Rusalka
| Rusalka | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Faction | Inner Sphere | |
| Ticket cost: | 10 upon destruction | |
| Tier: | 10 | |
| Tonnage: | 65 tons | |
| Variant Armament | ||
| Variant | Weapons | Equipment |
| Prime: Class: Attacker Price: 95 700 CBills Total Armor: 24 973 Maneuverability: 5.3 Max Speed: 467 km/h Opt. Turning: 290 km/h |
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| A: Class: Fighter Price: 86 500 CBills Total Armor: 24 973 Maneuverability: 6.6 Max Speed: 488 km/h Opt. Turning: 285 km/h |
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| B: Class: Attacker Price: 99 000 CBills Total Armor: 24 973 Maneuverability: 5.3 Max Speed: 467 km/h Opt. Turning: 290 km/h |
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| C: Class: Fighter Price: 82 100 CBills Total Armor: 24 973 Maneuverability: 6.6 Max Speed: 488 km/h Opt. Turning: 285 km/h |
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| D: Class: Attacker Price: 91 500 CBills Total Armor: 24 973 Maneuverability: 5.3 Max Speed: 467 km/h Opt. Turning: 280 km/h |
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| E: Class: Bomber Price: 96 600 CBills Total Armor: 25 888 Maneuverability: 4.1 Max Speed: 448 km/h Opt. Turning: 295 km/h |
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| F: Class: Bomber Price: 98 500 CBills Total Armor: 25 888 Maneuverability: 4.1 Max Speed: 448 km/h Opt. Turning: 295 km/h |
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| G: Class: Bomber Price: 106 000 CBills Total Armor: 25 888 Maneuverability: 4.1 Max Speed: 448 km/h Opt. Turning: 295 km/h |
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| Armor Points Distribution | ||
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All stats current as of release 0.15.3
The Rusalka is a Inner Sphere Aerospace dogfighter with excellent speed and armor for dueling other fighters. Capable of sustained bursts of up to five-and-a-half Gs, one of these fighters can be more than enough for an enemy to handle. Most identified configurations in Lore focus on energy weapons for maximum combat endurance, enabling this agile fighter to hang in the fight longer.
Note in Stats the; Maneuverability / Max Speed / Optimal Turning Speed, between the 3 different classes.
Contents
Roles and Gameplay Hints
Prime
A flexible Attacker capable of hitting most targets, though it requires long attack runs which can leave it vulnerable. A Heavy PPC delivers splash damage (and huge heat spikes) while four Air ERML pick out specific components for destruction. The two LRM10 racks are nice to have, although they alert targets to your approach and add to an already toasty per-run heat burden. Two Laser Guided Bombs enhance the first run alpha strike or help pick off damaged foes, but beware the painfully long stare time required to guide them in—if you break off, the bombs will miss. All in all, a viable Rusalka but not one commonly seen.
Variant A
A Fighter with a strong focus on air-to-air combat. Two Air TBolts seek out and destroy enemy fighters' engines while 2x Large X-Pulse Lasers chew through armor. Larger fighters can't ignore you, making this a good counter to enemy Shivas and Xerxes. But the lack of a single high-alpha damage source makes it harder to engage smaller, more nimble targets.
Variant B - "Morrigan"
A long-range Attacker with a BAP for enhanced target detection, and an Air LtGauss and two ERPPCs as long-range armament. Because the weapons don't share a travel time, they are probably best fired in separate groups. Two Cluster Bomb Units will help soften or finish up targets if the airspace is permissive, but the Morrigan is generally a better pick for situations where you can't get close to your targets due to ground fire.
Variant C
A Fighter with plenty of ammo for its three Air Rotary AutoCannon 2s. The spin-up on the autocannons means it's best to use them as hoses, especially against larger air targets; correct the stream of tracers onto the target. WWithin 400m, four Air Small Extended Range Lasers add a useful hitscan alpha. Like the Rusalka A, this variant is best used to deny airspace to large enemy ASF.
Variant D - "Incus"
The premium Attacker variant, and probably the most commonly sighted Rusalka on the field, the 'Incus' is limited not by ammunition or armor but by the endurance of its heat sinks. Each attack run deals out massive splash damage and screenshake with two Air MRM30s and an HPPC, and the addition of two High Explosive Bombs on the first pass can often secure a single-pass kill. But between weapons fire and afterburner, the Incus will probably leave each pass with heatsink damage. It's not uncommon to suicide by melting yourself by using all your weapons when your heatsinks are already damaged. Note that in a pinch the HPPC is a decent air to air weapon.
Variant E
When aided by a NARC or TAG, the Rusalka E as a truly formidable weapons platform. With the proper guidance, the E can strike from over 1300m away with two Air LRM20s and two Laser Guided Bombs. When acquiring its own targets, the E should launch it's bombs from just inside 1500m from the target. As it guides the bombs toward their target, the E becomes a stare-down plane with even more damage in the form of a Air RAC5 and 2x Air ERMLs. Funds permitting, the whopping 5 Free Tons of Ammo should be used for a single ton of RAC ammo and four spare bombs.
Variant F - "Malleus"
Like its cousin the Incus, the Malleus is built around a single massive main gun—in this case, anAir HGauss. Although technically a Bomber, the Malleus can down enemy ASF in as little as one or two hits with this weapon, and two Air LPLs are perfect for finishing off damaged rivals. As soon as you've fired the Heavy Gauss you can break off your run, but the closer you get to the target before firing the more damage it'll do, creating an interesting risk/reward tradeoff. Five free tons let you carry spare Heavy Gauss ammo as well as four reloads for your pair of Cluster Bombs, which should be used to pile area damage onto a target you've breached with your guns. Enemy ASF must respect the Malleus whenever it's present, making you a double threat to air and ground alike—but also a primary target for enemy fighters.
Variant G
A Bomber with two standard Particle Projection Cannons and an Air UAC20, which will deliver massive screenshake and damage—if you can survive the long, flat run required to use the autocannon. By the time you're on top of the target, short range missiles and High Explosive Bombs provide followup and the chance for a one-pass kill. Four Free Tons allow for bomb reloads. This variant is not well suited for contested airspace, but can absolutely devastate targets in more permissive environments.
History
Rusalka was released in update 0.9.2, alongside the Anubis and Mithras.
Canon
The second in the Word of Blake's Spectral trio of Omnifighters, the Rusalka is among the Blakists' greatest feats of aerospace engineering. Incorporating excellent speed, maneuverability, and protection into one craft, Blakist engineers managed to make enough room to allow 33 tons of pod space. This all converges to make the Rusalka an especially deadly dogfighter, all the more augmented by the fighter's high endurance, thanks to its fixed eleven double heatsinks. The Prime - or Invictus - configuration mounts an ERPPC, an LRM-15 with Artemis IV, four ER Medium Lasers, two Medium Pulse Lasers, and an aft-mounted ER Small Laser.
Date Introduced 3071 during the Era known as "Jihad" (3068 - 3085) - Unit Role: Fast Dogfighter
