gemodi also being lowsec). I jumped through with the Occator, and waited on the other side, slowboating back to the Yong gate. Occator held cloak, then started a slowboating reapproach. Fair enough. He then started to align off, so I pointed and let loose.
First thing I noticed was that my missiles put his shields at 95%. Uh oh. Serious tank...
Second was the point and painter he turned on. Damn...
Third was about a minute later when local spiked with 7 CVA & Pets. I deaggressed on the Yong gate, jumped through in about 40% shield. Unfortunately for me, there was a Harbinger and Tempest on the other side. I aligned, hit my damage control and logged.
Kuzzi was in system and undocked, spamming scan. Unfortunately for me, my wreck showed up on scan shortly after loggin. Between the gate guns and the Harbinger/Tempest, they were able to finish me off. A for effort, but in the end the unexpected happened and I got caught.
Speaking with the pirates in local with me, it appears that they had stirred up CVA... and I happened to walk into a trap meant for them. Oh well, that Onyx got me plenty of kills :)
Couple things I read in the blog pak yesterday I wanted to touch upon. My Loot Your Tears had an article addressing some interesting feedback concerning angry-emo readers. "Paul and I were just discussing our different styles of posting stories on My Loot, Your Tears. In particular we are both highly amused that we often get people giving us grief in the comments section, because they don’t like the content of our stories."
Not much to say on that, except this: If you don't like reading it don't. Reading it then whining to the authors is retarded. Just shut the fuck up and go read something else. Its like whining about TV... change the damn channel. That being said, I find the tears and expensive carebear deaths on that blog to be extremely entertaining and have no desire for them to go away. I do believe there are quite a few ninja/pirating blogs, and not enough hardcore nullsec PVPers... but I can live with that.
Second was the Stealth Bomber Guide from a Merry Life and a Short One. He has some excellent ideas and fits from the torping side of things... but I am here to offer insights on the actual bombing part of the bomber.
As you can see from my stats (if you have ever looked) I have lost lots of bombers. You can also see I have killed shit tons of ships with bombers. In 0.0 bombers have the capability to wreak havoc on large numbers of enemies with relatively few resources (7-8 bombers and maybe a dictor).
Theres a few tactics, touched upon briefly in the guide. I'm going to go into a bit more detail. Depending on situations some of these will work better than others.
The POS shoot: Oftentimes you will have to engage an enemy force reinforcing/destroying one of your towers. Due to TZ differences or just who you are fighting, you are unable to go toe-to-toe with the engaging force. You need a cov ops alt or a volunteer stealth bomber to get into position anywhere from 15-45km from the enemy fleet. If the enemy fleet is aligned and moving towards a celesital (warp-out) then the scout needs to be near the largest clump of targets. Draw an imaginary line from the target area to the scout ship. Then continue that line in both directions. Behind the target should be a warp out point, or prerably multiple warp out poins. Behind the scout should be a celestial (often a moon) that has your fleet of bombers. On cue, all bombers should align towards the moon with the enemy ships full speed. If your gang is 8 or less, all will warp on the FC's command. If it is over 8, you should split into two or more waves. Although bombs have resistance to their same damage type, enough of them will cause the last launched bombs to be destroyed.
As the bombers warp in, they immediately align to the targets (should already be in position for the most part) drop bombs and warp out. Some will die if the enemy is on its toes, but properly executed a 20 mill bomber or two will die but several HACs or BSs will die.
Make sure to rotate warp in points... using the same spot more than once will get you all killed. Also be ready to hit the enemy fleet as it leaves system, have points set up on the gate and in the next system.
Second is the gate bombing. There are two ways to do this, on the jump in or the out gate. In a hurry, the jump in is the most effective. Have your bombers 35km off the gate wherever they want to be as long as they have a warp out point behind the gate. Make sure they aren't closer... bombs will impact on objects (gate) before detonation and will not detonate. The downside to this is that your bombs are hitting the majority but not all of the ships coming through. Overlap of damage will not be as substantial.
My favorite is the out gate. This requires a dictor (with cloak)at the out gate and a scout on the in gate. The key is timing...
All bombers (minus scout) need to be 30km off the dictor. Said dictor should be in a drag bubble position somewhere behind the gate (or pull bubble in front, I prefer sucker bubbles behind as it gives the prey the "oh shit" feeling as they zoom past the gate).
Dictor will allow scout to pass and report the outgate clear. As enemy fleet enters local and starts their warp, scout will instruct dictor to drop bubble. Dictor will GTFO (as he is on every mail at this point, and cannot survive the bombs or the enemy fleet). Once again, make sure you have the same bomb types loaded and if you're bomber composition is more than 8 break it into waves. One wave on initial fleet landing, the other afterwards (or if they are in a big clump hit them MWDing back to the gate, its awesome!)
The best is some alliances who feel that fleet warping every gate is super awesome. You can hit the entire fleet in one volley. Those gangs usually have scout in next system before they even initiate warp to the next gate... meaning they have no clue whats coming until they land in the gate and see bombs flying at them.
Make sure you launch bombs as soon as the enemy fleet appears on grid. The 10 second flight time means they will have landed and started turning/burning out of the bubble when bombs impact. Wait too long... they may be late. Too soon, you get nothing. The drag bubble pretty much is a win win scenario though.
