I very often find myself using Hurricanes over other missiles and I'd like to bring attention to its strength. Below are all the ships that have access to large missile mounts, what I typically put on them and why.
Disclaimer:
Hurricane needs ECCM to truly shine. It benefits more from it than any other missile because of how the second stage cluster becomes both tighter and faster.
EMR = Expanded Missile Racks.
One large missile and almost no other missiles:- Apogee (1 small)
- Prometheus Mk.II
For this group, I typically consider either Locust or Hurricane, often leaning towards Locust because the ships have other things going for it or not enough OP to properly fit ECCM + EMR + Hurricane. Squall is almost never worth it because of how easy it is to make it miss (seemingly fixed in the next update) and because it lacks overall ammo.
One large missile and an assortment of other missiles:- Gryphon (2 medium + 3 small)
- Odyssey (3 medium)
For this group I almost always go Hurricane because the medium and small missiles subsidize the addition of ECCM and EMR, which naturally makes Hurricane the standout choice.
Two large missiles and any amount of other missiles:- Atlas Mk.II
- Legion XIV
- Conquest
For this group the choice is even more clear. When your investment into ECCM + EMR gets double the payout, Hurricane is the choice.
Two large missiles and any amount of other missiles + a super powerful system that promotes heavy bomber use:- Astral
For the Astral, I typically build them with fighters in mind and missiles second or not at all. This leaves little OP for missile hullmods, so Locust or nothing is typically the pick.
Why do I pick Hurricane in so many of these scenarios?1. It comes with a very high amount of damage per slot for how good its tracking is, at
500 * 11 * 10 = 55000 total HE damage. Compare this to Squall's 250 * 100 = 25000 kinetic damage or the Hammer Barrage's 1500 * 20 = 30000 HE. The Cyclone Reaper has 4000 * 20 = 80000 HE, but it needs to sacrifice almost all its other stats to get that. The lower damage per missile would be a problem due to enemy armor, but skills like Target Analysis and Missile Specialization remove this problem almost entirely.
2. Its second stage missile cluster is one of, if not the hardest missile barrage to shoot down in the game. You almost always get some missiles through enemy PD.
3. Because the AI is looking for vulnerable ships, many ships in your fleet simultaneously fire their Hurricanes at the same vulnerable target, leading to a profoundly powerful alpha-strike potential. The AI is just extremely good at using it and the huge range lets your ships help eachother out in a way most other missiles cannot match.
4. When put in player hands, combined with ECCM and manually fired, it can reach upwards of 6000 range if aimed at ships far in the distance. This is the case because the first stage flies far, then the second stage cluster flies even farther.
Below are some videos to demonstrate my claims:Hurricane range showcase.Hurricane vs heavy PD.Standard Hurricane use by the AI against an Eagle. (Note how it fires the Hurricanes at will, while the harpoons only come out by the time the Eagle is dead...)
In conclusion, I find that the Hurricane is a bit too strong in too many areas compared to its brethren. I would suggest reductions in one or more areas to let the others compete. The areas that stand out the most to me are ammo count and second stage missile HP.
