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fA: Missiles for Dummies


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this guide is written for FA 1.4 regulation. specific notes or questions for any section in this article pertaining to other regulations will be written upon request and approval. viewer discretion is advised

 

INCOMPLETE

 

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/FAmissilesdummies.png

 

missiles are one of the strongest weapons in fA; not because of sheer damage, but because of how dynamic they are. there are dozens of different types designed for specific situations, both defensively and offensively. because of this, it is important to know what missile to use when and where to get the best results with them. some missiles are better with guns and some missiles are better with other missiles. missiles are a fantastic utility, but can also be a burden if not used correctly.

 

 

missile concepts and usage

 

one overall important note: missiles have a limited flight time, so dont go spamming missiles from +800km away from the target unless they are OBing towards you or if you have ANCMs (cease ANCM fire @ +1000km)

 

standard missile launching (straight-fire)

try to fire missiles while airborne, so opponents dont crash them into uneven terrain, objects, or into the floor due to tracking. do not fire at ~200m or against MGs because your missiles will more than likely blow up in your face, causing damage (big hurt if you are using scatters)

there are many different types of these missiles, so more specific methods will be mentioned further in this topic

 

vertical missile launching

try to be closer to your opponents when using vertical missiles, as they have just as much flight time as normal missiles but use up a fraction of this time on launch. theyre great to fire at opponents from behind cover or if you are playing defensively, since they wont blow up in your face. the tracking ability bonus that comes with most verts is what makes them really shine, making it much harder for your opponent to shrug them off

 

joust missile launching (QB and OB)

this is a very offensive way to use missiles and a good way to close gaps between acs or for generall hit-and-run tactics. the idea behind jousting is to propel your ac foward at high speed and then launch a volley of missiles whilst doing so. this will vastly increase your missile velocity while the missiles retain their track speed, making your missiles hit so fast that your opponents cannot react or cannot outrun. this tactic works best when using a normal OB right after startup where your acceleration spikes, or during the OB, not anytime afterwards. this requires a high normal and missile lock time because sometimes you will have to joust at your opponent with no lock on acquired. also, be aware that after the joust is finished, your kp will be significantly lower, making you more vulnerable. try not to spam OB because of this, or youll end up chalk full of lead. also be aware that opponents can blow up your missiles in your face, and big missiles hurt when blown up in your face.

QB jousting is generally the same idea but with no OB required and generally slower results. while you dont get the massive speed boost as you would with an OB, you can perform this anywhere near the opponent without worrying about your KP. it isnt as good at closing in on opponents but it works well when close to opponents.

jousting turns missiles such as BIGSIOUX or BISMUTH or even ZINC into scary top contenders. the damage is high, the tracking is insane, and with the speed added by OB/QB, they are an almost guaranteed hit. if your opponent starts throwing out premature flares to try and preemptively counter your joust, you can dry-OB towards them to make them waste flares or fire your missiles very close to them without using OB. either way will make for some fun mind games.

 

 

 

different missile types

 

 

medium size / large group / limited launch

ie. musselshell, VTF, niobraha

these missiles are great to joust with because you dont have to joust that long to make them work. theyre tracking is subpar, but their ammo counts are above average and their PA busting capabilites and damage are superb, not to mention the en drain is fairly low for missile units. best used on more cqc-oriented acs with mgs, shotguns, assault rifles, etc. can also work wonders used defensively if used properly (make sure they dont blow up in your face)

if your opponent tries to outrun them through strafing, you can use them as a good way to setup shots with bigger weapons, such as SC, hilaser, zook, or grenades. SCs in particular because you can use the missile to setup your shot and then the shot stun will stop your opponent long enough for the missiles to hit. generally use these types at close range

all of these types of missiles launch horizontally, unless you use the vert support missile extensions.

try with: MG, SC, HiLaser, assault rifle

 

medium size / small group / numerous launch

ie. wheeling, platte, muskingum

the main purpose of these is to harass your opponent, making them jump through hoops (almost literally) to avoid getting hurt. theyre great for chipping AP and also great for setting up shots with other weapons like SCs or grenades. you can slap them on almost any ac and they can work with almost any other weapon in game, including other missiles. OB jousting is somewhat viable if you do an overhead passby while firing them, but otherwise they dont particularly work well. theyre easy to outrun and should be used from mid range

try with: anything

 

small size / large group / single launch (scatters, spreads)

ie. MP-200i, most omer and rosenthal scatter missiles, salines

these missiles are tough to use, unless you are using MP0203s, which will be covered later on. the normal non-MP0203 scatters have poor tracking and hurt like a bitch when blown up in your face. after initial launch, they can be hard to see visually, so they are best used from longer ranges to try and get a lucky hit in. their velocity is enough to catch opponents who retreat in a straight line, but their high speed, low tracking, and predictability make them hard to hit any other time. they are generally not worth the weight/en or time and youre better off using ANCMs. if you do decide to use these however, they work well when paired with arm mounted sniper rifles or railguns and then used at mid to long range.

