Said of missiles or beam weapons that fire along trajectories that are at an unlikely angle off of their target, streak along for a fair distance, and then make sudden synchronized turns in order to actually bring themselves to bear and hit it. The individual missiles of a MacrossMissileMassacre almost always robotech on their way to a target. Often, it seems the best (or only) way to avoid this or a MacrossMissileMassacre is to perform a HighSpeedMissileDodge.

Named for the [[CutAndPasteTranslation "adaptation"]] of several {{anime}} known as ''{{Robotech}}'', in which the behavior was first seen by Americans.

This is actually TruthInTelevision, as many different kind of missiles used in both air, ground, and sea defenses do this, though most not as extreme -- and lasers certainly do not and ''will not ever'' act this way -- unless gravitational lensing is used to affect the path of the beam by actually altering the space through which the beam passes. With some electromagnetic beam weaponry, magnetic fields could be used for similar effect. On the other hand, if one does not develop targeting technology to the point of {{Roboteching}}, the alternative is only to fire when you SeeTheWhitesOfTheirEyes.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Used in ''ProjectAKo'' -- though, oddly, a freeze-frame reveals the missiles to be cans of Coca-Cola.
** This is a parody of several missiles fired in ''SuperDimensionFortressMacross: Do you Remember Love?'', where some of the missiles were drawn as cans of beer.
* Starscream's lasers fire like this in ''[[{{Transformers}} Transformers: Cybertron]]''.
** And in the preceding series ''TransformersEnergon'', [[CombiningMecha Wing Optimus's]] "Meteor Attack Mode" fires a BeamSpam along with a small ChestBlaster, which then absorbs the individual streams of energy to form an insanely powerful WaveMotionGun.
* In ''[[DragonBall Dragon Ball Z]],'' Piccolo becomes irritated at Android 17's ability to dodge his attacks, and develops the Hellzone Grenade, which fires a swarm of small energy blasts at seemingly random angles. They hover in a rough sphere around the target, at which point Piccolo exclaims "Try dodging ''this,''" and it goes boom.
** Predictably enough, in the various Budokai Tenkaichi games the attack is perfectly dodgeable as long as you time it right.
** Goku was once able to control where his [[KamehameHadoken Kamehameha]] was going against Raditz.
* In ''SpaceRunawayIdeon,'' the missiles Ideon fires act like this. When they are powered by the god-like Ide, they then fire off as beams of light, with 90-degree angles.
* In her ''Pactio'' powered-up form, Chachamaru from the ''MahouSenseiNegima'' anime is seen using a roboteching BeamSpam attack that emerges from her back.
** Most of Negi's magic missiles act this way too.
* Done in ''{{Vandread}}'' with any kind of missile spam. The ''Nirvana'' does this with energy shots that can ''dodge friendly vehicles'' when properly targeted on the way to the enemy. An extreme example of gravitational lensing perhaps, although given the abilities of the shows Applied Phlebotinum, the Pixis, it could easily not have even a dubious scientific explanation. Then again, the standard guns of the Dread fighters display a more limited, but similar, principle.
* In ''GundamZZ'', the Psyco Gundam Mark II is supposed to do something similar with its beam weapons. It releases "mirrors" which are used to redirect the beam weapons around obstacles and from angles which regular pilots wouldn't expect.
* This was touched on again in ''{{Gundam 00}}'', where [[TheWoobie Louise Halevy]]'s [[LightningBruiser Regnant]] is shown to be extremely dangerous due to the fact that that the shots from its beam cannons were able to Robotech.
* ''EurekaSeven'''s Nirvash type theEND has a barrage of homing lasers. They ''all'' robotech. Sometimes they gather together and ''re''-robotech. Pick ''any'' fight between theEND and ''anyone'' else.
* The Divine Shooter/[[MidSeasonUpgrade Axel Shooter]] spell of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''--magic missiles whose individual flight paths Nanoha can control to streak towards different targets.
