VHF Combat
Lesson 1: Which Ship?
They might all look alike (statistics-wise), but each ship is unique in its own way. The VHF class is used to counter all other Fighter classes and Bombers. They have the largest powercore, excepting bombers, can mount more advanced weapons, can take more punishment and are only slightly less agile than the Heavy Fighter class. It is strongly advised to not only look at their statistics or price, but also take heed of the role-play behind them. Each has its own purpose, so choosing one only for PvP and ignoring their original use might not end up the way you planned. Also notice that some ships have valuable info under "Handling" and it should give you the general idea of their strengths and weaknesses.
This is the complete list of Very Heavy Fighters:
| Name | Weapons | Cargo | Hull | NB/SB | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle | 6/1 | 70 | 9900 | 63 | $1,795,000 | Civilian; can mount class 10 weapons |
| Hammerhead | 6/1 | 70 | 7900 | 49 | $985,000 | Bounty Hunters Guild |
| Raven Claw | 8/0 | 60 | 9500 | 62 | $1,855,000 | Advanced very heavy fighter |
| Raven's Talon | 6/1 | 75 | 10800 | 65 | $2,075,000 | Elite very heavy fighter |
| Collector | 2/3 | 120 | 12600 | 110 | $1,830,000 | Junkers' very heavy fighter |
| Titan | 6/1 | 70 | 13500 | 73 | $1,825,000 | Corsair very heavy fighter |
| Sabre | 6/1 | 70 | 11200 | 66 | $1,755,000 | Border Worlds very heavy fighter |
| Viper | 6/1 | 65 | 8800 | 58 | $1,830,000 | Fast and powerful heavy fighter |
| Viper Mk II | 6/0 | 65 | 10000 | 64 | $2,175,000 | Powerful very heavy fighter |
| Stinger | 6/1 | 80 | 10400 | 64 | $1,935,000 | Civilian very heavy fighter |
| Virage | 6/0 | 60 | 8600 | 56 | $2,035,000 | Agile very heavy fighter |
| Kushan | 3/2 | 75 | 9800 | 66 | $1,318,000 | Cheapest VHF-class ship |
| Somtaaw SHF | 2/5 | 160 | 30000 | 340 | $3,520,000 | Super heavy fighter |
| Nephthys | 6/1 | 70 | 14500 | 78 | $1,910,000 | Advanced Anubis |
| Wrath | 5/1 | 70 | 11500 | 67 | $1,785,000 | Advanced Valkyrie |
| Odin | 6/1 | 65 | 9700 | 62 | $1,995,000 | Red Hessian very heavy fighter |
| Werewolf | 5/1 | 90 | 16000 | 86 | $2,155,000 | Advanced Wolfhound |
| Templar | 6/0 | 76 | 14000 | 76 | $1,895,000 | Advanced Crusader |
| Chimaera | 6/0 | 70 | 12400 | 70 | $1,760,000 | Advanced Dragon |
| Nomad Assassin | 7/0 | 60 | 12200 | 70 | $3,240,000 | Nomad "Assassin" Very Heavy Fighter |
| Manta | 6/1 | 80 | 10600 | 65 | $1,885,000 | Advanced Hammerhead |
| Guardian | 5/1 | 74 | 12000 | 68 | $1,750,000 | Advanced Defender |
| Avenger | 5/1 | 75 | 13200 | 72 | $1,845,000 | Advanced Executioner |
| Blood Dragon | 6/1 | 65 | 9600 | 62 | $1,620,000 | Blood Dragons' ship |
| Spatial SHF | 6/1 | 180 | 28000 | 300 | $4,180,000 | Space exploration vessel |
| Greyhound | 4/0 | 70 | 9,800 | 63 | $1,648,000 | Liberty and Bretonia Pirates |
Lesson 2: The Loadout
The Equipment you choose is very important. Other than being available to your faction, the weapons and armor have to be top-notch if you want to win with relative ease.
Getting the best armor upgrade should be one of your first goals. The Armor Upgrade MK VIII fortifies your hull 2.5 times and costs 15,250,000 credits. The good thing is, it can be purchased in all Guard Systems.
Your second goal is to acquire proper guns and missiles from your faction. Notice the first problem that professional pilots stumble upon on this step: "Projectile speed and Refire rate"
We would advise setting weapon groups. The shortest way (often not the best way) is to find one single type of gun and equip it to all your slots. The other way is to search far and wide for "shield busters" with similar or identical projectile and refire speed. This is important because when fighting an enemy that doesn't fight in a "straight line" but dodges until he finds a weakspot you will need an optimized targeting symbol.
It is often good to set your first weapon group to be all guns, and the second weapon group to be all Non-Shieldbuster guns. So once your opponents shield is down, you just switch to your Hullbuster group to save power ( This is sometimes very important. To set your weapon groups, just use the key you have set in the controls. In example: Press the Activate Weapon Group 1 button, and in the weapons tab, activate (make them green) the guns you want for the first group ( Now the 1. group is set ). Now press the Activate Weapon Group 2 button, and then activate (make them green) for example all guns except shieldbusters. And there you go.
Missiles are slower than guns, take more time to reload, have an ammo limit, but unlike regular guns each projectile has a tracking system and deal more damage. The bonus is significant as the deal a small "area of effect" damage, damaging offensive systems. The most popular missile for taking out enemy gear is the Cannonball. And the most commonly used "shield buster" is the Paralyzer missile.
A very expensive option that some professional pilots use are Codename weapons. These will drain your energy supply faster and some, like the ARCHANGEL, will make short work of even armored transports and Gunboats.
Lesson 3: DogFights
Before reading further make sure you've at least read and/or understood the whole concept behind Engine Kill as it represents the basic of PvP combat. Also, it would be of useful to understand the basics of Team Coordination and Solo Combat.
The specific part for fighting in a VHF is to know your role. A VHF is designed to repel bombers and is almost completely useless against capital ships. This alone should make its priority targets clear. If your team consists of 1 gunboat, 1 VHF and 1 bomber and you're fighting against a cruiser and a bomber the VHF should concentrate his power to eliminate the opposing bomber before it takes out the gunboat. The gunboat is a great tool for battling all kinds of ships and should be preserved for finishing the cruiser. If the gunboat gets destroyed in the process and the VHF and bomber are left with the cruiser their best chance is to combine their efforts and repeatedly switch distances. The cruiser might lose the idea of his primary target and start attacking both. This would be ideal as the VHF is very difficult to hit and the bomber can finish up the rest.
Lesson 4: Counters
VHF vs any Fighter class
Using the standard top-notch equipment with high refire rates and increased speed should prove efficient. But it comes down to the skill of each pilot. The most useful counter are easy-kill weapons such as the Nuclear mine and Cannonball in combination with Paralyzer.
VHF vs Bomber
They are are mostly slower and outgunned by the VHF. Their only advantage is the SNAC (short for Supernova Antimatter Cannon) that, when aimed carefully is very hard to dodge at close distance and is a certain 1-shot-kill. The trick is to use the VHFs superior agility and avoid "melee" combat at all cost. After that, all other strategies to combat fighter classed vessels should be applied, and slowly grind the bomber’s hull to 0.
VHF vs any Capship class
Guns that are especialy useful against capital ships such as the ARCHANGEL and Colada del Cid can greatly increase your odds, but your best bet is to divert the opponent's attention so that the bomber pilot can take him out.
