PSA: Using ECM against Thargoid missiles and Thimpets.

SlickPBW

S
Historically, I have never been a user of ECM, but recently I have found it very effective against Thargoid FSD disruptor or caustic missiles. Here are some useful tips:

- Using an ECM on cargo/passenger ships going to/from Thargoid space is recommended. This assumes you are intentionally going into Thargoid areas to move cargo/passengers to support the war effort. Under the current update, you will be frequently hyperdicted/interdicted, and usually cargo/passenger ships are not outfitted for combat, so escape is the only option. Getting hit by one of those FSD disruptor missiles will mean an extra long time before you can jump, so not getting hit is a big priority. A speedy ship with shields/armor is recommended for escaping. You will pulled over by intercetptors as well as Glaives and Scythes. The latter 2 are very fast and you need to be able to survive long enough to re-enter supercruise or hyperspace.

- The max range of ECM is 3 km but it can be fired at any point before 3 km. During charging, the (increasing) range is displayed under the ECM hardpoint on your HUD. Upon firing, it will destroy any missiles & thimpets in range. If the ECM is fired before the missile is in range, it will have no effect and the ECM cannot be fired until it's cooldown is complete. I think ECM cooldown is 10 seconds.

- ECM can only be used with the Combat HUD, not the Analysis HUD.

- While charging the ECM, incoming missile(s) will turn blue on radar once they are in range. At this point the ECM can be fired at less than a full charge, and it will still destroy the incoming missile.

- The "target highest threat" binding will target the closest incoming missile. This is useful in knowing the missile's range to your ship. This is especially true if you get pulled over by a Glaive. The Glaive will likely be faster than your ship and will likely fire a FSD disruptor within <3 km, so immediate action is required to prevent getting hit.

- Glaives will also emit a field that will quickly damage/destroy Guardian modules in your ship. As you read the procedure below, monitor the health of your Guardian FSD Booster, if installed. Reason: if your FSD Booster gets destroyed, and you were hyperdicted (not interdicted), you may no longer have the jump range to get to your next system, and the hyperspace jump will fail. And then you will waste precious time and maybe get killed. So, along with all the other things you are doing, you may have to select a closer system for your next jump. Enjoy this.



- Without further ado: If you get pulled over by one of those Green Baddies and they fire an incoming missile at you (they can be fired as far away as ~5.5 km) here's what I recommend you do:
--- The first thing upon dropping to normal space is to: boost, pop a heat sink, head away from the threat, and head toward your jump target. Glaives & Scythes will still see you and chase you if your ship is cold, but you will be able to open the distance from any interceptors. It's not worth the time to check what kind of Thargoid pulled you over, just pop the heat sink and run.
--- If fired, immediately target an incoming missile using "target highest threat" and check radar to see if there are 1 or 2 incoming missiles. Sometimes there are 2 fired in rapid succession so they will be close to each other in range.
--- if your ship is fast enough, it is possible to outrun these missiles, you can learn this by experience. Example: I can outrun them in my passenger Cutter if fired around 5km away. This ship has a top boost speed of 491 m/s
--- if the missile is fired within 3 km, immediately start charging your ECM and fire as soon as the incoming missile turns blue on radar. If you wait for the ECM to fully charge, you will likely be hit before the ECM fully charges.
--- If the missile(s) are >3 km, track the incoming missile(s), and allow them to get closer while you are boosting away. When the missile(s) are nearing 3 km, start charging your ECM and fire it at a full charge. Timing is critical if there are 2 incoming missiles because you want to ensure that the 1st & 2nd missile are both within 3km when firing the ECM. From experience, if there are 2 incoming missiles, they will be very close to each other, so tracking only the closer one is sufficient.
--- If you unfortunately do get hit by a FSD disruptor missile (you better have a fast and tough ship), keep boosting away until the timer runs out. The FSD disruptor timer is long enough that the Thargoid can usually fire another round of missile(s) at you. Follow the steps above until you can jump.
--- Using ECM will "deploy hardpoints". Yeah, I know, but that's the way it is. So after you fire it, immediately retract hardpoints so you can be ready to jump as soon as the timer expires. Obviously you can't jump with hardpoints deployed.
--- Continue boosting and be ready to immediately engage supercruise/hyperspace as soon as the FSD cooldown ends.
--- Engage FSD, and away you go.

Good Luck CMDR's!
 