* The beam fired by the [[ArmCannon Psychogun]] in ''Space Adventure Cobra'' can swerve around obstacles to strike unerringly its target, since it is mentally controlled by the hero.
* In ''KatekyoHitmanReborn,'' Gokudera's Rocket Bomb attack does this with hand-thrown dynamite by having secondary and tertiary charges explode to allow him to control the trajectory. At least some mention is made of how difficult a technique this is.
* [=TenRyuJin=]'s 'Hikari to Yami no Mai' in ''GaoGaiGar FINAL'' does this -- she fires off chaff missiles, then bounces maser shots off the chaff (based on an attack the first Bigbad of the series used). And yes, she does comment on how hard the calculations are. When EI-01 used it originally, he was using every computer in Tokyo as a distributed computing network to handle them.
* Many of the ships in ''GallForce'' do this too, as lasers will be shot out at right angles to their ship, and once clearing the hull profile, make a 90-degree turn forward to bombard their target.
* In ''StrikeWitches'' the neuroi attack using ''beams'' that robotech, even when the targets are very close.
* In ''Pokemon Special'', the Elite Four all have special powers from out of freaking nowhere, and Lance's is that his mons Hyper Beams can robotech.
** Even when they're not controlled by the computer, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the Elite Four are cheating bastards]]!
* [[PlayingWithFire Hikaru's]] [[KillItWithFire Flame Arrows]] in ''MagicKnightRayearth''. Much more egregious in the {{OAV}} continuity where, even though they're shot straight at an enemy, the fire bursts robotech ''around and past'' the target and then strike it in the back.
* In ''UchuuSenkanYamato'', Gamilus uses mirror satellites to direct their reflex cannon at the Yamato even when it is on the other side of a planet from their base. FridgeLogic asks, if they have something that FrickinLaserBeams just bounce right off of, why not use it for shields? [[spoiler: Eventually the good guys do exactly this to defend against the Desler Cannon. It's a pretty awesome DeusExMachina, but it doesn't explain why the Gamilusians didn't think of it first.]]
** Of course, any surface that can reflect combat lasers is a case of DidNotDoTheResearch. Only partially focussed beams would be reflected easily (which is how mirror sattelites would work); fully focussed beams used to cause actual damage would roast any mirror in microseconds.
* The recent ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' remake features a bunch of missiles fired at Ramiel that behave this way--fired straight up into the sky and suddenly execute a 90-degree turn to aim at the target.
* Similarly, some robot-controlled planes in ''{{RahXephon}}'' are launched straight upwards and suddenly turn downwards to attack their target from above.
* Beams fired by Nobles' ships in ''WolfsRain'' will maneuver quite extensively to track their target, if they don't hit it straight. At one point, a single beam splits in two to hit different targets.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* A deliberate ability of Darkseid's Omega blast, from ''TheDCU''. He targets exactly where he wants it to go, and it will avoid obstacles in the way.
* Also seen in the Ultimate Nullifer in the MarvelUniverse.
* In the earlier issues of ImageComics' ''{{Stormwatch}}'', Flashpoint (one of the members of Stormwatch Prime) also had the ability to control the direction and intensity of his eye blasts. It was ''very'' cool. Too bad the character was a prime {{Jerkass}} and TheMole (actually, all three members of Stormwatch Prime were moles, but he was the only one who enjoyed it and stayed evil. He [[KarmicDeath got his in the end]], too.)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''TheFifthElement'' has a ''{{BFG}}'' that, among other functions, does this with bullets.
* In the film... ''[[InNameOnly adaptation]]''... of the comic book ''{{Wanted}}'' (which could not be less like the comic in any way), this is [[ImprobableAimingSkills the power]] of all the main characters. They do it with ''bullets.'' Fired from ''regular guns.'' Of course, one of them is [[FetishFuel Angelina Jolie]], so [[ROBRAM89 I'm]] not complaining.
