Stealth Monster

[Shadow Reaper]

So, probably others here already knew, but I didn’t until today; that the Firebird got a huge upgrade. Not only does it have twice the missiles (24), but its stealth armor mod went from 20% to 40%. What does this mean in practical terms?

First of all, it can fire four, six S3 missile salvoes, each in less than two seconds. That’s a lot of firepower.

What it also means is that against S1 sensors and shields off, it can approach within laser cannon range and remain undetected. This is astonishing. No need to ever turn the retros off, as you don’t need to worry about the EM enough. It’s that low.

Keep in mind this is an interceptor. It’s fast. Combining speed and stealth is always dangerous but adding the ability to strike with energy weapons undetected, is a game changer.

And it’s a sexy bird. I just need to see it in black with gold trim.

 

[BUTUZ]

24 x S3 missiles on a light fighter is just bloody stupid, almost as many as on a medium sized MILITARY SPEC MILITARY GUNBOAT? (MIS)

Mind you CIG proved their utterly stupid when it comes to weapon balance again and again and again, just look a the corsair.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

All the Sabre variations are considered medium fighters. Even the Firebird, which is quite nimble; is significantly less nimble than say, the Shrike, which is a light fighter.

The MIS is not a fighter. Bad comparison.

I think the key thing to note is, to fly a light fighter well you need to be trained to the point you are instinctual and twitchy-fast. To fly a stealth fighter well you need to be strategically smart. You need to know when to back out of combat, turn and re-engage. Speed and fast cooling is necessary for this so choose Ultraflows for your Firebird.

I have yet to have anyone explain in detail, from experience, what overwatch with a MIS is like. S3s have a 25km range. It would be great to have a MIS pilot tell us how to successfully make use of that enormous range. I suspect in a knife fight between Vanduul fighters and UEE, the Vanduul AI would have a hard time coping with a constant barrage of Chaos III coming in on them from outside the battlefield proper.

 

[Sky Captain]

I'm tracking with the Firebird being a medium fighter and the Freelancer MIS being an even different animal.

I didn't realize though (or remember at least) that the Firebird had that stealth buff. How does it compare to the Raven now? I will need to check that out.

 

[Talonsbane]

There is a black & silver paint for the new Peregrine that should also work for the Firebird. That's as close to black & gold as I can suggest for the time being.

24x missiles on a light fighter, reminds me a bit of the Talon Shrike, but I'm drawing a blank on that ship's missile sizes. I do remember that both Talon versions are supposed to be fast & stealthy though. Perhaps the Shrike helped inspire the boost?

 

[Shadow Reaper]

If you equip them the same: 2 M5A, 2 Mirage, 2 Slipstream, 2 Ultraflow and leave the Tromag EMPs off and retros off; the Raven is EM 3465, IR 4163, and the Firebird is EM 3515, IR 3848. However, that’s not how you would attack with your primary weapons.

With guns, shields and retros off but primary weapon (EMPs or missiles) on: the Raven is EM 4033, IR 4163, and the Firebird is EM 1712, IR 3776. Also, you can turn off the second reactor on the Firebird because you don’t need it which will drop both sigs (doesn’t display on erkul) and because the difference between the Firebird’s EM and IR is significant, you should use the stealth switch on the Firebird, which will take you below 2500. This is why you can use laser cannons without being detected.

Which was verified here:

View: https://youtu.be/OQyB-X4O0cw?si=GfR8qM_VDGl0dwqt

So in short, the Firebird is stealthier and faster than the Raven, and does not need to get knife-fight close to kill. If you want to get close and use guns, with some skill and luck you can remain undetected, even with energy weapons.

Total game changer.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

In reference to strike group use, I am thinking of two specific changes as relates to using the Lib as a pocket carrier.

In the past, I suggested using 4 MIS to house 12 Arrow pilots whose birds were stored internally, all supporting 3 Eclipse parked on the external deck. However, recent changes no longer require beds to spawn aboard ship.

I’m wondering how many Firebirds will fit inside the Lib. Cutting the size of a Lib crew down would make it much easier to manage. I’m more excited than ever to see what makes sense for a tiny battle group that can live off a Lib. Maybe just 6 fighters and 3 bombers. With 2 Lib crew, 11 total. That’s much easier to organize than a Polaris crew, just not nearly as comfortable. Should be enough firepower to kill a pair of Void Bombers (which often fly in pairs.)

Firebirds are faster and stealthier than Arrows, and because of the enormous range of their missiles, they can shepherd in torps to their targets by eliminating fighters from say, 7-9 km from the target. All of the attack force could stay outside detection range. Again, a game changer.

Same against an Idris. A single Eclipse flanked by a pair of Firebirds ought to be able to destroy an Idris IIUC.