Guided weapons are nothing new to humanity, and in the modern age of the 19th century they serve a similar purpose of ship killers. While the principle long-range weapon role has been given to mag-cannons, the two variants can do far more damage than even the most powerful mag-cannon.
The most important advancement that has allowed torpedoes to be so deadly and viable is the shield-buster device. Energy shields are an important part of any ship’s defense, and the shield generators on larger ships can produce enough output to render them almost completely immune to the attacks of smaller ships. The introduction of worthwhile energy shields was why torpedoes and other missiles were phased out for a while. Mag-cannons could produce a similar output, and the munitions were far cheaper than an expensive guided torpedo. But with the introduction of shield buster technology that all changed.
Mounted on a torpedo, this device gives the munition a 90% chance of completely bypassing an energy shield. And even if the torpedo does fail to penetrate the barrier, the shield buster device will still do an inordinate amount of damage to the energy shield, still allowing the torpedo to get its value.
The reason why shield buster technology is not used on everything, is that the EMP-rooted technology is a disease on advanced electronics. Even with heavy metal shielding, a shell loaded into a mag-weapon with this technology will destroy the weapon. This is also why modern torpedoes do not have advanced guidance systems. But the devastation inflicted by these weapons more than make up for it.
Modern torpedoes come in two variants.
Grav-torpedoes:
The most common torpedo, used by strike craft and the largest vessels alike. Originally armed with simple nuclear warheads, with the introduction of xanthium armoring on vessels, this was later deemed not enough. So a solution was formed. An add-on to the torpedo was designed, based on the artificial gravity generators used on ships. The result was deadly.
Provided the torpedo gets through the shield of a vessel, the gravity generator will create a single instance of gravity equal to that of a star. This destroys the generator, but that does not matter, as the damage is already done. The armor of the ship at the point of impact is ripped away towards the torpedo. At the same time the nuclear warhead detonates. The resulting blast sends the hardened armor into the soft insides of the ship like a hail of deadly shrapnel.
Lance Torpedoes:
The most expensive, and destructive weapon for its weight class, though if used properly, it can easily make back its value. Development began when an Ostrus Lord Marshall wanted a warship weapon equivalent to, “A shotgun blast point blank to the stomach.” KrakenArms got to work. What they can up with combined the old with the new mythril metal. The lance torpedo was born.
A high-powered nuclear warhead is placed at the beginning of the lance torpedo’s payload, however, this is more of a propulsion device than the actual destructive force of the weapon. In front of the nuke are dozens of jagged, large pieces of mythril encased in xanthium. Upon detonation the nuke melts the xanthium into a liquid, pushing it out at above hypersonic speeds, taking the mythril chunks with it. At the point of impact, the mythril chunks tear through the ship in all directions, the hyper durable metal easily going through everything, often exiting out the other side of a ship. A well-placed lance torpedo can cripple a cruiser in a single strike. Due to the mythril cost, these weapons are used sparingly. Each one is given a name of a fallen hero or great warrior inscribed in gold on its surface.