The fast-firing fast-turning Stalker type missiles are not very useful - they are comparatively expensive and do very little damage, yet they consume a weapon hardpoint that could mount a good gun or a powerful missile launcher. Their only use is probably on the Humpback and in player duels.

The slower Javelin type missiles (Slingshot, Catapult, Lancer, Cannonball) do good damage - up to three times their specified nominal damage if launched well - but Catapult and above are very expensive. Torpedoes give you more bang for your buck but only heavy fighters can use them; on a light fighter or freighter you have to make do with missiles or guns alone although mines can be very useful against stationary or semi-stationary targets (shield generators, battleships, Titans). The Javelin type missiles have the same damage rate as the Stalker type thingies but a full pod of ammo lasts twice as long and their higher damage per projectile makes them more suitable for fire-and-forget tactics.

The key to achieving maximum damage with missiles/torpedoes is launching them at top afterburn speed (200 m/s) against an unshielded enemy, so that the projectile does full rather than only nominal damage. You'll get a distinctive boom when that happens, and a single armour hit with a well-launched Starkiller torpedo or Lancer missile will kill anything less than a Centurion/Hammerhead with full armour. For class 9/10 enemies you need two torps/missiles for quick kills; launch one at edge of range (~ 1km), start beating down the shield when you enter gun range and launch the second projectile at the same time. Of course, you have to beat down the shield before the missiles/torps hit home but if you have a shield killer gun then this is not a problem. A set of decent hull guns can often take out the shield fast enough during head-on encounters, but only shield busters guarantee timely removal of the enemy shield in all situations, especially in furballs.

An easy + fun way for getting the hang of missile combat is to duel in unshielded Startrackers/Bloodhounds with no weapons except for a single Javelin launcher. Pack plenty of nanos - they run out faster than the missiles and you have to die to replenish supplies. Starfliers work almost as well but you have to respawn more often because a well-launched Javelin kills a Starflier in a single hit.

Also, consider using missile pairs against low-level enemies, especially if you fly a ship that has trouble launching missiles well (heavy fighter, freighter). A Javelin/Slingshot pair packs a lot of punch and is very cost-effective, and it kills low-level enemies reliably even if you do not get the full bonus damage. Similar considerations apply to Slingshot+Catapult against medium enemies; this package is slightly more expensive than using Starkiller torpedoes but you usually get more good firing opportunities for the missiles than for the Starkillers.

BTW, missiles are less appealing for light fighters like the Banshee because you cannot have a missile launcher and a shield buster and a decent set of hull guns. The Dagger with its five hardpoints is an exception. On a normal light fighter with four hardpoints I'd use a shield buster and three good hull guns. A Banshee with Lancer missile launcher, Debilitator/Rapier shield buster and a pair of decent class 6 hull guns that match the shield buster projectile speed (Adv. Tarantula or Sunblast for Debilitator, Pyros Type 3 for Rapier) is a lot of fun but it is an expensive hobby.

I think that I will try it out with a cannonball missle. I would try it with torpedoes but I don't think that they are fast enough. And I know that Boom that you are talking about. I have heard it a few times. It's the on that you really want to see but because it is right around you, you can't. Comes in so good through the speakers but can't see it.

Oh well.

"On this ship you are to refer to me as Idiot, not you Captain. I mean... you know what I mean."

Try using your thruster to get to top speed then hit the z key to coast. Then when you stop they come at you in a straight line. its easer than tryin to follow them around. =) fire a missle just as they pass you (if they are still alive) and they can't dodge it at all. You can also drop a mine if you have then. its the only way i have found any use for them

It Wasn't Me !! ;D

Brutal Dawn .... ie lookin up and seeing light outside the window knowing you have to go to work and haven't had any sleep... then noticing you forgot about the girl in your bed !

Edited by - DatNiqqa on 05-09-2003 09:52:34

i use also the javalin type of missiles...

if u maybe know i did the div 43 missions (230k to 240k) from planet malta... i tried that first with guns and 2 slingshot missile launchers (class 3) on my wing, but was easy target for them... i used also a torp launcher, the sunslayer torp... goes a little faster then the starkiller torp...

the cost of my ammo after the missions where about 180k each time...

i knew that my setup wasn't good against shield, or good against shields but weak against armor... so i did some other tactic... 2 slingshot missiles (class 3), 1 adv. scorpion (class 3), 2 class 4 EMP-missiles (forgot the name ) and a pyros type 1 turret (class 4)... in the first accounter i shoot 2 emp-missiles and a torp to them... after that 2 slingshot missiles and a torp... till ur in the close range fight, then u start shoot with ur 2 guns and only with the missiles when u know it will be a hit (even then u got a hit percantage of maybe 90% against the hammerhead, that can be maybe 95% or maybe more against sabre and almost 100% against titans (the flying whale)).

i like to use missiles, co'z i trained myself to use them know... i have also mines onboard, but use them less... i know a little about them... need to know how to use them wel... but if they not at ur tail u don't have to use them...

about the speed/damage.... can some1 tell me how hight the damage is by launch speed of 0, 200, 300 (missile speed will be 90 and 290, 390)

if u know how much that change u can do the same with guns... co'z speed change is in percentage a little lower... like the kraken type 1 & 2 by speed 0 is 700 and range 700, by speed 300 is range 1000 and speed 1000, so the slower is 30% lower, by missiles it will be a lot more...

In my experience, and due to some conjecture from one Meiyo_Chie (props where due) and some experimentation based on his conjecture, we have determined the extra damage from missiles to be from the 'destroyable' components on a ship. When you hit a ship with an explosion, you do damage to the hull, left wing, right wing, tailfin etc, and since any damage to a component translates equal damage to the hull, the end result is 1X damage for every component the explosion hits + the original hull damage. Usually that can be 4-5X damage.

I don't know if having someone blow off your extra components beforehand (repairing hull damage with bots) will make missiles less threatening - i haven't tested it. I suspect that it might however. In any case, damage is not truly related to speed - it's related more to hit location, since a hit in the right spot will tag multiple components with the blast. This might have been expected as mines do multiple damage even though they aren't affected by speed of the fighter. It also makes sense when you consider that missiles suck vs shields, which is mainly because there are no exposed components useable for multiplying damage - you get single damage vs the shield. Additionally, we have tested missiles fired from a dead stop, and they are fully capable of an instant kill on a shieldless opponent if they hit the right spot.

Stalker-type missiles can be very effective. Duel firestalkers will still do an instant-kill in most (shieldless) situations; the big problem is buying the ammo - you need green rep for sunstalker ammo, and max green rep for firestalker ammo. You won't see alot of people flying around with dual-firestalker loadouts because they are cost-prohibitive and hard to re-arm. That doesn't mean they can't work well though. I've had many lessons in my game career in not paying attention to the common perceptions of 'best loadout'.

Hmm.. for tactics? When you hear "Incoming missile" drop a hornet/wasp. It will usually intercept the incoming missile and destroy it. Same thing with torpedos, except most fire the torpedo at the last second and you probably won't hear an incoming warning, but you can anticipate the firing of the torp, and drop a wasp right before you pass. Also, if you find everyone is doing this to you (blowing your missiles using wasps) then fire a few wasps/hornets of your own - they cause the same 'incoming missile' warning, and might psych them out into firing their counter-missile early. These tactics FYI are very gaurded by the people who use them, but i believe in free sharing of information.

And finally, leave the Cmeasures on auto-fire. They might be near useless in AI combat, but they are reasonably effective in a duel situation, when in a turning battle (missiles are very effective in circling fights). Flares might not be all that effective (20-40% maybe?), but given how cheap they are, the cost-effectiveness can not be beat.