Missile loadout needed for 1-hit-kill on VHF?

Thu Feb 19, 2004 4:41 am by Yumiko

What missile launchers do I need to equip if I want to be able to get one-hit-kills on VHFs (assuming I've already shot their shield down using my Tizona del Cids)?

Currently I have one Cannonball missile. When I hit an unshielded VHF with it, sometimes it will blow up, but most of the time it will have a 10-40% hull left. So I'd like to add another missile launcher such that if I hit an unshielded VHF with all my missiles, it's guaranteed to explode.

Presumably, another Cannonball missile should do the job, but I don't like that because (1) the ammo is expensive, and (2) if I use a different type of missile then I can carry more ammo.

Would Cannonball and Lancer work? Has anyone else experimented with this?

Thu Feb 19, 2004 5:23 am by [steel]

i would mount a firestalker with the cball

Thu Feb 19, 2004 6:36 am by NukeIt

Sunslayer torps work fine if you have a HF/VHF yourself. As long as your ship is over class 5, you can use a pair or a trio of catapults (remember, all the launchers will draw from the same ammo pool), which do loads of damage for a pretty low price. Turbo with missiles and torps to increase their speed and thus their damage.

----------------------------------------
Proud owner and operator of a Patriot!
Proud owner and operator of a Stiletto!
Proud ally of the Bounty Hunters' Guild!
Proud hater of Nomad weapons!
Proud user of all things underestimated!
----------------------------------------
For the last time...there is no "N" in "TURRET"!

Thu Feb 19, 2004 12:30 pm by Sh|ft

I would have to say 3 Neutralizers (Which i believe is the class 7 EMP Missile) and 3 Cannonballs (Class 9) with a hint of Kraken Turret (Class

. This loadout even works on a Centrion and a Hammerhead, which is able to take out a VHF in one pass with all direct hits.

With a little bit of tweaking, 2 Paralyzers and 4 Cannonballs produce more consistent killage, but requires the Eagle, Sabre or Titan.

And if you so desire, 6 Tizona Del Cid and a Sunslayer Torpedo almost guarantees destruction if it hits dead on.

Thu Feb 19, 2004 12:42 pm by Frobozz

Repost from post I made a while ago:

------snip-------
I have run extensive experiments on my LAN server with two missile launchers.

Results: Not Good News

What I have observed is what I call missile-missile interference.
Yes, shooting two Catapults at a stationary target gets good results.
However, if that target is moving, ONE missile will likely hit first.
What then happens is that if the 2nd missile is within the blast radius,
it gets destroyed BEFORE hitting target. I tried to fix this problem by
using one Homing (@99m/s)and one non-Homing (@90m/s)to get a 9m/s difference.

At long ranges the problem was fixed, but made it even worse at short ranges!

End result seems to indicate only fire ONE missile at time. Therefore that
one should be the largest non-homimg the ship will carry. A second missile
launcher that has a different function (like EMP) can be mounted too tho.

I have even seen (unconfirmed)the two missiles run into each other and
mutually destroy each other! I assume that the ship hardpoints have a
factor here, and two launchers on the same wing would exibit this more
than launchers at maximum separation from each other. Could not reproduce.
------snip-------

I think that firing a mine or Torp at the some time as a C-Ball makes the most sense.
Also, use Starkillers, NOT sunslayers, that's overkill. (and ever hear o Hornets? BooooM!)

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

Thu Feb 19, 2004 2:18 pm by T-hawk

I'll second the recommendation for a Starkiller - Cannonball combo. This usually won't quite be a one-hit kill on VHFs every time, but it'll often be close enough that incidental gun fire will complete the job.

There isn't any 100% sure one-hit-kill against VHFs other than Sunslayers. Something like 3 or 4 Tizonas (6 is overkill and inflexible) plus a Sunslayer launcher is loads of fun, though.

Against AI ships, I can kill two and often three Titans in one head-on pass. (Hammerheads are harder as they can dodge the Sunslayers more often.)

--

Thu Feb 19, 2004 2:42 pm by Yumiko

I'd rather not use multiple missiles of the same type, since that makes it so much easier to run out of ammunition. On my other account, I have a Dromedary with 2 Catapult missiles and I frequently run out of ammunition in the border worlds.

A Cannonball and Firestalker sounds like it would do good damage, but Firestalkers are just as expensive as Cannonballs (7k); it seems that if I spend about 7k killing an enemy, I can afford it, but if it cost double that I couldn't.

With a little bit of tweaking, 2 Paralyzers and 4 Cannonballs produce more consistent killage, but requires the Eagle, Sabre or Titan.

Hmm, that sounds very interesting, although is probably too expensive for me to support currently. So you just fire the Paralyzers followed by the Cannonballs, and you don't even have to aim as accurately as you would if you were using guns, and the target dies?

And if you so desire, 6 Tizona Del Cid and a Sunslayer Torpedo almost guarantees destruction if it hits dead on.

That would actually be fairly economical; a Sunslayer Torpedo only costs about 8k. What about 4 Tizona Del Cid and 2 Nomad Energy Blasters, though? I think both weapon configurations would require exactly 3 hits to down an Adv. Champion H. F. Shield, making the latter better since it also does significant hull damage.

I think that firing a mine or Torp at the some time as a C-Ball makes the most sense.

How do you get the mine to hit?

Also, use Starkillers, NOT sunslayers, that's overkill.

