How many Strafers?

[4xC]

This is so true.

The best way to see a quantifiable result from strafer fire is to watch Virgil's video where he reveals the freeze AoO.

With the creeper frozen, you can really see the effect of even a small number of strafers.

Agreed, the Freezer makes a great complement to the strafer, but how often do players run across a freezer, let alone mor ethan one at once?  ::)

[Nephthys]

Thank you all so much for your input, ideas & suggestions! I have a lot to think about & with which to experiment.

I did get a chance to use 5 Strafers against an arm of Digitalis & they did slow it down...BUT it comes right back. Because Strafers & Bombers use so much time to spin around & come back, the Digitalis had plenty of time to re-generate.

I won't give up on Strafers. But I do think there is a time & place for their best use & unlike other weapons they are not useful on every map. Give me a single Cannon set to Digitalis over 8 Strafers anytime.

It is a shame though that there is not more power in a single Strafer, especially at 50 a pop. I'd like them a lot better if they were like flying cannons!  :)    At 1/2 the 'price', and at least twice the damage, I'll take a cannon.

I still like Bombers over Sprayers. I guess (?) Bombers lay down more AC because it seems as though what Bombers lay down stays down, whereas what Sprayers throw out gets eaten back up pretty quickly. (Except for a small area directly in front of the Sprayer). And once that happens it is gone for good. With Bombers I have lots of left over AC as I move them forward & I then use the Sprayers to soak it back up to be used again. Also, Bombers can give you a lane of protection to move forward even if there is no Creeper directly in front of your line. Bombers lay down AC where you tell them to while Sprayers only divvy out AC if Creeper is already in front of them.

EDIT: If only Bombers didn't make that whistling noise that hurts my ears! lol

[Grayzzur]

I did get a chance to use 5 Strafers against an arm of Digitalis & they did slow it down...BUT it comes right back. Because Strafers & Bombers use so much time to spin around & come back, the Digitalis had plenty of time to re-generate.

Try staggering them instead of sending them all at once in a group. Then there's usually at least 1 or 2 shooting at the ground at any given time and keeping it from growing back.

[Nephthys]

I did get a chance to use 5 Strafers against an arm of Digitalis & they did slow it down...BUT it comes right back. Because Strafers & Bombers use so much time to spin around & come back, the Digitalis had plenty of time to re-generate.

Try staggering them instead of sending them all at once in a group. Then there's usually at least 1 or 2 shooting at the ground at any given time and keeping it from growing back.

K. Will do!

[Nephthys]

I perfer to use strafers to target emitters directly. Depending on the power of the emitter i can normally cancel out an emitter. Even if i don't i can  cut an emitters output in half (power depended) which helps ALOT on the fount.  

That's sounds like an effective way to use them! Anything to slow down 30 or 40+ emitter is very helpful.

[koker93]

I am a certifiable over-builder.  That said you can take what I say from that viewpoint.  If I have the time and real estate to support them I build a lot of strafers.  like 20-30 of them.  I then send half of them to the emitter I'm moving on and the other half to clear the path.  Often a good strategy, but not the fastest.

[Shrike30]

Strafers are also good for getting more energy "on target" simultaneously.  Mortars/cannons are the most efficient means of projecting energy (as damage) onto Creeper, but you can rapidly run into the issue in tighter quarters or heavy-creeper situations where you simply cannot get enough guns into range to have good effect on target.  This is where strafers really shine, especially if you have move speed upgrades; allowing you to hit an area with more guns simultaneously.  If you have extra space in the back of your base, your frontline is stuck, and aren't running close to or slightly red, you should be building strafers to pound your target area... if you are running a bit of a deficit, add reactors to taste :)

[teknotiss]

i use strafers in groups of 9 (fits in my ocd base layout in a nice 3x3 ;)) and i use them primarily for emitter suppression.
i tend to use 9 for emitters up to around 40x1/2secs then 18 for med strength emitters 27+ for strong ones. 36+ (with berthas) too for mega emitters.
i stagger the deployment as i can afford the energy, i start asap on big maps, even if that means just 3 strafers per emitter to begin with. first it stops sudden energy demands from larger groups landing for reload at once, second it can slow creeper densities significantly (and as you increase the strafers per emitter they cut down density slowly too), third it will seriously stop digitalis if all digi connected emitters are suppressed
in short i love strafers, most tactically useful unit (barring AEZ's) in my opinion

[Cavemaniac]

It is a shame though that there is not more power in a single Strafer, especially at 50 a pop. I'd like them a lot better if they were like flying cannons!  :)    At 1/2 the 'price', and at least twice the damage, I'll take a cannon.

Put some strafers on PZ's!

They get triple firepower (and I think they carry more ammo - but don't take everything I say on faith!).

[Nephthys]

It is a shame though that there is not more power in a single Strafer, especially at 50 a pop. I'd like them a lot better if they were like flying cannons!  :)    At 1/2 the 'price', and at least twice the damage, I'll take a cannon.

Put some strafers on PZ's!

They get triple firepower (and I think they carry more ammo - but don't take everything I say on faith!).

I've learned to used them on Emitters & have found that to be very helpful. I'll try your suggestion as well. Thx!

[Amram]

yeah, I use them in groups to slice through digitalis(set them to make at least three lines side by side to ensure a cut once the creeper is thin enough), and to suppress emitters, mainly to suppress their connection to the digitalis to prevent growth.

[Randomgold]

The main way I use strafers is kind of a combo of both of the prevailing methods.  For the most part, I'll only really use them in maps with digitalis in them.  At first I'll just cut off a few arms with 4-6 planes to stall it while I build up a strong base and start pushing out.  Once I get enough energy to really attack I'll set the strafers to target the digitalis generating emitters, building more as needed.  Generally this means about 4-6 per emitter.   This won't do much against the creeper unless it's really weak, but it stops digi in its tracks.  This works even better with a bertha or two (they make everything better, don't they) targeting the emitter as well. 

[Kharnellius]

Parking 8 Strafers over an emitter effectively nullifies it's digitalis producing capability (REGARDLESS of how much creeper it produces).
I find this strategy works far better than "cutting off" the digitalis at a choke point since, in my case, I can kill ALL the digitalis!

[NNR_Alex]

Also, I find it more useful to run strafers up an arm of digitalis if it's thin enough, that can hold off the growth for a long time and push it back rather successfully.

[Lord_Farin]

Parking 8 Strafers over an emitter effectively nullifies it's digitalis producing capability (REGARDLESS of how much creeper it produces).
I find this strategy works far better than "cutting off" the digitalis at a choke point since, in my case, I can kill ALL the digitalis!

This is great advice! 't Has improved my times on maps with digitalis by quite a bit.