DrumDeity Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) I don't play my Scout much, but it's fun to switch from Strike Fighter occasionally. The problem is that I am terrible at using rocket pods. I fire at the lead marker (not the ship itself, like some people), and I am in range, but I still end up missing. Any suggestions? Edited January 18, 2014 by DrumDeity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elly_Dawn Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) point and shoot, they're dumb-fire... really good for jousting... or popping someone on a B-Line for your Satellite... the lead marker does not affect Dumb-fire Rockets, and the margin of error is extreme... Edited January 18, 2014 by Elly_Dawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancezwithnubz Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 the main thing to remember about rocket pods: they have a horrific 5%/degree tracking penalty. with a 16 degree arc of fire, this means when you're out at the edges of the firing circle, you have an additional 40% miss chance. wait until things are smack dead in the center of the screen, or no more than one or two widths of the reticule from the center circle, before flipping rocket pods at them. the lead marker does not affect Dumb-fire Rockets. yes it does. fire at the lead marker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharee Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I don't play my Scout much, but it's fun to switch from Strike Fighter occasionally. The problem is that I am terrible at using rocket pods. I fire at the lead marker (not the ship itself, like some people), and I am in range, but I still end up missing. Any suggestions? Use them to ambush gunships. Unlike other missiles, they don't give the beeping warning. Sneak up on an unmoving gunship from behind or above, then open fire from all barrels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramalina Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Basically, it's a matter of lots of practice, and only shooting when a good shot opportunity presents itself. For a beginner, it's best to shoot at targets that are either stationary, or flying directly toward or away from you. Turrets and gunships are nice to practice on if you want to get some destruction in with your practice. If you want to use rocket pods in a dogfight, first resign yourself to having a lot of misses, especially at first. Next, fly to increase chances of rocket fire opportunities. Boost to open a wide gap, say 4 to 8 km, then turn back toward the opponent. Assuming they don't blow you up as you open the gap you'll typically be set up for a head on engagement ideal for rocket employment. In some cases you may wish that you had stronger shields though. If doing this against anything with strong burst damage capabilities, you'll probably want to break off or use distortion field before you close to 2-3 km. Scout shields aren't really up to soaking the damage from a high dps opponent in a full head to head pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elly_Dawn Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 yes it does. fire at the lead marker. maybe, but i've never actually seen them hit when firing at the lead, so i stopped wasting my rockets and use them for jousting and turrets instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancezwithnubz Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 maybe..... definitely. i've never actually seen them hit when firing at the lead, so i stopped wasting my rockets and use them for jousting and turrets instead... likely, you're copping the aforementioned tracking penalty and missing or you're missing seeing the flytext from the rockets amongst the spray of flytext from your blasters. and yes, rockets are awesome for blowing turrets up. generally, the best time to use a rocket pod on an opponent is when you come up at them from behind while they're focused on a turret or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elly_Dawn Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 you're missing seeing the flytext from the rockets amongst the spray of flytext from your blasters. that's prolly it, i fire them under my blasters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanNV Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I use them on a regular basis. IN a turning fight they aren't worth much most of the time, but I have managed to spook people with them. Where I find them most useful is hitting a gunship that is sitting charging up a shot. Against a stationary target you are flying straight at they are very good. They work well against turrets and against people who want to just hover right under a satellite, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zharik Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Also try to limit yourself to 3 shots if you can... rarely (gunships trying to get that last shot off before running) does a target eat your blasters and rocket pods for long before panicking and doing something erratic. Limiting yourself to 3 as a general rule means you'll get very good results from your limit ammo supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sadishist Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Do these things go as fast as lasers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliJoe Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Do these things go as fast as lasers? No they do not. They are faster than concussion missiles when you have zero upgrades for either. I only use them when I'm practically on top of someone. Any more than say 1500m - 2000m you are wasting your rockets on non-stationary targets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luneward Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Do these things go as fast as lasers? There isn't a large difference in their speed between rocket pods and lasers that I've ever noticed. Though the short effective range may make it hard to tell. So long as you're aiming at their lead it should be on target. Whether it will hit or not is still a matter of the RNG. So the advice still stands that they are best used on targets that are immobile... or dead ahead of you. I still find them a little more effective than cluster missiles in close quarters fights, though you chew through ammunition a fair amount quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zharik Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The animation of the blasters/missiles etc hitting your target are merely animations. Pay them no mind, target the lead indicator, and fire. If you see numbers leaking from the target, you're doing it right. This is obvious when you shoot once, see the damage number and the target zigs away.. and never gets "hit" by the slightly slower animation. The damage is still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedJasper Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Rocket Pods have exactly the same hit mechanic as blasters, only with much worse accuracy loss per degree of off angle. Apparent travel time to target is reflected by this, but has no actual effect otherwise. I hit non-stationary targets at 5-6k all the time, typically when they're running and I'm boosting after them. Helps to have an accuracy boost like Wingman. Edited January 19, 2014 by JadedJasper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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