Anyone using three class 3 Beam Lasers on the Python ?

[EdsDad]

My current combat loadout is two Gimballed C3 Beam lasers and three Gimballed F2 Multi-cannons with a A7 Power Distributer and C7 Powerplant (can't afford the A7 yet at 51,000,000cr). With this setup I can melt most ships including Condas very quickly, the two Beams lasers fire for 12 secs.
As I have the maximum Power Distributer (A7) would upgrading to a A7 Power plant allow me to use three class 3 Beam Lasers for the satisfaction of seeing other ships melt faster ?

 

[jgm]

A better power plant would allow you to power more weapons and modules simultaneously but not power the existing weapons for longer.

 

[lovely lovely]

Had 2*c3 Gim beam and 3* F2 turreted Multi for a while - now trying out 3* C3 gim beams and 2 * F2 turreted multi......

assumption being strip the shields asap and introduce second thoughts into the opposition to leave me alone

 

[Poseidal]

If you are draining the powerplant, consider that when it's drained you will not get full advantage of all beams. Supplement with Pulse lasers or try burst lasers perhaps (and these do more damage per energy, though damage per second is lower).

 

[lovely lovely]

A7 powerplant is awesome in this regard

 

[EdsDad]

If you are draining the powerplant, consider that when it's drained you will not get full advantage of all beams. Supplement with Pulse lasers or try burst lasers perhaps (and these do more damage per energy, though damage per second is lower).

I appreciate what you say, but I have 3 Pulse Lasers on my Anaconda and the sound drives me nuts. I was hoping upgrading the Power Plant would give me 12 secs with three lasers but I suppose that comes from the Power Distributer which is already maxed out.

 

[Puppie]

i ran 3 x C3 beams and 2 x f2 cannons. first firegroup primary 2 x C3, secondar 1 x C3, second firegroup 1 x C3, 2 x MC

first firegroup to get shields down, then depending on target ship size, switch to second firegroup to take out hull/modules.

 

[Kondensat]

i used this setup a long time, but after the heat-increase, i decided to reduce it a bit. 3 big beams lead to excessive heat damage after every full discharge, specially when boosting.
today i use 1 big beam and 2 medium. this is much more heat-firendly. the two big slots i fill up with 2 big plasmas, turning off one of them until the first runs dry, then i switch. so i have 200 shots of large PA.
alternatively i use 1 big beam and 2 big pulses +2 rails

 

[Iskariot]

My current combat loadout is two Gimballed C3 Beam lasers and three Gimballed F2 Multi-cannons with a A7 Power Distributer and C7 Powerplant (can't afford the A7 yet at 51,000,000cr). With this setup I can melt most ships including Condas very quickly, the two Beams lasers fire for 12 secs.
As I have the maximum Power Distributer (A7) would upgrading to a A7 Power plant allow me to use three class 3 Beam Lasers for the satisfaction of seeing other ships melt faster ?

I use 3 C3's. and I use an A6 Powerplant. It is 20 tonnes lighter than a C7 and gives a bit more juice. It is 3 times more expensive though.
I have different setups so I can switch from 3 beams to 2 beams on the fly in different situations and depending on the load in my capacitor.

I appreciate what you say, but I have 3 Pulse Lasers on my Anaconda and the sound drives me nuts.

The pulse sound is indeed the only sound I would like to see changed to something more menacing and less squeaky.

 

[spindoza]

I too used 3 c3 beams for a while but heat damage management was a pain. Also gimballed beams not too accurate when trying to hit vipers. So 1 fixed C3 beam 2 class 2 multicannons and 2 turetted class 3 burst lasers all in fire groups . I switch wepons depending on targets. No heat problems .

 

[xDreadnoughtx]

It's a tricky one. I am now using the A7 at last and did try 3c3 beams. After a bit of experimenting I swapped one out for a c3 burst. I prefer it. Heat seems a bit less of an issue and the set up seems to melt shields nicely.

