[ChronoReverse]

Eh, I find the gun placements for the Myrmidon just fine.  The key is to realize that they are different and thus have to be used differently (of course, in multi it's different but I'm referring to campaign).  It's harder to land all four shots, but it's easy to land two.  The shots tend to "bracket" the target and lands hits when the AI decides to go into the evade mode.  Not that I have that much trouble landing shots even in Hard.

I'm also not sure why you think Prom-S uses too much power as even in Hard mode it's not that bad.  Of course, my preferred method of dispatching targets is to use all six banks of Prom-S and blow away targets with a few shots (unless it's something like a dragon on full evade).  Besides, if I'm taking out subsystems, I'll be using the Trebuchet first.

Having 6 banks is also rather useful against the supremely heavy bombers like Seraphim.  You can't spend too much time trailing them with their turrets and being able to blow away the shields quickly is rather nice.

[Scotty]

Myrm can mount Trebs too, so I don't get why you mentioned the Perseus using them.

The Myrmidon can still intercept very nicely.  A top speed of 75 m/s with normal engine energy is nothing to sneeze at, with the ships you usually get to pick from.  Overclocking gets all the way up to 95 m/s.  The Perseus has a grand total of 5 m/s at either on the Myrm, and 5 m/s on burners.  However, the Myrm can bring the primary and secondary power to bear when it gets to bombers to shred them at a rate that the Perseus could never match.

That firepower also allows it to assault better than the Perseus with more hull and shields to boot.  The ONLY thing the Persues has going for it is a measly 5 m/s and a slightly faster turn over the Mrym, since both can carry the same amount of ordinance.  In face, since the Mrym can carry three different secondaries, it is a hell of a lot more effective than the Perseus at any mission that requires doing more than one thing.

Sure the maneuverability gives it an edge in dogfights, but that's the only real edge it has here, and dogfights are not the entirety of FreeSpace.

[Woolie Wool]

The Myrmidon may have decent normal speed, but it's afterburner is dog slow.

Also you underestimate the Perseus' handling advantage. It is huge. The Myrmidon is a very clumsy craft compared to the Perseus. Its enormous target profile from every angle makes it extremely easy to hit. It can't carry the Harpoon, which is a huge demerit on a fighter (Hornets can't track fighters well, Tornadoes take up too much room, Trebuchets aren't designed for dogfighting, and Rockeyes are terrible in general).  It is completely useless if you actually take three different secondaries because you won't have enough of the first two.

As for dogfighting, dogfighting is pretty much the one thing that you can count on doing in every single mission. Unless you're flying a heavy bomber or doing a stealth recon like Playing Judas, you will be dogfighting somebody at some point. The Perseus has an enormous edge at dogfighting, it gives up next to nothing in secondaries (the Myrmidon's three secondary banks might as well be two unless you enjoy spending half the mission under a support ship), it has more than enough firepower (especially with Kaysers--you don't need more than two Kaysers, and they drain too much energy for any craft except the Ares to handle four), it has nearly as much durability, and it can avoid being hit much more easily.

The Perseus is an amazingly well-balanced craft and is far more deserving of "space superiority" than the Myrmidon. I hated the Myrmidon when I first flew it, and I still hate it now. It's an ungainly, ill-conceived, ugly, bulky pig of a fighter. Its various disadvantages outweigh the value of another couple of gun points.

[Scotty]

 

It's burner is 135.

The Perseus is 140, that's only a 5 m/s difference.

[Snail]

It's burner is 135.

The Perseus is 140, that's only a 5 m/s difference.

The Apollo also had 140...

[Scotty]

That's still not too much faster.  5 m/s does not a decisive advantage give.

That means that after 20 seconds of full burners, the Perseus and Apollo would only be 100 meters ahead at just shy of 3000 meters.

Like I said, hardly a decisive advantage.

[ChronoReverse]

And that's only against the Perseus.  The Apollo may have a 5m/s top afterburner advantage (that you need to accelerate to and don't stay at) but the standard top speed is below the Myrmidon's.  Although as a jack of all trades, the Myrmidon is rather like the more weapons compatible successor of the Apollo.

[Snail]

And that's only against the Perseus.  The Apollo may have a 5m/s top afterburner advantage (that you need to accelerate to and don't stay at) but the standard top speed is below the Myrmidon's.  Although as a jack of all trades, the Myrmidon is rather like the more weapons compatible successor of the Apollo.

