Stealth Bombers: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Purifier.jpg|thumb|The Amarr Purifier]]

Each race has one stealth bomber.

Other than the slot layout and preferred damage type there are few major differences between the bombers. The Nemesis is bonused for thermal damage, which is the least often resisted damage type in pvp. The Purifier also has a significantly larger cargo bay than the others, which allows it to carry 3 bombs. The Manticore has the highest CPU, making for easier fitting, and the Hound is the most agile.

==UniBombers==

The [[UniBombers|UniBombers]] are a group of unistas who share a collective interest in learning more about flying stealth bombers. UniBombers go on regular stealth bomber roams around low/nullsec, and occasionally venture into high sec to chase after wartargets.

[[Image:Manticore.jpg|thumb|The Caldari Manticore]]

All stealth bombers get a 15% bonus to racial (Amarr/EM, Gallente/Thermal, Caldari/Kinetic, Minmatar/Explosive) torpedo, as well as 5% bonus to racial bomb damage per level of Covert-Ops trained. In addition, they get a flat 100% bonus to torpedo velocity, and a 50% bonus to explosion velocity and torpedo flight time. Lastly they receive a flat role bonus of a -99.65% reduction in Torpedo Launcher powergrid needs, -50% reduction in Cloak CPU Use, and -100% targeting delay after decloaking. These last three skills are largely to ensure the ship can equip battleship size missile launchers, and that the covert-ops cloak is used exclusively on covert-ops ships.

All bombers should be carrying Faction torpedoes, these are usually the Caldari Navy variants.  

The remaining low slot should be filled with a module of the player's choice, however it should still play to the strengths of the ship. This means that the final low should be a nano-fiber internal structure, or perhaps an overdrive injector system. Alternatively to agility mods, a Damage Control or Adaptive Nano Plating if possible to fit can work as well.  

=== Rigs ===

The Bomber uses small sized rigs.

[[File:Nemesis.jpg|thumb|The Gallente Nemesis]]

All bombers have the following skill requirements to operate:

*Racial Frigate V

*Light Missiles III

Aside from these basic required skills, it is suggested that you have the following skills. These skills are designed to push the strengths of the bomber and minimize it's chance of being destroyed. Many are simply fitting skills, that ease the use of more powerful modules.

'''34 unique skills, 95 skill levels; Total time: 62 days, 15 hours, 52 minutes, 54 seconds; Cost: 18,687,000''' N.B. Skill costs are based on CCP's database and are indicative only

The Recommended skill plan essentially pushes the previous listed skills as high as possible. You want to maximize the ship's DPS by getting all the missile support skills to IV or V. As well as the Covert Ops skill itself to V, however it is a very long train at around 18 Days. Additionally, you want to maximize the ships agility and speed, by pumping navigation skills as high as possible, as well as the fitting and tanking skills found in Electronics, Engineering, and Mechanic. Lastly, you will want to get Bomb Deployment to IV for the ability to use the Void and Lockbreaker Bombs.

Bombers can be very effective in gangs of all cloaky ships. Usually a recon will find and tackle a good target and then call in the rest of the gang, either from the neighbouring system, wormhole or by lighting a cyno for a black ops battleship's covert jump portal. In this role bombers tend to be optimised for torpedoes rather than bombing.

A large fleet can be accompanied by a force of bombers. The bomber force acts mostly independently of the main fleet, often with their own FC and as a separate in-game fleet. The bomber wing will try to get bombing runs in on the enemy fleet to destroy, soften up or simply distract them as support for the main fleet. Bombers in this role will be bomb fit.

In general usage a Bombing Squadron is composed of 7 bombers.  It is required that all bombers in the squadron have the same type of bomb.  Ideally, the squadron is homogenous as far as type of bomber hull.

*There's nothing around that can tackle you (hint: Lachesis or interceptors).

While not as capable in this role as a covert ops frigate, a bomber is still quite adept at evading gate camps and enemy fleets, providing intel and getting warp-ins on enemy ships hanging at tacticals. A bomber attached to a fleet that is not part of a bombing wing may well be asked to perform some or all of these roles.

*Probe Launcher

**A bomber may be requested to fit an expanded probe launcher to find further targets in the system. The extreme CPU requirements of this module require it to be kept offline or to use a modified fit that will seriously reduce the bomber's effectiveness at its main role. As such, if the fleet needs a prober a covert ops ship is very much preferred.

== Tips ==

Bombing runs are the ultimate purpose of Stealth Bombers.  To throw bombs at some unsuspecting group of ships defines the concept of gank.  However, if in the throwing of bombs you find yourself on the wrong side of the killmail you may be forgetting the Five "R's".

