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Solo stealth bomber viable?
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Sigourney Teaser
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#1 - 2016-12-22 10:24:36 UTC
Hi! What kind of targets can a solo stealth bomber kill? Can they kill a mining barge or a battleship alone?
Dan Kashada
Cyno Enforcement Agency
#2 - 2016-12-22 14:49:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Dan Kashada
You will be able to kill covetors and retriever no problem, you may be able to kill some cruiser depending on the targets age and fit I used to head into WH with two fits and a mobile depot, one for as rocket fit for killing explorers doing relic site and torp fit for bigger targets but to take down a BS you will need more torp friends and procurers you can kill but they are usually used as bait ships
Bronson Hughes
The Knights of the Blessed Mother of Acceleration
#3 - 2016-12-29 15:46:59 UTC
Anything that is destroyer-sized and up and can't shoot back at you: you should be able to handle with torps.

Anything that is frigate-sized and can't shoot back at you: I'd suggest maybe fitting rockets, unless you've got max skills and don't mind fitting multiple painters then stick with torps.

Anything that can shoot back at you: you're pretty much toast. Bombers are slow, fat, and paper-thin so they can't usually tank much damage.

To your specific points: the biggest issues with killing a barge or a battleship will be drones (both) or energy neutralizers (battleship). You can probably tank drone damage from a Retreiver/Covetor (or their T2 counterparts) long enough to kill it, but against a Procurer/Skiff you're most likely toast. If you can get in under a battleships guns and orbit it tightly and they don't have light drones or a neut, you can likely kill one eventually depending on their tank.

Relatively Notorious By Association

My Many Misadventures

I predicted FAUXs
kidkoma
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#4 - 2016-12-30 07:26:24 UTC
Bronson Hughes wrote:
Anything that is destroyer-sized and up and can't shoot back at you


Uh... What? I'm trying to think of a destroyer that wouldn't wreck a stealth bomber... Maybe a short range ab boat or salvage destroyer...if you can kite and figure out some way to apply the torp damage.

Flying a solo SB means looking for easy ganks. Mining barges and industrials. There are ways of killing big stuff, like if you know the ship you're going after has awful tracking (like a tornado for example), you should be able to speed tank well enough to negate the incoming damage. Most BCS and up have at least some drone bay and you'd probably die before they do.
Bronson Hughes
The Knights of the Blessed Mother of Acceleration
#5 - 2016-12-30 12:57:57 UTC
kidkoma wrote:
Bronson Hughes wrote:
Anything that is destroyer-sized and up and can't shoot back at you


Uh... What? I'm trying to think of a destroyer that wouldn't wreck a stealth bomber... Maybe a short range ab boat or salvage destroyer...if you can kite and figure out some way to apply the torp damage.


I agree, pretty much any destroyer that can get guns on you will eat you alive. However, I have seen bombers manage to long-point kite destroyers that only had short-range guns, hence the "can't shoot back" qualification.

Relatively Notorious By Association

My Many Misadventures

I predicted FAUXs
Skelee VI
Appetite 4 Destruction
#6 - 2017-01-11 15:10:23 UTC
Another option is to bomb your target then lock them up and finish them off with the torps. Need max skills and practice.
Toss a bomb in a fight is also an option.
Suzanne Khale
Hoplite Brigade
Ushra'Khan
#7 - 2017-01-12 20:42:27 UTC
It is extremely boring. I've engaged hundreds of ships in solo SB, but it required a huge time investment. Is that worth? No.

This is what i've done in the past:

-scan a chain of WHs
-set BMs on Gas sites, Relic and Data, scout POS and verify if COs belongs to same Corp
-Wait
-Wait
-Wait

Days of boredom, occasionally a minute of adrenaline.
You will stumble on hundreds of explorers, few gas huffers, fewer PI haulers, and almost-impossible-find salvagers

https://zkillboard.com/kill/57949706/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/52576552/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/51435639/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/51233518/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/50341371/

I had so much fun doing this that I quit playing for months
Loutro Fift
Hoplite Brigade
Ushra'Khan
#8 - 2017-01-12 22:45:00 UTC
Suzanne Khale wrote:
It is extremely boring. I've engaged hundreds of ships in solo SB, but it required a huge time investment. Is that worth? No.

