They're supposed to be effective against heavy air targets like Liberators and Galaxies, but that's pretty much it. They can't be dumbfired to have limited use against stationary or predictable targets, and they aren't really all that great against their intended targets. Each missile does 20% to ESFs, 15% to the hull of Liberators, and 10% to Galaxies, and require you to hold it on your target for 3 seconds. I'd rather see them as a soft-locking torpedo with a slow turn rate and a long reload time, the tracking system would be simplified, only aiming to point at the target, not on an intercept course. Ground targets wouldn't be locked, but stationary or lead ones could still be hit for a high but reasonable alpha. Cautious ESFs would be able to veer out of the way, Liberators would need to put all effort into avoiding it, and Galaxies would be more or less a guaranteed hit unless your initial launch angle is way off.
Before you continue down this line of argument, please review the history of Coyote Missiles in terms of their reception.
Coyotes seem to not only lock on when they get near, but pull an instant right angle straight into the ESFs, I'm not sure what that is all about. At this point they only do, what, 6x75 damage? So I'm not sure what the problem is, I see them as a weapon more specialized against the lighter ESFs and Valkyries, where the Tomcats would be suited for Liberators and Galaxies. My proposal would have the missiles lock on in-flight, but they would turn very gradually so that pilots on the receiving end would have a chance to evade.
#1, I agree with your idea. #2, I don't think it matters. PS2 Devs want the Lockons to not be used, which is why they made them terrible. PS2 Devs (*cough* Wrel *cough*) decided that ESF vs. ESF should be tailored to the Skyknight playstyle, and (by his second try) Wrel managed nerf the Lockons into extinction. While the official answer was that A2AM was changed to target Libs/Gals, the real answer is they are being functionally erased from the game. I don't think he's referring to Coyote. I think he's specifically talking about changing the Tomcat/Photon A2AM.
Yes, I was indeed talking about the Tomcat A2A and other faction equivalents. The Coyote is literally a 6 shot ranger with **** for velocity, so I'm sure that could use some love. Back in the day, I bought Tomcat A2A to deal with superior pilots or difficult shots. Two ****** pilots could conceivably take down an ace, which is necessary when nothing else in the game can, and they're otherwise left free to rampage around the map uncontested.
you have coyotes and laserguided hornets .. lock ons simply are meant for that .. locking on before firing not limiting them like that could make pods less desireable .. also there are changes to HA RL´s comming from what i saw from pts ... so maybe airrockets get those changes further down the line too