** Actually, the Fraternity [[AllThereInTheManual only uses smoothbore guns and the "curving" bullets are supposed to be like curving baseballs. When they want distance they carve rifling into individual bullets]].
* ''{{District 9}}'' does this in the climactic battle involving with MNU against the {{Powered Armor}}--the missiles it fires Robotech around the buildings hitting near the mercenaries though it's too small to count as {{Macross Missile Massacre}}.
* The film ''Runaway'' includes a handgun that fires target-seeking minimissiles.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The ''HonorHarrington'' novels introduce in later novels 3 stage missiles and off-bore firing capacity allowing both broadsides to be delivered to a target. Later Apollo Technology is designed with very long range control allowing the missiles to go ballistic before engaging the third drive allowing Roboteching over several light minutes.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''RedDwarf'': The episode ''Polymorph'' features bazookoid weapons that fire ''heat-seeking laser bolts'', which are eventually trapped going round and round in a circle on a deserted deck [[spoiler:and eventually pop up as a DeusExMachina to kill the enemy]]. Unusually, the novelisation still calls them laser bolts and does not substitute something more scientifically accurate, which it does for several other technologies from the series.
* One episode of ''{{Airwolf}}'' had a missile fired in '''very''' approximately the direction of the enemy ground troops. They laughed when they saw the missile's flight path wouldn't bring it near enough to hurt them. Then the gunner activated the terminal-guidance laser....

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Tau Smart Missile Systems in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are said to work like this.
*Rare fantasy example: The Egyptian-themed unded Tomb Kings in ''{{Warhammer}}'' field archers equipeed with magic arrows that, in the fluff, do exactly this- at some points they even soar past the target entirely, only to change direction in mid-air and hit enemies in the back. In the actual game, this is represented by thier having no positive or negative modifiers to hit, ever.
*One of the ''Champions'' rulebooks has statistics for an energy beam that follows the target until it hits. The rules were complex enough to defy even ''Champions'' attack powers, so the designers wrote it up as a summoned creature instead.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The Annihilator Beam in ''[[{{Metroid}} Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]]'' is capable of this.
* ''DungeonsAndDragons: The TempleOfElementalEvil'' had the Magic Missile spell animated like this. Considered [[RuleOfCool a very cool effect]] for the spell by even table-top D&D players. The effect is similar to the spell's depiction in ''BaldursGate'', and ''NeverwinterNights''.
* Similar to the Magic Missiles, one of the Ghost elemental mage spells, Soul Strike, in the MMORPG ''RagnarokOnline'' summons a varying number of white glowing orbs which then streak towards the target.
* The swarm-firing missiles in [[SimulationGame space sim]] ''[[{{Freespace}} Descent: Freespace]]'' and its sequels. More advanced versions even ''corkscrew'' all the way to their targets. Later games in the ''WingCommander'' series also included this trope.
* ''ZoneOfTheEnders'' and its sequel had Jehuty, the player's HumongousMecha, equipped with a laser weapon whose beams Roboteched out of thin air to home in on locked targets, in a bright-blue rendition of a MacrossMissileMassacre.
* Several warships in the ''{{Xenosaga}}'' series fire beams at angles away from the ship, which then make a sharp angled turn straight ahead.
** This also occurs in the anime ''GallForce'', although the "lasers" may actually be cheaply-animated missiles.
*** No, their missiles Roboteched the traditional way. Those were definitely beams. You could even see them tearing through the ships they hit.
* Taito's Ray Series (''RayForce'', ''RayStorm'', and ''RayCrisis'') and several other shmups by them have Roboteching lasers sometimes fired by enemies.
* ''CommandAndConquer Red Alert 2'' had the Russian Dreadnoughts do this when they were facing away from their target. It would make more sense if they tracked...
** MLRS units can also do this in some games of the series, aswell as in other games. ''WorldInConflict'', for example.
* ''{{Quake}} IV'' has a modification to the nailgun that allows doing this with nails.
