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| * Drones: If a target's drones continue to attack you after jamming their locks, you'll be unable to cloak. Even if the target is destroyed, their drones can still prevent you from cloaking by keeping you locked. The key is to avoid being locked in the first place. | | * Drones: If a target's drones continue to attack you after jamming their locks, you'll be unable to cloak. Even if the target is destroyed, their drones can still prevent you from cloaking by keeping you locked. The key is to avoid being locked in the first place. |
| * Heavy Assault Cruisers (HACs) / Faction Cruisers: Ships like Vagabonds, Dramiels, and Cynabals are designed to destroy frigates. These vessels have speed, range, drones, and deal significant damage. If they're on the field, stay cloaked until they're eliminated or closely monitor them for signs they're coming after you. | | * Heavy Assault Cruisers (HACs) / Faction Cruisers: Ships like Vagabonds, Dramiels, and Cynabals are designed to destroy frigates. These vessels have speed, range, drones, and deal significant damage. If they're on the field, stay cloaked until they're eliminated or closely monitor them for signs they're coming after you. |
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| === Basic fleet tactics ===
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| <big>'''*Remain cloaked at all times. Do not break cloak until ready to fire.'''</big>
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| *Make sure your fleet commander knows he/she has a bomber in fleet. Do this '''before the fleet undocks'''.<br />
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| "This is Joe Spaceman checking in. I have a Purifier with Dread Gurista Mjolnir torpedoes and 4 Focus Void Bombs. Where do you want me?"
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| Check that the FC is happy to have bombers along, and find out if they want to use you in a specific way. If the FC cannot use your bomber, you can still travel with the fleet, but travel out-of-fleet and remain in Mumble comms. The worst thing a bomber can do to the fleet is 1)accidentally launch a bomb into the fleet in non-Empire space, 2)lose a bomber in a situation that was avoidable and cause negative isk efficiency to the fleet, the fleet commander's after-action report, and the university standing.
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| *Travel ahead or behind the fleet. Do your best to travel just behind or in front of the fleet (sort of a -1 or -0.5). Showing up after the battle is in full swing for a surgical strike is where bombers really shine. Your goal isn't to be the first thing they see, but the last. This tactic gives the target no chance of finding a bomber in an attacking fleet, the target's overview is already filled with flashing yellow targets and has already locked and targeted its maximum number of targets. A bomber uncloaking after the target has locked onto five fleetmates will stand a greater chance of launching torpedoes and surviving than a bomber uncloaking and landing on grid with the fleet.
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| *Land on grid at range and move to the side. After landing at the battle grid, double click in space in a direction perpendicular to the direction you approached from before realigning. This will keep fleetmates who show up a few moments after you from decloaking you if they arrive on grid on the same line.
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| *Move into optimal firing range and ALWAYS ALIGN OUT before decloaking. Be on the field as close to the beginning of the battle as possible, in comfortable torpedo optimal range (around 40-50km) and aligned to a celestial (for advanced pilots, align to a bookmark ~200km from the fight, if at a gate). Wait for the battle to start. Waiting gives the target time to lock its maximum number of attacking ships.<br>
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| *Pre-load modules. While cloaked, some of the bombers modules cannot be pre-activated. Be ready to mash all the hotkeys at once after decloaking. Every second of lag counts against the bomber.
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| *Decloak, lock target, launch torpedoes. Decloak after the battle starts and the desired targets are otherwise over-occupied. Attack whatever ship your FC calls primary. '''Only decloak if you are ALIGNED OUT, ready to lock, and attack immediately.''' Once you get a lock, activate all of your torpedo modules and wait for impact.
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| *Launch two salvos, wait for impact, cloak. You cannot re-cloak immediately. Generally firing around 2 salvos while getting ready to either re-cloak or warp out is ideal. However, if there is an abundance of blue force ewar on the field, you may consider staying to unleash the pain. When your second salvo launches, wait for impact. If your ship cloaks during any torpedo flight time, those torpedoes will not impact the target. Re-cloak and wait for your launcher cycle to finish. You can cloak while your modules are active; they will automatically shut off.
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| *Warp to the close-to-the-fight bookmark or celestial if you are targeted and taking damage.
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| *Decloak and repeat. Your torpedoes '''will NOT hit''' if you 1)re-cloak within 3 seconds of them hitting the target, 2)warp away within before the torpedoes hit the target.
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| === Rookie mistakes === | | === Rookie mistakes === |
