I've received numerous compliments for my piloting with the S-12 Blackbolt on Ilireth from a lot of folks - both wingman and enemy pilots alike - and my scorecards speak plainly enough. So I thought I'd share the build so that folks can get in on the fun.
Most builds for GSF usually boast tacking on damage after damage in order to maximize your damage, with the theory that more damage equals more kills. It is my experience that this is not actually helpful to -winning- a match. And since my personal philosophy is that a match win is better than topping the scoreboard, I've built this ship to take advantage of teamwork to gain kills rather than damage.
In gameplay, this ship is designed around PREVENTING the badguys from getting a kill, not necessarily to get all the kills yourself. That's just a side effect. Hug close to terrain when flying to or away from the badguys, approach from the side and never head on, and don't be afraid to just wound a target before zipping away. This isn't a lancer to joust in and then escape, but maneuverability keeps you alive. Getting stuck in a circle-strafing duel just makes you fodder for gunships.
Managing your power pools will require getting good at swapping power modes on the fly, but favor the engine power set over the weapon - weapon power recharges far faster than engine power with this build. This can lead to situations where you need to run but have an empty engine if you're not careful. This is one of the reasons I end up favoring Distortion Field over Snap Turn for missile breaks.
Components:
Primary Weapon: Light Laser Cannon
T3 - Critical Hit Chance, T4 - Increased Hull Damage
While a lot of conventional wisdom says to go with Laser Cannons over Lights, this loadout is all about putting as much hurt in on a target as quickly as possible. Lights have a huge rate of fire advantage over Laser Cannons in this regard, despite being shorter range.
Secondary Weapon: Sabotage Probes
T3 - Engine Suppression, T4 - Speed Reduced
Most Blackbolt pilots run Rocket Pods or Thermite for extra direct damage - but preventing a ship from turning prevents them from chasing your team mates to score a kill, and preventing them from using their System ability can shut down defenders on satellites. Add on top of that a decent DOT to help in case they escape your initial burst, and you have a weapon that royally frustrates even veteran players. The T3 and T4 upgrades just add gravy on top to keep them from escaping you as you mop up with blasters.
Systems: Targeting Telemetry
T3 - Threat Evaluation, T4 - Precision Targeting
A fairly standard ability to have on Blackbolts, and is possibly the best ability in GSF. With the insane cooldown time compared to the ability length, you can literally keep this ability going on almost all of your kills. The T3 upgrade is nonstandard, but having the evasion turns this ability into both an offensive and defensive buff - which helps prevent other ships from dropping you while you line up a target.
Shields: Distortion Field
T3 - Disable Enemy Missile Lock
Another fairly standard addition, evasion boost enhances your survivability, and once T3 becomes unlocked will be your primary missile break during gameplay.
Engines: Snap Turn
T3 - Increased Ship Speed
Non-conventional, since most will suggest Barrel Roll, however with how often I find myself focused by an enemy team this ability helps against pursuers far more than Barrel Roll. The largest trick is getting used to the boost that comes AFTER the turn, but immediately doing a 180 has gotten me more than a few kills on pilots who thought they were the one about to do the killing.
Armor: Lightweight Armor
Standard issue evasion boost.
Capacitor: Frequency Capacitor
Since the goal is to do as much damage quickly as possible, having this capacitor increase the already impressive Rate Of Fire for Light Laser Cannons to ridiculous amounts.
Sensors: Dampening Sensors
Good for both getting the drop on a target and for escaping pursuers. This really shines when it comes to gunships, already notorious for their tunnel-vision, who won't see you coming from the side until it's already too late.
Thrusters: Regeneration Thrusters
You're going to be boosting and flying at full speed a lot. This will help you get your juice back faster.
Crew:
Copilot: Blizz
Having the repair increases your staying power, which keeps you throwing people off kills. Switching out for the other crew's skills can give you a better offensive edge, but I've found that with how often I get focused in a match, staying a live longer keeps people chasing me more - which keeps them from scoring.
Offensive: Gault
Rapid Reload, Pinpointing
Pinpointing increases accuracy, which increases your blaster damage significantly. Rapid reload makes the Probe reload time the same as the duration, which keeps your target locked permanently if they survive the first Probe.
Defensive: Vector
Power to Shields, Response Tuning
More evasion never hurts. Ever. Larger shields equals beefier defenses, which is good for when those stray shots find their mark.
Tactical: Talos Drelik
Peripheral Vision, Silent Running
Buffs sensor dampening makes you harder to spot, and buff to sensor radius makes it easier to find a target.
Engineering: Blizz
Power to Engines, Efficient Maneuvers
Without this little guy you'll be running out of engine power fast and going nowhere faster. Increase in Engine Power Pool and Engine Power Regeneration are what keeps you the most mobile on the battlefield.
