Pilot Archive

Turret gunning on an Agg isn't all bad. The turret can arc up to vertical and down to the horizon, but is limited in how far forward it can rotate. In a Y, though, you are limited in your arc to vertical, but can rotate 360 degrees.

I only did a little piloting in an Agg with a gunner, but I immediately thought of the possibilities to use the turret gunner to hit gunboat/corvette systems as the pilot flies parallel. If the turret movement was independant (as it seems like it should be) then it would work even better.

Shona

IMO, the Tie bomber is the best PvE ship prior to master. The 2 forward facing weapon slots plus more mass and you got one mean ship. The Tie aggressor has 1 forward gun and has 70k less mass to use. The Tie Adv has 2 guns but with only 65k to work with you won't be mounting any 30k mass guns on it. By the end of tier 4 you should have several lvl 8 items that you won't be able to use all at the same time because of mass shortage with the Tie Aggressor/Advanced. The rear turret on the aggressor is really a waste. The firepower needs to be upfront. The missions you do on tier 4 often times involve tier 4 gunboats/cruisers and you need all the fire power u can get going in and then usually need to run away after that and pump cap into your shields.

Seems like the Aggressor and Adv were made for PvP. If extra mass for the aggressor translated into longer life in combat the ship might actually be fun to use, but it gets blown up just as fast as anything else.

There's a certain art to flying a Bomber effectively. It is possible, but in my opinion, learning to fly the Bomber well, especially alone, is something that requires more skill and practice than flinging an Advanced or Interceptor around. The Bomber also handles pretty well within its maneuvering sweet spot, provided you keep a few things in mind:

- Compensate for drift. You're flying a heavy bomber, and the control drift, especially in the maneuvering sweet spot, is pretty rough. Know when to stop the turn and start inputting opposite control input so that you come in on exactly the right heading.
- When outfitting your bomber, engine speed matters a lot more than Y/P/R, since your chassis caps those at 50.
- You will take some hits. Make sure to have heavy shields and as much armor as you can carry. If you have to make a choice, put the heavier armor on the rear and bias your shields towards more rear protection.

Most importantly, practice! You can't just jump straight into Kessel or Deep Space and expect to do well in a fighter you're not familiar with. Start off fighting Tier 2 and 3 enemies until you get used to the various quirks of your new fighter.

I hated the bomber, alright I was able to put in much better equipment but it handles poorly so for soloing it can be hard to use. The Agressor wasn't too bad really since it handles better than the bomber and has more mass than the advanced. Personally I prefer speed over survivability in general, but I can see why some people would like the hulking bomber.

/agree

The bomber is a sweet ship...deadly in the right hands, a target in the wrong ones. I flew the bomber exclusivly from the moment I got the cert, and for the first month or so after I hit master.

Kitted out with level 7 stuff, it's great. I had my shields, reactor, armour and guns (one ion cannon and one disruptor) playter crafted. I used the reward engine, then the reward shields when I got them. You have to remember to use the throttle and the joystick/mouse when you're manouvering, but once you've got it mastered, the bomber packs a punch, out manouevers NPC Awings, and has a huge survivability factor.

IMO they are both worthless comparted to the advanced. sure you may not be able to mount a pair of lvl8 guns in it, but a pair lvl7s is still just as deadly and you can get on your enemy's tail and place alot more shots in the same time flying the advaced. the adnvaced is also a much harder target, and you will take alot less hits in it. as for defense, you will most liekly be using a mkIV crafted shield with around 1900 front/back which isnt much less than the 2400 reward, so really the advanced is much more survivable than the bomber. really the bomber only gets a firepower advantage when you hit master and can load lvl10 guns, but then you should be using an oppressor instead. read the guide i just posted on the pilot forum for more details on equiping an advanced.