I died a loooot today.
I was flying a 350r against a Gladiator, an interesting experience but I got a strategy that kept me happy in the end.
So for 6 matches in a row I was being butchered by this one Gladiator. To be fair to them i'm a sadist and was targeting them - used to do it with the OP Sabres in 2.5, I am never going to be top of the leader boards... When I find a ship I can't dance with I will try and try again until I find a way to duke it out.
Anyway, the gig would go as follows: I'd fly up to them, they'd launch one of the missiles that has the thunderbolt icon when it locks you and i'd die. Every time I died they picked up a new batch of missiles from my corpse (350R does not even have mountable missile rack points at the moment so where they came from is anyones guess) and be fresh as a daisy for the next go.
I launched chaff, no effect on the magic missile and i'd die, I launched Flairs, no effect on the magic missile and i'd die, I turned off my engines so my EM was zero, no effect on the magic missile, i'd die. One hit shots every single time. I even tried to outpace the missile at 945 top speed, it would still catch me even going 945, i'd die.
So I tried exhausting their missiles by getting locked and then either hiding behind something or ramming my ship into a 'roid. This failed because when they could not get pick-ups from me, they just killed someone else and got them from them.
So I finally came up with a winning strategy... Well, not so much winning as "if i'm going to die, i'm going to die on my terms".
I got up to top speed, 945, and ram them firing as I came in to get a hand full of points. If they are going to have magic undodgeable missiles, I am going to be a magic undodgeble missile, for the Glory Of Test!
Worked for me, I was having great fun.
How in all hell do you Counter the Thunderbolt Icon missiles? I have googled and found no details...