Cobra Bomber Wing

Cobra Bomber Wing
Designation	Bomber
Logistical Data
Ordnance points	15
Fighters in wing	1
Crew per fighter	4
Combat Performance
Base replacement time (seconds)	20
Combat speed	160
Formation	V
Maximum engagement range	4000
Weapons	1x Reaper-class Torpedo
Hull integrity	400
Armor	25
Shield type	Omni Shield
Shield arc	120
Shield upkeep/sec	0
Flux/damage	1
Flux capacity	400
Flux dissipation	50
Advanced Stats
Mass	40
Attack run range	2000
Acceleration	200
Deceleration	200
Max turn rate	30
Turn acceleration	120

	The Cobra design was initiated not long before the Collapse, born of a speculative project to mount a reaper torpedo launcher on a fighter chassis. The design requirements spun out out control almost immediately, and schedule overruns should have seen the Cobra project killed in its first cycle. But the eccentric owner - who had made his fortune in frontier prospecting and salvage - poured his fortune into the design and allegedly secured short-term loans from certain criminal elements to see prototype development through. The Domain Naval Procurement Board rejected the proposal outright and it's been suggested that this was due to an unstated policy of "discouraging" anti-capital torpedo bombers. The development lead was found dead in extraordinary unpleasant circumstances; investigators ruled it a suicide. Meanwhile, much to the chagrin of legitimate lenders, the Cobra's schematics and prototype LPCs apparently disappeared into thin air.
–In-Game Description

Quick Description

The Cobra is a ridiculously effective ship at taking down larger capitals, as long as its projectile hits, however it is practically useless against more nimble enemies as its projectile speed is too small. It is however quite ironically effective when forced into close quarters launches as a finisher, as when the Cobra decides to approach its target through allies into melee range its projectile becomes a guaranteed hit.

The Cobra is quite effective against slower ships of the Hegemony and Luddic Church, it also has the shortest sum respawn time of all bombers in the game. It stands as quantity over quality bomber that can deliver bombs across a long period of time. A single missed projectile doesn't mean much in the long run, as Cobras will easily respawn, re-arm for as long as the carrier stands.

General Strategy

The Cobra is a slow bomber, its effectiveness is often tied to how close a carrier is to the heat of battle. This is also quite ironic considering the fact that if forced to launch its projectile at way closer range, the chance of it actually hitting the target increases. Whereas if shot at maximum range, the projectile may often miss the target by a very long shot.

The issue with Cobra's Reaper shot is the fact that even though it does have a lot of health, it is not indestructible. Potent point defense grids of Hegemony capital ships as well as Midline and Low Tech stations will make quick work of a singular or even several Cobra missiles. In order for them to land, a distraction has to be applied as with many other bombers.

The way to do it is quite simple: Either employ a myriad of fighters that have access to flares or EMP damage that may distract or disable the PD grid of a targeted ship. Employ a minor ship with access to excessive EMP weaponry or simply enough damage to disable enemy point defense, eg. Harbinger with a pair of Ion Pulsers. Utilize a cover of other missiles to allow the projectile to hit. The last solution is mostly talking about Khopesh Bomber Wing, these launch Annihilator missiles which although ineffective against large untickled armor, they serve as great cover for other missiles. With recent patch updating bomber AI to more often coordinate their attacks to launch their missiles at the same time to increase the chance of piercing point defense.

Notable Enemies

With the introduction of Invictus, the player will have to face off against the strongest armor in the game. It might take minutes to fully strip it, whereas a single Cobra missile with a Heron boost may be able to easily tear down its mighty armor structure. Excessive point defense as well as context of the ship's positioning however may negate that effect.

Onslaughts are a nightmare for a Cobra bomber due to Hegemony officers often having the Point Defense+ skill at their disposal as well as access to a pair of Devastator cannons and other point defense solutions. Hitting however an Onslaught in the back may be optional, as point defense there is the weakest.

Mora carriers utilize a system that greatly reduces damage, which may be an effective invulnerability. This however doesn't matter much in the face of a Cobra bomber. Its damage is usually large enough to effectively tear down a Mora's armor, and if it dares to use its shield it'll find itself overloaded for a prolonged period of time. Its weak point defense grid exposes it to that fact double fold.

Trivia

A Cobra's projectile if launched at too close quarters will not immediately explode, it will be derailed and fly in an erratic circling pattern, it may still crash into an enemy ship causing devastation.

Cobra's projectile may hit an allied fighter that has been disabled or had its engines damaged, this is a relatively funny fact as it will allow the Cobra to damage its target even if it technically misses due to explosion's large area of effect.

Cobra's large explosion is comical against ships that utilize flares, as these may increase the ship's hitbox causing the Cobra's projectile to damage them severely rather than simply missing. This has been especially visible when the Gremlin was still using simple flares rather than active ones in the 0.96a patch.

Change History

0.9

• Added two new torpedo bomber wings: Perdition and Cobra

At least two versions out of date. Last verified for version 0.9.1. Please refer to Version History and update this page.