The main question is, what faction, and what will you primarily be fighting?
The classic loadout is of course EMP cannons, a SNAC, and a Nova torpedo.
If you'll be mainly fighting caps smaller than battleships, substitute an ASURAS for the Nova which has issues hitting smaller ships. Especially against gunboats ASURAS is amazing as one shot will kill even a full gunboat shield.
If you'll be pirating transports, use Energy cannons instead of EMPs as they are the most efficient way of dealing hull damage.
I don't really recommend dual Novas, there are very few cases in which it's more useful than SNAC/Nova.
And whatever the loadout, use one Hellfire rocket pod. That little thing stores an incredible amount of damage in 120 rockets.
Quote:If you'll be mainly fighting caps smaller than battleships, substitute an ASURAS for the Nova which has issues hitting smaller ships. Especially against gunboats ASURAS is amazing as one shot will kill even a full gunboat shield.
ASURAS is a great option against BSes too.
I don't recommend Novas. They're a really poor choice because everything smaller than a cruiser is too fast and everything larger than a cruiser has flaks.
My suggested loadout for Waran would be 1 hellfire, 3 emps, train cd, ASURAS, SNAC.
If you can't afford ASURAS then use incapacitator torp - they're faster than Novas and only do shield damage, that's a lot higher than Novas.
Novas are awesome in group fights 'coz you can drop them from 3-4k away from the target, which most likely will not be paying attention to you and therefore not "flakking" them. OTOH, they are useless against light GSs like the Gaian or BHG ones or freighters, as they can just outmaneuver the slow tracking missiles.
Theoretically, a SNAC would be preferable against Gun-ships/boats.
Oh, and the EMP torpedoes are rubbish. They have the range of a SNAC and the accuracy of a Nova, meaning anything you can safely get close enough to shoot them at will be able to dodge them.
As for guns, EMP cannons are great for GB shields and when a cruiser shield regenerates, assuming you can get close enough to hit whilst not dying, whereas "normal" cannons are pretty good at attriting hulls once your big guns have stripped their shields.
I personally don't like the rocket pods much, as they seem very hard to aim, while suffering from all bomber guns' drawback of low range for an anti-cap gun. Plus, they run out of ammo fast when I use them.
You are a heavy bomber.
You will die against every fighter.
And you will die against every light bomber.
Your strength is to fight BS and Cruisers, better stay at range.
If you are no ace, make sure to pack long range (Nova). Stay at the edge of the range and fire them. They get better the farer you are away.
Waran is fat and moves like a brick. So, you can't spearhead into the heat of the fight, since literally every snub and gb can wreck you.
Dual Novas, to fight from a distance without getting much attention.
SNAC+Nova, to move into the thick of action. But you will be wasted sooner than you think.
SNAC+Asuras, if you want to be suicidal or the opposition don't have gbs/snubs or, are dumb enough to not target you first.
I don't think guns really make a change. Anything would be mostly obsolete.
With some luck, you can take out fighters super-fast in one of those bombers, while still being effective against caps.
You won't be a priority target either, necessarily, but I can tell you for most fighter pilots, spotting an enemy heavy bomber on the battlefield is like receiving a present. Easiest kill ever, so everyone goes after it.