Signature radius vrs explosion radius (missiles)

[Tahale]

Hi folks and thanks for your atention and your share experience…

about the theme of missiles (pve) how the subject of signature radius and explosion radius works … how does this work? I mean if the radius signature of a ship is larger, the missile will cause more damage? What happens if the radius explosion is smaller than the signature radius?

[Wyk_Bathana]

man
feel free to google first
https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Signature_radius
https://wiki.eveuniversity.org/Missile_Damage

[Markus_Reinhart]

The problem is that it’s a bit illogical. A bigger explosion radius sounds good and useful, but it’s the opposite. The exact details you can find on the Uni wiki listed above but here’s the simple explanation:

If a target isn’t big enough to get the full explosion radius of a missile, the damage will be reduced. So if the target is only half of the size of the explosion radius, it’ll only receive half the damage.

So “paper dps” (what is stated in the fitting window) doesn’t neccesarily mean much. In cases where you have different size targets, frigates, dessies, cruiser, BC and possibly BS (so missions), damage application modules become massively important. Guidance computers and enhancers, rigor rigs and possibly painters if you really are a masochist.

Similarly explosion velocity: if the target moves faster than the explosion velocity of the missile, the applied damage is reduced. Explosion velocity is less of an important factor than explosion radius but it still matters, To help that there’s the same guidance computers and enhancers and Flare rigs in this case. Painters don’t help with this.

This all means that a PVE ship fit that uses heavy missiles or bigger that doesn't have damage application modules is thus a crap fit that loses massive amounts of applied dps. It takes MUCH longer to kill and thus complete the mission. And guidance computers or enhancers are the preferred method, that or rigor/flare rigs.

[Tahale]

Thanks for your answer … is very explained and complete…

[Kitty_Bear]

Basically a missile/rocket is most effective against the same sized hull-class
ie small missiles are best used on small targets

However you have to consider 2 things with missiles
The ability to apply damage
The ratio of that damage to the targets hp

Application	Small Hull	Medium Hull	Large Hull
Small Missiles	Good	Good	Good
Medium Missiles	Poor	Good	Good
Large Missiles	Very Poor	Poor	Good

Damage Ratio	Small Hull	Medium Hull	Large Hull
Small Missiles	High	Low	Very Low
Medium Missiles	Low	High	Low
Large Missiles	Very Low	Low	High

In practice you want to match the Good Application rating to the High Damage Ratio rating for best effects, which isn’t always possible.

The above extends to XL missiles as well and you should be able to work out where they become ineffective.

[Do_Little]

Missiles are proximity fused - they don’t actually hit their target so the question becomes what percentage of the explosive force is applied to the target.

• Small target (small signature radius) - more of the force is wasted.
• Close to target (small explosion radius) - more force is applied.
• Fast moving target (low explosion velocity) - less force applied.

Don’t get too hung up on the physics - the developers were focused on gameplay, not realism.