MAG launchers

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relanat
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I've haven't used the MAG launcher much. When I started playing I saw its limited range and slow projectile speed and never used it again having a preference for quick-firing long-range launchers..

Since then I've read some good things about it in the forum. And that it can do a lot of damage to you when an enemy has it installed.

Do forum members use it? When do they have it installed? What do they use it for? How do they stop enemy MAGs from hurting them?
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AdmiralZo
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That's a very good question. :D

I don't use it very often either; usually going for the NAMI launcher, then later the Rasiermesser or NAMI heavy. Regarding the Makayev launcher, I recall only ever using it once...

When I do use the MAG launcher, I would install it either in the New Beyond, or maybe a few systems after St. Katherine's.

Missiles such as the Siege and High Flux MAG are perfect for bombarding stations and capital ships. I find that the Cluster MAG is useful for targeting fast but weak ships or a group of ships.

You would most likely encounter enemy ships with MAG launchers in Battle Arena Maximus. Since MAGs are generally slow, it is easy to dodge them if you pilot the Sapphire or Wolfen. Otherwise, you can destroy the MAG by firing at it (typically with a fast beam weapon) or hiding behind wrecks. :D
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DigaRW
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However, they are best equipment for early level. If you find it somewhere before Charon System, then you're lucky.
I once used it for defend Korolov in Charon, and it quite effective for Drake rather than NAMI Missile Launcher. By using Cluster Mag, it will destroy group of Viking with a few shot.
Missile launcher is useful for single target, while MAG launcher is best bet against enemy's group.
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Ferdinand
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I do use the MAG launcher often, most with the EI500 and the Osaka freighters.

Altough it does not have much range because of the slow speed of its genades, the grenade has a long life and enemies that come towards you will meet a wall of grenades that pack a heavy punch. The ZG24 cluster MAG is very deadly to every fighter in the game. Simply fire a bunch of those in the general direction of a swarm atacking fighters and they will be obliterated very fast They do not discriminate so take care when you are in crowded space. The 800F MAG can be used like this as well, but is less effective. Better suited for destruction of bigger targets, just like the 400 and 600 MAG. Very suited to destroy slow capital ships like Drakes, Urak Destroyers, Heliotrope Frigates etc. Just don't use them against fast ships.

All MAG grenades can be used to take out stations, usually they pack a bigger punch then the missiles of the same level, so a station dies quicker you are using MAG's. Again watch out when using them around friendly stations. The siege Mag and Heavy Flux can take out Ares stations, Communes and Shipyards with relative ease. But you'll have to take care of the guards first because you need to come in close using them.

If you have a slow ship with heavy armor and can take a beating, the MAG is very much fun to use. Not so when you have a fast nimble ship. The Wolfen can outrun the siege and heavy flux MAG, and if you fire them yourself and accellerate in the same direction, you'll fly past them and they can and will hit you if you decellerate!

There are no enemies that use MAG launchers except in the Battle arena. Some station guards also use them and it is a bad idea to make them angry at you! One example is the Molotok guarding Black Markets.
gunship256
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I really like MAGs if I'm piloting a ship with limited reactor power or if I have to install a shield because I'm playing without any solar and armor repair mods.

One of the main benefits of missiles is that they can replace a main weapon cheaply and without using much power. Following that line of thought, they don't really need to track or have a high shot speed if you like weapons that do neither.

I particularly like MAGs in a small, fast ship. They only work if you fly directly at the target, but since the shot speed actually gets higher if you fly toward a target, if you ram a station or group of ships while firing these things, the shots go a lot faster, and you can dodge and turn around after firing.

Fragmentation helps a lot, as does the relatively high level of the ammo. The NAMI launcher doesn't have any ammo that's practical beyond level 3 without either the smuggler's hold or military ID. MAG ammo without the military tag goes all the way up to level 7, and the level 8 high-flux MAG is great for one-shotting smaller stations. It's available for 55% of cost at CW Fortresses. The NAMI launcher has no level 8 missiles at all.

EDIT: Based on the balance information George has made available, a weapon that uses ammo should be about twice as powerful as an equivalent weapon that doesn't use ammo. This amounts to an increase of 1.5 levels, but for most missiles, I subjectively feel that the damage is 2 or 3 levels higher.

https://github.com/kronosaur/Mammoth/bl ... nClass.cpp

Non-military level 7 MAGs are available at Rasiermesser shops as early as Rigel, and they feel like shots from a level 9 weapon. To me, that's a pretty good reason to forsake level 3 missiles if I need the extra damage badly enough.

