Tornado or Thunderbolt?

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Tornado or Thunderbolt?

Post by SIMON POPPLEWELL » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:06

I'm noticing I'm getting more and more M1 and M2s in the assination missions. So I'm planning to build a new Missile complex to help me out in these type of missions. I already have a Wasp & Typhoon missile complex, but am planning to setup a Firestorm torpedo and either a Tornado or Thunderbolt missile complex. I'm just wondering which would be better, the Tornado or the Thunderbolt? As I have not use either of these missiles.

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Post by Nanook » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:13

The Tornado is a 'dumbfire' type missile, which means it will go in a straight line toward a target, but won't track the target if the target moves. Thunderbolts are tracking missiles that will follow a target until it either impacts or reaches its time limit and self-destructs.

That said, of all your missiles, the Typhoon is the best for taking out large, turreted targets, so for your assassination missions, just make more Typhoons. But if you want real sector clearing power in a small package, get yourself an M8 and build a Tomahawk missile factory to go along with it.
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Post by gandy|UKCS| » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:15

I would say thunderbolt, it might be slower but it has 3 times the range and does 3 times the damage of the Tornado.

If you are going up against M1/M2's the hammerhead or Firestorm Torpedo would be my choice.
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Post by Nanook » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:21

Except those will most likely be shot down before reaching their target. For fighting turreted ships, it's best to use swarm or barrage missiles.
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Post by SIMON POPPLEWELL » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:27

I had thought about the M8 and Tomahawks but with all the escorts that come with the target I didn't think it would survive for very long. That said the Typhoons are pretty effective but I was hoping to slip somethink else into the mix. I'll guess I will just setup the Firestorm for now and add the others later. Or I may just build both and try them out, I guess I can always sell them for a profit. :)

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Post by Nanook » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:35

To avoid getting killed in an M8, jump it into a gate away from the target. Tomahawks have a long range, so your M8 shouldn't have to be anywhere near the enemy ships. And the best thing about the barrage missiles is that they will retarget enemies if their primary target is destroyed. So simply send multiple barrages at the mark, and the remaining enemy ships should be targeted and destroyed by leftover missiles.
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Post by silenced » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:41

Nanook wrote:So simply send multiple barrages at the mark, and the remaining enemy ships should be targeted and destroyed by leftover missiles.
the larger the barrage, the larger the chance to destroy the whole barrage on impact of the first few tomahawks, send them 1 by 1 ... means: 8 at once repeatedly
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Post by Nanook » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:44

I thought the blast radius was reduced in a recent patch due to complaints about that problem. I use large barrages all the time, and have yet to suffer the issue you describe.
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Post by 1muvwndr » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:47

Typhoon.
Swarm, 30k damage each warhead (210k total), 75km range, can be used on anything from M4 to M2.
The best, plain and simple.

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Post by shanrak » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:52

gandy|UKCS| wrote:I would say thunderbolt, it might be slower but it has 3 times the range and does 3 times the damage of the Tornado.

If you are going up against M1/M2's the hammerhead or Firestorm Torpedo would be my choice.

Wha? Tornado is swarm with 50k per warhead, so 400k damage, way more than a thunderbolt. Since its a dumbfire though, you'll have to get pretty close. Also its cargo size is 8 instead of 5. I agree with everyone else, stick with typhoons, they'll serve you well for anything M6 or bigger. Wraith missiles are okay too if your ship can launch it.

Thunderbolts are for taking out fighters that have ~60kMJ shields

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Post by SIMON POPPLEWELL » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 21:59

So, the M8 does have a use. I was always a bit dubious about using it. I take it you just set missile turret to attack enemies and missile use to 100% to get them to attack target? Tried using my M7M to attack remotely once, was a complete nightmare. As for the missiles I think I'm going to add another typhoon to the complex and keep a larger stock on my Hyperion, usually only carry 8 at a time. :roll:

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Post by Nanook » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 22:01

1muvwndr wrote:Typhoon.
Swarm, 30k damage each warhead (210k total), 75km range, can be used on anything from M4 to M2.
The best, plain and simple.
First, a correction. There are 8 warheads, not 7, giving a total damage potential of 240,000. Second, they aren't "the best, plain and simple", because they don't retarget enemies. So you may end up wasting a good share of the damage potential once the initial target is destroyed.

