Tell me about the ECM

[Bede]

Yo, I'm (re)playing ED on the PS4. I first played it (a lot) back in 2017-18, and I don't remember the ECM even being a thing. (I remember it as a thing back in the 1980s on the BBC Micro, but that's another lifetime, as they say.)

So how to use it? If you have it on a ship, does it activate automatically like Point Defence, or does it have to be done manually?

Also, how effective or useful is it? Am I right in thinking it's only really useful/effective for larger ships? I don't really have any big ships yet, and so far in combat with NPCs I'm not aware of any missiles or torpedoes coming my way.

Playing in Open back in 2018, I recall there was a subset of the ganking community who delighted in building little Vipers up specifically to attack and destroy the big ships of other players. Vibrating torpedoes being used to totally dismantle and nullify big shields. I had a Corvette back then that I was very proud of, initially I thought I was safe as houses in it. Then a couple of those chaps showed me my mistake. I never lost the ship, (I always jumped away when my shields came down.) Now I'm wondering if having an ECM would make this little ganker trick redundant.

Of course now, the gankers have departed in any case. Playing in Open on PS4 you might just as well be playing in Solo. sigh
Still I'd like to know just in case I ultimately decide to go the gaming PC route.

 

[Bede]

Since apparently I do not deserve a reply to this from anyone, could the forum mods please delete it. Thanks.

 

[VR micmacmoc]

I wish I could answer you mate, never had one, never used one so have no idea.

 

[VR micmacmoc]

Usage. To use an Electronic Countermeasure, it must first be assigned to a fire group. When the ship is targeted by hostile seeker missiles, torpedoes, or Hatch Breaker limpets, the ECM can be fired to break their targeting locks.

 

[Bede]

Thanks. But as far as I can make out, you don't always know when you've been targeted by missiles and torpedoes... right? In the types of situation I mentioned above, I never got a message when those vibrating torpedoes were coming in, first I'd know of it was when my shields collapsed. Anyways never mind, looks like the game itself, this community is simply not what it was.

 

[Darrack]

Thanks. But as far as I can make out, you don't always know when you've been targeted by missiles and torpedoes... right? In the types of situation I mentioned above, I never got a message when those vibrating torpedoes were coming in, first I'd know of it was when my shields collapsed. Anyways never mind, looks like the game itself, this community is simply not what it was.

I have a guaranteed way to avoid those ganktorps from players but i cant give too much away

Spoiler

Thank me later
O7

 

[Mark Zero]

Yo, I'm (re)playing ED on the PS4. I first played it (a lot) back in 2017-18, and I don't remember the ECM even being a thing. (I remember it as a thing back in the 1980s on the BBC Micro, but that's another lifetime, as they say.)

So how to use it? If you have it on a ship, does it activate automatically like Point Defence, or does it have to be done manually?

Also, how effective or useful is it? Am I right in thinking it's only really useful/effective for larger ships? I don't really have any big ships yet, and so far in combat with NPCs I'm not aware of any missiles or torpedoes coming my way.

Playing in Open back in 2018, I recall there was a subset of the ganking community who delighted in building little Vipers up specifically to attack and destroy the big ships of other players. Vibrating torpedoes being used to totally dismantle and nullify big shields. I had a Corvette back then that I was very proud of, initially I thought I was safe as houses in it. Then a couple of those chaps showed me my mistake. I never lost the ship, (I always jumped away when my shields came down.) Now I'm wondering if having an ECM would make this little ganker trick redundant.

Of course now, the gankers have departed in any case. Playing in Open on PS4 you might just as well be playing in Solo. sigh
Still I'd like to know just in case I ultimately decide to go the gaming PC route.

The ECM is an anti-missile/torpedo/limpet countermeasure that you have to manually charge and fire. It essentially projects a short range omni-directional pulse around your ship that knocks out any incoming ordinance within its range when it goes off. Pros/Cons related to Point Defense:

Pros:

• Can hit and disrupt multiple projectiles at the same time, since it's an AoE. This is particularly useful against PackHounds, which are designed to fool Point Defense
• Range can be extended out to up to 3km in all directions at full charge
• Doesn't need ammo

Cons:

• Must be manually charged and fired to work, vs Point Defense being automatic
• If you time the release wrong, you can miss, which leaves you completely defenseless during its cooldown
• Uses significantly more power when active, and has a higher thermal load

Generally people prefer Point Defense because it just does the work for you, and you usually won't have multiple incoming projectiles at the same time. But if you need to have a counter-measure to something like PackHounds, or if you just want to counter ordinance-locks manually for the extra challenge, ECMs do the job. I do not know if ECMs are the better choice against Torpedoes, but I guess it comes down to the question of how much damage a Torpedo has to take before it explodes, vs landing the one ECM charge to break its lock. If you are worried about multiple incoming Torpedoes at the same time, the ECM might be the better option depending on if they all end up in its effective range at the same time.