The mediums are cannons for large ship munching.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

-- Deleted --

 

[DidierDrbois]

The power plant will not help you sustain the beams for longer, as mentioned. Also, even with 2 large beams firing for prolonged periods, heat is an issue.
_
I am currently split between gimballed and fixed large beams behind the cabin, but I'm pretty convinced about the large gimballed cannon at the bow. As far the medium hard points are concerned, I like multicannons there. They chew through powerplants like termites. Playing with an idea of railguns but not sure if I can power them with 7C plant.
_
My fire groups are (1) 2 beams primary, cannon secondary (2) 2 beams primary, multicannons secondary.
_
edit: Turns out, railguns are a no-go. Not without advanced power management. But I'm not too far from that 7A reactor

 

[HeavyGroovez]

I used to use 5 beams on my Python but that was back in the pre 1.2 days when there was no heat damage from thermal weapons.

Plus instant shield regen from the monster cell batteries meant you could run 4 pips in weapons.

Can't do that nowadays of course and so I run a twin pulse triple rail loadout. Great DPE and high alpha.

 

[lovely lovely]

It does seem somewhat ironic the day I switch from a trading to combat setup the usuals that try to destroy me in a system they claim to own have all gone. Would love to have some real world tests on a the shields of vulture. Hopefully tonight.

 

[Yomamas Fett]

I fly with 3 fixed large beams and 2 gimballed cannon (for sidewinders and the lulz, the beams do the lions share of the work).

I used to fly 4pips SYS 2pips WEP, but since the shield pip changes I have been running 3 SYS 3 WEP, I carry a HSL in case I get target locked and forget about heat buildup.

I tried the 2 beams 3 cannon setups but was underwhelmed by the damage dealt compared with the 3 class 3 fixed beams. Have not tried the gimbaled beams since I was flying the Clipper, but can tell you that the fixed beams have almost double the range...useful on the slow Python.

3 fixed beams have almost the same damage as 4 equivalent gimballed beams...


edit: 1 more thing, the fixed beams remove any need for sub component targetting, you do so much damage to almost every subsystem that targetting componets actually extends the fight as it gimps the cannon damage vs hull. I wish more targets would carry hull packs so I could test this properly though.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

I wish I could find a beam laser. My local High-Tech doesn't stock it. One fixed BL under the nose, 2 missile racks and 2 gimballed pulse will be awesome!

Currently using 2 missile racks, 2 gimballed pulse lasers and one gimballed cannon under the nose.

 

[v01i0]

I tried the 3 large (fixed) beam setup but I found that I manage better with pulses: the large beams tend to suck too much energy and causing too much heat. So instead I now have 3 large fixed pulses and 2 medium turreted beams. Medium turrets are great for taking out small and more agile ships (as well as taking out subsystems on larger vessels) while Pulses are generally good and balanced weapons, not taking too much energy.

-v

 

[Trader Pat]

I use 3 C3's. and I use an A6 Powerplant. It is 20 tonnes lighter than a C7 and gives a bit more juice. It is 3 times more expensive though.
I have different setups so I can switch from 3 beams to 2 beams on the fly in different situations and depending on the load in my capacitor.
...

2 C3 Beam, 2 F2 MC, 1 C3 Cannon. And I agree on the A6 Power plant being just enough to get all powered. I keep the Distrib as A6 too. All this plus some other choices keep the Python as light as possible when I configure it for hunting.

Otherwise, I keep it as an armed trader with 276T of cargo. Just love that ship!!

 

[[HJ]-RedRaven]

I found the 3x C3G beams were just too hot, and I didn't get enough damage out of a full WEP capacitor load, even using the A7 Power Distributor.

I switched back to 3x C3G Pulse with 2 x C2G Beams for backup. Can't find the C3G Burst lasers anywhere near me (near Altair) so gave up. I prefer all-energy setup and not having to rely on ammo reload runs.

I still get some heat issues because I'm still on the C-class power plant... the A7 is 51mil alone and that's a fair whack for me, but it comes with decent heat dissipation over the C7 class power unit.

Overall damage is good, I "think" the pulses do more subsystem damage close in, wave around less, and are bit better at range, which makes up for their lower damage output overall.

Fixed isn't attractive... increase in damage potential is seriously outweighed by loss of on-target time. (~10+% extra damage but can you keep it on target for 90% of the time a gimballed laser wil be firing? Hell no.)