X3:R how do I survive missiles? - Resolved.

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Vheissu
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X3:R how do I survive missiles? - Resolved.

Post by Vheissu » Wed, 15. Apr 20, 17:53

I'm getting killed in 2 or 3 hits by missiles really, really often. How do I counter this?

My current ship (pirate falcon, max speed and rudder) is too slow to evade them for the most part. I can shoot the missiles sometimes, but its an unreliable tactic. Lacking a key for targeting missiles I have to hit "next target" until a missile is selected and hope it is one approaching me and not a dumbfire sailing off into the sunset.

I see that there's a missile defense system in the bonus package but I have yet to find it for sale anywhere?

I have 2 busters helping with the command "protect me" They are pretty helpful in combat but I have yet to see them shoot down a missile.

I have 4 UT's grinding money, thinking that I can buy an m3 with a turret to see if that helps. That takes time though, and in the meanwhile it's pretty punishing. Half the time I can take on a group of pirates or a BBS mission without difficulty. The other half, I'm unlucky enough to encounter ships with seeking missiles and I have to reload. Considered switching back to a buster, but it's only 40k faster and the shields are such that I'd end up avoiding just as many fights as I do in the Falcon.

E: after some research discovered that enemy difficulty (including number and rate of fire for missiles) increases with combat rank. This explains a bit. I'm being stomped by fights I could have easily beat earlier on. Not sure what to do now.
Last edited by Vheissu on Wed, 15. Apr 20, 18:53, edited 1 time in total.

Alan Phipps
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by Alan Phipps » Wed, 15. Apr 20, 18:50

You don't have to buy the missile defence Mosquito mechanism. You install the Bonus Pack, enable use of MDM in-game, stock your ship with some Mosquito missiles (the ammunition needed), and then give your ship the Additional Ship Order to use MDM. The exact software etc requirements are here.

For using guns to kill incoming missiles, you are best using ships with (usually rear) turrets set to Turret Order Missile Defence.
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Vheissu
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by Vheissu » Wed, 15. Apr 20, 18:54

Huh! Ok thanks, I'll go give that a try.

I'm working on getting a ship with a turret. Just need one or 2 million more credits...

Vheissu
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by Vheissu » Wed, 15. Apr 20, 19:26

Yuuup, that helped. Tested the MDM on a fight that previously killed me in short order and I was able to beat it with relative ease, only one missile hit.

Threw me for a loop at first, I figured the MDM was purchaseable software like all the other functions in the game.

jlehtone
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by jlehtone » Wed, 15. Apr 20, 21:13

Pirate Falcon can mount Phased Shockwave Generators (PSG). Those are area effect weapons (of mass destruction). Creates a cloud, hits everything. Not for precision kills among friends. Not if you wan't to see containers after a kill.

Ion Distruptors are an another no-need-to-aim-well-will-hit-many. I recall facing two Falcons; one with IonD, other with PSG.


Argon Nova Raider has a turret, isn't so expensive and is otherwise decent too. Pirate Nova Raider is said to be better, if one can capture those. (Pirate Nova is junk.)
Vheissu wrote:
Wed, 15. Apr 20, 17:53
E: after some research discovered that enemy difficulty (including number and rate of fire for missiles) increases with combat rank. This explains a bit. I'm being stomped by fights I could have easily beat earlier on. Not sure what to do now.
Not quite true.

BBS combat missions do spawn more/bigger opponents as Combat rank goes up, but that does not mean more missiles. The "native" (non-mission) ships do not change. Some spawn with more missiles or higher chance to use them (I've captured Xenon fighters that had 100% chance to use missile on every attack), but that is random.


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Cpt.Jericho
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles? - Resolved.

Post by Cpt.Jericho » Thu, 16. Apr 20, 00:37

IIRC in X3R the Pirate Nova Raider was indeed quite a nice ship and cheap to aquire :roll: . It's too fast for torpedoes to be a threat, has decent shielding and a turret; plus it's got a neat paintjob.
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jlehtone
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles? - Resolved.

Post by jlehtone » Thu, 16. Apr 20, 07:55

Cpt.Jericho wrote:
Thu, 16. Apr 20, 00:37
and cheap to aquire :roll:
Not in my experience. :oops: Relatively rare. Took me a long* time to find. When I finally got one pilot to bail, the game did CTD. :headbang:


* IIRC, I was already doing assassinations with M1 at the time ...
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Martin Head
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles? - Resolved.

Post by Martin Head » Thu, 16. Apr 20, 11:53

If your being chased by missiles, you can press and hold the 'A' and 'W' keys to make your ship fly at an angle, and also press (I think) the 'Q' key to make your ship rotate.
This makes you fly in a 'cork screw' manner, which make it harder for missiles to strike, and it's also good dodging ships shooting at you.

Vheissu
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by Vheissu » Thu, 16. Apr 20, 12:54

A lot of stuff to consider here! I did finally save enough to fully kit out a Nova Vanguard. Haven't had success capping any pirate Novas yet, but maybe I'll have more success now that I have better shielding for the times I wander in range of their turret.

I didn't know some the weapons had an AOE effect, that's something I'll have to experiment with. Is there a way to see weapon properties in-game?

Already strafing quite a bit, but I hadn't considered rolling - figured the ship's inertia would prevent it from doing a proper barrel roll.
jlehtone wrote:
Wed, 15. Apr 20, 21:13
... and Welcome to the X-Universe, pilot! :x3:
Thanks :)

jlehtone
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Re: X3:R how do I survive missiles?

Post by jlehtone » Thu, 16. Apr 20, 17:21

Luxury! Back in the day (in X2) you had to buy the Strafe Drive separately (not a default built-in item) and activating strafe rockets used all power from steering; no turning while strafing. :goner:
Vheissu wrote:
Thu, 16. Apr 20, 12:54
Is there a way to see weapon properties in-game?
Haven't played X3R since 2011 ... forgot how UI works ...

Can't find ingame. It might be that on trade menu of a station Betty might tell something if you linger on item, but there are no "hard facts".

Some websites have gathered data, even nice tables. I like Seizewell (even though I can't read DE) https://seizewell.de/x3-r/x3waffen.php

However, those tables rarely tell the full story of PSG. One "shot" of PSG is a very visible "wave" that expands. The damage numbers on tables are for "one hit". However, that wave can cause multiple hits to a single larger ship as it passes through and it can hit multiple targets.

The IonD is not regular AOE. It is a lightning that arcs to a target, but can extend to another target (more than once) in a chain (like some magic spells in RPG).


Missile explosion has a radius. Listed damage at point blank, but linearly decreasing to 0 at radius. Firestorm Torpedo (1km) and Hammerhead missile (1.2km) have the largest blast radius and damage.
The Hammerhead does 1250 MJ of damage. At 1.0km distance one should thus feel (0.2/1.2*1250MJ), that is 208 MJ of damage. Shields of Nova Vanguard, 3*25MJ, can eat 75, which leaves 133MJ against hull. Nova V has 9500 hull points. I'm just guessing that that is equivalent of 9.5 MJ ...

Why to point that out? Pirate and Xenon M3 can have and use Hammerheads. If your turret manages to shoot the missile from 1km distance, you are probably spacedust.

X3R has a "sideplot" and on one of its missions I was escorting a "VIP". There were Pirates at every Gate on the route. I was not alone, I had a squad (20 or so) of Nova Raiders on point. The lone Pirate had a Hammerhead. Most of my squad (and the Pirate) went poof in one blink. Too close. 8)
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