* In the ''[[SuperRobotWars Super Robot Wars: Original Generation Divine Wars]]'' (yes, [[WordSaladTitle that's the title]]) [[BlowYouAway Cybuster]]'s Cosmo Nova special attack is depicted as a Roboteched BeamSpam.
* You can Robotech the shots of the [=RPG=] in both the original ''{{Half-Life}}'' and ''{{Half-Life}} 2'' by waving the laser guiding dot around. {{Justified}} because of some nebulous technology that causes the rocket to seek the guiding dot out, and a necessary gameplay element as Combine gunships will attempt to shoot the rockets down and will succeed if you don't bother to Robotech.
** This is TruthInTelevision (well, videogames) to a extent, as laser-guided rockets in Real Life will do this -- pursue the targeting laser's dot (called "illuminator"). That's why real laser designation systems have motion compensators -- to make sure the dots do not move. The only unrealistic element here is how slowly the rockets move -- normally there's not enough time for the dot to move much before the rocket hits -- but this is a videogame and therefore an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break From Reality]]
* Shows up in ''DevilMayCry'' with the "Hysteric" cluster micro missiles of Kalina Ann and the missile platform mode of Pandora's Box.
* {{Robotech}}ed lasers fire from your craft in ''{{Ikaruga}}'' once you've absorbed enough enemy bullets.
* In ''UnrealTournament 3,'' the Cicada's rockets robotech somewhat madly, but, if given enough time, usually end up at the spot crosshair.
** Likewise in ''Unreal Tournament 2004'', the [=AVRiL=] anti-vehicle missiles only home in to a vehicle while you're aiming at it, allowing you to turn them at the last minute, making them harder to dodge or shoot down. Further, the target only receives a "Missile Lock" warning when you are tracking them, making it a viable strategy to dumb-fire a rocket to near the target and only lock on when it is close by.
* A late weapon in the ''{{X-Com}}'' games was a guided rocket launcher that you set waypoints for the rocket to pass through before striking its target.
** For that matter, ''MetalGearSolid 2'' had a missile that, once fired, the player would control in first person view. One puzzle required the player to guide said missile through a maze of ventilation ducts. I am not making this up.
*** It actually showed up in the [[OlderThanTheyThink original]] ''MetalGear'', as well as the first ''MetalGearSolid''.
*** The concept of player-guided missile is [[Main/OlderThanTheyThink older than that]], though. It was used at least in the 1986 Commodore Amiga classic ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starglider Starglider]]''.
*** And earlier, in the 1984 classic ''Archon II: Adept'', for the titular game piece.
* ''{{Homeworld}} 2'''s Vaygrs love to use missiles. Their missiles often overshoot their targets. What does the missile do? Robotech their way to the original target. Original target died before the missiles reach? Robotech ''again'' to the nearest enemy craft.
* ''{{Halo}}'' has the needler, a handheld weapon that fires a spray little exploding crystal shards that home in somewhat on the nearest target. You can see them arc around to follow a fleeing enemy. How they do this is never explained (somehow, the covenant have developed self-guided plasma technology)
* In ''{{Fable}}'', the arrows generated by the "multi-shot" spell do this on their way to the target.
* ''{{Drakengard}}'''s Dragon has a lock-on attack that fires several fireballs that robotech. The Chaos Evolution of the Dragon has fireballs that robotech in straighter lines with more angular turns.
* ''{{Worms}} 2'' and ''Armageddon'' have a homing missile which does this -- the best method is to fire it straight up in the air at maximum power, then watch it lock on and abruptly change direction half a second later.
** ''Armageddon'' also has the Magic Bullet that is Roboteching set to ''eleven''.
* The Drunken Missile launcher in ''Rise of the Triad'' fires a salvo of missiles which fly in random directions until they sense a target, at which point they converge on the target from all angles making it difficult to avoid all of them.
