Rocket Launcher
The rocket launcher is slow, heavy, and has limited ammunition. It is also one of the most reliable ways to kill aliens, and it excels at destroying alien hiding places. What's not to like?
It is eventually overshadowed by the ultimate death-dealer, the Blaster Launcher. But even then the rocket launcher holds its own as an inexpensive (and less dangerous) terrain-clearer.
This weapon appears in UFO: Enemy Unknown. For the Terror from the Deep equivalent, refer to the Torpedo Launcher.
Stats
Rocket Launcher:
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Small Rocket:
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Large Rocket:
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Incendiary Rocket:
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The rocket launcher can only be fired once per round. Although two snap shots would technically use up only 90% of a soldier's TUs, an additional 15 TUs must be spent reloading the weapon between shots.
The rocket launcher is the most accurate weapon that can be fired in a straight line, surpassing even the Heavy Plasma or the X-Com standard Rifle.
Ammunition
There are three rocket types. The launcher may only be loaded with one rocket at a time.
- Small rockets offer few advantages over the large rocket: they may fail to achieve a single-shot kill and have a far smaller terrain-clearing radius. They are lighter, but a full load of large rockets plus launcher (plus one free load) weighs only 34 Strength units, and a launcher plus 2 reloads weighs only 26, which is manageable by nearly all Rookies.
- Large rockets are the mainstay ammunition for the rocket launcher. A single hit (or even a near miss) from a large rocket is pretty much a guaranteed kill against Sectoids and Floaters, and has a high likelihood of killing Snakemen, Ethereals, and Cyberdiscs as well. The large blast radius will blow open most of a farmhouse or clear out an orchard and often kill whatever's inside, making most terrain a cinch to sweep and secure.
- Incendiary rockets, like other incendiaries, do very little direct damage, though they do have specialized uses. The large fires they set can be used for nighttime illumination, although a large spread of many small fires (such as from an AC-IN) is better overall. Fire is also good for clearing obstructive flammable terrain (such as jungle), although this takes several turns; a large rocket can be used for instant effect.
- Perhaps the best use for incendiary rockets is to fire one inside an occupied UFO, then let the aliens slowly cook. This is especially powerful when combined with exploits involving faulty collision detection in diagonal walls (such as on a Medium Scout) or ceilings.
Strategy
The ideal terrain for fighting aliens is completely level and open. Without any hiding places, your scouts are guaranteed mutual surprise, and the lack of obstacles permits you to safely snipe the aliens from nearly any position (see Scouting for details).
Urban, farmland, and jungle terrain is full of obstructions that provide aliens cover to duck in and out of while taking potshots at you. Buildings and farmhouses are especially deadly -- you can get shot at from blind spots while approaching or entering the building and if you spot an alien inside, most of your troops will not have a clear line of fire.
Solution: blow the building up. Blow every building up. Every warehouse, every barn, every shed, every orchard, every thicket. Blow up every floor of every building. Alien inside? Not for long.
Limitations of incendiary damage
The listed damage using incendiary rounds is misleading. Incendiary rounds do ~6.4 damage on a direct hit. The damage values listed in the UFOpaedia do not determine how powerful an incendiary round deals damage; it only determines how wide an area will be blanketed with flames.
Furthermore soldiers cannot gain any form of experience shooting any weapon loaded with incendiary rounds. On the other hand, incendiary rounds (and other forms of fire) do not damage valuable equipment/loot, and ignore armor, which can be an advantage.
Recommendations
In the early game, the rocket launcher is the best hope for taking out Cyberdiscs and therefore at least one should be kept on-hand for such events. However, as cyberdisk missions also contain psionic Sectoids, the results of a mind control could be devastating. Therefore, these missions require the use of an ammo-bearer to prevent potential firing mishaps. The rocket launcher will continue to remain a useful weapon throughout the game as rockets are very cost-effective for the damage they can inflict.
Tips
- No matter what shot you use, kneel.
- Try to always fire the rocket with Aimed shots. You don't have many reloads.
- Snap shots should only be used when you're guaranteed a kill - such as firing the rocket toward an alien standing next to a wall.
- Use in a support role, not for scouts.
- Sometimes it's better to end the turn with no rocket loaded and to only load a rocket on the next turn. This protects from accidental reaction shots with the launcher.
- When sniping, do not forget that it costs the same amount of TUs to load ammunition from any location in the inventory screen, including the ground. So consider standing on a pile or rockets rather than carry them all the time, or have nearby companions throw rockets over to you.
- Don't bother saving time for reaction fire. Too much friendly fire risk. Move instead.
- Firing from an elevated position or Flying Suit at a downwards angle will guarantee an (eventual) impact with the ground.
- Since rockets explode, direct hits aren't compulsory. If you think you might miss your target, try aiming for a nearby building instead.
- Rockets are good for demolishing cover (trees, hedges, buildings) at long range, reducing the need for messy close range combat.
- Firing a rocket at the ground will generate an instant smoke cloud, instead of waiting a turn for a smoke grenade to go off. If a scout encounters too many aliens spaced too far apart or an alien that cannot be killed by a single large rocket, and supporting troops cannot get a line of fire, the scout can use this technique to make an instant smoke screen and retreat on the same turn. Even if supporting troops cannot get a line of fire to the aliens, they may be able to fire a rocket between the scout and the aliens. This is limited by the general limitations of smoke.
Most of these tips can apply to the Small Launcher and Blaster Launcher.
