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:
 |
|
|
Small Rocket:
|
Large Rocket:
|
Incendiary Rocket:
|
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.
Note on incendiary rounds:
The listed damage using incendiary rounds is misleading. All incendiary weapons in the game do at most 10 points of damage on a direct hit. The damage values listed in the UFOpaedia determines how wide an area will be blanketed with flames, not how much damage will be done.
Ammunition
There are three rocket types. The launcher may only be loaded with one rocket at a time.
- Small rockets do decent damage but 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 most 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 and Ethereals as well. The blast radius of a large rocket 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 more effective. 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. Fire will not damage any of the valuable UFO components or equipment laying on the ground (including alien corpses left over from a crash landing). Incendiary rockets are especially effective when combined with exploits involving faulty collision detection in diagonal walls (such as on a Medium Scout) or ceilings.
Strategy
Terrain-clearing
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. Alien inside? Not for long. Remember to blow up every floor of every building you face -- HE damage is confined to a single vertical level, and aliens can spawn on any floor. Destroying the top floor of a building also destroys roof tiles, making it easier to spot any aliens lurking up there -- roofs are notorious for their blind spots.
Some players prefer to avoid using such destructive tactics during Terror Missions, when civilian lives are at stake. Remember that your soldiers' lives are at stake too, and the longer it takes you to kill the aliens, the fewer civilians will survive anyway.
When destroying buildings, it is better to fire the rocket through a window or open doorway, or to make your own holes, even if you can only target the square immediately inside the building. The HE block property of terrain objects reduces the power of explosive blasts. By detonating a rocket inside the building, the blast will reach more of its internal structure (and any occupants) with undiminished strength. More bang for your buck.
Versus Cyberdiscs
A direct hit from a Large Rocket has a 35% chance of killing a Cyberdisc, making it your best recourse should you encounter these nasties on your first Terror Mission. However, as Cyberdisk missions also contain psionic Sectoids, the results of a mind control can be devastating. The simplest way to counteract this is to drop the launcher at the end of each turn and pick it up again at the beginning. This is a good way of de-fanging all your troops, although it deprives you of reaction fire.
Indirect fire
It is quite frustrating to fire one of your precious rockets at an alien, miss, and watch it sail harmlessly off the screen. This is less of a problem when the alien is in front of a wall or inside a building -- a rocket that hits a nearby structure will probably kill the alien as well.
Thankfully, most aliens have a nearby structure beside them at all times: the ground. Even when you have a direct shot available, aiming at the ground adjacent to an alien is likelier to produce a hit, and a nearby blast from a Large Rocket will usually kill Sectoids, Floaters, and most Snakemen. This is also a good way to target aliens that are obscured by nearby obstacles, or to kill a group of aliens with a single shot -- aim in between them.
Firing from an elevated position further improves your chance of a groundstrike, even when using direct fire. It also makes it easier to shoot past ground-level obstacles. A rocketeer in a Flying Suit is the ultimate in air cavalry.
Safety first
Although not as dangerous as a stray Blaster Bomb, a badly placed Large Rocket can still kill several of your troops, even armoured ones. Avoid threading your shot through nearby obstacles such as trees, a fence, or the legs of your craft; move your shooter into the clear first. Shots that might wing other troopers are especially dangerous. It is for this reason that it is best to have your rocketeers near the front of the craft. Have them level nearby buildings before bringing the rest of your squad out.
Damage from HE explosions is confined to a single vertical level. This means it is usually safe to target the upper level of a building even if you are standing right next to it. But be sure you are clear of overhead obstructions first, in particular the wings/engines of your craft.
To aim or not to aim
When using the rocket launcher to destroy buildings or when using indirect fire, such as aiming at the ground -- the proverbial "broad side of a barn" -- you can get away with using snap shots. This allows you to move, fire, and reload all in one turn.
When forced to use direct fire, however, such as against an airborne Cyberdisc, it is much better to use aimed shots. If you have the TUs, you should kneel as well.
Miscellaneous drawbacks
Any object on the ground caught in the blast radius of a rocket is likely to be destroyed. To preserve loot, switch to nonexplosive weapons when attacking aliens in the vicinity of equipment.
Rocket reaction fire can be unpredictable and deadly. All reaction fire is direct-aim snap fire, which is likely to miss, and the game's AI doesn't care if there's a nearby obstacle (or other soldiers) in the way. You are better off facing a rocketeer away from combat, or using up his or her TUs to prevent reaction fire.
Tips
- Use in a support role, not for scouts.
- 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.
- 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.
- Laser Pistols make an excellent sidearm for rocketeers -- use them if you run out of ammo or need to switch to precision fire. After drawing the pistol, you don't even need to drop the launcher -- just make sure the pistol has focus by opening and closing its fire menu. You need a Strength of 41 to carry a full load of large rockets plus a Laser Pistol; a Plasma Pistol is also an option, requiring a strength of only 37.
Most of these tips can apply to the Small Launcher and Blaster Launcher.
