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[Thaago]

I recently stumbled across an early game missile combo that is working very well: Salamander + Swarmer in a single, linked, group, with no other weapons.

There are two big improvements: the AI will fire the swarmers far, far more often - almost all the time - and at longer ranges than normal. Like many other guided missile weapons, swarmers have a longer flight time than their default range, so firing them from beyond normal range works well (can sometimes flame out vs very fast enemies, but oh well). The other big improvement comes from the fact that while Swarmers attack from the front and sides, Salamanders try to attack from the rear. AI ships have a very hard time dealing with both at the same time, so they are often either letting the Salamanders through or the Swarmers, neither of which is healthy for early game ships.

In terms of ships I'm using this on: the starter wolf and a flock of kites to start with, and I'm planning on keeping the theme going with larger gunships that have the right number of slots.

There are also some other classic combos: Locust + Squall in one group for many of the same reasons as above, and Sabot + Harpoon in different groups for shield overload + finisher.

Anyone else have good combos they've found?

[Siffrin]

The Hydra causes omni-shield AI to freak out so much I suspect it might be a bug and I'm curious about what would happen if you were to launch Harpoons as well. The AI perceives the Hydra as a threat so high it would rather tank HIL beams in order to block the DEMs and I wonder if Harpoons may be ignored as well.

Edit: Here's the post with the video link showcasing the AI freaking out over the beam missiles.
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=29236.0

[Killer of Fate]

The Hydra causes omni-shield AI to freak out so much I suspect it might be a bug and I'm curious about what would happen if you were to launch Harpoons as well. The AI perceives the Hydra as a threat so high it would rather tank HIL beams in order to block the DEMs and I wonder if Harpoons may be ignored as well.

Edit: Here's the post with the video link showcasing the AI freaking out over the beam missiles.
https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=29236.0

this feels like it's caused by the Hydra DEM not being marked as DANGEROUS in the weapon file, and also the AI treating it as a very dangerous projectile. It's negligence to retreat away from it whilst at the same time treating it as a serious threat that can attack it at any angle causes the ship to expose itself to damage.

[Mishrak]

I feel like the most classic combo is Squall + Harpoon, especially on something like a Gryphon.  Linking those together is some of the most oppressive missile spam, even after all the nerfs.

[Sandor057]

It's a one-trick pony, but SO Enforcers are very qualified to get in close and unleash double Sabot racks then double Reapers. It has quite a bite and can be a pain (if not outright KABOOM) to most things... if it works.
When it does, works well with reckless officers. PPT is not an issue as you can at most get two or three runs out of a single ship, after that it's a retreat order.

I also used an Annihilator + Pilum fleet a while back, which is funnily thematic for a Dominator+Mora brickfleet but gets either some nice hits or is completely negated by superior PD.

[Vanshilar]

Like many other guided missile weapons, swarmers have a longer flight time than their default range, so firing them from beyond normal range works well (can sometimes flame out vs very fast enemies, but oh well).

As an aside, I was looking into this, and it seems like it's because the missiles actually use flight time (in weapon_data.csv) not range to determine how long they last and thus how far they can travel, whereas range just specifies at what distance they'll fire. (This makes sense, and is probably what the flight time field is for in the first place.) And so, depending on their acceleration, i.e. how quickly they reach their top speed, they can actually travel much farther than their range in some cases.

So, taking the missiles in weapon_data.csv, we can multiply the projectile speed with the flight time to get their actual maximum range (assuming they start at full speed):

