Hey everyone,
The Target Locked update is coming tomorrow, and with it, the long-awaited Fighters and Bombers feature! I sat down with Schell for a brief overview, so that you can just jump into the cockpit and ride into the danger zone!
The fighters and bombers are two new module types that you can setup on medium Coordinator ships and large Carrier Ships. You can unlock basic fighters and bombers by researching the required technologies in the 3rd stage of the military quadrant while advanced versions are available in the 4th stage for the fighters and in the 5th stage for the bombers. For each fighter/bomber module equipped on a ship, said ship will carry one squadron of fighters or bombers with it into battle. Medium ships can take two fighters or one bomber per squadron, while Carriers can take up to four fighters or two bombers. This difference in numbers means that squadrons will have more health and do more damage if they are on a bigger ship, because they have more units!
Bombers squadrons’ one goal is to attack enemy spaceships during combat. They will try to reach the largest ships as fast as they can and destroy them quickly, which shouldn’t be too hard considering that the larger their target is, the stronger their damage gets. Bombers are however very weak against fighters, the main job of which is to protect ships. Fighters are the best to destroy bombers, but they are also perfect to protect them: a squadron of bombers escorted by fighters won’t have to worry about being destroyed by enemy fighters that easily.
Bombers have only one role, and will always try to reach their enemy, but since fighters can be used to either engage or escort, you have to choose how many of them are going to be allocated to one task or the other. This is done through tactics selection, and goes something like this:
- If you pick an attack tactic: 70% will escort bombers and attack ships, 30% will stay to protect your main fleet
- If you pick a defense tactic: 30% will escort bombers and attack ships, 70% will stay to protect your main fleet
- If you pick a balanced tactic: 50% will escort bombers and attack ships, 50% will stay to protect your main fleet
Now, with that said, here are a few tips on how to use fighters & bombers effectively:
- Fighter & bombers are mid- to late-game modules that can turn the tide of battle quickly, be sure to get at least fighters soon enough to protect your fleets
- Never forget the basic: bombers counter large ships, Fighters counter bombers and themselves
- If you ever find yourself in a battle where your opponent has fighters and bombers and you don’t, you will end up battered and bloody. If you ever get in this situation, all is not lost though and you can alleviate the pain by using kinetic weapons as a point defense measure. Since squadrons are equipped with projectile weapons, hull plating can also tank some of the damage
- When creating your fleets, you should always try to equip a few fighter/bomber modules, but don’t forget traditional weapons either. With nothing but squadrons on it, a ship won’t be much more than a sitting duck for the rest of the battle if your enemy has adequate protection
- Also, don’t forget: you’ll need to have coordinator ships or carriers to house squadrons, so diversify your fleets!
- Glass cannons can be great, but the hit points of your squadrons are linked to the hit points of the ship they use as a base. If you don’t want to end up with weak squadrons that get destroyed every fight, be sure to keep your fleet hit points high. Also, without a ship to go back to at the end of the fight, your fighters & bombers will not make it out of the battle
- Fighters & bombers are not linked to their respective lanes in battle, so don’t worry too much if you don’t have a squadron of each type on every ship you have. Just be sure to have enough squadron to defend all your bombers
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We hope you are excited to put your fighters and bombers to good use! Onwards!
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