GTM Tempest

The GTM MX-6 Tempest Missile is a small, fast-moving rocket; a descendant of the Great War-era GTM Fury rocket. It has excellent compatibility and will fit into the secondary bays of most ships. While it does little damage compared to most other missiles, and has no guidance system, the Tempest has two powerful features.

Firstly, the munition itself is very small, allowing most fighters to load at least one hundred of these rockets. Heavier craft can carry several hundred. Secondly, the recycle speed on the Tempest launcher is extreme. While other missile racks require a second or two to load a new volley, the Tempest can launch in a veritable hail.

Tactically, the Tempest fills two main roles. One, it is a good short-range tool to use against slower enemies like assault fighters, and bombers. These ships have thick armor and powerful shielding, but a hail of Tempest rockets can quickly shred even the heaviest protections. The weapon's second role is the use of surgical strikes against warships or lightly armored vessels like freighters.

Generally, the Tempest is best used in dual-fire mode at all times. Given the munition's disadvantage of low damage per rocket, and the advantage of having huge numbers of them to fire, using them twice as fast is not a disadvantage. A subtle benefit of the Tempest is that when you've used up your stock of rockets, a support ship can reload this type of ordnance very quickly.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

The GTM MX-6 Tempest Missile

Tech Room Data

The GTM MX-6 Tempest improves upon its predecessor, the Fury missile. Faster and more deadly than the GTM Fury, the Tempest is also smaller, enabling flight crews to load more into each Secondary weapon bay. The Tempest is a dumb fire missile, moving in a straight line from its point of release. The missile detonates when it strikes a solid object or when it reaches its effective range of approximately 600 meters. Tempests are best used at close range. With a velocity of 360 m/s, nothing outruns a Tempest.

Performance

Statistics - Tempest

Range	650 m
Reload time	0.3 s
Velocity	360 ms-1
Base Damage	40.5*
Armor Damage	Full	40.5*
Shield Damage	Average	22.5*
Subsystem Damage	Good	27*
Shockwave Radius	10 / 20 m
Type:	Dumbfire
View Cone:	N / A
Minimum Lock Time:	N / A
Turn Rate (360 degrees):	N / A

Statistics - Tempest D

Range	504 m
Reload time	0.35 s
Velocity	360 ms-1
Base Damage	37.8*
Armor Damage	Full	37.8*
Shield Damage	Average	21*
Subsystem Damage	Good	25.2*
Shockwave Radius	10 / 20 m
Type:	Dumbfire
View Cone:	N / A
Minimum Lock Time:	N / A
Turn Rate (360 degrees):	N / A

Notes

• The shockwave doubles the damage against any target that takes a direct hit

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

I like to use the Tempest against fighters / bombers along with guns that move at approximately 450mps, like the GTW Subach HL-7 or GTW Circe, so that the lead aim is approximately the same. As your primaries create a hole in the target's shield, the rockets will go through and quickly tear up even tough targets like the GTB Ursa or the SF Basilisk. Against cruisers this weapon works equally well, a Myrmidon with GTW Subach HL-7s and Tempests can take down a GTC Fenris or a GTC Leviathan in seconds. This missile also works moderately well against large targets' subsystems, if you find yourself without better tools for the job.

Unlike the old FS1 GTM Fury this thing can actually totally destroy shields and hulls, even on fighters. If you remember that mission where you first encounter the Shivans in FS1, and the best missile to use was the Fury, well, this thing would make things much, much easier, because this one can damage shields. This missile is good against cruiser-sized ships if you have a fighter with a big missile bay, like the GVF Tauret.

If you hate those thick, pesky Seraphim and Nephilim bombers, and they're too close for Trebuchets plus/or you feel like you wasted a lot of gun energy on them, a handful of Tempests can kill them rather quickly on Medium and below, given you strip a shield quadrant first.

I would think that the Tempest is more of the Subach of GTVA missiles. It could be put to use in any role on any ship. Especially useful is when it is used in conjunction with the Subach itself; the lasers deplete the shields and the Tempests start ripping the hull to pieces. This is also probably the most useful missile you can cram onto a stealth fighter like the Pegasus, as it takes up very little space and you could store up to 120 of these on such fighters. Furthermore, it is an alternative to using other missiles that take up lots of space, like the Tornado or Rockeye, on heavy assault fighters. Try loading these onto an Ares or a Tauret to get what I mean. 800 Tempests can mean a lot.

With regards to how many you can fit, multiply a ship bank's Hornet carrying capacity by 4. That's how many you can get. Twice as many as the Great War-era Fury.