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 good at countering 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 as planned. Also notice that some ships have valuable info under "Handling" and it should give us the general idea of their strengths and weaknesses.

This is the complete list of Very Heavy Fighters available to the general public:

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 very heavy fighter
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
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 we choose is very important. Other than being available to our faction, the weapons and armor have to be top-notch if we want to win with relative ease.

Getting the best armor upgrade should be one of our first goals. The Armor Upgrade MK VIII fortifies it's hull 2.5 times and costs 15,250,000 credits. The good thing is, it can be purchased in all Guard Systems.

Our second goal is to acquire proper guns and/or 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 the ship's weapon slots. The other way is to find "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 rather than a dense firing arc.

It is often good to set the first weapon group to be all guns, and the second weapon group to be all Non-Shieldbuster guns. So once the opponents shield is down, we just switch to our Hullbuster group to save power ( This is sometimes very important. To set our weapon groups, we use the key we have set in the controls. In example: Pressing the Activate Weapon Group 1 button, and in the weapons tab, activating (make them green) the guns we want for the first group ( Now the 1. group is set ). Now pressing the Activate Weapon Group 2 button, and then activate (make them green) for example all guns except shieldbusters. And that's all there is to it.

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 effective missile for taking out enemy gear is the Cannonball. And the most effective "shield buster" is the Paralyzer missile.

A very expensive option that some professional pilots use are Codename weapons. These will drain the ship's energy supply faster and some will even prove deadly against armored transports and Gunboats.

Lesson 3: DogFights

Before reading further it is important to read and 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 it's primary duties. A VHF is efficient at hunting bombers and is less likely to be a threat to capital ships. This alone should make its priority targets clear. If our team consists of 1 gunboat, 1 VHF and 1 bomber and we'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. Having powerful anti-cap guns instead of missiles would greatly aid the task.

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 especially useful against capital ships such as the ARCHANGEL some shieldbusters can greatly increase the VHF's odds, but it's best bet is to divert the opponent's attention so that the bomber pilot can take him out.

See also

• Flight Tactics