They ruin the game for me personally. The reason for this is pretty obvious, you can mount 5-6 streak 6 missiles, and rip open or kill a mech in a single shot. If there is no obstacles in the way, it will do full damage. They also have ridiculous range (370 m). You can fire 3 streak 6, for up to 36 damage into an enemy mech, or optionally run 5 streak missiles for 60 damage. Ghost heat applies to more than 3, so you would circumvent it by firing it 3 and 2. The missiles will follow you up, or follow you down. There are no deploy able cover or shields to protect against it. If you find yourself being focused down with laser, no problem, just fire and forget (
Grade A+++ super pilots do that)
It generally ends like this: Your in a medium. You run into a timberwolf with 3 streak 6. You fight him and have no time to run into cover. 36 damage hits you in the side torso removing the armor instantly. Somebody flanks you, kills you in one shot, or they group up on you and both try to aim at the same torso, you get forced out of position and then insta killed by streak missiles.
It also ends like this: Your in a spider. You climb a ledge. The streak dog sees you. Incoming missile. You swear. You try to jump down. Missiles hit you in the air, leg you, and then your pretty much screwed.
It also also ends like this: You join an IS vs Clan scouting mission. The enemy team brought 4 stormcrows with 5 streak 6, a BAP, and a tag in the head with all the modules. They either turtle you out, by hitting you at the max 360 range and keeping from getting shot or they gang up on the same guy, kill him in like 2 seconds, and continue that until everyone is dead.
Most of the games I leave extremely dissatisfied, when I am hunted down with the same cheap weapon, very early in the match, I attempt to fight it, and eventually others flock to me and I become a heap of metal on the side of the road. (Thanks minimap, thanks red dorito that shows up over my head.
)
What does satisfy me, is drowning a streak boat in friendly LRM missiles, or using a flamer on a streak boat, and peeling off his leg slowly, and then staying just outside of his field of vision as his poor mech is annihilated, and then flaming his dead mech to ensure the pilot did not survive. Or better yet, running around in an atlas S with all that structure, and then instantly blowing off a crows leg. Then crushing its weak body with my fist. Just straight impaling it with another shot.
So satisfying...