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Fleet Bomber (HW3)
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| Ship Information | |
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Classification
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Purpose
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Anti-Capital Ship
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Ship Type
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Attack Bomber
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RU Cost
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150 RUs
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| Technical Information | |
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Speed
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320 m/s
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Armaments
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Penetrator Missiles
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| Usage | |
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Eras
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Homeworld 3 Era
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Affiliation
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Full Attributes[]
- Cost: 150 RUs
- Build Time: 12s
- Unit Cap: 35 Campaign
- Hitpoints: 750
- Main Engine Max Speed: 320
- Rotation Max Speed: 160
- Relative Mass: 2500 (80 tons)
- Primary Sensor Range: 3000
- Visual Range: 1000
- Retaliation Range: 3000
- Abilities:
- Cloak: When active, the cloaked unit is invisible to standard enemy sensors. If the cloaked unit attacks, cloak is dropped. While cloaked, the unit receives a speed reduction. Autocastable. Cooldown 3.
In-Game Description[]
Anti-large ship.
Strong vs. larger, slower moving opponents.
Weak vs. Strikecraft, area of effect-based opponents and Turrets.
The "Sho'Az-B" advanced Fleet Bomber combines the devastating power of heavy Penetrator missiles with an efficient EM-redirection field. Unfortunately, the B model does not yet have the power to maintain EM invisibility while firing.
Technical Manual Description[]
The Sho'Az is the result of the Hiigaran Navy's 10 year Advanced Fleet Bomber project. With it becoming clear over recent decades that Bomber units were suffering heavier and heavier attrition due to improvement in enemy anti-Strikecraft, designers at MTS worked in conjunction with S'jet physicists to fuse and electromagnetic redirection field into the Sho'az's hull armor. This gives the Sho'Az the ability to redirect photons of any kind at a quantum level making these bombers virtually invisible to everything from eyes to advanced sensors and allows to them to approach their targets with impunity.
In terms of deployment the Sho'Az is meant to be a fleet's first Sword strike versus slow, heavily armored ships or static defences. Wise commanders will have escorts nearby a bomber strike group as the Sho'Az cannot maintain its cloak while diverting power to its powerful Penetrator Missile system and bombers will need help to safely egress the target zone after delivering their devastating strike.[1]
War Games Artifacts[]
- Fleet Bomber Pattern: Increases Fleet Bomber damage by 250%, and hit points and rate of fire by 50%. Reduces speed by 15%. Enables Fleet Bomber Upgrades. (is actually Heavy Bomber upgrades)
- Heavy Bomber Upgrade, Concentration: Increases Fleet Bomber damage by 25%. Reduces splash damage radius by 33%.
- Heavy Bomber Upgrade, Proximity: Increases Fleet Bomber damage by 25% and speed by 10%. Reduces weapon range by 20%.
- Heavy Bomber Upgrade, Reinforced Hull: Increases Fleet Bomber hit points by 25%. Enables passive self-repair.
- Fleet Bomber Hullbreaker Pattern: Increases Fleet Bomber weapon range by 200%, and rate of fire by 33%. Enables Hullbreaker Upgrades.
- Hullbreaker Upgrade, Rupture: Increases Fleet Bomber damage by 50%.
- Hullbreaker Upgrade, Havoc: Increases Fleet Bomber splash damage radius by 50%. Reduces damage by 33%.
- Hullbreaker Upgrade, Longshot: Increases Fleet Bomber weapon range by 25% and vision range by 33%.
Analysis[]
The Fleet Bomber in small squadrons can do a LOT of damage to Capital ships of Frigate-class and larger, and Resource Controllers. However, they are virtually useless against any Strike Craft or Corvettes; their Penetrator Missiles have only moderate accuracy and a terrible turning radius, and have been seen to completely miss anything smaller than a Frigate the vast majority of the time. This combined with their slower speed and weak hulls means that squadrons of enemy Dominance Fighters and Assault Corvettes will absolutely tear through them like tinfoil.
In the War Games, no matter what artifact chain you choose (or are given) they remain completely useless against Dominance Fighters and Corvettes which they can almost never hit. They can, however, be useful against Capital Ships but take care not to lose too many of them, since they are a rather expensive Strike Craft to build.