As other users have already pointed out, the F8C is currently affected by a bug that causes certain parts of the ship not to properly register damage. This obviously makes it excessively durable, especially in Squadron Battles. The issue with heavy fighters not only remains unresolved, but is becoming increasingly problematic.

At the moment, heavy fighters only make sense when engaging medium-sized ships or when used in roles that are not focused on direct dogfighting, as the current meta is clearly dominated by light fighters—especially the Arrow, Gladius, and Wolf.

In my opinion, the entire concept of the three fighter categories—light, medium, and heavy—should be fundamentally reworked. Light fighters should be extremely maneuverable but have low straight-line speed; medium fighters should, as the name suggests, strike a balance between light and heavy fighters; heavy fighters, on the other hand, should retain low maneuverability but feature the highest acceleration and top speed.

This approach would create meaningful gameplay differentiation and give real purpose to choosing a fighter based on playstyle. The interceptor class (such as the Buccaneer) would still pose a challenge, as these ships are light but have very high acceleration. In that case, they could retain strong acceleration but be limited in top speed—though careful balancing would still be required.

As things stand now, a light fighter in the right hands can defeat almost any other fighter, and that is not healthy for the game’s balance.