The question crops up a lot... What's the point of taking up valuable hard-points with mine launchers?
With mines in general, It depends what you expect from them. If you are trying to use them to attain a kill, then you'll be lucky some times, but frustrated most times. So don't think of them as weapons. Think of them as useful utilities for removing advantage from your opponent.
All mines work best from hard points that are far back on the ship. No guidance is given in the tech spec of the weapon as to where to place it - this is not the role of tech specs. They just tell you what the weapon does, and it's up to you to figure out how to use it, by experimenting. Fit them, and try them out, if you see a flash through the canopy or feel a blast, when you launch, then it exploded against your hull, so take it off that hard point and put it elsewhere.
2I Mine Launchers fitted in a group of 4 on a T9 (for example) are extremely effective if used right. The scenario is you've build an out-and-out trader. It doesn't fight, but has to be able to get away from anything. So upon interdiction, check the ship type and pilot rank just to clue you in on what you're about to be up against. If you look like your loosing the interdiction, submit. Practice your interdiction procedure against wing mates, or lesser skilled NPC.
Submit, then pips to sys and eng, NOT weapons. Your mine launchers don't need anything more than whats already parked in the distributor. Your feeding the two things most important for your escape - speed, and shield. Two mine launchers on fire button 1 and two on fire button 2. Each 2I launcher can fire 3 mines in quick succession. Six presses of the fire buttons, half a second apart, sends a long pattern of 12 mines (high and low along your track) in his direction. If he's of moderate skill, and in a Cobra or less, you can watch him die. If he's in a Fed Drop Ship or similar, he'll lose his shields and be forced to put pips to them. If he's decent skill level, he'll fly at an angle from your track, to avoid the next set of mines he suspects you will be sending him. But it doesn't matter what skill level he is, or what he's flying. Your mines are preventing him from boosting (meanwhile you can) or forcing him to put pips to shields. Either way, that means less pips in his weapons, which is good for you. But by now you've opened the gap, and probably out of his range. Now your FSD is cool enough, you can decide if you can kill him from long range with another pattern or two of mines, especially if the Police arrive to assist you (don't bank on it).
If you don't have the hard-points for 4 launchers, two will work almost as well. But don't get the 1I launchers if you can fit the bigger ones. Remember, he has to change his tactics in order to deal with what you're sending him. This buys you time enough to get away. And if you practice/test your manoeuvres in interdiction scenarios, you will be able to escape not matter what is trying to kill you.
So it's not so much what mines do to him, it's more what they prevent him from doing to you, that makes them a trader's best friend.
With mines in general, It depends what you expect from them. If you are trying to use them to attain a kill, then you'll be lucky some times, but frustrated most times. So don't think of them as weapons. Think of them as useful utilities for removing advantage from your opponent.
All mines work best from hard points that are far back on the ship. No guidance is given in the tech spec of the weapon as to where to place it - this is not the role of tech specs. They just tell you what the weapon does, and it's up to you to figure out how to use it, by experimenting. Fit them, and try them out, if you see a flash through the canopy or feel a blast, when you launch, then it exploded against your hull, so take it off that hard point and put it elsewhere.
2I Mine Launchers fitted in a group of 4 on a T9 (for example) are extremely effective if used right. The scenario is you've build an out-and-out trader. It doesn't fight, but has to be able to get away from anything. So upon interdiction, check the ship type and pilot rank just to clue you in on what you're about to be up against. If you look like your loosing the interdiction, submit. Practice your interdiction procedure against wing mates, or lesser skilled NPC.
Submit, then pips to sys and eng, NOT weapons. Your mine launchers don't need anything more than whats already parked in the distributor. Your feeding the two things most important for your escape - speed, and shield. Two mine launchers on fire button 1 and two on fire button 2. Each 2I launcher can fire 3 mines in quick succession. Six presses of the fire buttons, half a second apart, sends a long pattern of 12 mines (high and low along your track) in his direction. If he's of moderate skill, and in a Cobra or less, you can watch him die. If he's in a Fed Drop Ship or similar, he'll lose his shields and be forced to put pips to them. If he's decent skill level, he'll fly at an angle from your track, to avoid the next set of mines he suspects you will be sending him. But it doesn't matter what skill level he is, or what he's flying. Your mines are preventing him from boosting (meanwhile you can) or forcing him to put pips to shields. Either way, that means less pips in his weapons, which is good for you. But by now you've opened the gap, and probably out of his range. Now your FSD is cool enough, you can decide if you can kill him from long range with another pattern or two of mines, especially if the Police arrive to assist you (don't bank on it).
If you don't have the hard-points for 4 launchers, two will work almost as well. But don't get the 1I launchers if you can fit the bigger ones. Remember, he has to change his tactics in order to deal with what you're sending him. This buys you time enough to get away. And if you practice/test your manoeuvres in interdiction scenarios, you will be able to escape not matter what is trying to kill you.
So it's not so much what mines do to him, it's more what they prevent him from doing to you, that makes them a trader's best friend.
and then shift lock which makes their FSD reboot