Worst case... you didn't get them on the in gate and you have no dictor. Line up 35km from the out gate (aligned to the point of the gate the enemy fleet will land on). As soon as the lead elements appear on directional start the launching. It really only works with a medium to large fleet, where ships get caught due to jump lag. Small gangs are almost pointless to try this on.
These ships should not be fit expensive. Torp DPS doesn't matter. Some of the bombers I've used (and killed) won't even fit torp launchers. Speed and maneuverability are paramount on these ships. Expect
[Manticore, Brown Bomber]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
1MN Microwarp Drive II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device
Bomb Launcher - Shrapnel X2
Small Low Friction Nozzle Joints
Small Polycarbon Engine Housing
2x Shrapnel in Cargo
Or, if you are looking for a hybrid of sorts, you can fit both tasks. Penalty will be torp range and the agility of the bomber will not be the same as the fit above. I don't believe in the tracking disruptor because it only works on a portion of the ships out there, whereas a sensor disruptor works on all. Two damps multiplied by X number of bombers means you can damp the hell out of whatever target(s) you're engaging. Most BCs will have lock range for only 10 or so kilometers, battleships 20-30. Very effective.
[Manticore, The Magician]
Power Diagnostic System II
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Cold Gas Arcjet Thrusters
Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor - Dampening Range Script
Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor - Dampening Range Script
Target Painter II
Covert Ops Cloaking Device
Malkuth Siege Missile Launcher
Malkuth Siege Missile Launcher
Malkuth Siege Missile Launcher
Bomb Launcher - 2x Shrapnel
Low Friction Nozzle Joints
Warhead Calefaction Catalyst
2x Shrapnel
2x Scan Resolution Dampening Script
Caldari Navy Juggernaut (however many you can hold)
Then we have the standard torp only fit, often used in Black Ops gangs and such. I do enjoy the bombers range, however I value agility and speed over all else. Stock, I can hit out to 60km in my bomber. Thats more than enough for me. The ability to align and warp out quickly is paramount in a craft that is extremely slow in alignment. Arbalest are nice, but I only fit them on this type of craft. The point is for redundancy. I have seen hero tackles by bombers on many different occasions. Engaging at close range is dangerous, but holding a point for a few extra seconds can get you a kill, and these bombers overheating MWDs can hit 2.5k/second easily, and get out of range. Just make sure you keep your transversal up on egress. The Ballistic Control Unit increases damage and range, whereas the Calefaction Catalyst just increases damage. As I stated before, I don't believe in the tracking disruptor because it only works on a portion of the ships out there, whereas a sensor disruptor works on all. If the gang has several dedicated tacklers I will drop the point for a second Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor. For the record, this is my least favorite fit.
[Manticore, Gotcha Bitch]
Nanofiber Internal Structure II
Ballistic Control Unit II
Target Painter II
Phased Muon Sensor Disruptor - Dampening Range Script
Warp Disruptor II
1MN Microwarp Drive II
Arbalest Siege Missile Launcher
Arbalest Siege Missile Launcher
Arbalest Siege Missile Launcher
Covert Ops Cloaking Device
Salvager (Offline)
As was mentioned in the bomber guide, be careful of the shiptypes engaged. Zealots are death on wheels for bombers. Drakes, Sacrilege, other missile boats should be engaged with caution. Enough damps on them and you're on easy street. Otherwise, those missiles will eat you alive. A Drake loaded with Precision Scourge will two volley your ship. Even tech one missiles will drop you in a relatively short period of time. Remember to keep up orbit on any ship you are shooting, to avoid warp ins or an easy intercept vector. Against turret boats it will decrease damage to your ship. Don't spank your MWD unless you need to GTFO or make range on your target(s). When in doubt, warp out and back in. Make sure to drop a bookmark on field so you don't land in a bubble or on top of a target. Warp back in cloaked (especially against multiple targets). Never underestimate the power of bombers with painters... once upon a time I remember killing an interceptor with 5 bombers and painters... it took about 20 seconds.
Don't solo in a bomber, its retarded. Even dumber is launching a single bomb on a gate at a gang. Unless there is a MWDing frigate, you won't get any kills. Worst case, a fast locker or bubbler will get your ass and I can't tell you how many of those I've killed.
As with any engagement, there isn't a pre determined course of action (game plan) for the situation. Use your best judgement and remember the advantage of your shiptypes. In this case, its the ability to disengage and bug out on whim that makes your gang a survivable one. Don't try and get into a slugfest with any other gang... you will all die.
That is all.
PS: Feel free to comment. These fits... yeah they are just guidelines. I switch fits all the time, tweaking for a specific gang. I suggest you do the same. If you like these little guides, let me know. I usually write battle reports, but I have these little speeches with my corpmates all the time, and am happy to share with all of you. Makes for more worthy and fun opponents :-)
Top: My bike is second from the left, and I'm the guy on the left.
Middle: Blue bike is mine
Bottom: My bike is the blue one in the middle (with pink and blue helmets on the mirrors). I'm on the far right, holding a girl in the air :)
2 comments:
Nice comments about bombers, I'll be adding the post to my "guide" section. What kind of bike you got? I rode a Buell Firebolt for a bit before selling it and looking for a Triumph street trip. (I'm still looking...)
2007 R6, love it. Shes been good to me.
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