the spread versions essentially work the same way, only with less damage and velocity. the best and only spreads worth using are ANCMs, which will be explained later on in this guide.

try with: long range weapons

 

high-speed missiles

ie. The ANCM, vermilions

high-speed missiles have one purpose: to chip AP and to hurt opponents that try to run away. they have crazy traveling speed and distance, but the tracking is horrible and they are fairly easy to dodge if not used in the correct situations. vermilions have very low equip requirements but are fairly weak and are vastly inferior to ANCMs. ANCMs are high-speed versions of spread missiles which launch semi-vertically and hit like a truck. one ANCM volley could take out 3/4ths of an opponents PA bar and a fair chunk of their AP as well. the best part is taht they have 50 rounds, meaning they can basically last you through a 10-minute match. however, just like vermilions, they are fairly easy to dodge and should only be fired off on opponents who are running away. If your opponent is not running away however, you can hit ANCMs somewhat reliably if you use them similar to grenade launchers. If you gain altitude above your opponent who is on the ground, fire off an ANCM and the missile should spread out on top of the opponents head, catching them with at least splash damage. you can use these at longer ranges for harass paired with a sniper, or you can use them up close in the air with an MG or AR. they are pretty damn versatile despite being high-speed missiles.

try with: other missiles, sniper rifles, machine guns

 

The MP-0203

ie. The MP-0203

The MP-0203 is "like a bunch of pissed off hornets on crack cocaine." they are essentially hi-act scatter missiles with good missile velocity and a fast reload, all on top of good damage and PA breaking capabilities. they are very good missiles and, by some, are considered overpowered and broken (key word "some" [aka losers]) these missiles are very easy to spam and awkward to dodge, but they have a high EN drain and hurt a lot when blown up in your face. they are great for setting up shots and doing a bunch of other stuff. they work great with any other missile unit because of the confusion they may cause for the dodging opponent. these missiles work especially well with railguns because both weapons are a very reliable means of damage versus light and mid acs and the MP-0203 volley makes it hard to dodge both the missiles and the railgun shot at the same time.

try with: more missiles, railguns, mid-range weapons

 

The AURORA

ie. The AURORA

AURORA missile arms are missiles that take up your arm slots and arm units for insane damage. they have a high velocity and tracking speed and rival the power of 2 allegheny being fired at once. they have a large amount of ammo/volleys and they dont fire straight out of the ac (they fire from the bottom). also, because they are AS missiles and do not require a lock to fire, they are very easy to joust with, making them much more deadly. while this sounds great and all, they have 2 major drawbacks: they cannot be fired while boosting on the ground and they are EXTREMELY sensitive to flares and other missiles. basically, if an opponent is using regular normal missiles, you cannot use AURORA until all those missiles are far away or have dissipated. otherwise, your AURORA will track that missile volley and it wont exactly hit your intended target. this makes them somewhat hard to use, because any opponent with flares or missiles will make your weapons useless. dont worry though, because there is a solution to this. If one were to fit these arms to a very mobile AC with both back units and shoulder units decked with missiles, then they could dodge an opponents missiles until they run dry and keep up constant missile pressure until the opponents missiles are dry. after both missiles and flares are gone for the opponent, you can relentlessly pound them with missiles, with the ability to strip 40k AP within seconds.

if you are a bit more impatient or desperate, you can also launch these from underneath aerial opponents or very close to your target for a sort of surprise attack, making it so they dont have enough time to use flares or launch another volley of missiles.

try with: other missiles

 

NUCLEAR LAUNCH DETECTED

ie. bigsioux, zinc, bismuth, allegheny

these things are big slow missiles with extremely good missile tracking. the damage output is unrivaled in comparison to other missile launchers, but so is the weight. the ammo ranges from 8-10 missiles per launcher, giving a satisfactory amount. because of their speed, they may not end up hitting much because by the time they reach your opponent, they will be shot down, had flares intercept them, or simply outrun. however, what makes them so powerful is their pairing with OB missile jousting. with a proper OB missile joust, these missiles hit extremely high speeds and essentially turn into normal missiles with huge power. BIGSIOUX is the standard nuke, capable of doing a solid amount of damage to the opponents PA and AP, as well as having a low equip EN drain. the kojima versions will drain anyones KP within the blast radius (including you and friendlies), meaning even if it does not hit the target, they can still be a nuisance. ZINC, while not as fast as BIGSIOUX or BISMUTH, is still good for jousting, since it still gets a speed boost and it wont blow up in your face mid-joust, so you dont strip yourself of both AP and KP while heading towards your opponent

 

Miscellaneous

ie. PM, AS, hi-act

PM are primarily used as harass. they have high speed and a moderate tracking ability, as well as a very fast volley reload time. ammo count is also nice, so you can keep up missile pressure on opponents and stop whenever you need to immediately to save ammo (like if flares go off or they OB away)

these work best in conjunction with missile supports on the shoulders and with mid-close range weapons, such as MR-102s.

