Missiles: Difference between revisions

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==== Kiting ====

As a strategy ~~"kiting" is a plan to engage the enemy from a distance~~, ~~always fleeing just fast enough to stay outside of the enemy's range~~ while ~~remaining inside your own~~ range. ~~Since~~ kiting ships ~~need~~ speed and ~~longer ranged weapons~~, shield tanked missile ~~boats~~ are good ~~for~~ this ~~approach~~.

Kiting is a form of of hit-and-run strategy, attacking enemies while staying beyond their effective range, and always having a way out. As kiting ships rely on their speed and range for defenses, many good kiting ships are shield-tanked missile ships. [[Pirate Faction Ship Overview#Mordu's Legion|Mordu's Legion]] ships are particularly good at this combat style.

~~As a tactic,~~ kiting ~~requires a "hit and run" mentality~~. ~~You want to approach your target until you are close enough to shoot, fire a salvo~~ of ~~missiles~~, and ~~watch. If the enemy flees~~, ~~you want to pursue; if the enemy attacks~~, ~~you want to flee ... at a speed approximately the same~~ or ~~a bit more~~ than ~~the enemy~~ .~~.. firing all~~ the ~~time. Because~~ missiles will chase ~~the target~~ without any ~~further guidance~~ from ~~your~~ ship, ~~you~~ are not ~~restricted~~ to ~~any particular flight path. You simply want~~ to ~~stay~~ within ~~missile~~ range ~~of the target~~, ~~which becomes even easier if~~ the ~~enemy is chasing and you are fleeing~~.

The primary goal in kiting is to stay alive. This means staying out of their range, either by keeping pace and range while pursuing, orbiting at around 20-30km (within missile and Warp Disruptor range but outside of other modules' range), or by running away from them just slightly faster than they can catch up. Because launching missiles at pursuing targets makes the pursuers get hit sooner, and because missiles will chase and hit their targets without any interaction from the launching ship, missile ships are extremely good at both flying evasively and straight running away. (Unlike turret ships, missile ships are not required to line up good shots with their targets to land hits; missiles merely need to be within range, and beyond that the missile ships can take on any flight path they wish.)

PvE enemies tend to be rather ~~fanatical~~, locking on when they see you and never giving up. This makes kiting a popular strategy when running Missions. ~~It takes longer~~ to kill ~~the NPCs~~, and the resulting loot ~~can~~ be scattered ~~over~~ a ~~wide~~ area, ~~but~~ your ship will ~~take~~ relatively little damage, and ~~since~~ you are already running~~, if you decide to break off,~~ it is ~~usually~~ easy to ~~get away~~.

PvE enemies tend to be rather single-minded, locking on when they see you, approaching to orbit, and never giving up. This makes kiting a popular strategy when running Missions. When compared with fighting NPCs head-on, kiting increases the time required to kill targets (as longer-ranged weapons have lower damage), and the resulting loot will be scattered across a large area; however in exchange, your ship will sustain relatively little damage, and as you are already in effect running away it is very easy to warp out and escape the field if necessary.

PvP is much more difficult in this regard. Inexperienced pilots may chase you to their deaths, but experienced pilots will just let you run. ~~PvP~~ kiting is ~~more likely to show up in gangs of~~ fast ships ~~that hit and run from multiple directions at once ... a kind of "~~[[~~wolfpack~~]]~~" attack that leaves~~ their ~~target unable~~ to ~~either run or~~ close ~~on a target~~.

PvP is much more difficult in this regard. Inexperienced pilots may chase you to their deaths, but experienced pilots will just let you run, knowing that both you and they likely have the choice to escape. The greatest danger in kiting is extremely fast ships such as [[Interceptors]], which can outrun, catch, and tackle most other ships, giving their allies time to close in for the kill. Part of the popularity of cruisers with Rapid Light missiles is that these missiles are extremely effective at destroying interceptors.

==== The Delayed Damage Problem ====

@@ Line 152: / Line 152: @@
 ==== Kiting ====
-As a strategy "kiting" is a plan to engage the enemy from a distance, always fleeing just fast enough to stay outside of the enemy's range while remaining inside your own range. Since kiting ships need speed and longer ranged weapons, shield tanked missile boats are good for this approach.
+Kiting is a form of of hit-and-run strategy, attacking enemies while staying beyond their effective range, and always having a way out. As kiting ships rely on their speed and range for defenses, many good kiting ships are shield-tanked missile ships. [[Pirate Faction Ship Overview#Mordu's Legion|Mordu's Legion]] ships are particularly good at this combat style.
-As a tactic, kiting requires a "hit and run" mentality. You want to approach your target until you are close enough to shoot, fire a salvo of missiles, and watch. If the enemy flees, you want to pursue; if the enemy attacks, you want to flee ... at a speed approximately the same or a bit more than the enemy ... firing all the time. Because missiles will chase the target without any further guidance from your ship, you are not restricted to any particular flight path. You simply want to stay within missile range of the target, which becomes even easier if the enemy is chasing and you are fleeing.
+The primary goal in kiting is to stay alive. This means staying out of their range, either by keeping pace and range while pursuing, orbiting at around 20-30km (within missile and Warp Disruptor range but outside of other modules' range), or by running away from them just slightly faster than they can catch up. Because launching missiles at pursuing targets makes the pursuers get hit sooner, and because missiles will chase and hit their targets without any interaction from the launching ship, missile ships are extremely good at both flying evasively and straight running away. (Unlike turret ships, missile ships are not required to line up good shots with their targets to land hits; missiles merely need to be within range, and beyond that the missile ships can take on any flight path they wish.)
-PvE enemies tend to be rather fanatical, locking on when they see you and never giving up. This makes kiting a popular strategy when running Missions. It takes longer to kill the NPCs, and the resulting loot can be scattered over a wide area, but your ship will take relatively little damage, and since you are already running, if you decide to break off, it is usually easy to get away.
+PvE enemies tend to be rather single-minded, locking on when they see you, approaching to orbit, and never giving up. This makes kiting a popular strategy when running Missions. When compared with fighting NPCs head-on, kiting increases the time required to kill targets (as longer-ranged weapons have lower damage), and the resulting loot will be scattered across a large area; however in exchange, your ship will sustain relatively little damage, and as you are already in effect running away it is very easy to warp out and escape the field if necessary.
-PvP is much more difficult in this regard. Inexperienced pilots may chase you to their deaths, but experienced pilots will just let you run. PvP kiting is more likely to show up in gangs of fast ships that hit and run from multiple directions at once ... a kind of "[[wolfpack]]" attack that leaves their target unable to either run or close on a target.
+PvP is much more difficult in this regard. Inexperienced pilots may chase you to their deaths, but experienced pilots will just let you run, knowing that both you and they likely have the choice to escape. The greatest danger in kiting is extremely fast ships such as [[Interceptors]], which can outrun, catch, and tackle most other ships, giving their allies time to close in for the kill. Part of the popularity of cruisers with Rapid Light missiles is that these missiles are extremely effective at destroying interceptors.
 ==== The Delayed Damage Problem ====