Missile Defense Systems Nerfed?

[hookoa]

Version: 1.0RC6

Are the missile defense systems nerfed now?
Lvl 5 ICX uses omni-directional which is 1d4 laser with 30 fire rate: Average 2 damage
Lvl 7 Longreach is 4d8 damage with 15 fire rate: average 16 damage
At level 5, they're both out past St. K's for the most part.

Missiles:
NAMI (small) missiles have 15 hitpoints. Not much of a threat past St. K's
and the ICX misses half the time.

P.S. The disposable Stiletto missiles are weaker than the NAMI launcher Stilettos.


MAGS:
Mags are 20 - 30 hitpoints, and fire as fast as the anti-missile devices. That means that they can take hits from the defense systems and still hit.


Strelka:
Well, we just don't try to shoot down incoming Strelka fire.


Howitzer:
The autocannon would put up a good defense against howitzers, which are fired from a xenophobe ship.

Kiloton Cannon:
Only the autocannon would work well

NAMI Heavy Launcher:
40hp per missile means that no anti-missile device works

Suggestion:
Boost the ICX to turbolaser or fast fire laser and make it a lower level device for earlier game. There's enough missiles flying around with the new charon frigates and increased amount of Corsair II's around.

Have the autocannon be for late game.

I think that having the ICX earlier in the game would still be balanced out by its rarity and cost. 7000 is expensive at the start. It'd also make a good candidate for a gift from the Charon system Korolov station.

Also, if anyone has better suggestions or likes the current placement in the game, let me know.

-Ho'okoa

[schilcote]

Do ICXes stack? I.E. if I had three installed, would I be defended against three missiles at a time?

[hookoa]

Not sure about stacking, but with some ships only getting a limited number of device slots, sacrificing two slots for missile defense seems like a bad idea when the device should work by itself in the first place.

I would think that the company making ICX missile defense units would notice the abysmal sales (and abysmal survival rate of their customers) and redesign their product.

[Arisaya]

I think maybe ICX should be level 4/3? ICX isn't very good, especially at higher levels... (it was fine before [even OP at higher levels], when missiles didn't have HP)

[hookoa]

I think maybe ICX should be level 4/3? ICX isn't very good, especially at higher levels... (it was fine before [even OP at higher levels], when missiles didn't have HP)

Exactly my thinking, Wolfy. With missile HP being introduced into the game, ICX needs to be rebalanced.

[Atarlost]

It's most effective against those weapons it really shouldn't effect at all: the weapons that want to be beams, but are missiles instead because images can't be used with beams.

[Song]

ICX does stack. So, hypothetically, you could godmod with 10. However, on trying this with +slot devices and suchlike....it's not that good, because the ICX STILL has parkinsons when aiming. It also fires all 10 at exactly the same time, so it LOOKS like 1 shot.....until it goes straight through the missile and out the other side. Not good against multiple missiles. I tried this against Centauri Command Ships (the old boxy ones), and it didn't stop all the shots, but it did eventually kill ALL of them without me firing a shot. Sometimes it managed to shoot them on the random phantom-targeting shots backwards. Not bad fun, actually....now to try it with longreach-Is, and and see if getting in front of a Phobos or Deimos will mean its shield goes bye-bye.

What I think would be good is to have a WIDE RANGE of these devices. And, since they are automated defense systems, make them and the Longreach series available at Auton dealers. That solves the big issue: The fact they're really really hard to find.

Here's one set of options that might work:

ICX/A: Exactly the same as the current ICX.

ICX/B: Like an ICX, only using a Turbolaser or a fast-fire laser.

ICX/C-MT: An ICX, with 2-3 Multi-targeting cannons. Bolides, perhaps? Multi-targeting might be an issue, but should be possible to code in.

Longreach 1: Uh...a longreach I?

Longreach 2: Longreach with faster fire-rate, shorter range? This is hypothetical, and I haven't thought it through much.


And for all of them: Reworked targeting algorithms. They're currently seriously DANGEROUS sometimes, what with twitchy friendly stations. They also tend to shoot out randomly behind you. And miss things. Honestly, computers > humans for working out complicated trajectory and trig calculations in fractions of a second.. So why does the computer miss when I don't?

[schilcote]

Perhaps ICXes should be low power but have them be stackable in one slot? So if I bought five ICX turrets, I would have very good protection against missiles (maybe 80% get shot down, plus frags which will probably damage you anyway) at a very large cost of fuel and the turrets themselves.

[Song]

Perhaps ICXes should be low power but have them be stackable in one slot? So if I bought five ICX turrets, I would have very good protection against missiles (maybe 80% get shot down, plus frags which will probably damage you anyway) at a very large cost of fuel and the turrets themselves.

The problem there is the targeting. ICX systems aint so good at aiming AT the missile.

[Atarlost]

What about using something with a larger hitbox than a laser?

[kay.py]

Or maybe lob a small nuke/harass style area of effect in front of the projectile, Missile Command style?

[Atarlost]

Definately not that. Area weapons don't respect projectile hitpoints.

[Song]

What about using something with a larger hitbox than a laser?

Hmm. That might work. Maybe an Omni-version of the Arbalest? that gives more chance to hit the missile, and is at least slightly effective against multiple missiles.


Although Nothing is EVER going to stop Strelkas.

(Except, perhaps, an Ares Lightning Turret configured as an ICX )

[Psycholis]

i just imagined that last one and wow, what an overkill way to stop a missile.

[Song]

i just imagined that last one and wow, what an overkill way to stop a missile.

Weeeeeeel, I suppose lobbing an M5 at a KM100 (DM version) IS an effective way to stop it.....IF it hits.


If it misses, of course, you have the whole whooshy-off-and-killing-random-stations thing.