T1 attack bomber

v • e Tech 1 Air Units
Scout
Interceptor
Attack Bomber
Light Air Transport
Light Gunship

• UEF
• Cybran
• Aeon
• Seraphim

UEF T1 Attack Bomber:  Scorcher
Lightly armored area-of-effect bomber.[ e ]
Build costs	-2250  -100 500
Max health	215
Speed Fuel	10 (Air) 6:40
Veterancy	3  (+1/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 32 Radar: 65
Weapon: Napalm Carpet Bomb Bomb - Bomb
Damage per second	150
Bomb damage	60  (1.5s DoT)
Damage radius	2.5
Salvo size	5 Bombs (in 0.4 s)
Reload time	2 seconds
Range	40
Weapon: Air Crash Death
Damage	100
Damage radius	1

Cybran T1 Attack Bomber:  Zeus
Lightly armored area-of-effect bomber.[ e ]
Build costs	-2250  -100 500
Max health	200
Speed Fuel	10 (Air) 6:40
Veterancy	3  (+1/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 32 Radar: 65
Weapon: Neutron Cluster Bomb Bomb - Bomb
Damage per second	150
Bomb damage	50
Damage radius	3
Salvo size	6 Bombs (in 0.5 s)
Reload time	2 seconds
Range	40
Weapon: Air Crash Death
Damage	100
Damage radius	1

Aeon T1 Attack Bomber:  Shimmer
Lightly armored bomber. Armed with a Chrono bomb that destroys and disables targeted units.[ e ]
Build costs	-2250  -100 500
Max health	205
Speed Fuel	10 (Air) 6:40
Veterancy	3  (+1/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 32 Radar: 65
Weapon: Graviton Bomb Bomb - Bomb
Damage per second	100
Bomb damage	200
Damage radius	4
Reload time	2 seconds
Range	40
Weapon: Air Crash Death
Damage	100
Damage radius	1

Seraphim T1 Attack Bomber:  Sinnve
Fast-moving tactical bomber. Lightly armored.[ e ]
Build costs	-2250  -100 500
Max health	210
Speed Fuel	10 (Air) 6:40
Veterancy	3  (+1/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 32 Radar: 65
Weapon: Othe Tactical Bomb Bomb - Bomb
Damage per second	125
Bomb damage	250
Damage radius	4
Reload time	2 seconds
Range	40
Weapon: Air Crash Death
Damage	100
Damage radius	1

The Tech 1 attack bomber is the first type of air-to-ground bomber craft available. They are used early in the game to drop small AOE bombs on ground and surface units.

They are generally fast, though not as fast as Interceptors, which lets them pass over the map quickly and be adept at early harassment. even on a 10x10km map. Some competitive players even like to build an attack bomber as their very first combat unit and rush out an air factory to do so. They have no anti-air capabilities, and so bombers are especially vulnerable to Interceptors. With light armour and lower speed to dodge, any anti-air capability will whittle them down and any version of flak will generally stop them outright, making them cost-ineffective to produce at that eventual stage of the match.

Despite these drawbacks, attack bombers make excellent tools for use in early game, providing an early first-strike capability against an enemy base or outlying mass extractor. If they can keep an extractor down for at least a minute they will have paid their cost of 100 mass, a fairly high amount comparable to two T1 tanks such as the Striker.

In a pinch they are capable of performing base defense against small bands of T1 and sometimes T2 units. Do not, however, overestimate their potential and send less than 6 against any position defended by any sort of AA, especially enemy interceptors, or you may come up short in your goal. Six will allow them to volley down multiple separate AA guns instantly. Spread your attack based on intel and use T1 air scouts to help. However, T2 gunships are most suited for this role.

Factional Differences

The bombers mainly differ in their primary weapon and the size of the area of effect blast. Some deal damage instantly whereas some deal fire/burning damage over time.

UEF

The Scorcher drops 5 napalm bombs with moderate blast damage and good damage over time, a good asset against early game swarms of light assault bots.

Cybran

The Zeus drops 6 Neutron bombs with a large blast and high damage. This is most effective against large groups of foes.

Aeon

The Shimmer drops a single, large energy bomb with a large blast radius, as well as the side effect of temporarily paralyzing and disabling units caught within. This ability makes it perhaps the best T1 attack bomber, as that small delay gives other support units time to get in free hits.

Seraphim

The Sinnve utilizes the Othe Tactical Bomb, a miniature version of the one used on the Ahwassa Experimental Bomber. This Bomb deals 250 damage, making it the most damaging, as well as combining this damage with the high blast radius of the Shimmer. It, however, lacks the paralysis effect of the Shimmer's Graviton Bomb. The Sinnve, as well as the Shimmer are best suited for the bombardment of outposts and bases, due to the more concentrated damage which is more effective in the destruction of buildings.

Tips

For the "carpet" style varieties (the UEF Scorcher and Cybran Zeus), T1 bombers can be more effective when out of fuel, since the extremely low airspeed makes it possible for them to have a "drop window" long enough to drop two sets of bombs. This, however, makes them even more vulnerable to anti-air, so use accordingly.

T1 bombers can greatly slow an enemy's economy by destroying clustered power generators, which can in turn cause damage to other structures, and even destroy unbuilt units.

Using T1 bombers as scout units can often be a better decision than using air scouts in the early game. A T1 bomber has a radar radius of 65, whereas an airscout only has a vision radius of 42. While airscouts have twice the speed of a T1 bomber, the extended radar range and the fact that it can engage enemy structures can often make a T1 bomber a better choice against more heavily defended bases. A bomber is capable of detecting enemy units and structures an airscout might not find before it is destroyed, and if a bomber gets close enough it can damage enemy structures.