Homing Projectile: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
A projectile or attack in interactive media (or a narrative description in non-interactive media) that homes in on its intended target. If you're firing it, it can be an effective means of eliminating targets without putting yourself in harm's way. If an enemy is firing it, you'll need to perform a [[High-Speed Missile Dodge]], [[Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me|whip out a shield]], [[Misguided Missile|trick its guidance system]], [[Shoot the Bullet]], or [[Mundane Solution|just outrun it until it loses steam]].
A curious trait of most homing attacks is their inability to [[Lead the Target|"lead" a moving target]], resulting in them doggedly "trailing" behind if the target can move fast enough. Very few homing attacks will actually plot an intercept course on a moving target.
A fairly common projectile type in [[
Subtropes include
* [[Action Bomb]] in which the projectile in question doesn’t fly.
* [[Boomerang Comeback]] in which the projectile starts homing after overtaking the target
** [[Precision-Guided Boomerang]] no matter what
* [[Homing Boulders]] in which the mechanic is there but doesn't make sense for the situation, such as boulders rolling at you that home in on your location.
* [[Macross Missile Massacre]] in which a huge, ominous cloud of homing missiles is released.
* [[Roboteching]] in which the projectiles don't start homing until after they've flown a fair distance.
* [[Pinball Projectile]] in which the projectiles move by bouncing off of non-targets.
** [[Reflecting Laser]] even if the projectile is a laser beam
* [[Super-Persistent Missile]] in which the projectile not only guides itself toward a target but doesn’t give up if it misses.
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Wolf's
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Darkseid]] whose omega beams take great pains to hit their target.
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* The "HOMLAS" feature of the re-engineered, now-[[Magitech]]-based DD Battlemover in the ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]'' segment of the ur-[[Crossover Fic]] ''[[Twisted Path]]''. In a moment of need Sylvie fires it on the recommendation of the mech's autopilot, without knowing what it even ''was''. The result was a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]:
{{quote|Finally, with an explosion that sent the D.D. rocking violently backwards, the lasers vomited two blinding beams of crimson light, surrounded by swirls of blue energy and roared down the passageway the D.D. had been facing. Sylvie was slammed painfully into her seat straps by the blast, generating a startled cry from the sexaroid.
Faster than the eye could track, the twin beams of destruction sliced down the hallway. Blue energy mixed with crimson light, becoming a hybrid purple lance that ''turned'' at a junction. Then they went up a stairway, burned through a sealed door, crossed a spacious room, burned through the opposite door, and continued down another hallway. Finally, the beams stopped and lanced straight down through the floor in two different places.
They hit the Boomers guarding Priss on the top of the head, and continued down into the Boomers' bodies until exiting where their 'groins' were. The vaporized portions of the androids, having become plasma, burst outwards and destroyed the rest of the machines. A shocked Priss was not injured by the minor explosions of her captors' destruction.}}
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Runaway]]'': A gun is introduced that fires projectiles that act like a tiny guided missiles.
* ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'': While most torpedoes are guided, and therefore should be guided [[In Space]], this movie had a particular torpedo that was explicitly seen to track a cloaked Klingon ship's ion trail.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons
* ''[[GURPS]]'': Homing weapons can be purchased as equipment, some even with character stats, or with the right imbuement [[The Magic Touch|touched]].
* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'': An advantage one can buy allows any power an additional opportunity to hit fitting in the "attack" aspect.
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* In ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'', the Kongs could find limited amounts of Homing Ammo for their guns.
** [[Rare]]'s followup game, ''[[Banjo-Kazooie|Banjo-Tooie]]'', featured a Homing Egg code.
* The ''[[Castlevania]]'' series has had multiple projectiles of this type, including the Thunder Orbs used by Sypha in ''[[
* The Sharpshooters in ''[[Dragon Nest]]'' combine this with [[Beam Spam]].
* Missile type weapons fired by Alex in ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'' will just home in on targets.
* The Homing Missiles in ''[[Heavy Weapon]]'', which only [[Anti-Air|home in on air targets]].
* [[
* Amazons in ''[[Diablo]] II'' can fire homing arrows. An early bug combined this with the Piercing skill to make the arrows home onto an enemy, hit them, pass through them, then turn around and do it again.
* Throughout [[Halo]]: [[Abnormal Ammo|Needler]], Plasma Pistol.
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* The Bullet Bills in various 3D ''[[Mario]]'' games home in on Mario to varying degrees.
** As well as the Missile Bills in the 2D games.
** In ''[[New Super Mario Bros. Wii]]'', Ludwig Van Koopa can shoot homing fireballs (thankfully much slower than regular fireballs).
* ''[[Donkey Kong Country]] 3'': Barbos's shellfish flunkies home in on Enguarde, and and must be [[Misguided Missile|manipulated]] to knock out his barriers.
* One of Gruntilda's spells in ''[[Banjo-Kazooie]]'' can't be avoided without using [[Invincibility Power-Up|invincibility]].
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* Hellfire missiles fired by AI AH-64 helicopters will both lead and home onto Alex in ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]''. But Alex cannot do the same when he's in an AH-64.
* ''[[Heavy Weapon]]'' has two kinds of annoying helicopters that fire homing missiles at you. There are also jets with [[Deflector Shields]] that do the same, and 13 of the 19 bosses have some kind of homing missile attack.
* ''[[Touhou]]'' occasionally has homing projectiles as enemies'
* ''[[Ace Combat]]'' has enemy aircraft and SAMs, which can launch homing missiles similar to the player's basic missiles.
* Nearly all secondary weapons in ''[[Free Space]]'' - and some ''[[It Got Worse|do]]'' [[Lead the Target]].
* In ''[[Eric & Yannik|Eric & Yannik X]]'', Eric can also shoot homing missiles, but he needs sub weapon ammo (which consist of light-green stars) to shoot homing missiles.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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