Starkiller does 2424 hull damage. Sunslayer does 11736 hull damage. Doesn't that mean Starkiller isn't powerful enough to blow up an unshielded VHF by itself, while the Sunslayer is? Well, maybe it would be good to combine Cannonball with Starkiller, though.

(and ever hear o Hornets? BooooM!)

Hornet Cruise Disruptors? Do you use that to knock the last sliver of hull off a heavily damaged target, since it's so easy to hit with it?

Thu Feb 19, 2004 9:28 pm by DaVoid

I thought all it took was one Cball to kill any ship except for maybe the Titan?

Fri Feb 20, 2004 3:07 am by Yumiko

I thought all it took was one Cball to kill any ship except for maybe the Titan?

I've hit Hammerheads with a Cannonball Missile after taking down their shield, and they've had as much as 40% hull left.

I'm currently using this build:

4 Tizona del Cid
2 Nomad Energy Cannon
1 Sunslayer Torpedo Launcher

My guns take down even the shield of a VHF very quickly (I calculated it out, and my configuration should take down the strongest shield in 3 hits, and using 6 Tizonas won't do it any faster so that's why I have 2 Nomads), after which I just have to hit them with a torpedo and the fight is over.

I had a $200k mission today, where I had to kill someone. I just went in, shot out his shields, launched a torpedo and the mission was over before it really started. I love this thing! The cost of the torpedoes isn't too bad; as long as I don't waste too many torpedoes, I turn an easy profit on missions.

Edited by - Yumiko on 2/20/2004 3:10:06 AM

Fri Feb 20, 2004 6:03 am by NukeIt

It seems to me the damage done by a missile is modified by too many factors to be able to predict whether or not you'll do maximum damage with it. Maybe you'll get half its payload, maybe double, or even triple, depending on how you approach the target, what angle it hits at, how fast, etc. I've gotten one hit VHF(NPC) kills with torps or other big missiles, and sometimes it's taken two or three.

That bit about the multiple missile blowing each other up is interesting...I must admit, I never thought about that, assuming instead that one missed or the launch angle was messed up.

----------------------------------------
Proud owner and operator of a Patriot!
Proud owner and operator of a Stiletto!
Proud ally of the Bounty Hunters' Guild!
Proud hater of Nomad weapons!
Proud user of all things underestimated!
----------------------------------------
For the last time...there is no "N" in "TURRET"!

Fri Feb 20, 2004 7:12 am by Yumiko

> I've gotten one hit VHF(NPC) kills with torps or other big missiles, and
> sometimes it's taken two or three.

Have you ever had a torpedo hit an *unshielded* VHF, without destroying it?

Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:05 am by Frobozz

I think that firing a mine or Torp at the some time as a C-Ball makes the most sense.

How do you get the mine to hit?

Myself I just will put the C-ball, Starkiller (if I have 1) and Cutter mine all on the same
wep group. They all fire at once. In a joust scenario, the opponent is coming head-on
to you and therefore will be in the mine's range after he passes you. It may hit, or not.

Starkiller does 2424 hull damage. Sunslayer does 11736 hull damage. Doesn't that mean Starkiller isn't powerful enough to blow up an unshielded VHF by itself, while the Sunslayer is? Well, maybe it would be good to combine Cannonball with Starkiller, though.

(and ever hear o Hornets? BooooM!)

Hornet Cruise Disruptors? Do you use that to knock the last sliver of hull off a heavily damaged target, since it's so easy to hit with it?

Proper missile/torp use means you fire under thrust and that torp moving at 250
does quite a bit more damage than the data says it should.

I love it when I see a sunslayer user, I hornet their torp as soon as they fire.
The BooooM! is their ship, caught in the blast of their own torp.

Edited by - Frobozz on 2/20/2004 10:19:00 AM

Fri Feb 20, 2004 3:38 pm by Yumiko

Proper missile/torp use means you fire under thrust and that torp moving at 250
does quite a bit more damage than the data says it should.

Is the damage multiplier the same for missiles and torpedoes?

Because a Starkiller torpedo does less damage than a Cannonball missile, and I know a Cannonball missile can't kill a VHF in one hit usually, so I would think that a Starkiller torpedo has even less of a chance.

Fri Feb 20, 2004 4:02 pm by NukeIt

Have you ever had a torpedo hit an *unshielded* VHF, without destroying it?

I wan't clear enough....I was not referring to torpedoes directly, but other types of projectiles, specifically missiles and mines. The third period leftover sleepiness must have messed with my head while I was posting.

----------------------------------------
Proud owner and operator of a Patriot!
Proud owner and operator of a Stiletto!
Proud ally of the Bounty Hunters' Guild!
Proud hater of Nomad weapons!
Proud user of all things underestimated!
----------------------------------------
For the last time...there is no "N" in "TURRET"!

Mon Feb 23, 2004 9:06 am by Frobozz

"Proper missile/torp use means you fire under thrust and that torp moving at 250
does quite a bit more damage than the data says it should."

Is the damage multiplier the same for missiles and torpedoes?

Because a Starkiller torpedo does less damage than a Cannonball missile, and I know a Cannonball missile can't kill a VHF in one hit usually, so I would think that a Starkiller torpedo has even less of a chance.

Well, perhaps this should be called 1-pass-kill rather than 1-hit-kill.
I say fire C-ball (4890), Starkiller (2424), and Cutter mine (2120) all at once.
TDCs hit first, C-ball hits second, and if either torp or mine connects it's a kill.

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

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