Missiles and Torpedoes: Are they worth it?

[uvelius]

When outfitting my Fuel Rat Racer I considered equipping it with a complete set of torpedoes if anyone pops up trying something nasty during a Rescue. Target: Deal out quick one-time death. That would be six torpedoes for an ASP or some for a DBX.

How is your experience with missiles and Torpedoes post-1.4? Are they worth the effort once the enemies shields are down? Or are they still empty shells? As said, they are equipped as emergency gear, so not for long-term hunting missions or such.

[LionRed]

I have some (limited) experience with missiles, I have had my cobra equipped with one missile rack. What I can say, on a duel with another Cobra after I manage to take shield down 2 missiles blow it up or nearly. In my opinion missiles are very effective with maneuverable target, when locked on they never miss the target except if your enemy have countermeasures.

[uvelius]

Interesting, thanks.
There are only "Missiles" and "Torpedoes" out there right now, correct?

[Roger Wilco Jr]

I remember missiles being a huge part of the original Elite (for PC), or was that Oolite? Anyway, I haven't even tried them yet. I guess they're not really practical for BH in a RES. But for trader defense, I guess they can work pretty well, as long as you have lasers to take down the shields. I may have to experiment with them just to see what they can do.

[MrGuarnere]

I always love lock on missiles in these types of games but everyone says they are useless and I never really see anyone use them.

Might give them a go in the Python just for a laugh

[LionRed]

Interesting, thanks.
There are only "Missiles" and "Torpedoes" out there right now, correct?

Yes, only Missiles and Torpedoes. But two type of missiles "Dumbfire" or "Seeker"

[TorTorden]

For one it appears if your opponent has a point defenfe, they will never get there. If they have shields up they do practically zero damage. And with how spawning and instancing is broken in this game you wouldn't use them for pve since you would run too soon.

[JohnLuke]

I was winged up with a 'conda pilot recently, who used seeker missles. They were VERY effective for hull damage, as long as the enemies shields were down.

[Loriath]

I have a Sidewinder with a Rail Gun and Seekers. It is a blast at the Nav Beacon. Just don't start fights without backup in the Sidewinder

[UnmarkedBoxcar]

I was winged up with a 'conda pilot recently, who used seeker missles. They were VERY effective for hull damage, as long as the enemies shields were down.

Wasn't me, was it?



To answer your question: I use seeker missiles on the two small hardpoints on my Anaconda for a few reasons.

1) Missile damage is not restricted by weapon class, only the amount of ammunition is. For example, a "small" missile launcher only has twelve rounds worth of ammunition, but it is still a "B" ranked weapon. (To put that into perspective, a large Plasma Accelerator is also a "B" ranked weapon.) So the damage of a small missile rack is the same as a medium one, you just have less ammunition.

2) in my rather slow Anaconda, Missiles are very handy for shieldless fighters/small craft that decide they'd rather run away than stay and get blown up by my beams and MC. Seekers will lock on even when they are not in your current weapons fire group, so you can quickly switch to a separate fire group (as long as you've been aimed at your target for a bit) fire some missiles, then switch back without having to wait for a lengthy lock on timer.

And...yeah. Very very effective against hull, but don't even bother firing them against shielded targets.