 

[Bede]

The ECM is an anti-missile/torpedo/limpet countermeasure that you have to manually charge and fire. It essentially projects a short range omni-directional pulse around your ship that knocks out any incoming ordinance within its range when it goes off. Pros/Cons related to Point Defense:

Pros:

• Can hit and disrupt multiple projectiles at the same time, since it's an AoE. This is particularly useful against PackHounds, which are designed to fool Point Defense
• Range can be extended out to up to 3km in all directions at full charge
• Doesn't need ammo

Cons:

• Must be manually charged and fired to work, vs Point Defense being automatic
• If you time the release wrong, you can miss, which leaves you completely defenseless during its cooldown
• Uses significantly more power when active, and has a higher thermal load

Generally people prefer Point Defense because it just does the work for you, and you usually won't have multiple incoming projectiles at the same time. But if you need to have a counter-measure to something like PackHounds, or if you just want to counter ordinance-locks manually for the extra challenge, ECMs do the job. I do not know if ECMs are the better choice against Torpedoes, but I guess it comes down to the question of how much damage a Torpedo has to take before it explodes, vs landing the one ECM charge to break its lock. If you are worried about multiple incoming Torpedoes at the same time, the ECM might be the better option depending on if they all end up in its effective range at the same time.

Many thanks for that, it's the kind of response I was hoping for. I'm still uncertain as to how one knows missiles or torpedoes are incoming though. I don't believe one is informed of this by the ship computer or by text warning, right? Or at least I never was back in the day. It may well be an academic discussion now as gankers now seem to be as common as Pharmaceutical Isolators... for the few remaining PS4 nostalgics like myself at least.

 

[Mark Zero]

Many thanks for that, it's the kind of response I was hoping for. I'm still uncertain as to how one knows missiles or torpedoes are incoming though. I don't believe one is informed of this by the ship computer or by text warning, right? Or at least I never was back in the day. It may well be an academic discussion now as gankers now seem to be as common as Pharmaceutical Isolators... for the few remaining PS4 nostalgics like myself at least.

There is an indication of incoming missiles in your cockpit. It is not a verbal Covas notification, so you aren't going to hear "incoming missile" from your Covas. Instead, you will hear a warning tone (it is a specific tone that only happens when a projectile is incoming and homing in on your ship), and you will see a text warning dead in the center of your hud stating "incoming missile". It is reasonably hard to miss, once you've recognized it.

If you are fighting NPCs, you will generally only experience incoming missiles when your shields are down, as shields take very little damage from explosive weapons and the AI understands that.

You will not get the text warning if your canopy is blown out, as the text warning is a hologram being projected on your canopy. I'm not sure if you'll hear the warning tone or not, as some sounds no longer happen when you're exposed to the vacuum of space, and all are muffled at best.

 

[Bede]

Thanks again. And again, I don't recall hearing that tone and seeing that warning the last time I engaged with human pilots using them... but that must have been back in 2018 I guess, and memory may be playing me false. I certainly was not aware of any tone or warning when I was hit (more than once) with vibrating torpedoes, I specifically looked out for any such warning after the first time it happened, and made sure I had PD on top and underside of my ship, which seemed to make little difference. Anyways I appreciate your posts, even if all I am doing now is fighting NPCs. They're so much more pliable after all, aren't they.

 

[Miko]

Many thanks for that, it's the kind of response I was hoping for. I'm still uncertain as to how one knows missiles or torpedoes are incoming though. I don't believe one is informed of this by the ship computer or by text warning, right? Or at least I never was back in the day. It may well be an academic discussion now as gankers now seem to be as common as Pharmaceutical Isolators... for the few remaining PS4 nostalgics like myself at least.

Missiles will tend to close in very quickly with an increasing tempo. Torpedoes are very slow and can be almost always boosted away from successfully, so long as you don't joust a torpedo ship. Always check a foes loadout and use the left side tab to target suspected torps so you can confirm they are in fact torpedoes and from their you can boost away from them, turn Flight Assist Off, turn and shoot them.

Of course, using the ECM is easy enough against torps, but with missiles your timing has to be much better to catch and deactivate them before they close the distance.