Missiles

There are two types of standard missiles: Light and Heavy. The former require a light turret, or can be mounted on fixed hardpoints. The latter require a heavy turret.

The basic characteristics of missiles are:

Missiles are relatively easy to shoot down (if you can hit them), so any hit causing damage is assumed to destroy them.

Missiles get an attack when they move within range of their target. Move the missile as normal, and if it is within 1” per 'g' of thrust available, then it can make an attack, using up that many 'g'. It it misses, it is assumed to detonate.

It makes an attack roll (see performance below), against either “15 + size modifier” of the target, or the “dodge + size modifier” of the target.

All missiles have the following characteristics:

• 3 turns of fuel at maximum burn, e.g. a 9g light missile has a Delta V of 27”.

Missiles get an attack roll when closing with the target. This is based on their Agility and the computer skill of the software. The missile may also be programmed to dodge, in which case it gets a dodge roll against all point defence fire (including nuclear dampers etc), but both attack and dodge are at -10. Thrust must be used in the attack, equal to the Agility being used. Thrust used for course correction counts.

Fast missiles are designed to have greater acceleration, at the expense of lower flight times. Double the thrust of the missile and reduce Agility by 1, but delta v is equal to the missile's new thrust, giving it a duration of only 1 turn at maximum thrust.

Fast missiles can be used as same-turn attacks, at TL12 striking targets out to 30”. They can only be shot down with point defence.

Halve the thrust (round down), but delta v is equal to five times the original thrust, e.g. a TL11 light missile would have a thrust of 6g and a delta-v of 60”/turn.

NERV Boosters can be added to light missiles. Doing so means they take up the capacity and require the launchers of heavy missiles. A booster enables a missile to make an initial very fast boost towards the target. The missile can use its normal thrusters whilst boosting. A missile boosts in a fixed direction with a fixed thrust until fuel is expended or the booster is jettisoned. Thrust is set at launch, and can't be changed. Typically, the boosters kick in the turn after launch, since the NERV rockets are incredibly dirty.

There are several warhead types:

• Nuclear, generally a 1kT or 10kT nuclear warhead. These do the most damage, but can be relatively easily knocked out with nuclear dampers.
• Kinetic Kill, try to ram the target. Harder to hit the target, but harder to stop.
• Nuclear pumped laser, uses a nuclear detonation to power a laser. Less damage than true nuclear, but can hit from beyond the range of nuclear dampers.
• ECM, can try and take out the systems of the target.

These are the most effective at taking out large ships, if they can avoid nuclear dampers.

• Light warhead (1kT) does base of +150 damage, Heavy damage, and is a size 30 attack.
• Heavy warhead (10kT) does base of +250 damage, Heavy damage, and is a size 40 attack.
• On a good hit, damage is +50 (a standard hit assumes a near miss).
• On an excellent hit, damage is +100.
• Attack of the missile is at +10, because only a near miss is actually required.
• Can be stopped by Nuclear Dampers.

• Light warhead does base of +125 damage, heavy, size 15 attack.
• Heavy warhead does base of +175 damage, heavy, size 20 attack.

• Light warhead does base of +150 damage, and is a size 20 attack.
• Heavy warhead does base of +250 damage, and is a size 30 attack.

The range at which the detonation occurs effects how much damage is done (-25 to damage for each multiple of short range), and the attack suffers a penalty as per beam attacks (-5 per increment of distance).

The general idea is to detonate the warheads outside of the nuclear damper range of the target. Nuclear dampers cannot be used defensively against these warheads.