* Missiles in ''SwordOfTheStars'' are one of the few weapons that don't need a direct line of sight to the target and robotech to their target after clearing the firing ship. Planetary defense missiles take it further: they not only robotech after launching from the poles of the planet, but if their target is destroyed, they glide for a bit, criss-crossing where the last target was if they were close enough, and robotech to the next target. Against a fleet of weak destroyers, a planetary defense missile may do this several times before hitting something.
* In ''CallOfDuty 4'' the Javelin missile launcher does this, quickly popping up after being fired and then slamming down on the targeted tank from almost directly above; see Truth in Television examples.
* ''[[HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi Higurashi Daybreak]]'' has this, in the form of Rika's charged ranged attack. She fires a bunch of purple missiles that robotech to the person you're currently locked on to.
* Every single ranged attack in the MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame ''[[CityofHeroes City of Heroes]]'', without fail, will do this if the mob moves. Then again, this is less deliberate than the result of locked-on targetting -- even if the damage of the attack misses the animation usually won't.
** Especially obvious if the target teleports while the attack is in flight; partnering a [[MightyGlacier sniping power]] with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Teleport Foe]] often resulted in the over powered attack making u-turn.
* Used by the Galbadian [=ICBMs=] in ''FinalFantasyVIII''.
* The Wind Laser in ''{{Axelay}}'' shoots four beams from the aft of the ship, then they curve forward to hit what's in front.
* Hit detection for non-ballistic long-range attacks in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' is done upon firing. If the target moves, the projectile will track the target until it hits, even ignoring obstacles. In earlier patches, this also applied to beam-type spells like the warlock's Drain Life or the mage's Arcane Missiles. As long as the magic-user could start casting the spell, it would continue to hit the target, no matter how far the target moved.
** Fun fact: a player on an upgraded flying mount (which allows one to travel at about 4x normal speed and... well, fly) is ''faster'' than most spell "missiles". It's possible to actually string missiles along behind you if you fly far enough.
* [[{{Battletech}} Mechwarrior]] 2 and 3 do this with Long Range Missile pods and guided (Streak) Short Range Missiles. 2's expansion pack especially - if this troper remembers correctly, the player can tag the target Beagle Active Probe, turn 180 degrees away, and fire the pod, and missiles will immediately do a "Fifth Element" impression.
* This is the key ability of the ''AceCombat'' [=QAAMs=], given how wimpy the standard missiles are at tracking and staying with targets. You also sometimes have cruise missiles leading you on a rather spinny chase.
* The early Mac game ''Airborne!'' (lone anti-aircraft gunner in the corner vs. the world) gave you the option of guided or unguided shells. With the former, the mouse controlled all friendly bullets on the screen as a unit, turning them into an undulating wave.
* This trope is practically [[FinalFantasyVI Kefka's]] entire moveset in ''DissidiaFinalFantasy''. [[JokeCharacter Not that]] [[MonsterClown it does]] [[IncrediblyLamePun him any good...]]
* In FateStayNight, Lancer has the ability to do this with his ''lance''!

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

*We see a Medieval BambooTech version of this in ''TalesOfTheQuestor,'' [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00550.html here.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Subverted in an episode of ''PowerpuffGirls''. A humongous mecha tries to perform a MacrossMissileMassacre, but all of the missiles just fly straight past its target, or in some cases, curve wildly and hit anything else.
* Occurs pretty frequently in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited''. In one episode, they were lasers [[RuleOfCool fired out of a disco ball]]. And in the finale, Darkseid fires roboteching ''eye'' beams at Batman.
