Fighters versus capships; role of fighters in SW
Posted: 2003-05-16 11:14am
Honestly, I don't think any fighters would do any good against even ST capitals. Nevertheless, they could prove critical in taking downa ship. One onf my questions relates to the ability of ST ships to fire at off angles. Specifically, they do not appear to have top or bottom facing a guns. In SW, this might be acceptable, as in the focused emplacements of the Star Destroyer, because the ships are often designed to be deployed as part of a fleet with fighter escorts. But ST caps are made to go solo.
Therefore, it seems that a perfectly good fighter tactic would be to hover shortly above the enemy ship or below it, or any other area where they cannot get a shot off against you and keep firing. You'd have a perfectly close range line against engines. Therefore, while even a few fighters couldn't pop the shields, with any kind of friendly capship to wear away the shields, the fighters will do immense damage.
Which leads me to my final point. It seems obvious to me that there are essentially two endpoints for fighters in SW: Those ships which are designed to kill other fighters and do local support damage to surface structures on enemy ships, and those fighters (really, bombers) made to take advantage of any weak shields and punch holes in the shields and ship. This is more fo a continuum than a series of steps. The range essentially goes from:
A-Wing/TIE -> X-Wing/TIE Interceptor -> B-Wing -> TIE Bomber
Small fighter-killer ships, would be in formation around the bg boys to pick off fighters, and provide support to keep other enemy ships from flanking. In toher words, the battle plan seems to be to have a rock-solid core, with looser ships around it, filling the gaps with fighter support.
Or maybe my rambling post is blatantly obvious.
Therefore, it seems that a perfectly good fighter tactic would be to hover shortly above the enemy ship or below it, or any other area where they cannot get a shot off against you and keep firing. You'd have a perfectly close range line against engines. Therefore, while even a few fighters couldn't pop the shields, with any kind of friendly capship to wear away the shields, the fighters will do immense damage.
Which leads me to my final point. It seems obvious to me that there are essentially two endpoints for fighters in SW: Those ships which are designed to kill other fighters and do local support damage to surface structures on enemy ships, and those fighters (really, bombers) made to take advantage of any weak shields and punch holes in the shields and ship. This is more fo a continuum than a series of steps. The range essentially goes from:
A-Wing/TIE -> X-Wing/TIE Interceptor -> B-Wing -> TIE Bomber
Small fighter-killer ships, would be in formation around the bg boys to pick off fighters, and provide support to keep other enemy ships from flanking. In toher words, the battle plan seems to be to have a rock-solid core, with looser ships around it, filling the gaps with fighter support.
Or maybe my rambling post is blatantly obvious.