These forums have been archived and are now read-only.

The new forums are live and can be found at https://forums.eveonline.com/

Ships & Modules

 
  • Topic is locked indefinitely.
 

Defender Missiles
Author
Previous Topic Next Topic
John Ratcliffe
Tradors'R'us
IChooseYou Alliance
#1 - 2013-04-17 11:32:45 UTC
Can anyone explain how Defender Missiles work please? Do I need to target the ship shooting at me? Or just activate the modules?

TIA.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Destructor1792
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#2 - 2013-04-17 12:39:51 UTC
Not actually used defender missiles in nearly 10 years but it used to be a case of just activate the module & it would fire if any hostile missiles were incoming.

Not sure if this is still the case though.

You'll discover (as most others have) that defenders are probably the most useless thing to have fitted to your ship as they take away a hard point that should be doing dps.

Best advice is play with your ship setup & fit a tank (active / passive / speed) instead to mitigate the incoming damage as more DPS from you means the target will die quicker hence less incoming damage.

Hope that helps.

Not fired a shot in anger since 2011.... Trigger finger is starting to get somewhat itchy.......
Mike Whiite
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#3 - 2013-04-17 13:07:24 UTC
John Ratcliffe wrote:
Can anyone explain how Defender Missiles work please? Do I need to target the ship shooting at me? Or just activate the modules?

TIA.


They don't is the honest answer.

Biggest problem is that it requires a launcher hard point, and the incomming damage that you counter does not live up to the extra damage you do when you just fire normal missiles.

Though as it is now, stay away from defender missiles.
John Ratcliffe
Tradors'R'us
IChooseYou Alliance
#4 - 2013-04-17 13:08:32 UTC
Destructor1792 wrote:
Not actually used defender missiles in nearly 10 years but it used to be a case of just activate the module & it would fire if any hostile missiles were incoming.

Not sure if this is still the case though.

You'll discover (as most others have) that defenders are probably the most useless thing to have fitted to your ship as they take away a hard point that should be doing dps.

Best advice is play with your ship setup & fit a tank (active / passive / speed) instead to mitigate the incoming damage as more DPS from you means the target will die quicker hence less incoming damage.

Hope that helps.


Thanks for the response. This is for a bait ship. It has a massive tank and it's only job is in enticing others to commit, at which point the cavalry will hopefully arrive. The non-utility high slots really won't do any DPS without low slot support, so I wondered if it might be better to devote them to defence instead. I'll have a play with them tonight and see how I get on.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Mike Whiite
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#5 - 2013-04-17 13:11:19 UTC  |  Edited by: Mike Whiite
John Ratcliffe wrote:

Thanks for the response. This is for a bait ship. It has a massive tank and it's only job is in enticing others to commit, at which point the cavalry will hopefully arrive. The non-utility high slots really won't do any DPS without low slot support, so I wondered if it might be better to devote them to defence instead. I'll have a play with them tonight and see how I get on.


------------------> Smart Bombs
John Ratcliffe
Tradors'R'us
IChooseYou Alliance
#6 - 2013-04-17 13:18:28 UTC
Mike Whiite wrote:
John Ratcliffe wrote:

Thanks for the response. This is for a bait ship. It has a massive tank and it's only job is in enticing others to commit, at which point the cavalry will hopefully arrive. The non-utility high slots really won't do any DPS without low slot support, so I wondered if it might be better to devote them to defence instead. I'll have a play with them tonight and see how I get on.


------------------> Smart Bombs


It's for use in High Sec only Cry

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Bugsy VanHalen
Society of lost Souls
#7 - 2013-04-17 15:20:12 UTC
a rack of rapid light missile launchers loaded with defenders might be worth trying.

The idea of defender missiles is they work much like auto targeting missiles, but target incoming missiles. it generally takes several defenders to shoot down a single incoming missile of the same size. If you spew enough of them they should reduce incoming missile damage. At least they work well for NPC's.

As others have said in this thread defenders re not used much as the defense they provide is not worth as much as the DPS you have to give up to fit them. Some of my Cane fits have rapid light missile launches on them, I have tried carrying some defenders at times to use only when facing ships that spew missiles at me, but I always seem to do better using damage missiles. However in your case were outgoing DPS is meaningless they might be worthwhile.
Daniel Plain
Doomheim
#8 - 2013-04-17 15:35:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Daniel Plain
i have been playing around with defenders on a sleeper farm hurricane (before it lost its extra high slot). the way they currently work is whenever there is at least one missile flying at you, you can turn on the launcher and the defenders will attack the nearest incoming missile until there are no incoming missiles left.
in practice, it kind of works but you have to spam the launchers if the attackers rate of fire is too low which makes it a chore.

edit: they also only attack missiles that are aimed at you, so you cannot tank missiles for your fleet or somesuch (which is a pity imo).

I should buy an Ishtar.
Bugsy VanHalen
Society of lost Souls
#9 - 2013-04-18 14:01:48 UTC
Daniel Plain wrote:
i have been playing around with defenders on a sleeper farm hurricane (before it lost its extra high slot). the way they currently work is whenever there is at least one missile flying at you, you can turn on the launcher and the defenders will attack the nearest incoming missile until there are no incoming missiles left.
in practice, it kind of works but you have to spam the launchers if the attackers rate of fire is too low which makes it a chore.

edit: they also only attack missiles that are aimed at you, so you cannot tank missiles for your fleet or some such (which is a pity imo).

good point,
for defenders to work you want to turn off auto cyle. only fire the defenders when you have incoming missiles.Thsi works well on turrent ships that have a couple utility highs and launcher hard points. But as I said before, I find the added DPS from from firing damage missiles from those launchers was always a better solution. Defender missiles, while they do work if used properly, are not effective enough to off set the lost DPS you need to sacrifice in order to fit them. A point defense module that could fit in a utility slot without need of a hardpoint would be more worthwhile.
Ferrucio Surge
The Bag Cartel
#10 - 2013-05-13 06:05:08 UTC
So, because Defender Missiles require High Slots, it's best left to be a choice between using more than one Missile Module or using no Defender Missiles at all?

I've never used Defender Missiles in PvP, and I am having trouble figuring out if they are viable for PvP at all. My guess is that they are mainly used for bait/heavy tank ships, as mentioned before.

A shame, really. When I first heard about Anti-Missiles, I thought they were talking about something that required a Medium Slot, and fired an amount of Anti-Missiles that scaled to the amount coming at the ship, like what happens in this scene of Outlaw Star. But I suppose that's an over-fantasized version of what the purpose of Defender Missiles actually is.
hellcane
Never Back Down
#11 - 2013-05-13 15:48:41 UTC
Never have tried defenders, but for NPCs it takes one defender per missile, and two defenders to knock out torps.
Tsukino Stareine
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2013-05-13 15:53:44 UTC
If its a baitship, fit neuts

Art of Explosions