** Darkseid´s eye beams, the Omega Effect ARE guided, even in the comics. Earlier in the SupermanTheAnimatedSeries, they bent around Superman to hit a men behind him
*** The Superman series example is quite a PlayerPunch moment, as it kills The CommissionerGordon "Terrible" Turpin.
** Of course, Batman being [[MemeticMutation the goddamn Batman]] is able to dodge it. Darkseid is really impressed.
*** To drive home that point, Batman has to do a lot of evasive maneuvering and a blind jump to evade it. And then he still needs to let a Mook take the hit. And he's so close to the impact that he's blown into a pile of rubble. Still Darkseid gives Batman props.
* Following the precedent established in earlier D&D video games, Raistlin's Magic Missile spell does this in the animated version of the first Dragonlance novel.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

*Despite public perception to the contrary, certain missiles actually behave ''almost'' like this. While they are not fired in massive salvos, as in ''{{Robotech}}'', often a missile will waver back and forth in flight a moment as its guidance system makes gross corrections.
** More directly analogous, many missiles launched out of vertical tubes on warships will robotech almost exactly: the missile goes straight up (to clear the ship), then abruptly change direction. On their final approach to a ship, they will "pop-up and dive" onto the top of the vessel. Some anti-tank missiles will do the same thing, flying over the tank then dropping straight down.
** American cruise missiles became famous for traveling to Baghdad, flying down a street, then almost stopping at a cross street while slowly turning to face another direction before streaking to the target.
*** The BBC's Foreign Affairs Chief John Simpson reported seeing a cruise missile in Baghdad fly "down the street and turn left at the traffic lights."
*** This is pretty much the entire point of cruise missiles.
** The AIM-9 Sidewinder missile series reputedly got it's official designation from the side-to-side wavering performed by early models, similar to that of the Sidewinder snake. "Top attack" missiles designed to fly straight to a target, climb to a high altitude nearby, and "drop" on top of enemies are a standard of NATO military forces, under the rationale "people don't armour the top sections of tanks as much as the front or sides."
*** The top of the tank is almost always the weakest point, and tanks have not been redesigned since these missiles have begun to be deployed en mass. However, it is likely that newer tank designs will sport significantly stronger armor on the top because of this trend.
**** The only problem with this is physical weight - the crew needs to be able to pop the hatch and get out by hand, meaning that a decent-sized part of the roof has to be armoured lightly enough to be liftable by hand. That is most definitely not enough to stop these weapons.
***** Get rid of the person, then you can have more top armor, and you also have even more space for dakka.
**** Install [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_protection_system an active protection system]] like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TROPHY_Active_Protection_System TROPHY]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Fist_active_protection_system Iron Fist]] or [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_Active_Protection_System ARENA]] and depending on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Fist_active_protection_system how good the system is]] you can get rid of all the top armor or even all the armor (for light tanks) and have enough place fore more DAKKA. For frak's sake the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drozd Russians had them since the 70s.]] Of course, you can never have enough {{DAKKA}}.
** The latest variant of the Sidewinder, the AIM-9X, has an ability to be aimed via a helmet-mounted sight and obtain lock-ons from almost 90 degrees off the direction of the firing fighter's nose. Furthermore, it can robotech a full 180 degrees off its rail to pursue a target. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g4_jzqBJnA Check it out here.]]
** The Russian [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vympel_R-73 Vympel R-73/AA-11 Archer]] is also aimed by a helmet-mounted sight, can can "see" targets up to 60° off the missile's centerline - and entered service 18 years earlier. After NATO learned about the capabilities of this missile, development of the AIM-9X, the IRIS-T and others was started.
** Any of the swarm rocket launchers or calliopes from WWII did this -- though not on purpose, because of technical limitations on the rockets themselves (designed to be cheap, easily-produced area denial weapons). This is lampshaded in the histories by saying that the weapons "were not terribly accurate". Examples being the Katyusha rocket launchers from Russia, the Nebelwerfer rocket mortar from Germany, and the Calliope tank-mounted rocket launcher of the Allies.
** Pretty much the point of guided weapons ''period.''
** Thrust vectoring and hover/loiter capabilities on newer missile designs will most certainly take future ordnance in this direction.
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