Slitherine

How do heroes work on the strategic bombers given that they hardly ever make any kills? is it the same as other units (i.e. 100-300 kills one hero, 300-1000 kills second and 1000+ the third).
thanks for info

yes unfortunately this means more often than not you will be happy with your first and only hero

Basically yes, although they rarely destroy units they get heroes as the campaign progresses. My current US Corps campaign is typical in that I have two B-24's, both 5*, and both have one hero compared to my tac bombers with similar experience that have acquired three heroes.

The most effective manner I've found for getting them kills is to take several on any mission where there are enemy naval assets.

thanks psyx, thats a good one. Has anyone else got any more tips for increasing the kill rate of strat bombers?. thanks

hugh2711 wrote:thanks psyx, thats a good one. Has anyone else got any more tips for increasing the kill rate of strat bombers?. thanks

There' no other way Their main role is to suppress and damage supplies, not to make direct kills.

Except for sinking ships that is

hugh2711 wrote:thanks psyx, thats a good one. Has anyone else got any more tips for increasing the kill rate of strat bombers?. thanks

Since strategic bombers will gain experience quickly - in contrast to kills - you may want to consider using overstrength. Each point of overstrength will result in that many more die rolls, which incrementally leads to more kills. In my experience, the AI will seldom attack your strategic bombers if you escort them. Further, if you're spotted by an enemy AA unit, the AI usually attacks the fighter & not the bomber. So, once you pay for the overstrength, you probably won't have to pay for it again as long as you don't bumble into an enemy fighter. Lastly, in scenarios like the Stalingrad docks, a 13 strength bomber has a decent chance of sinking an enemy transport in one shot, which is nice.

Always try to upgrade to the bomber which has the highest attack values for the best attack odds. You've probably already thought of that though. Another idea is to try to attack targets with low defense values such as exposed artillery or trucks to increase your chance of knocking off a few more points. Over time, this can add up.

Admittedly, these are small measures and you won't see a dramatic improvement. I have received a strategic bomber first hero a number of times. I can count the number of times I've gained a second on one hand and still have fingers left over. It's extremely difficult. Further, a few posters on this forum have suggested immediately disbanding & replacing a strategic bomber or artillery unit which gains an unwanted hero, such as the dreaded +1 spotting hero. With their impressive rate of experience gain, this may not be a bad idea. Good luck!

Thanks. good point about the overstrengthening. I hadnt thought about overstrengthening them as I was on a self imposed no overstrengthening ordinary units system as; they are too expensive and eat badly into the soft cap but i may make an exception for s bombers.

I tend to always maximum overstrength my strategic bombers, and have the very best type available.

It's very expensive, but they shouldn't be taking many casualties anyway, so it's mainly about making the initial investment, then not unleashing them until the early rush of enemy fighters has been cleared.

There are three main advantages about having very powerful, overstrengthed strategic bombers:

Faster kill rate = more heroes
The ability to sink ships in one bombing run
The larger drain on defender ammunition that a 15-stack has. It will take many units down to only 1 ammo, meaning that sometimes, even if artillery or well dug-in infantry is not fully suppressed, it won't be shooting back ater the irst attack.

Overstrength improves strategic bomber efficiency (see FAQs for description). Bomber efficiency affects ammo and fuel stripping, neutralisation chance and prestige loss when you attack victory cities so some overstrength is usually worthwhile, although the cost of the last few strength points and the ease that an unspotted AA gun can remove them is worth considering. On the positive side, if you have a recon unit with 4 or 5 spotting, it's much easier to avoid AA guns so you keep the overtrength intact for longer, so heroes on other units can make a difference.

I have had two heroes on strategic bombers - once I had two +3 attack heroes on a strategic bombers, which was rather fun at 15 strength, especially against shipping - but I don't think I've ever got three heroes.

The best strategy is to just keep attacking things as even if you get only one kill per attack against land targets it all helps. Last time I played US Corps, I noticed that the US strategic bombers with relatively high ground attack values were often doing 2 kills per attack against soft targets when at 3 or 4* , and 3 or 4 against trucks and field guns, which made gaining heroes easier.

Well I have been grooming this he111 but during most of gc41 i have been up against the experience cap limit. In previous scenarios I have saved all the ships for it e.g. the hague and crete airborne were quite good kill earners. I am up to 392 kills so I am due another hero, i already have an A+2. I have also made a point of giving it the job of finishing off units on a river. In terms of effectiveness/'efficiency' it is calculated in terms of experience not kills which is a nuisance.

captainjack wrote:Overstrength improves strategic bomber efficiency. Bomber efficiency affects ammo and fuel stripping, neutralisation chance and prestige loss when you attack victory cities so some overstrength is usually worthwhile, although the cost of the last few strength points and the ease that an unspotted AA gun can remove them is worth considering.

SB have already good Ground Defense, but I even choose those who have the best Defense, not those who have the best Attack. So, with no loss, or very few, I can attack cities defended by AA.

hugh2711 wrote:Well I have been grooming this he111 but during most of gc41 i have been up against the experience cap limit. In previous scenarios I have saved all the ships for it e.g. the hague and crete airborne were quite good kill earners. I am up to 392 kills so I am due another hero, i already have an A+2. I have also made a point of giving it the job of finishing off units on a river. In terms of effectiveness/'efficiency' it is calculated in terms of experience not kills which is a nuisance.

Buy more!

I aim for a total strength of three units. I only field one or two for most scenarios, but all three go out when I expect enemy shipping.

I've noticed that even a 12 Strength 2* He111 can often do 2 and sometimes 3 kills on trucks and cavalry, when on many other units you get only 0 or 1 kills. You could probably add 5 to 10 kills per scenario just from picking the most vulnerable targets whenever you don't have a specific target that needs neutralisation, ammo stripping or suppressing. It doesn't sound much, but that's 50 to 100 extra kills per campaign. You might not get the third hero, but at least that second hero will come a fair bit sooner.

Even if you get a hero, chances are it won't matter much. For the Germans and Russians, their bombers are so weak that a defensive hero still wouldn't eliminate the need to escort them, and when they are escorted they seldom get attacked. Spotting heroes are nearly useless on bombers. Movement heroes don't have a ton of impact either. And you don't really need an initiative hero. An attack hero would be ok I guess.