Missiles and decoys

[Filippe]

Im opening this thread to ask a common newbie question (i suppose) regarding effective use of missiles.

As far as i've noticed missiles are useless in most cases (unless you're using LRM Hunter or Killer) i've tried quickfire spam and quickfire full lock variations but none of they managed to work well against players (i did took 30% hull of a miner once using quickfire spam).

In my newbish point of view seekers and dumbfires are mostly useless they take a while to lock-on and doesn't track the target too well as quickfire,hunters and killers do (killers are obviusly used against capitals so missing is almost impossible).

In my case missiles are a fair option since mach (better ping server for most players) has a slow ping for me 550ms~,so enemy interceptors literally jump in my front and i cant see the missile hitting (i notice the shield drop though).

So what situation is ideal to missile use? and how can i evade a missile without any decoys?

[Vortrog]

Please search for the 'I suck at allegiance' thread by jukto or someone linkee please. I can't do it from my blackberry.

And you can't hit something with quickfire, there is something wrong

[Elzam_]

If you're trying to use dumbfires in head to head combat, more than likely you won't land them. There's this whole mathematics of how missiles track. Like they always aim for the butt of whatever you're firing at? But due to how you fly it makes it kinda awkward and they wind up dying before they hit somethin.

[Spunkmeyer]

QUOTE (Elzam V. Branstein @ Feb 20 2012, 02:31 PM) If you're trying to use dumbfires in head to head combat, more than likely you won't land them. There's this whole mathematics of how missiles track. Like they always aim for the butt of whatever you're firing at? But due to how you fly it makes it kinda awkward and they wind up dying before they hit somethin.

I don't think I have heard a worse explanation of missile mechanics anywhere

[cashto]

For future reference, the New Pilots Forum is over here.

Quickfires don't pack a whole lot of punch. You have to land a whole rack of them on your target to really do anything, and even then you'll need to finish them off with gatt. This is easier said than done, as an entire volley of QF1 can be easily chaffed away by a single countermeasure. You'll have better results with QF2 and especially QF3, if your comm buys it.

QF will help you stand toe-to-toe with interceptors, but beyond that, they're of limited use.

I can't help you with seeker. I never use them.

Dumbfire is the missle you want to use most of the time -- because it does the most damage, and most of the time, you should be attacking things that don't evade you (much): constructors, miners and bombers. Nine times out of ten you have everything to lose and nothing to gain by dogfighting something that is shooting back at you. You still have to exercise caution to make sure your missles land ... e.g., don't fire at a miner that is flying perpendicular to you; wait until you're right behind it and THEN unload your rack.

[SpkWill]

Nothing will help you land a missile with that amount of lag. If you are pinging 550ms you should stick to proxing and low sig scouting.

[wizard58]

QUOTE (SpkWill @ Feb 20 2012, 11:09 PM) Nothing will help you land a missile with that amount of lag. If you are pinging 550ms you should stick to proxing and low sig scouting.

True u won't hit anything
Tho u can try some lag bombing , just get in a bbr and torment your nans and the ppl trying to kill u by lagging all over the place

[Elzam_]

QUOTE (Spunkmeyer @ Feb 20 2012, 04:58 PM) I don't think I have heard a worse explanation of missile mechanics anywhere

I do my best to make things as difficult as possible. I deal with women all day long, so I gotta be able to keep them on their toes!

[Spunkmeyer]

First, there is a huge difference in tracking ability of level 1, 2 and 3 missiles. It's typically: 1 useless 2 needs some care 3 almost fire and forget.

Second, you cannot fire non-level-3 missiles at a target moving fast at an angle and expect them to hit. They won't.

Third, level 1 missiles will almost never hit targets that change direction after you fire.

Fourth, missile maximum range is correlated to your speed. The faster you go, the farther the missile will reach. Firing near maximum range at a target moving away fast is futile. Just because it locks on doesn't mean the target is in range. (Another reason why chasing scouts in a fig is often dumb)

Fifth, don't rapidly spam quickfires - fire one, watch for the enemy's CF and fire the rest after that. If you don't see it, fire #2 and repeat.

Sixth, missile accuracy, especially level 1 missiles and dumbfires, is directly related to your velocity. If you are sliding around and not moving directly forward, the missile will be doing the same when launched and won't be able to track the target.

Seventh, don't fire dumbfires at point blank range at a moving target. They won't hit. You need a good 300m.

Eight, best time to fire missiles is when the target is slowing down (as in, in a turn) so that when the missile reaches them they are at a standstill.

[Compellor]

QUOTE (Spunkmeyer @ Feb 20 2012, 06:35 PM) Eight, best time to fire missiles is when the target is slowing down (as in, in a turn) so that when the missile reaches them they are at a standstill.

This is how you get dumbfire hits. Is that int shooting your miner about to go below 20 m/s as the miner turns to dock? Launch a dumb as you race to nan the miner and you might just steal the kill from the defending ints or figs.