It's become clear to me that I have literally no idea how missiles work in this game.
If I lock missiles on someone, they pop a flare and lose them all. It matters very little how many I fire. If I throw 8 missiles at someone, they'll pop a flare and I'll see all 8 missiles shunt off after the flare.
If someone locks a missile on me, my flare will take care of it maybe 1/3rd of the time. If I have 2 or 3 missiles locked on, I'm almost always dead.
I have yet to survive seeing 6 or 8 missiles locked on me. Literally. Not once have I seen a screen full of locks and not died from it. A single flare? Does nothing. Spamming flares? Does nothing. (I might lose one or two of the missiles, but death is still coming.)
I've tried reading about it, but can't find anything that agrees.
I've been told that flares fire from behind the ship, therefore if you fire missiles at someone's ass, they can easily flare and lose them. Therefore, you should fire missiles at their face unless you want them to avoid them easily. I've also been told that since flares fire from behind the ship, I should always try to aim my ass towards the missiles coming at me before firing flares, or the flares won't do anything. I've tried this and have failed to notice a difference.
I've also been told that since the missiles are heatseeking, they follow the target's main thrusters. Therefore, never fire at the front of a ship or it will easily flare and avoid your missiles. Only fire at the ass of a ship. I've also been told that since missiles seek heat, I should always try to align my main engines away from the missile before firing flares. I've tried this as well, and failed.
Obviously I suck. But I'm not even sure which strategy to be trying to use. Or if I'm missing something else entirely, conceptually. I'm clearly doing something staggeringly idiotic; it's not just that some people are able to easily evade my missiles, it's that everyone can. And that I never seem to be able to do the same.
If I lock missiles on someone, they pop a flare and lose them all. It matters very little how many I fire. If I throw 8 missiles at someone, they'll pop a flare and I'll see all 8 missiles shunt off after the flare.
If someone locks a missile on me, my flare will take care of it maybe 1/3rd of the time. If I have 2 or 3 missiles locked on, I'm almost always dead.
I have yet to survive seeing 6 or 8 missiles locked on me. Literally. Not once have I seen a screen full of locks and not died from it. A single flare? Does nothing. Spamming flares? Does nothing. (I might lose one or two of the missiles, but death is still coming.)
I've tried reading about it, but can't find anything that agrees.
I've been told that flares fire from behind the ship, therefore if you fire missiles at someone's ass, they can easily flare and lose them. Therefore, you should fire missiles at their face unless you want them to avoid them easily. I've also been told that since flares fire from behind the ship, I should always try to aim my ass towards the missiles coming at me before firing flares, or the flares won't do anything. I've tried this and have failed to notice a difference.
I've also been told that since the missiles are heatseeking, they follow the target's main thrusters. Therefore, never fire at the front of a ship or it will easily flare and avoid your missiles. Only fire at the ass of a ship. I've also been told that since missiles seek heat, I should always try to align my main engines away from the missile before firing flares. I've tried this as well, and failed.
Obviously I suck. But I'm not even sure which strategy to be trying to use. Or if I'm missing something else entirely, conceptually. I'm clearly doing something staggeringly idiotic; it's not just that some people are able to easily evade my missiles, it's that everyone can. And that I never seem to be able to do the same.