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Ned Flandalorian

N
Two things to add
  • Glaives can be avoided completely by staying away from invasions and control systems
  • When you get interdicted, use a heatsink before the submission timer runs out rather than after you drop into real space since by that time it's too late - if it's a glaive it will have already seen you. Sometimes the drop animation takes too long and most of the heatsink effect is wasted but worst case, you buy enough time to regain control of the ship to get silent running activated.
 

HappyMoonMonkey

HappyMoonMonkey
The ECM is amazing against the Glaives' and Scythes' missiles and this is generally great advice but I think this description of the ECM is wrong and there is a similar old misconception of the thargoid pulse neutraliser. Both actually work in exactly the same manner.

The ECM only scrambles the guidance systems of seakers, limpets, missiles and the similar thargoid variants. I suspect you seeing their destruction on release is coincidental with them reaching max range unguided.

It works for the entire time that you hold the trigger, not at the point you release.

While you hold the trigger, its active area of effect increases to a max 3km and will then continue to work at that range whilst draining your sys capacitor. When you release its effect stops.

So generally the best tactic with the ECM is to fire it (and to continue to hold) as soon as you get the missile notification and then only release when the threat is passed. Max time to hold would be when sys is drained with 4 pips in it.
 

SlickPBW

S
HappyMoonMonkey said:
The ECM is amazing against the Glaives' and Scythes' missiles and this is generally great advice but I think this description of the ECM is wrong and there is a similar old misconception of the thargoid pulse neutraliser. Both actually work in exactly the same manner.

The ECM only scrambles the guidance systems of seakers, limpets, missiles and the similar thargoid variants. I suspect you seeing their destruction on release is coincidental with them reaching max range unguided.

It works for the entire time that you hold the trigger, not at the point you release.

While you hold the trigger, its active area of effect increases to a max 3km and will then continue to work at that range whilst draining your sys capacitor. When you release its effect stops.

So generally the best tactic with the ECM is to fire it (and to continue to hold) as soon as you get the missile notification and then only release when the threat is passed. Max time to hold would be when sys is drained with 4 pips in it.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I will test/verify then update. Thanks.

I do not see destruction upon release, though. I see them lose lock and fly away in a random direction.
 

Ned Flandalorian

N
HappyMoonMonkey said:
While you hold the trigger, its active area of effect increases to a max 3km and will then continue to work at that range whilst draining your sys capacitor. When you release its effect stops.

So generally the best tactic with the ECM is to fire it (and to continue to hold) as soon as you get the missile notification and then only release when the threat is passed. Max time to hold would be when sys is drained with 4 pips in it.
Click to expand...
That is incorrect. Once the bar fills, it's done. Holding it any longer doesn't do anything, you can easily tell this because SYS doesn't drain even with no pips in it (and it says it is reloading).
 
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SlickPBW

S
Ned Flandalorian said:
That is incorrect. Once the bar fills, it's done. Holding it any longer doesn't do anything, you can easily tell this because SYS doesn't drain even with no pips in it.
Click to expand...
I confirmed this.

Like I said this was on a Cutter so my default 2-4-0 pips for passenger ship were used, but:

When I tested the ECM, I held down the fire button constantly and observed:
- blue bar fill up, then the "blast" sound.
-after that, the ECM bar said recharging (or maybe it was reloading), but i was still holding the fire button.
  • after about 10 seconds, the whole thing repeated.
  • I never saw my SYS capacitor drop at all, but that's probably because my Cutter distributor with 2 pips to SYS far exceeds the ECM power draw.

no changes required.
 

Kira Goto

Kira Goto
My experience with ECM usage is that it only activates as soon as you release the trigger, not before, not after. With range of the pulse determined on how long it was held down, diverting any missiles within range.

Easily observable on the FSD disruptor of a Hunter, as it happens. Only veers off course as soon as the trigger is released, rather than as soon as it enters the radius of the charging ECM.
 

Aleks Zuno

Aleks Zuno
A couple more minutiae:
  • For watching whether missiles have turned blue on the radar, ECM makes that easier than it sounds—everything else disappears in that moment, leaving only those markers which represent things ECM can disrupt.
  • A reliable way to remove a Breach Drone is allowing it to connect, then just tap ECM briefly to disrupt at a close-enough-to-zero distance. This works best with two ECMs, leaving the second ready for stopping a Containment missile.
 
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