Each of the various swarm and barrage missiles have their uses, and are better at some tasks than the others. The trick is to learn what's best in what situation.
SIMON POPPLEWELL wrote:So, the M8 does have a use. I was always a bit dubious about using it. I take it you just set missile turret to attack enemies and missile use to 100% to get them to attack target?....
That's not the best use of an M8. You should use the barrage command under Additional Ship Commands, for best results. This command requires the player to issue it, it's not an automatic AI function. And as such, the M8 isn't really designed to be an independent entity on the battlefield. It should be kept at a fair distance from any potential enemies, where the player can fire off barrages as needed. You don't have to be in the ship to use the barrage command, so you can still fly your primary ship.
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Post by SIMON POPPLEWELL » Thu, 23. Apr 09, 22:21

Ok thanks for the tips. I'm going to stick with the Typhoons for now and invest in an M8. I guess I'm going to have to setup a Tomahawk complex now as well.

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Post by NUKLEAR-SLUG » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 00:21

M8 is the way to go. Each Tomahawk does approx 50% the damage of a Hammerhead, is IFF self-seeking if the original target goes down and you can fit a couple hundred in a single bomber.

Just be carefuly not to destroy the rest of the sector.

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Post by Kapakio » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 00:59

The Tornado is generally underestimated. Each swarm can cause a total damage of 500k. They are very fast and are hard to hit by the turrets and you can fire one afte rthe other very rapidly. Of course, being dumbfire, they are only effective against bit targets, and you have to get relatively close to be sure that they hit.

One aditional thing, it can be mounted by M3s, so it's the only practical way to cap a M7M with a fighter.

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Post by Nanook » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 01:07

vbruzual wrote:....
One aditional thing, it can be mounted by M3s, so it's the only practical way to cap a M7M with a fighter.
You mean, other than by an M3 mounting 4-8 PBG's. Never underestimate the power of a plasma fireball. :wink:
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Post by 1muvwndr » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 06:56

Nanook wrote:First, a correction. There are 8 warheads, not 7, giving a total damage potential of 240,000. Second, they aren't "the best, plain and simple", because they don't retarget enemies. So you may end up wasting a good share of the damage potential once the initial target is destroyed.
Well even better if they do more damage. as for retargeting enemies, if it wold have this feature it would make ALL other missiles just useless. And even without the retarget feature this missile is simply the best for many reasons:
- swarm, deals a total of 240MJ damage (8x30MJ) and is hard to shot down because it flies in spiral
- 195 m/s
- 75km range
- can be fired from most M6s and even an M3+, uses just 3 M cargo space
- shooting one warhead down doesn't detonate the others
- one costs as much as a Flail
- damage/sorage unit exceeds all but the Hammerhead, Firestorm and Tomahawk

No other missile offers as much. A Hyperion can carry 500 of them while having enough cargo space left to carry EBC + lots of ammo and lots of jump-fuel/other missiles. The firepower of an M7M in an M6, or even more since it can go into action itself.

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Post by Kapakio » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 10:15

Nanook wrote:You mean, other than by an M3 mounting 4-8 PBG's. Never underestimate the power of a plasma fireball. :wink:
To be honest, I've not tried PBGs en masse, but just because according to the stats, it is way less efficient than for example the HEPT. PGBs have area of effect damage, ideal for multiple and close targets, but its efficiency is just 8.5 damage per energy while the HEPT is 50. That means in theory that with a single target you will be much faster without laser energy than with a HEPT. Am I missing something?

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Post by 1muvwndr » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 10:43

Get in a Nova and go hunt Pirate Blastclaws. You'll quickly forget theory. :D

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Post by xenon_griller » Fri, 24. Apr 09, 11:10

vbruzual wrote:To be honest, I've not tried PBGs en masse, but just because according to the stats, it is way less efficient than for example the HEPT. PGBs have area of effect damage, ideal for multiple and close targets, but its efficiency is just 8.5 damage per energy while the HEPT is 50. That means in theory that with a single target you will be much faster without laser energy than with a HEPT. Am I missing something?
since I'm playing X3R, I can only use PSGs as reference, but from what i've read so far, the model should be quite the same for PBGs.

Usually every projectile can hit only once. But PSGs are different, they don't wear off during contact, so they do their little damage all the way through the enemy, summing up to amounts that outperform HEPTs and about anything else, especially against capitals...

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