Psi-corps: explain them to me.

[Triggy]

It's worth noting however that Black Omega starfuries are still not worth as much as 2 standard Aurora starfuries.

well takes 2 standard starfuries to equal its dogfighting ability. then even if the standard ones win theres a 50/50 chance the black omega will survive. so damn right its as good as 2, if not better.

That is about their only (minor) edge. In return, they lose half of their firepower (due to there being half as many of them) and their dodge against antifighter weapons/tactics (the main balance for having half as many) doesn't work against all methods of killing fighters anyway. I would say that the comparison is close, but that the 2 Auroras are slightly better overall.

Now, the comparison between a Black Omega and a Shadowfury is much much worse. Overall a single Black Omega has approx. equivalent firepower to a shadowfury, and the extra point of dogfight is canceled out by the lack of psychic crew. This is before you take into account that the Shadowfury has no defences against antifighter either. Far from being worth twice as much as the Black Omega, the Shadowfury is actually worth less.

Yeah, the Shadowfury is probably undergunned for its number per wing. A few more AD and it would be a sweet choice. However, it still works nicely on other ships as part of a Hunter/Nemesis's complement.

 

[Ripple]

Yeah, I can rarely complain about fighters that come free with the ships, it's only when folks can swap freely that you really have to look.

The Brivioki is an example of a ship that gets the fighter balance wrong. The Brakiri one is simply better because the Falkosi is much better fighter, and you can swap for Pikitos which actually is a fighter with a job, and support with a fleet carrier. But you can't really compare the Kotha to another fighter on a skirmish carrier independent of the ship, as that is not the way it's balanced.

The fact that no balancing factor is included for fighters and fighters are seen as only a minor weapon just does not scale with what we've seen in play. As wings the Shadowfury needs something though, like a lot of fighters.

Ripple

 

[nekomata fuyu]

What is it with this game and the screwing over of shadow based fighters anyway? :wink:

Seriously though, I'd say that it's good to make the comparisons even if the carried fighters aren't swappable (if nothing else, you can always "swap" the independent fighters out at Patrol level). You just have to keep in mind that when you're getting your fighters on board ships, you're screwed.

 

[Ripple]

I guess the issue is that if you compare a lot of fighters based on Patrol choice you have an entirely different set of issues. VP's, ability to buy down successfully, ability to make it to the point of conflict... all in addition to the stats of the fighter.

The ship based ones you aren't paying for in isolation. You have to consider the ship it comes on as well as the stats of the fighter. This makes the comparison much harder to judge. Add in the problem of making the comparison with a number of different choices of fighters and it gets much harder to know what if valued in the fighters stats.

Just saying that the stats are so integral to the ships it's hard to compare. Are Aurora and Thunderbolt starfuries really the same? What about the Kotha and the Falkosi? I wouldn't want to argue the Milani vs the Brikorta due to fighter compliment, as the ship changes everything.

Just syaing Triggy said above the Shadowfury was a success as part of the Hunter project and the Nemesis. I can't argue that they succeed as part of a ship. I CAN argue that a single flight of Shadowfuries is not worth it's points vs other fighter types or even that it is given its low VP total.

Ripple

 

[Da Boss]

I think some flights of fighters are almost designed to be taken as ship bourne only (or usually at any rate). The cost is really for campaigns to replace them when lost ? Could be wrong?