X3AP What's your missile(s) of choice?

[Fenris321]

I'm not sure why but for some reason I've always overlooked missiles, except for the time I had an Aquilo, and since it can only use Flail and the Hammer Heavy Torpedo the choice was easy for selection.

This time around I've started the Albion Prelude main plot and am flying a Centaur. I picked up a few missiles that were floating around (can't remember the type) and used them against smaller ships that wouldn't cooperate by staying in weapons range, and later against a few laser towers ..... I didn't realize how much fun they are

So now I'm looking for a decent missile load out on my Centaur. I have Mosquito missiles set for defense and other than that I'm not sure what else to start looking for. In looking at the wiki it seems as though half the missiles I think look good on "paper" are loot only.

I'm thinking maybe a few Firestorm Torpedos for larger ships when I'm in their blind spot so they don't shoot it down. That leaves me with finding a decent missile for M3's and M4's, and maybe a few for M8's.

Thanks,

[Triaxx2]

Banshee's and Thunderbolts are my missiles of choice for dealing with both M3's and M8's. Fire them in pairs, for both damage and kills. Plus it deals with the tendency for turrets to knock them down. Tempests are also good.

For M4's that's a bit more difficult of a choice. Wasps are super effective because they will surround the target, while Silkworms are capable of very nearly killing most things that they hit in one shot. Buster Sentinels being a prime example of one they can't.

[GCU Grey Area]

I'm thinking maybe a few Firestorm Torpedos for larger ships when I'm in their blind spot so they don't shoot it down.

I'd be careful with that approach. Firestorms have a rather large blast radius, not really ideal for use in close proximity to the enemy, particularly if you fly an M6. In AP Centaur has 600k shields + 240k hull, while Firestorm does 1000k damage = very dead Centaur if it's too close when that Firestorm goes off.

If you want a high-yield missile for that sort of close quarters work suggest trying Tornado instead. It's a dumbfire, swarm missile (8x 50k warheads). Does less damage than Firestorm, but has a faster fire rate (DPS is effectively the same) & blast radius is a lot less hazardous if used at close quarters, or if incoming gunfire prematurely detonates one of the warheads shortly after launch.

[ancienthighway]

M8s: Tomahawk and Mosquito. Easy answer there. It cannot fire any other missile.

Are you flying the M4/M3 or is the AI flying it? Changes the missile loadout in my opinion.

AI M4: MDM and Silkworms. Dragon spam if you can't find Silkworms. (Don't forget to set the chance to fire missiles.)
AI M3: MDM and Thunderbolt (Don't forget to set the chance to fire missiles.)

I limit the choices of what missiles AI has so it doesn't select an ineffective missile for the target. Bigger is a good thing.

Player flown: As above but add Wasp or Hurricane for fast targets. Beluga is a nice M3 choice if you can find them. M5s and even M4 are attacked at range with the Wasp or Hurricane. One Wasp will destroy Most M5s, sometimes two while one Hurricane will without question. 4 or 5 Hurricanes will take down most M4s at while they are at range if you want to thin out the herd.

You do have more flexibility it missile use when you are flying a ship, so try the different missiles and see what you like.

[Sirrobert]

They may be weak as hell but I love my wasps.

I also have a soft spot for anything with Proximity detonation

[paulhamm]

For my money. The best missile in the game to take out anything smaller than an m7 is an over tuned shrike with turbo booster. Except fast M5s where hurricane is likely better.

[Zaitsev]

For M5s and M4s I usually just spam Wasps, with the occasional Hurricane for the few fighters that the Wasp isn't fast enough to catch. For anything bigger I tend to use liberal amounts of Typhoons, with a Firestorm or two thrown in for good measure if it's a big target. The Typhoon swarm keep the turrets busy, giving the Firestorm a bigger chance to get through and do its thing.

[Graaf]

As a trader the only missiles I store for future use are Hammerheads. Everything else gets sold to the nearest Equipment Dock.

[Monkeyfister]

For M4-M3, and even for M6's, I like to lay out a couple of Wasps at a target, and then follow-up with either a Hurricane or two or a Tempest.

I like shooting Tempests, as they re-acquire a new target if its original target is destroyed before impact.

Thunderbolts, Tornadoes and Typhoons are great for M6 and M7s.

I still really like keeping some Wasps on just about every ship, as they have good range, and confound enemy turrets.