*RESET:  After reaching your escape point the bomber leader may have you '''RESET''' at an observation point.  Being ready to go on command or even anticipating the reset may give your squadron the opportunity to restrike a target...  Be ready, immediately.

*Bookmarks Bookmarks Bookmarks BOOKMARKS!

*More BOOKMARKS!

*Know the optimal range of your launchers, and what range you need to warp in at. Also remember that at your optimal, it may take up to 10-12 seconds for the first volley to hit the target. It is not uncommon to have up to 3 volleys in space before the first shot lands.

*Make sure your SC and FC know they have a/some bombers. Do this '''before the fleet undocks'''. Check that they're happy to have bombers along, and find out if they want to use you in a specific way.

*Do your best to travel just behind/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.

*Decloak and repeat. Your torpedoes '''will NOT hit''' if you recloak within 3 seconds of them hitting the target.

*Interceptors/Fast Tackle: They can close the 50km gap between you and the battle in a matter of seconds.  They '''will''' do this, and they '''will''' kill you.  Keep your overview sorted by range, and when you see someone moving up the list quickly, it's time to bounce, cloak, and then return to the fray from a different angle.

*Snipers: Keep an eye out for ships that are often fit for range, such as the Tornado, Naga, Oracle, Apocalypse, or Zealot.  They only have to hit you once, and your sensor dampener will not be effective enough against them to keep you safe from their attack.

* HAC's / Factional Cruisers: [[Vagabond]], [[Dramiel]]s, [[Cynabal]]s, are frigate killers. These ships have speed, distance, Drones, and a punch. If these are on the field then keep cloaked until they are destroyed, or watch them like a hawk for signs they are coming for you.

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

*Warp to 0 on a battle.

*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.

The other thing that sets the bomber hull apart, besides the ability to fit torpedoes onto a frigate hull, is where it actually gets it name from - the ability to fit the Bomb Launcher I/II. From this module you fire the six flavors of bombs that exist. But what is a bomb actually?

Bombs can also be separated into two categories.

Utility Bombs: They require higher levels of skill with Bomb Deployment, but are useful in niche situations. The Void Bomb will neutralize a certain amount of capacitor energy from any ship within its area of effect. The Lockbreaker Bomb is an ewar bomb in essence. It will cause any target locks that a ship is maintaining to fail within its area of effect.

This is where each bomber is co-ordinated by the FC. The FC will call for each bomber to approach/align to a target/target zone/bookmark. They will warp to the point where they begin their attack run, approach and call out ranges to target for the FC. The FC then has to judge the best time to order the release of bombs, whereupon the wing will warp immediately to the escape point. Onus with this technique is on how well the bombers act as a team, and actual piloting skill. Its versatile, flexible and the FC can call abort at any point, until the bombs are flying. It's also ideal for bombing single/small gang targets. It's weakness is that fleet management and FC-ing becomes impractical as soon as you grow beyond two wings of bombers. It also allows human error in aiming the bomb into the equation.

This technique uses a cloaked scout to sneak to within 30km of the enemy fleet/target. The FC then warps the fleet of bombers to a point where he can draw a straight line from his fleet, through the scout, and straight into the enemy targets. He will then squad warp the bombers to the scout at zero. The bombers in midwarp, will keep a close eye on their 'Distance to target' reading and speed. The moment they begin to decelerate, they decloak, and spam the Bomb launcher button, until it turns red. The effect of this is you will exit warp, and the instant your warp field collapses, a bomb will shoot out of your launcher. Bombers can immediately warp off to the escape point/align to random celestial (in the case of an ad hoc bomb attack) to escape, reload bomb launcher and cloak up. The advantage of this is that it allows for minimum amount of time on a dangerous grid, the aiming has already been done for the whole bomber wing by the scout, and the mid-warp shuffle that the game does to arrange the ships, has the effect of nicely overlapping the AOE damage of each bomb.

The Flyhalf technique also allows for the coordination of multiple wings of bombers. When the bomber fleet gathers at the observation point, they are assigned ranges to warp at. (John warps at 0, Jill at 10, James at 20, Harmony at 30, Guile at 50, Titus at 70, Steven at 100). This will prevent a mass cascade decloak of the entire fleet if one person DCs/makes a mistake, or in the case of a spy/awoxer, only one bomber wing will die. The FC can then squad warp each bomber group at will at the enemy. Ensuring enough time between squad warps so that their bombs have enough time to detonate, before the next wave of bombs goes off.

==See Also==

*[[Cloaking]]

*[[Covert Ships Skillset]]

*[[UniBombers]]