Code

range	speed	launch	time	spe*tim	% diff	name
500	50	20	7	350	70%	Stinger-class Proximity Mine
1500	20	20	60	1200	80%	Cluster Bomb Bay
2000	170	20	25	4250	213%	Standard Bomb Bay
1200	400	100	3.5	1400	117%	Reaper-class Torpedo
1200	400	150	4	1600	133%	Atropos-class Torpedo Rack
1200	400	150	4	1600	133%	Atropos-class Torpedo (Single)
1200	500	40	4	2000	167%	Hammer-class Torpedo
1200	500	40	4	2000	167%	Hammer-class Torpedo (Single)
1000	300	100	5	1500	150%	Swarmer SRM Launcher
1000	300	100	5	1500	150%	Swarmer SRM Launcher
1500	400	50	3.75	1500	100%	Annihilator Rocket Launcher
1500	400	50	3.75	1500	100%	Annihilator Rocket Pod
2000	400	50	15	6000	300%	Salamander MRM
2500	300	100	12.5	3750	150%	Harpoon MRM
2500	300	100	12.5	3750	150%	Harpoon MRM (Double)
1500	400	50	5	2000	133%	Breach SRM
1200	150	50	8	1200	100%	Sabot SRM
1200	150	50	8	1200	100%	Sabot SRM (Double)
1200	150	50	8	1200	100%	Sabot SRM (Single)
1500	300	75	6	1800	120%	Gorgon DEM SRM
1200	150	25	5	750	63%	Gazer DEM SRM
2500	300	100	12.5	3750	150%	Harpoon MRM Pod
2000	150	0	12	1800	90%	Dragonfire DEM Torpedo
1500	300	75	6	1800	120%	Gorgon SRM Pod
1200	150	25	5	750	63%	Gazer SRM Pod
1500	400	50	5	2000	133%	Breach SRM Pod
1200	150	50	8	1200	100%	Sabot SRM Pod
2000	400	50	15	6000	300%	Salamander MRM Pod
1500	400	50	3.75	1500	100%	Annihilator Rocket Pod
4000	125	100	30	3750	94%	Pilum LRM Launcher
1000	100	400	4	400	40%	Proximity Charge Launcher
2000	100	200	12	1200	60%	Proximity Charge Launcher
1200	500	40	4	2000	167%	Jackhammer
1200	400	100	3.5	1400	117%	Typhoon Reaper Launcher
1200	400	400	3.5	1400	117%	Cyclone Reaper Launcher
4000	125	200	30	3750	94%	Pilum LRM Catapult
2500	250	50	12	3000	120%	Hurricane MIRV Launcher
2000	150	0	12	1800	90%	Dragonfire Torpedo Pod
2500	300	75	7	2100	84%	Hydra MDEM Launcher
2500	600	100	4.75	2850	114%	Squall MLRS
1400	400	100	6	2400	171%	Locust SRM Launcher
1200	500	40	4	2000	167%	Hammer Barrage
1000	200	0	100	20000	2000%	Reality Disruptor
1200	1000	200	3	3000	250%	Antimatter SRM Launcher
2500	400	200	10	4000	160%	Resonator MRM Launcher
2000	200	100	15	3000	150%	Rift Torpedo Launcher

In the above chart, "speed" refers to their max speed, i.e. "proj speed" in weapon_data.csv, while "launch" refers to their initial speed, i.e. "launch speed" in weapon_data.csv. "spe*tim" is just speed * time, while "% diff" is the ratio of speed * time divided by the range -- in other words, how much the max possible range is compared with the range that the weapon will fire.

Some of the numbers don't work out, such as the Proximity Charge Launcher since that depends on the ship's initial speed, and Omega weapons also don't seem to work out (they pretty closely match their firing range). However, it's obvious from the above that quite a few of the missiles can actually go much farther than their stated range. In particular, the Salamander can actually fly up to 6000 su before flaming out. This is probably to account for that it needs to maneuver not just to the target but also around the target to the back where the engines are.

[Amoebka]

we can multiply the projectile speed with the flight time to get their actual maximum range

Doesn't really work because most missiles don't fly in straight lines. Default guided missile AI has a wavy flight pattern, and their projectile speed is the magnitude of the velocity vector, the forward projection of which is shorter on average.

[Vanshilar]

Doesn't really work because most missiles don't fly in straight lines. Default guided missile AI has a wavy flight pattern, and their projectile speed is the magnitude of the velocity vector, the forward projection of which is shorter on average.

Right, this is the range assuming the missiles travel in a straight line, and assuming they start at maximum speed. So the actual range will be a bit lower than this. Nevertheless most of the numbers are fairly accurate, especially considering that ships have size (length and width) so the actual distance the missile has to travel is usually a bit less than the distance shown when targeting an enemy ship.

[Thaago]

I've noticed that some missiles change their behavior depending on how much flight time they have left too - for example, salamanders launched at extreme range by the player will aim for the nose of the enemy if they don't have the fuel to circle.

The Hammer Barrage having a longer "max range" than the AI fires at is something I've noticed to my detriment; it's really hard to back off from hammer strikes in a medium speed ship because they don't flame out like annihilators do!

Oh, fun anecdote about the Proximity Charge Launcher and its inherited speed: I did a random start and had a PCL Shrike as my flagship for the early game. Launching the charge when in plasma burn turns it into a very fast bomb that I ended up using for all sorts of tricks - blasting it through point defense to hit enemies, intercepting enemy talon wings and missile clusters to protect allies, zoning out hounds/cerberi/other frigates by cutting off their routes with it, etc.

Overpowered? No, it's still a shrike so 'economical' is a much better descriptor. But very fun to fly and figure out.