My last few games I've been up against a particularly annoying pilot who always manages to get a Sabotage probe up on me and blow me away with impunity.

 

As a scout, how can I survive after being hit by a sabotage probe? Just power to shields and pray?

 

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Sabotage probes are considered missiles for lockon purposes, so anything that breaks missile locks (engine slot abilities, upgraded EMP and distortion field, using an asteroid or the like to break LoS, getting out of range) will work.

 

In terms of what you can do when it's landed, well, not a lot. You can use afterburners and depending on how upgraded their probe is you might still be able to use barrel roll and the like, but generally the best counter is to just not get hit by it in the first place.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Bleeters

If you're flying a scout, you shouldn't be getting hit with any missiles at all as they are all very deadly to you. Use engine components, afterburners, LOS, whatever. When that missile lock alarm starts blaring, your priority instantly becomes making sure it doesn't connect.

Sab probes have a 2.7s lock-on time and only 5000m range.

If you get hit by them several times, than you must be flying like a sitting duck.

 

What ship are you in?

When that missile lock alarm starts blaring, your priority instantly becomes making sure it doesn't connect.

 

This.

 

This is also a marked differential in skill and what separates players that top charts in kills/deaths etc. People tunnel vision. They hit S to try to ensure a big blaster run at their target even when the missile lock is blaring, thinking "imma get this damn kill!".

 

It is this that I exploit most matches. To the pilot coming up behind you you are a big fat juicy target. I exploit this every match I play. Most of my kills come from people focusing other players. I think that most good pilots would tell you the same.

 

Don't play defensively, but if someone is attempting a lock on you, don't ignore it. Take evasive maneuvers and reassess.

Dodge missile lock is good advice, but sabotage probe doesn't seem to have a travel time. For every other missile type I've found it best to only use my missile evade skill once the missile is launched to avoid wasting it. I learned that hard way that sabotage probe doesn't give me that chance. Once I knew who was carrying it I had to keep an eye on that scout and hit my evasion skill every time I saw him scoping in on me.

It does have a travel time, but it doesn't give you much time to react and evade due to its short range.

Sab probe does have a travel time, however you don't know when its gonna get released. What I like to do is boost into my target as i'm locking, I release at <1000m and the hit is instant. Since i'm flying a max turn radius scout I do a 180 in about 1.5s and then i'm ripping into your backside with maxed out laser cannons. The only reliable method of avoiding a good sab probe pilot (if you know he's in the game) is to treat every mid duration missile lock like its a close range sab probe pass. If you wait for me to launch the probe, you're already dead.