AS missiles however, serve the same purpose as PM missiles, but can be made useless if an opponents missiles are fired because AS missiles will be distracted by them. They are also weaker and have a lower ROF and volley count, as well as the fact that they lock by themselves can get a bit annoying at times in battle royales. the only worthwhile AS missiles are the weapon arms AS missiles (AURORA) which have already been mentioned.

hi-act missiles are basically slow-moving low-damaging small-volley missiles that track very well and stick to your opponent until they outspeed them (which happens with normal QBs) or they run out of fuel. theyre pretty useless in regulation 1.4, so i wouldnt bother with them at all.

 

extension missile relations

ie. muskingum, ancm, beltcreek, musselshell

extension missile relations are a great way to add more offense to your missiles. they may be heavy, but some are even better than their back-unit relatives.

muskingum: a dual-fire volley of 64 missiles that fire like plattes. the damage here is crazy and the amount of missiles fired are even more crazy. you only get 3 volleys though, so be sure you have a lock when you fire them or you will lose 64 missiles every time you dont. a good trick is to keep them off until youve begun to fire your main missile, then wait to see if your main missiles track. if they begin to track, turn on the muskingum before they stop firing. if they dont track, keep your muskingum off until you get a proper lock.

ancm: the little brother of the back-unit ancm. dont be fooled though, since this kicks big brother's ass. you basically get 2 ancm missiles every time you fire a normal missile unit. if your opponents natually run away from your missiles, then these are there to catch them and punish them. they block the option of running away from your missiles, meaning unless your target has flares (or is decent at dodging), theyre more than likely going to be hit.

beltcreek/musselshell: these work just like actual musselshells and should be used with actual musselshells or VTFs. they also work well with nukes or on any OB jousting missile ACs.

 

 

flares: the bane of all missile users

 

because of the abundance of missiles, many people on the acfa community use flares. these draw the missiles away from the target and are a hard counter to any missiles fired. it may be hard to get around these, but there are ways to do so.

note: some missiles are more sensitive to flares than others. AS are the most sensitive, PMs plattes and wheelings are the next most, and then hi-acts, large group volleys, nukes, and vtfs are the least.

note note: flares are designed as a hard counter to missiles. these tactics will probably only work 25% of the time or less, but theyre the best shot you have at getting through an opponents flares

 

flanking: guyandottes and gallatins fire one volley in one direction only, so if you can fire your missiles from the opposite direction (from under or behind) you can effectively bypass their flare volley, even if their flares are fired first. this may be tricky against gallatin users because they can just QT and meet your missiles, but if you have another missile set to bait their flares, it can be doable.

baiting: if you have 2 missile sets, pick the missile set that is more spammable and spam those missiles until your opponent runs dry of flares.

yasmin: yasmins are horrible flares because they only work against very sensitive missiles from longer ranges, such as AS and wheelings. you can get around these easily by flanking or using VTFs/nukes because they arent strong enough to pull these missiles away completely. you can fire upon any yasmin users fairly well within 200m or if you flank properly

 

dodging missiles with no flares

 

the first QB is in light blue

the second QB is in a darker blue

the third QB is in a dark blue

normal movement is in a faint dark blue

the QB arrows correspond to the colored lines on the missile paths. wherever the line is is the suggested place for the suggested maneuver.

 

missile pathings are in different colors (red, orange, purple, yellow, etc)

 

original position is light gray

second position is a darker gray

final position is in black

 

these missile diagrams are assuming you are using a midweight biped AC. LW and HW ACs can use these diagrams as well, but they may not be exactly the same. tanks are a lot more different.

 

HOW-TO: dodge to the left or right of the missile path and it will veer around you.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/Untitled-3.png

 

 

HOW-NOT-TO: if you dodge too early or late, the missile will hit you dead on.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/sffwefrw.png

 

 

HI-SPEED: you can dodge fairly early on these because the tracking is poor. always move towards the oncoming missile, not away from it

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/feawerweq.png

 

 

HI-ACT / MP0203: chain-QB as shown (left right or left foward). these are tricky to dodge and you may want to try different methods yourself.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/fwreawer.png

 

 

MULTIPLE: dodge the first missile as you normally would, then follow up with a constant foward motion next to hte stream of missiles. beware of your opponents other weapons however, as they may be setting you up for shots.

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/INSANE-O-FLEX/gfdgsdert.png

 

 

special thanks to Chodimus-Maximus and /b/ for suggestions and proof-reading

Edited by noob
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