I made this mod, which you already have, because I wanted to try out all the missiles in the game:

https://forums.kronosaur.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7577
AdmiralZo
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you'll fly past them and they can and will hit you if you decellerate!
Your own missiles can't hit you can they?? The only missile I know of that can is NAMI's range of mines.
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TheLoneWolf
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I love MAGs. After facing MAGs for the first time in the Arena, I got fascinated by them. Now, I ditch NAMI and its kin as soon as I spot a MAG launcher. Honestly, I don't use launchers much. But I do use Ares Launcher. Teraton Fabricator is thus the best thing that happened to me.
shanejfilomena
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I enjoy the MAG launchers because they let me take out stations faster & great for group attacks because you basically "Area Bomb" them with exploding MAGs which can at least weaken the hostiles for your guns. However, as it is also pointed, they Can also damage the user if you fly into their explosion range or into the ammo that was fired ( happened once that I circled around and a stray shot hit my ship - the only shot that had not exploded - totally Murphy's Law --)

you can fire them to run out and form a barrier wall against a group attacking, like in Charon or in the 'protection of the Agriculture Station ( which I actually plan ahead for by gathering Barricades ( or placing my Autons in Point Posts around the station to act as Turrets) and setting them up around the station before I dock for the mission )

Prophet did a Mod called ..Player stations? ..I will look it up for you : in the Mod he has Personal Turrets that you can drop to Protect stations ( I like using turrets around an Ice Farm - I think they actually need them and it does help the Tenhove Sentinel live a little longer. )

http://xelerus.de/index.php?s=mod&id=413

I used to use turrets around Korolov, but it's just asking for trouble ( as I determined ), I usually just give Korolov a MAG Launcher these days and let them sort out their own business.

And that brings us to fighting a Frigate : MAG Launchers with 800 or higher Ammo is great to take on a Pirate Frigate. makes it a little faster but you have to get and stay close to make the ammo effective.

I am sure alot of Players have left the A-Class Defenders ( one is a Laser deflector ) alone simply because of the low HP, However, don't sleep on this tool. Besides sleeping on it makes your neck hurt :) it is very useful against Charon Pirates in the early game.

Particle weapons, a Solon shield generator & Mag Launcher are great for taking on Charon if you can ever find them before that system.
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I don't like to kill pirates in cold blood ..I do it.. but I don't like it..
AdmiralZo
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Oh, so you can be hit by your own missiles. Does this only apply to MAGs and mines because I remember flying into my own Ares nuke which didn't cause it to detonate???
Ferdinand
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AdmiralZo wrote:Oh, so you can be hit by your own missiles. Does this only apply to MAGs and mines because I remember flying into my own Ares nuke which didn't cause it to detonate???
There are certain types of ammunition that have some sort of safety trigger that prevents them from detonating within a certain radius of the playership, however, once they have travelled beyond this range the playership also becomes a valid detonation source. So if you fire the missille or grenade, allow it to travel past this radius and then overtake the missile, it will detonate. Just like shanejfilomena, i've had several (almost deadly) encounters with my own MAG's when flying in combat with the wolfen :shock:

You can also notice this on the smartcannon. You can get hit by your own rounds. This sometimes happens when you target something behind you and shoot in the opposite direction. The smartcannonround circles back to you if the ship behind you catches up and ends up flying next to you.

With other ammunition this is not so obvious as they are usually faster than the playership.
AdmiralZo
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Ok thanks! I'm going to go and try to blow myself up now. :D
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TheLoneWolf
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AdmiralZo wrote:Ok thanks! I'm going to go and try to blow myself up now. :D
Best done with inertialess drive.
AdmiralZo
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Best done with inertialess drive.
Ok. I'll try...
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Song
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Sorry to rain on the suicide parade, but you can't directly blow yourself up with a MAG.

Projectiles in transcendence never damage their creator unless the "canHitSource" variable is set to "true". Putting this on a primary fragment (Ie: What comes out of the gun) causes it to immediately hit the ship that fires it, and almost always blocks the fragmentation effect, if there is one. Thus it's only workable on secondary fragments (IE: Explosions from a fragmentation weapon). In vanilla, this is only in use on the CRM100 and CRM500 mines, used by the NAMI mine launcher: these two mines can kill the thing that fires them...but only if something else triggers the mine to detonate (this does include hitting asteroids and end-of-lifetime detonations).
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AdmiralZo
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but you can't directly blow yourself up with a MAG.
Thank you!! I thought I was going crazy because everyone was saying that you can blow yourself up, when I knew you can't. :D
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