missiles can be very effective
and so can mines
any more info would be a possible spoiler
as for countermeasures they are a necessity for some situations

Missiles aren't much good unless you are firing them at a ship flying straight at you or are just about sitting on your enemy's tail. Otherwise, they just fly off into space and never hit their target. I just use guns and torps.

Countermeasures can be quite useful when you are running from someone firing cruise interupters at you. e.g. I was jump hole hunting and ended up in the Outcast systems when the Outcasts hated my guts! I could beat them in a fight with the Titan I then had, but I was getting tired out battling 6 or more Sabres every 3 or 4 minutes. So I kicked in the cruise engines and tried to head back for the way I came in. Whenever the Outcasts spotted me and fired distrupter missiles at me, I dropped a couple of countermeasures. These drew away the missiles so that I could keep going for the jump hole. My cargo hold was full and I had dozens of Outcast weapons on board, so I just wanted to get out of there -- and did.

I've dropped a few mines at pursuers, but have no idea if they did any good, since I don't have eyes in the back of my head. At least dropping them makes you feel like you are doing something, useful or not.






Juni: "Trent, we've got to go faster!"

Puke, eyes no, but you do have a "Look behind you" key...

If it wasn't for the inky blackness of the night you wouldn't appreciate the brilliance of the stars...

Guns are easier, but if you put your mind to it, missiles can be quite effective--you just need to know where to place the missile you're using.

On a lark the last time I went through SP, in my Starflier I mounted a Javelin Launcher on the 3rd Starflier hardpoint, and learned how to best use the dumbfire missile. First, even the "dumbfire" missiles have homing ability, they just don't turn as well as the seekers. Second, if you hit a ship square on with a missile, it disintegrates--the missiles seem to do up to three times their rated damage if you score direct hits.

My best success with the dumbfires was firing them ahead of an enemy who was turning to face me. If I'd already dropped his shields with guns, the missile was usually a guaranteed kill.

Alas, in the later stages of the game, the expenditure for the more powerful missiles you'd want to use really can add up, so most folks would just slap guns on those hardpoints.

They really should have put missile launcher only hardpoints on the various ships, or make the cruise disruptor/torpedo hardpoints also capable of mounting normal missile launchers.

Mines can be very effective--even if all they do is cause your opponent to jink to avoid. Still, the expenditure at the high end ($7K+ per mine) means you probably don't want to turn every mission area into a "minefield".

--/\/

missiles are okay but guns are more cost efficient. i have 7.7 million credits, played for 90 hours, and never used a missle besides my really good cruise distrupter. i don't even use it that much (mainly cause 1 missile costs 2.7 thousand) nor do i use my countermeasures. i just boost, engine kill, turn towards my back about 100-140 degrees and boost again. very effective at ditching those missles, not cruise distrupts but i have dodged quite a few for some reason...

i use cm's a good bit they do keep the incomming missiles off you and thats important when you have 6 or 7 on you even if you do ahve class 10 shelds all of the class 8 guns and emp missles will wipe it out. mines are good for the same thing they will get a fighter off your tail at least cause a distration or cause some damage

I started out using missles, but then shyed away from them thinking they were useless. It IS true they are not cost effective for SP or simple cashing/missioning...
In MP tho, nowadays, missles have earned my respect once more and have a place in my loadout (shhhh....) very often, especially in smaller ships.

Mines on the other hand are in everyway indispensable, especially ESPECIALLY in smaller ships. Tricky to use, but you'll be glad you learned.

"To the last, I grapple with thee..." -Melville

without a doubt missiles are the main type of weopan with any extreme damage to kill a titan or sabre or eagle quick and fast you need missiles!!!!!!!!!!!

i think they are too expensive, i use only mines, sometimes.
At the moment ( i like the titan, prefer the Armor, its like Battletech, but the eagle and the anubis are the best looking fighter i use only guns, since the moment i get, by accident the diamondbacks. and since I get the Nomad cannons ( died more times to get 4 as in the hole Game no problems any more. But i don't like the outcast systems,they are EXTREME HOSTILE due some contracts in the Past,

after i get the diamondback's and the nomads, i find this site. The Game is more complicatet then it seems at the beginning.

Missiles = good.

Torps = good, but hard to use vs skilled pilots.

I previously thought a torp was a given due to the almost negligable damage of hornets, but I have since discovered wasps and hornets have a great use often overlooked in combat. They can be used to camoflauge incomming missiles so it is hard to pick out what you have to dodge, and what you do not. It can be quite intimidating when you are confronted with a hail of missiles, and it is hard to pick out which of those missiles is a cannonball and not a wasp. The green smoke trail is a dead giveaway, but that's just one more thing to keep track of in a hectic combat.