The Treb is not designed as a dogfight missile. It is for killing people at long range. Sniping them off before they get a chance to fire back. Harpoons, Hornets(Buh) and Tornadoes are for dogfighting.
Actually, I would only take Tempests if I had to just do dogfighting. Rockeyes are too slow and unmaneuverable, and aspect lock takes too much time and even then a Harpoon will miss if the target has a lot of angular velocity in relation to you (ie. if it's close and flying sideways).
Harpoons are excellent approach and chase missiles, and same applies to tornadoes to lesser extent, but Hornets are just waste of secondary space against fighters. Bombers and cruisers on the other hand can suffer quite a bit from a wing of Herc 2's unleashing their Hornet missile salvos. Rockeyes work against bomb because they home into them, but they don't require time to lock into them AND they have longer range than Harpoons.
Trebuchets are excellent for three things:
1. Taking off enemy bombers at long range before they get to launch their torpedoes.
2. Taking off capship turrets.
3. Harassing approaching fighters from long distance and even scoring kills, or at least reducing their hull quite a bit. Basilisk fighters in High Noon are perfect example of this...
What I don't understand is why the GTVA hasn't issued a bomb-deterrent missile with heatseeking system and minimal payload? Kinda like guided Morningstar, but with smaller fire rate. It couldn't be used against fighters or bombers, but it would nevertheless be useful in intercept missions.
Now, what bomb is the
best, I would have to answer the GVB Sekhmet. However, it's practically a downgraded Vasudan Nahema so that's not really very strange at all... I still don't like it. I prefer flying terran craft for some reason.
What I like most is a tricky question. The problem is, I don't really like bombers at all. I like the GTB Ursa best of Terran bombers because it can take enough punishment to let me do the work of my squadmates who can't fly bombers AND its hull plating is strong enough to do the work of the escort fighters who can't do escort duty. I don't know why the AI bomber pilots don't fly close enough to avoid flak guns destroying half of the bombs or more, but nevertheless the player usually ends up doing most of the job in bombing missions.
It's a horrid brick to fly and looks like it too, but it's the most functional bomber in current AI conditions. And after I fixed the viewpoint for myself, it also has a nice cockpit view...
I don't know who positioned the viewpoint to the rear cockpit and decided to put a huge bar in front of the backseat pilot's face, but anyway... the frontseat view works rather fine.
On the other hand, the Artemis bomber is a good choice for wasting cruisers, and it can also defend itself to some extent. It's an excellent light bomber despite limited primary selection. If it would have two slots - one for Prom S / other general type weapon, and another for Maxim...