The T1 air fighter lineup in Beyond All Reason gives you two distinct options. Raptors and Scavengers serve different roles and building the wrong one for your strategy wastes economy.
Raptors are the ARM faction T1 fighter. They come with three guns, which means the displayed DPS rating of 108 per gun actually delivers roughly 324 total damage per second when all weapons fire. The three-weapon array gives Raptors better overall damage output compared to what the single-gun DPS number suggests on the stat screen.
The multi-gun setup also provides spread damage across a wider arc, making Raptors more effective in general dogfighting situations where positioning changes constantly.
Scavengers belong to the COR faction and have a different design philosophy. They trade raw gun count for stronger area-of-effect damage and a more specialized role. Where Raptors excel at sustained multi-target engagement, Scavengers bring concentrated force that punishes clustered units.
The choice between them often comes down to faction selection, but the underlying design principles shape how you use air in each faction's composition.
A common mistake players make is reading the DPS number on a unit and assuming that is its full output. When a unit carries multiple weapons, multiply the per-gun DPS by the gun count. The Cerberus is a ground example of the same principle. Its displayed DPS looks modest until you realize three guns triple the actual output.
This applies to air units just as much. Raptors look weaker on paper than the math supports once you account for all three weapons firing simultaneously.
Raptors work well when you need a flexible T1 air frame that transitions smoothly into mid-game air control. Their sustained damage output holds up across multiple matchups.
Scavengers excel when your strategy involves punishing grouped ground forces or when you want to establish early air aggression with burst damage.
Against heavy anti-air, neither fighter survives long, which means scouting and strike timing matter more than raw unit selection.
Beyond All Reason updates regularly rebalance units. A fighter that dominates one patch may lose its edge after changes hit the changelog. Checking the latest balance notes before committing to a strategy keeps you from investing in a weakened composition.
Previous unit replacements, like Smolders replacing Glitters, have triggered strong community reactions. Each balance change reshapes what works in competitive play.
Knowing when to build Raptors over Scavengers takes practice and feedback. Talking through unit decisions with experienced players accelerates that learning curve significantly. Creed of Champions runs regular training sessions where players break down these exact choices together, with teammates who explain their reasoning instead of dismissing mistakes.
"Creed of Champions is a great place to learn and play BAR in a friendly atmosphere. Training sessions, team gameplay, even some non-BAR stuff. Large cross section of abilities, time zones, and game mode interests." [Crd]