Faulty pulse lasers - can I have a refund please?

My personal preference has always been beam, but I started to suspect that might be cosmetic/ vanity. I just think they look and sound more cool.

Having read so many posts extolling the virtues of pulse/ burst lasers I thought I should give them a try.

I put C3 pulse and then burst on a Vulture (A rated PP and PD) . I was looking forward to: "much increased DPS" and "non-stop firing with just one or two pips to weapons"

I can only assume I bought dodgy second equipment. So far as 'constant firing' - with 4 pips I soon get thermal overload when taking on even smaller ships like Vipers in RES. Damage wise they just don't seem to take the enemy out as quick, but I appreciate there are lots of variables involved.

It's not because I'm wasting energy by missing the target. I set them as gimballed and in a Vulture its not hard to make sure every hit counts.

Is there something else I'm doing wrong?

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... pulse/ burst also sound totally naff too. It's like being in a cheap 80's sci-fi TV show.
 

Ok, I have no idea where you got these ideas, that you should get a refund for that? sell it and buy something else?
Burst is better then pulse, damage wise, beam better then burst damage wise, but they each come with their own downsides as well.
 
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My personal setup includes one gimballed C3 beam laser and one gimballed C2 pulse laser. When you empty the capacitor, you can continually fire the C2 pulse laser while the cap charges up and you can use the C3 beam laser again. This is with four pips to weapons, by the way.
 
My personal preference has always been beam, but I started to suspect that might be cosmetic/ vanity. I just think they look and sound more cool.

Having read so many posts extolling the virtues of pulse/ burst lasers I thought I should give them a try.

I put C3 pulse and then burst on a Vulture (A rated PP and PD) . I was looking forward to: "much increased DPS" and "non-stop firing with just one or two pips to weapons"

I can only assume I bought dodgy second equipment. So far as 'constant firing' - with 4 pips I soon get thermal overload when taking on even smaller ships like Vipers in RES. Damage wise they just don't seem to take the enemy out as quick, but I appreciate there are lots of variables involved.

It's not because I'm wasting energy by missing the target. I set them as gimballed and in a Vulture its not hard to make sure every hit counts.

Is there something else I'm doing wrong?

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... pulse/ burst also sound totally naff too. It's like being in a cheap 80's sci-fi TV show.

Since its 100% sell for modules I will gladly offer you a refund at the station of your choice. :)

Not got time to test but check the following things as they can cause problems with heat:
Proximity to star/gas giant.
Powerplant rating.

If you are A grade powerplant and in deep space that is the optimal (lowest) background heat for fighting, if you still overheat then yes it is the weapons. I can't remember exactly but since the Vulture is basically 2 large weapons with a box bolted around it makes sense that there would be some heat issues with laser weapons.
 
Ok, I have no idea where you got these ideas, that you should get a refund for that? sell it and buy something else?
Burst is better then pulse, damage wise, beam better then burst damage wise, but they each come with their own downsides as well.

Lol! Sorry mate, I was being sarcastic about expecting a refund! Hardly applicable when there's no depreciation on modules/ weapons!

It seems more logical that the higher grade weapon is 'better' so far as damage, but with downsides.

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Since its 100% sell for modules I will gladly offer you a refund at the station of your choice. :)

Not got time to test but check the following things as they can cause problems with heat:
Proximity to star/gas giant.
Powerplant rating.

If you are A grade powerplant and in deep space that is the optimal (lowest) background heat for fighting, if you still overheat then yes it is the weapons. I can't remember exactly but since the Vulture is basically 2 large weapons with a box bolted around it makes sense that there would be some heat issues with laser weapons.

Alex, I'm quoting your name when I go to collect my refund!

I never use anything other than A grade PP and PD on combat ships. Overheating is not the issue it's a simple case of the weapon charge emptying out.

Pulse to be fair do seem to function better on an empty weapons charge IF you have it set to four pips.

I realise the failing is on me for being daft enough to believe some of the drivel that gets posted on here...
 
I never use anything other than A grade PP and PD on combat ships. Overheating is not the issue it's a simple case of the weapon charge emptying out.

Pulse to be fair do seem to function better on an empty weapons charge IF you have it set to four pips.

I realise the failing is on me for being daft enough to believe some of the drivel that gets posted on here...

I only ask because a recent thread has someone saying they overheated really quick and it was because they were fighting right in a RES around a brown dwarf.
Yeah, Burst consume more capacitor power than Pulse :)
 
I only ask because a recent thread has someone saying they overheated really quick and it was because they were fighting right in a RES around a brown dwarf.
Yeah, Burst consume more capacitor power than Pulse :)

Found C3g beams at V374 Pegasi. The dealer got a bit cranky about refunding the C3 bursts but I dropped your name and he sorted it for me ;-)
 
You still need 3-4 WEP pips to fire nonstop. It's just that you have much more uptime with 2 WEP using Pulse vs Beam, which results in higher long term DPS if you're on target more.

the only setup that I like with fewer than 3 WEP is a full kinetic, which doesn't work outside of isolated fights.
 
What i understand about pulse is. If your set up allows your beam lasers to shoot for 5 seconds nonstop atleast. Then there is no way pulse can out DPS them. ( provided you don't waste too much energy. ) the one thing pulse does much better is target subsystems... And I think it's becuase they have better armor penetration .
 
I would like to add, if you overheat with pulses, something is terribly, terribly wrong. Probably close to a sun or a gas giant that gives out heat. Or your power plant is not A grade. Or both.
 
I would like to add, if you overheat with pulses, something is terribly, terribly wrong. Probably close to a sun or a gas giant that gives out heat. Or your power plant is not A grade. Or both.

My error, 'overheat' was the wrong term. The temp % to the left of the scanner stays nice and low, (I only ever use A grade PP's for combat).
The 'thermal overload' warning shows by the weapon targeting on the HUD when the distributor charge is empty.
 
The virtues of pulses are twofold:

1 - They are better against subsystems, compared to beams. You need to target subsystems to get the most of them. If you go for the hull, depending on your fighting style you would be faster with beams.
2 - They are more efficient, energy-wise. You can keep shooting for longer, and overall damage is better if you have the enemy in your sights all the time. Depending on fighting style you may prefer beams, and charge your capacitor while you maneuver.
 

Kirk-Fu

Banned
For the Vulture I always use one fixed and one gimballed pulse. Enough power and accuracy to turn power plants into swiss cheese at close range, maintaining constant fire with 3-4 pips to WEP, and it's always 4 pips to WEP when on the offensive in a Vulture. Pulse lasers never cause overheating, and they free up enough power to use A-grade internals, 5C shields, boosters and cell banks. I like having 2 hardpoints on the Vulture too, having one laser bound to each trigger really improves fire control, I never miss a shot or bottom out the capacitor with it.
I'll include beam laser turrets on larger ships to constantly pester shields but on disco ball builds I never rely on them for hull penetration. I have a pair of small beam laser turrets on the Anaconda and everything else is pulse lasers, for hammering through shields and hull in one go, and slowly draining the remaining shields on anything that survives the first volley.
 
On vulture with only 2hard points those pulse do nice subsystem damage. Seem to take big game out quicker than beam but beams take shield down quicker
 
With one pulse and a cannon/frag-cannon you can run 4 pips to sys and have constant fire. Makes the Vulture very shield strong.
 
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