Stealth Bombers: Difference between revisions

Stealth bombers are one of the earliest T2 ships that new pilots can fly.  These ships travel through systems undetected, approach under cloak, and deliver high-damage torpedoes and bombs on unsuspecting targets.  Flying in a fleet, stealth bombers provide surveillance and DPS.  Flying solo, stealth bombers provide surveillance, but one downside to flying alone is the high chance of being destroyed at gatecamps.  Stealth bombers are one of the most powerful tier II (T2) frigates in New Eden.  This page covers general information about stealth bombers.<br />

-recommended bomb platforms:  Amarr Purifier, Minmatar Hound.  The Purifier and the Hound have a 3L-3M-5H slot layout.<br />

The Nemesis is bonused for thermal damage, which is the least often resisted damage type in pvp.<br />

It gets a bonus to explosive damage and uses Nova torpedos.

It gets a bonus to EM damage and uses Mjolnir torpedoes.

Hound, Minmatar    = +15% Explosive damage / Nova Torpedo<br />

Manticore, Caldari  = +15% Kinetic damage / Scourge Torpedo<br />

Nemesis, Gallente  = +15% Thermal damage / Inferno Torpedo<br />

Purifier, Amarr    = +15% EM damage / Mjolnir Torpedo<br />

Pilots gain an additional 5%-25% bomb damage bonus per level of Covert-Ops skill trained.<br />

Bombs/Bomb Launchers can only be activated in non-empire space (Nullsec (systems with a 0.0 or negative system security), and J-space (systems prefixed with a J and 6-digit number)).

[[Bombs]] are in essence a missile that does Area of Effect damage of a certain type. It will shoot out from the front of your ship, in a straight line, at 3km/s for 10 seconds and then detonate. Unlike a missile, a bomb does not require a target lock. It's essentially a 'dumbfire' rocket. Where your ship's nose is pointed at the time you cycle the bomb launcher module, is the direction it will go. This makes the bomb a weapon that takes a fair bit of experience and skill to use effectively. It takes skill to align your bomber to a target, approach, launch a bomb at 30km, and escape.  And when you factor in that you have six other bombers also shooting off a bomb, the complexity increases and the skill of the FC becomes a critical factor. Then imagine that you have multiple bomber wings making a run on the same target... it sounds impossible to coordinate and pull off, but it can be done.  

:Attack targets of opportunity<br>

If left alone, a bomber's torpedoes will do impressive damage to ships that have or generate a large ship signature (battlecruisers and battleships).  However, if a bomber is frequently targeted and continously warps off, applied damage to target is lowered considerably.  Bombers can be used in frigate gangs to bring a "big punch" and even the odds of survival against large targets.  Eve University roams will sometimes find large signature targets, and in these situations, torpedoes provide significant damage.  If small signature targets are locked and scrammed, torpedoes provide a fraction of total damage, but it is still damage on target, so don't let target size stop you from using torpedoes.  There may be chances that the small target has an activated microwarp drive on, while being webified, increasing that target's signature bloom to 500%, which will greatly absorb 50-75% torpedo damage.  Remember, bombers may have very low hit points, and can be destroyed in one or two hits, but if your bomber is in a safe and aligned position to launch torpedoes on any target, small or large, by Eden, send your torpedoes flying, give that target a hug.<br />

*REMOVE YOURSELF:  After running away, you will likely be heading in warp to a pre-planned escape point.  Upon landing at that escape point, '''REMOVE YOURSELF''' from the place you just landed.  Other members of your squadron may be landing there in short order and SB's in close proximity post-attack is a mistake.  Your aim is to be at least 2,500 meters away from your landing point so decloaking is less likely to happen.

*RELOAD:  As soon as practical after launching your bomb '''RELOAD''' your bomb launcher.  Many escape points are far enough away that you ought to be able to complete a 10 second reload prior to landing.  A fully loaded stealth bomber has more utility than a half empty launcher.  Plus, it frees up space in cargo for more bombs or even loot if your run was wildly successful.

*RECLOAK: An SB that is not cloaked is a glass pigeon waiting to get popped.  '''RECLOAK''' as soon as you have reloaded.

New Stealth Bomber pilots will probably do one or two of these mistakes at least once:

*Enter a -security system without a scout and get podded in an inescapable warp bubble

*Linger on a gate and destroyed by smartbombs

*Fail to warp off within three seconds of being yellow-boxed by the enemy

*Get locked by an enemy and tell themselves "I'm good for another salvo."

*Good targets for bombers:  Battlecruiser, battleships.  You will be most effective against larger targets like battlecruisers and battleships. At no point should a bomber ever consider engaging any cruiser or frigate by itself. Cynabals and Dramiels are bomber eating machines.

*Medium targets for bombers:  cruisers, a ship with active microwarpdrive.  Target painters will help against cruiser hulls, but what you really want is for them to activate their MWD.

*Bad targets for bombers:  frigates.  Frigate hulls can shrug off a lot of torpedoes. You can whore on the mail if you really must, but if you haven't yet uncloaked and there's some intel value in not revealing your presence to anything in d-scan range, you may want to consider holding off.<br />

The torpedo explosion radius will be too large to apply full damage to the small signature radius of a frigate, unless:

*the frigate is locked (no warp, no velocity) and still in space

*the frigate is affected by ten or more target painters

*your fleetmates have some kind of fleet booster that will shrink your torpedo explosion radius down to 40m to match the target frigate's signature radius (no way possible), but even under the above conditions, the target frigate will absorb only a fraction of the torpedo damage.  Save your expensive torpedoes, practice launching cheaper torpedoes.

<big>Bombs don't work in Empire Space<br />