Ships equipped with missile launchers (either as main weapons or as turrets) can fire missiles. What types of missiles depends on what type of launcher you installed. Torpedoes require torpedo launchers.

Missiles are consumed when fired (cannot be recovered).

Each ship type has a fixed missile storage capacity, and this cannot be increased except very slightly by:

• “Mk-2” missile launchers add two extra slots (which is next to useless)
• Some ship mods can add a few extra storage slots

Launchers

Missile launchers come in “tracking” and “dumbfire” versions for missiles, and “torpedo” for (surprise) torpedoes.

Launchers can only fire their specific type of weapon. Tracking launchers cannot launch dumbfire missiles, and neither Tracking nor Dumbfire launchers can fire torpedoes.

It does not make a difference whether a launcher is installed as a main weapon (under player control) or as a turret (under crew control). Either version can launch the appropriate missiles/torpedoes.

Missile basics

Missiles (and the corresponding launchers) come in three basic types:

• tracking : lock onto and attempt to follow moving targets
• dumbfire : fly in a straight line after launch
• torpedo : track, but move slowly and do very large damage compared to standard missiles

Each type can only be fired from the corresponding launcher (tracking launchers fire tracking missiles only, etc).

All missiles and torpedoes have a blast radius, doing damage to any ship components around point of impact.

Most missiles come in “light” and “heavy” versions. Light versions move faster but do less damage. To a launcher, the difference doesn’t matter (so a Tracking launcher can launch light or heavy tracking missiles).

Dumbfire missiles, light and heavy, have standard and cluster variants. Cluster missiles have have an additional area effect on impact (in addition to the blast radius effect of all missiles).

Tracking missiles coming in smart, heatseeking, guided, swarm and EMP versions. All are Tracking missiles requiring a tracking launcher.

Note that Split stations sell additional missile types not available from other factions, and launchers vary in rotation speed for each faction (a common faction-specific point of variation in weapon versions).

Statistics for all missiles are available in the in-game Encyclopedia.

Dumbfire missiles

Dumbfire missiles fly in a straight line until reaching maximum range or impacting on an object (hopefully the target ship, but anything that crosses the flight path at the wrong time).

Dumbfire missiles are therefore most useful against large, slow-moving targets like destroyers and stations.

Dumbfire missiles can only be launched from dumbfire turrets.

Tracking missiles

EMP missiles (and the Split interceptor and disruptor versions) are very-fast moving missiles that disable travel drive and boost for 30 seconds on impact. They do little damage.

Guided missiles follow the initial target (no retargeting).

Heatseeker missiles are similar to guided missiles, but can be fired without a lock-on time.

Swarm missiles split into multiple independent warheads when fired, and will retarget if target is destroyed.

Smart missiles can re-target if the original target is destroyed.

This can be summarized as “faster missiles that can retarget are less vulnerable to countermeasures, but do less damage.”

Tracking missiles (all kinds) can only be launched from tracking turrets.

Torpedoes

Torpedoes in X4 differ from missiles only in speed and damage, but require a torpedo launcher to fire. Torpedos are big and slow, and therefore mainly used against stations and capital ships.

Countermeasures

All ships can optionally carry “flares”, which are single use anti-missile countermeasures tha can be launched on command.

Some missile types are more vulnerable to countermeasures than others.

Dumbfire missiles ignore flares.

Tracking missile vulnerability to flares varies from guided (most vulnerable) to heatseeker to swarm to smart (least vulnerable).

Missiles intercepted by flares are disarmed and do no damage.

Missile loadouts

A ship has a maximum missile storage limit, but that limit can be used for any mixture of missiles desired.

In combat, each launcher can have an “ammunition” choice set from available missiles. This can be changed (selecting a different missile type) at any time in the ship’s Loadout information tab.

Independent pilots flying your ships will make some intelligent selections about what missiles to use, but may make poor decisions and may waste a large number of missiles against targets where simply firing guns would suffice. Dedicated missle ships can work better, by allowing you to only send them into battles where missiles will be effective.