Banshee--light fighter or interceptor

Iceblade

Iceblade

Admiral
I know this kind of topic has arisen before, but that was about it being a heavy fighter.

I really think, though, that it fits an interceptor's role much better. It has a speed similar to the Vampire(WCP) and the piranha, great armor for a light fighter, *a bigy* lots and lots and lots of missiles for a fighter or anything this old which makes it great for taking out bombers, and its primary weapon can be quite effective for downing torps because of the laser's low-energy requirement.

Well, what do you say: light fighter, heavy fighter(maybe), medium fighter, or an interceptor.

--Please post for reasoning unless said reasoning has already posted in this thread--
 
I'm pretty sure the "light" in "light fighter" classification comes more according to the actual weight/mass of the fighter. In reality, you'd want light, medium, and heavy fighters to have lethal capabilities regardless of classification. The lighter armament typically results from a desire to use the ship's lower weight to its advantage, thus allowing lethality with a lighter gunload through increased speed and maneuverability.

Also, consider energy consumption. Smaller vessels probably have smaller power plants, and thus have less power to sustain guns and shield systems. Lighter shields and lower-output guns would be neccessary to make the thing useable at all. A fighter in a heavier weight/mass class would have more capacity for large power plants, thus allowing them to be more gun/shield heavy.

As to missile payload . . ehh . . I've noticed that lighter fighters in wc3 and 4 tend to carry more missiles than heavier ones (bombers notwithstanding). I'm sure that has to do with fighter design trends of the era.
 
The Banshee is very similar to the Arrow, which is also a light fighter. The arrow gets used as an interceptor on WC3, it's the ship they launch on emergencies. Unless of course you are talking about the Armada Banshee.
 
Well, I don't know what the original intention behind the WC4 Banshee was, but as far as the UE Banshee (and other BW ships in UE) goes, it's a mistake to apply WCP-era Confed ship classifications to BW ships. Since the war ended, Confed has been developing a fleet of specialised fighters... dedicated bombers, space superiority fighters, interceptors, et cetera. The Border Worlds hasn't done this - they've spent most of their resources just on keeping their existing ships flying and up-to-date (or at least, as up-to-date as possible, given their obsolescence and limited durability). So, the Banshee is not a dedicated interceptor - it's a classic light fighter that, like the Arrow or the Epee, is supposed to handle just about any mission that doesn't require a boatload of torpedoes.

(and yeah, I think overmortal is right, that the basic idea behind the light/medium/heavy classifications was their size and weight, and not their armament per se, although of course keeping within a light fighter classification required various tradeoffs on that count)
 
Iceblade said:
. . . great armor for a light fighter. . .
Click to expand...
I'm not sure as to the UE Banshee, but the WC4 Banshee's armor was as light as an Arrows. Its shields were just as heavy as a T-Bolts though.

C-ya
 
Yeah, actually the arrow was, IIRC, classified as a light fighter/interceptor.

Now I get the point; but, in at least one previous thread, the arguement went towards weapons and missiles instead of wieght and mass for classification.

Of course the best interceptors are those craft that are fast--or have something to give them an extra edge in speed--to reach the bombers long before they get in range and can still pack a punch--although less lethal. The banshee goes at considerable speeds, can kill stuff at a decent rate, avoid being blown to pieces, and, if a situation arises, blow up torps without too much trouble--of course the scimitar's viper cannons are the best for any torp downing job.
*basically the points in a nutshell*
 
Well, of course it's not a dedicated interceptor. It's a light fighter that's used on that role on emergencies. It's the ship they launch first when the carrier is under attack.
 
I would think they'd have one or two in the air as CAP whenever possible.

That was the really cool stuff about WC games. You'd come back to your carrier to find friendly fighters in the air. It'd just feel reassuring. Nothing like some good ol' CAP to welcome you home.
 
I would call the Banshee a medium fighter except for its main guns--four lasers is weak under WCP/SO's moronic way of handling multiple instances of the same gun--four lasers do the same amount of damage per second as two lasers. If it weren't for that one drawback, then I wouldn't mind taking it head to head against a Panther.
 
I say that the UE Banshee stinks. It has only lasers. I like the UE ferret or any other BW ship better. At least the ferret's fast.
 
Oh really.

You probably just don't know how to fly this baby.

You have to use the Banshee'ss advantages not it weaker features. From the sounds of your post you rely on your guns way to much in a fight. Try using a missile once in a while and for the heavier targets use the stormfires. Otherwise, just whittle down the enemy's armor. Plus, the banshee in UE is pretty fast: 550 is actually quiet fast and the banshee is more manvuerable the ferret in raw and roll and is only behind the ferret's pitch by a degree of 10.
 
The Banshee's an effective ship, although I think I prefer both the Scim and the Epee in UE.
 
Lasers don't inflict enought damage on the bug ships, It takes a lot of time to destroy even a medium bug fighter with them. The Banshee is nimble, but outgunned.
 
The Banshee in UE, like every other mission in the game, forces you to economical with the resources given to you. The best get with guns is to use a combination of lasers and stormfire. Anything lighter than a manta can be brought down like this which does account for a lot of fighters.

Personally, its massive loadout of high damage missiles (lots of heatseekers especially - although the dumbfire will always be a favourite) makes it my favourite fighter of the game. Its high speed was also useful; generally speaking the Banshee was the fighter I felt most confident flying.
 
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