VHF Combat

Lesson 1: Which Ship?

They might all look alike (stats-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, 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 stats or price, but also take heed of the Roleplay 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 some ships have valuable info under "Handling" and it should give you the general idea of their strenghts 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 VHF	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
Marsflyer SHF	4/2	80	10000	64	$10,000,000	Sold on Battleship Isis
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 wouldn't advise setting weapon groups, those are only important for Bomber pilots. 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.

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 and The Stages of "Glide" as they present the basics 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 a bomber's worst nightmare 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

<some general tips>