Me and a friend of mine (who used to play Discovery rather extensively, before getting bored of it and moving on) were discussing the various points of the uses of bombers, the other day.
The conversation went on for quite awhile, and, through some vague and confusing train of thought, we both came up with a rough idea for a new class of ship (or, rather, a subclass of bombers).
The idea is too create a ship entirely meant for reckless, hit-and-run strikes on capital ships or gunboats. With quick turning, bare-minimum bomber armament, a good shield, and little hull integrity, it would only really be effective for attacks against heavy targets, rather than being able to both attack heavies and joust fighters.
Because my paragraph descriptions are always messy, here are some proposed stats, to help clear up the concept.
Guns/Turrets 2 / 0
Opt. weapon class 6
Max. weapon class 6
Additional equipment
1xCD/T
1xCD
1xCM
Hull strength 6,000
Max. shield class 10 (Fighter)
Cargo space 60 units
Nanobots/Batteries 20/65
Max. impulse speed 80 m/s
Max. thrust speed 199 m/s
Power output 31,000 u
Power recharge 1,200 u/s
Turning Slightly faster than an Orchid (unsure how to quantify turning speed)
(Yes, having no Mine is intended)
With a profile akin to an HF's, such stats would (in my opinion) render such a ship relatively useless against most fighters, unless one became extremely skilled in using it. The average shield and low hull strength would make jousting suicide, and the middle-of-the-road agility would render other strategies against snucraft pretty much useless.
Thus, it could only ever be effective against larger ships.
Well, if you can read my trainwreck of a writing style, I'd really like any feedback regarding the refinement of this idea, and if it's even viable as a ship class.