The Apollo also had terrible secondary placement for Furys.

[Commander Zane]

But could mount acceptable anti-figther missiles.

[Woolie Wool]

And that's only against the Perseus.  The Apollo may have a 5m/s top afterburner advantage (that you need to accelerate to and don't stay at) but the standard top speed is below the Myrmidon's.  Although as a jack of all trades, the Myrmidon is rather like the more weapons compatible successor of the Apollo.

The Apollo also had terrible secondary placement for Furys.

Nobody used Furies after the Interceptor arrived anyway, except on huge ships you could hit with Furies on an Apollo anyway, and then Hornets made them well and truly obsolete.

[ChronoReverse]

Yeah, I've always used Interceptors and Hornets myself.

Incidentally, the wiki says the Valkyrie and the Apollo have the same shields and armour but I always find my survivability far higher in the Apollo.  I wonder why that is.

[Commander Zane]

Don't know, says they're both 21 meters in length, that doesn't seem right though.

[Woolie Wool]

Because the Apollo has 350 shields and 240 armor while the Valkyrie has 200 and 200.

[ChronoReverse]

That sounds more right than the numbers in the freespace wiki.  Can't take any hits or bumps in the Valkyrie.

[Commander Zane]

The sizes are wrong too, the Valkyrie is 16 meters in length.

[Iranon]

The Apollo's afterburner performance is really good -  better even than that of the Perseus (same speed but lasts longer and recharges more quickly). More importantly, it's as agile as a Loki along the important axes and has a far better target profile than the Myrmidon. However, cruising speed is not the only problem... it rolls like a cow, and has lower weapon energy than modern Terran fighters (100 instead of the usual 150).
There's no real reason to fly it once the Perseus is available (they arguably retired it too soon), but I'm fairly sure that with equally skilled pilots it would win against the Myrmidon... with FS1- or FS2-era weaponry.

*

Calling the Myrmidon a space superiority fighter just shows it in a bad light; its strengths lie elsewhere. When needing to protect something and my own survival is the lesser problem, I might not need better handling. It's still speedy enough to intercept/catch up to the ships I'm supposed to escort after finishing something off. Its firepower might make me prefer it over the Persues - not only does a quad bank have 1/3 more firepower than 2 linked 2-gun banks, it leaves me another bank to play around with advanced toys.
4 general purpose weapons + 2 Morning Stars are often good... the Morning Stars prevent bombers from locking on to our target, but we certainly wouldn't want an even split as they consume quite a bit of energy. Heck, even 4 Subachs (economy mode) + 2 Kaysers (linked fire for a little more oomph) or 2 Prometheus (single bank use for free shots) isn't bad.

Alternatively, it can function as a light assault fighter... again, good firepower and flexibility in armament, and while it's not ideal for tangling with space superiority fighters it's certainly not a helpless target. In this case, I would usually prefer an Erinyes if available though.

[ChronoReverse]

I have trouble being effective in the Erinyes =(.  It may have a lot of primary firepower, but in everything else it's not quite good enough to justify the compromises.

[Solatar]

Most FS2 fighters have the problem that their "overclocked engines" don't do ****...the Erinyes gets you 5 m/s extra. That's what I don't like about it.

As far as assault goes, the Myrmidon isn't that bad.  It can carry Trebs and Tempests, my main assault weapons. The 95 m/s over clocked speed is nice when you have to cover distance.

That said, I rarely ever choose the Myrmidon over any other fighter.  That just goes with my playing style (I like high maneuverability and fast fighters).

[gavilatius]

needs more guns though... well, anything with more guns is always a plus, i'm not in to fast fighters because i'm more of the support role, heavy and slow are my best points. i usually try to claim attention from the battlefield and i put trust in my companions that they'll shoot the idiot behind me...  but i will fight in faster/les armed ships if i feel like it, or crave the good old days of areofighters assault (a game for the n64)

[Androgeos Exeunt]

The speed of the Helios is slightly higher if it is fired from a ship on afterburners, right?

Wouldn't that make the Myrmidon the ideal heavy strike bomber?

My preference has always been a missile boat like the Herc II or the Ares. Until I got creamed multiple times by QuantumDelta in multi, my accuracy with the primaries was more akin to the A-Team firing. It still is to some extent.