Rockets

Rockets are an unguided offensive weapon that has appeared in every installment of the WipEout series. When fired, they glide across the surface of the track until they collide with a ship causing damage, or a track wall. Although its characteristics such as the number of projectiles may change between games, it is a basic but versatile weapon useful in a variety of situations.

• Fires 3 projectiles simultaneously.
• Left and right Rockets are fired at a slight angle, and will slowly drift towards the walls of the track.
• Each Rocket deals moderate damage, but all 3 can be fired against a single target, causing heavy damage and a powerful slowdown effect.
• Can be used to detonate Mines and Bombs but any Rocket colliding with them will be destroyed in the process.

Rockets can be fired from a very close distance to ensure all of them hit a single target, but this requires careful aim, and may risk the player colliding with the target ship after dealing damage, or suffering a counterattack. As the range increases, the player will be able to fire the weapon from a sweet spot where it's less likely for all projectiles to hit the target, but they also cover the maximum area of the track where the target is unlikely to be able to fly between all of them and avoid them completely. This allows the player to aim and use this weapon very quickly.

At long ranges the gaps between the 3 projectiles widen, so Rockets become less effective against single targets. Instead, they're most useful against multiple ships flying in close proximity. Firing the salvo towards the center of the grouped ships means there's a high chance at least one projectile will hit a target.

Rockets can be avoided by using the turns of the track as cover. After hearing the ship voice warning, or expecting an attack, the player should approach the next turn from the inside and attempt to break their line of sight from the attacker as fast as possible. If the distance to the next turn is too long for this technique, the player should change their path, either with a sideshift or with small adjustments, so they fly parallel to the center Rocket in order to take advantage of the gap created between the center and the left or right Rockets.