[Fenris321]

Thanks everyone, looks like a lot of good info here. After reading more on the wiki about missiles it looks like the wasp is actually a great missile for catching those small annoying craft and overwhelming missile defense on larger ones while the heavy hitters make contact. A lot of other good info here as well, although it looks like if I really want to use missiles as an option I should start building complexes just for that .... and well I don't think I'm ready to spend money on complexes for a Centaur . I will get on that as soon as I figure out what my "main" ship is going to be though.

One question about the wasp missiles, according to the wiki:
"Despite being very good at catching M5s and M4s, the Wasp may have trouble hitting the craft when launched in numbers due to a bug that causes the missiles to sometimes miss the hitbox; thus, it may be advisable to launch the missile in one or two volleys and at very close ranges."

Has anyone noticed this problem in their game?

EDIT: I said I needed to find decent missiles for M3' and M4's, what I should have typed was decent missiles to use against them. But with the info here it looks like a lot of good options were given. So thanks again

[Timsup2nothin]

One question about the wasp missiles, according to the wiki:
"Despite being very good at catching M5s and M4s, the Wasp may have trouble hitting the craft when launched in numbers due to a bug that causes the missiles to sometimes miss the hitbox; thus, it may be advisable to launch the missile in one or two volleys and at very close ranges."

Has anyone noticed this problem in their game?

I don't notice this problem, but that doesn't mean I don't have it.

Primarily my use of Wasps involves the Khaak cluster that busts before I can hit it with something to eliminate it in one go. When that happens I pretty much just alternate between the 'launch' button and the 'next target' button for what seems like it should be long enough. Generally speaking when I wade in to kill the fighter there are few annoying scouts to contend with, if any.

If Wasps are wandering off, vaporizing, turning into asteroids...I would likely never know it.

[Monkeyfister]

INRE: The Wasp thing.

I've looked at this. It seems if you launch no more than two per target at a time, they hit with no issues. If you fire 3 or more, the rest past the first two will tend to go awry.

At range, I flip through targets, launch two Wasps per M5-M3 (only 1 per M5), and then start again with Hurricanes or Tempests (depending on what's left), beginning with remaining M5s first, so those Tempests that need to re-acquire a target will move up the food chain.

No real need to spam out more than two Wasps per target, really, considering what they do. They are GREAT for killing M5/4s, GREAT for wearing down M3s before breaking out bigger munitions or dogfighting, and GREAT for confusing enemy turrets.

I don't use them to kill M3 or above.

[Honved]

Wasps - As pointed out, they're great for thinning out M5s before contact, where 2-3 of the multiple warheads from a single missile are enough to drop the shields, and any subsequent hits will kill the ship. The damage is a bit low against M4s, but the lower speed and larger size of an M4 means that almost all of the warheads will hit, so they're still "adequate". To kill an M3, you might as well spit at them instead, since the shields will regenerate as quickly as the missiles abrade them.

The real reason for launching them against a larger ship is that the target focuses its attention on the cluster of independent warheads buzzing around it, not on you or on the Banshee missile that you launched for an encore. An M4 or M3 will generally divert at least some of its shots at the almost unhittable swarm of warheads, and an M5 will generally break contact with you while it tries to outrun, outmaneuver, or shoot at them.

I try to carry at least 10 of them, if my ship allows me to use them.

[Alan Phipps]

That Wasp numbers issue is true of any multiple swarm/barrage missile (such as Flails or Poltergeists) and the number limitations mainly depend upon the performance of the system running the game. Links here and here.

[Joe McCracken]

I definitely have that issue with wasps. My preferred missile is the hurricane for M4/5 size fighters, and Tempest/Thunderbolts for M3.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Typhoons end of.

[Master of the Blade]

Wildfires, while not easy to get in large supply, are amazing against M4s and decent against M3s. They retarget and have a great lifetime, so you can just launch a load of them and wait for them to kill stuff.

Silkworms are common and reasonably powerful. Great workhorse general use missile for fleet operations.

Thunderbolts are excellent for dealing with M3s and M4s, but are a tad expensive.

I always push the Tornado, it has great damage output against capitals and is extremely stylish. Good for player-flown corvettes or M3s with large cargobays.

[Greenhorn]

In ap,my favorite + reliable is : typhoon,wildfire,hammerhead missle,tempest,hornet,only in my corvett and m7 playerships only.Sadly,Theres no factory of, hammerhead or wildfire, beluga,in the entire universe. I personally store those wildfire, hammerhead,beluga.