This is what i've done in the past:

-scan a chain of WHs
-set BMs on Gas sites, Relic and Data, scout POS and verify if COs belongs to same Corp
-Wait
-Wait
-Wait

Days of boredom, occasionally a minute of adrenaline.
You will stumble on hundreds of explorers, few gas huffers, fewer PI haulers, and almost-impossible-find salvagers

https://zkillboard.com/kill/57949706/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/52576552/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/51435639/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/51233518/
https://zkillboard.com/kill/50341371/

I had so much fun doing this that I quit playing for months


That's because you went fishing. If you went HUNTING, it woulda been different.
ShahFluffers
Ice Fire Warriors
#9 - 2017-01-13 03:45:35 UTC
Bronson Hughes wrote:
kidkoma wrote:
Bronson Hughes wrote:
Anything that is destroyer-sized and up and can't shoot back at you


Uh... What? I'm trying to think of a destroyer that wouldn't wreck a stealth bomber... Maybe a short range ab boat or salvage destroyer...if you can kite and figure out some way to apply the torp damage.


I agree, pretty much any destroyer that can get guns on you will eat you alive. However, I have seen bombers manage to long-point kite destroyers that only had short-range guns, hence the "can't shoot back" qualification.

Fun fact: It takes 3 Stealth Bombers piloted by semi-competent people to kill an Interdictor using Torpedos... with one Stealth Bomber dying in the process.

No... I was not the unlucky one. Cool

How did you Veterans start?
Mister McQueen
BoomTime
House of Boom
#10 - 2017-01-13 13:51:58 UTC
Yes, of course it's viable. It all depends on your fit and player skills (not so much SP) though.

A full application bomber (application rigs and target painters) can have little issue hitting explorers but will get wrecked by almost anything that can shoot back.

A MSE bomber can take on certain battleships (read: Raven) solo unless they have drone bonuses but due to the sacrifices you have to make on fitting, they won't apply very well to anything smaller than a battlecruiser. (fit MSE, AB and T2 launchers with Rage for battleship hunting).

With enough SP and ISK it's even possible to make a full application MSE bomber which can engage a lot more than either of the above bomber types. These would rely heavily on speed and even more so on knowing which ship you're engaging and how it's likely to fly.

I'm terrible at EVE and I often fly a solo bomber. If I can do it, it must be viable.
Infinity Ziona
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#11 - 2017-01-14 06:28:06 UTC  |  Edited by: Infinity Ziona
You can try something like this for ganking explorers or mwd fit frigs -

[Nemesis]
Magnetic Field Stabilizer II
Damage Control II

Medium F-S9 Regolith Compact Shield Extender
Adaptive Invulnerability Field II
Warp Scrambler II
1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner

Light Electron Blaster II, Void S
Light Electron Blaster II, Void S
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Small Core Defense Field Extender II
Small Anti-EM Screen Reinforcer II

Has 8.5k EHP 60% resists average and does 160 dps overheated. Can decloak and lock instantly. Has no web though so any AB fit frig is going to be trouble unless you can kill it before it gets out of range. Most explorers in my experience have a MWD.

Another thing I found its good for without the weps and a bit more tank is for those pesky ping bandit that think they're uncatchable. You can decloak scram them instantly and survive long enough for guys on the gate to warp to you. From memory can get it to 13k ehp.

==================================

This one has a web, 7.8k ehp, 150dps

[Nemesis, New Setup 1]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Damage Control II

Medium Shield Extender II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
1MN Y-S8 Compact Afterburner

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Small Core Defense Field Extender II
Small Core Defense Field Extender II
=================================================


This one web, mwd, 150 dps

==================================================
[Nemesis, New Setup 1]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Damage Control II

Medium Shield Extender II
Stasis Webifier II
Warp Scrambler II
5MN Y-T8 Compact Microwarpdrive

Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Light Neutron Blaster II, Void S
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Rocket Launcher II, Inferno Rage Rocket
Covert Ops Cloaking Device II

Small Core Defense Field Extender II
Small Core Defense Field Extender II
===================================================

CCP Fozzie “We can see how much money people are making in nullsec and it is, a gigantic amount, a shit-ton… in null sec anomalies. “*

Kaalrus pwned..... :)
Eladanus
24th Imperial Crusade
Amarr Empire
#12 - 2017-01-14 10:41:41 UTC
It's definitely viable. You have to pick your targets wisely, and finding someone to kill will take a little longer, but it's one of the few ways that a solo small ship can bring down something much bigger.

For inspiration, check out Wingspan TT's YouTube channel - he and his corp specialise in using stealth bombers (and other cloaked ships) in wormholes to hunt people.

There's a PDF guide to it all on Wingspan's website too. I've not read through it all, but it's probably a great place to start.
Illindar Tyrannus
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#13 - 2017-01-27 23:54:26 UTC
I don't think that the fits on guide are particularly great. There're fleet support bombers that try to out range big guns, what I flew without AB as a brawler (since you got cloak, and you'd like to be under guns). I also had notion that I could get into sniper fit sb, run at max speed at target trying to get a few shots out while it stands, the 20 second cycle time doesn't help.