The Eagle and its fighting abilities

[uvelius]

After having flown a Cobra and a Vulture, and toying with different Eagle loadouts, I would like to reflect a bit on the Eagle as a combat fighter. There is a thread on the main forum but I think in Mobius, it can be an even more focused reflection.
What I think we (or many of us) can agree on is that to fly an Eagle is fun. Extremely agile, an art to master, similarly an art to outfit getting you on the verge of destruction every single moment you are unfocused, and a true beauty as a ship -- yet how did you experience its combat efficiency?

So, which experiences do you have with this beautiful, nimble little bird in combat?
Some things came to my mind:
- CZ:An Eagle is extremely hard to handle in Combat Zones and often frustrating. Crossfire is deadly for the little bird, and many kills go to NPCs or other players even after concentrated fire; the damage threshold just seems to be too small. Due to the slow speed, the Eagle is often running after its wingmen.
Ammunition is another issue. To pack something like a punch, I equipped my Eagle with MCs or Cs. Cannons are almost immediately depleted, MCs hold a bit longer but not much. And then it's down to lasers which is like scratching a rhino with a plastic knife.
What it can do nicely is clearing the six of wingmen and be the "target scanner" to pick bigger ships -- yet that is not that important in Combat Zones due to the small difference between ships in bonds value.

- RES:Especially in asteroid fields, an Eagle is really fun to fly, zipping between those big lumps of rock. Du to much less targets, it has also an easier time concerning crossfire and catching up with wingmen. Kill"stealing" is also not such a big issue.
the Eagle is great to pick targets and do KWS scans while the wingmen are doing attack runs, than engaging into close combat for subsystems.

Convoy:Seems useless, at least alone. It simply doesn't pack a punch to distract attackers from their targets in time. Its speed makes switching between different targets attacking the trader from different angles hard. A wing of Eagles, though, might be another cup of tea entirely.

Weapons and armour:
Offence:
2 Cannon + Pulse/Bursts work nicely. They pack a satisfying punch. A clear drawback is the ammunition: You will have to reload very quickly and also cannot spare the cannon shells for unshielded targets, but have to use them even on shields which is a bit of a waste. Only if you have wingmen who take care of the shields that feels better.

2 Beams + MC pack a bit more of a punch. It takes its time to take down Cobras and is really hard work (though possible) on NPC Pythons. The ship overheats quickly, both leading to stuttering MC fire and subsystem damage (negledgible). The required ship cooldown time makes the beams only party effective, they resemble more longer bursts at times. Ships like the Viper are giving hard times due to their higher speed and high agility, making it a waste of time to hunt them alone.

Defence:
All A grade.
In a CZ, I equip a C class Shield booster instead of the KWS. the shields are tougher then yet hardly hold long enough against crossfire -- once unfocused, the Eagle goes boom quite quickly.
Without the Shield Booster, the Eagle has really to be careful. On the pro side, when dodging behind asteroids or distracting CZ enemies, even blown shields recharge quite quickly. Which means that this is quite useless in PvP I guess.

[Flip]

I haven't flown an Eagle in ages, but I often see them in RES or CZ, and to be honest the only occasions when they cause me any trouble is when they're in a wing (or wings) and run coordinated attacks on me. A lone one is very easy to get rid of.

[clivewil]

they can be quite effective in a RES, where a kind of dodge hit and hide tactic works well for them, as long as you're fighting a single enemy. things quickly go pear shaped if he has buddies on call. but i wouldn't use one out in open space and expect to make it home in one piece

[Philip Coutts]

I loved my eagle, brilliant fun to fly and a real challenge. Good as a starter bounty hunter but ultimately the weak hull is an issue. Also pretty weak on it's own but I would really like to try it in a wing of 4 which I think would be excellent fun.

[UnmarkedBoxcar]

I also second or third the motion that a full wing of well-fitted Eagles would be a tidbit terrifying. And not these silly NPC Eagles with their little pulse lasers and sometimes a turreted Class 1 Beam on top (really?!) But a well-stocked wing of player flown eagles. You might get one in your crosshairs, but each time you do there would be three others dancing around sniping your subsystems...

Having said that, I also agree, against larger ships you can make one mistake and end up dead.

EDIT: I kinda want to try flying one with three rail guns... You'd run out of ammo so quickly... but I suspect it would be rather fun

[Mouse]

kind of a necro.. but am running an Eagle with 1 gimbled pulse and 2 gimbled Multi Canons. With 3 ticks in weapons I can sustain fire the pulse and have been surprised at how quickly it eats through shields. I don't use the MC's until shields are down then I open up with them. I was running 3 gimbled beams but this set up seems faster. Have not had a huge issue with heat, but if it is a sustained fight I did notice it get closer than I'd like it too with the Beams, with the pulse and MC's I haven't seen it climb at all, even with sustained fire.

Against single targets I've managed Vipers, Adders, Vultures, Imp Couriers, and a single Python, but anything else.. I can only join in if they are engaged with security forces or other wings.

If against wings of mixed cobras, sidewinders, or eagles I usually do pretty satisfactory.. if more than one of anything bigger in the wing then yeah I am at full throttle getting out of dodge.