Maybe its because I was trying to run 2 C3 Gimballed Beam Lasers on my Vulture, but even with an A4 Power Plant and A5 Distributor they just do not have the damage or armor penetration to justify there insane power draw and over heating issues. They take the longest by far to kill anything compared to Pulse and Burst, and on top of everything else there gimballed tracking with A4 Sensors is just terrible, even at close range(within 5-6 hundred meters) they struggle to keep damage on things like the power plants of Anacondas(which are incredibly large and easy to hit with burst or pulse).
Ship Builds & Load Outs Beam lasers under preforming
- Thread starter MrFuddyDuddy
- Start date
Yup. That is why. Beams do great DPS (50-90% higher than pulse) but they are a huge power drain (x2), and are best left to ships that can supply the MJ/s.
Check out this link for a better idea of how much dps weapons do vs shields. Thermal do more dps for shields, and Kinetic do more damage vs Hulls.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=140240
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See but they shouldn't, I think its hilarious that after about 5 seconds of fire 2 C3 Gimballed Beam Lasers are essentially useless until you let them recharge completely for another 5-7 second fire run. It shouldn't be the case, that a 150k Pulse Laser can doll out 4-5+ times the damage as a 2 million credit Beam Laser. On top of everything else Gimballed Beams seems like they struggle to stay on target when going after subsystems even at close range, though it might just seem that way because of there poor armor penetration.
Depends on the ship. If you are running a combat ship like Vulture/FDL/Viper etc then you have power and heat problems with some also distributor.
On the other hand a Python or Anaconda, or even a Clipper can run beams quite effectively in jousting style combat.
On the other hand a Python or Anaconda, or even a Clipper can run beams quite effectively in jousting style combat.
on pure-combat Vultures i prefer one pulse, one beam - but you have to change your flying style to match. 2x pulses are very easy to use, you can open fire from relatively far away and just hold down the fire button until your target is dead. a beam needs you to get closer and be very precise - every moment your shot goes wide is wasted bars on your Wep cap. you use it sort of like you would a musical instrument, with timed rests while the cap recharges. if you can do that they are very effective - the proof is in how quickly it will melt a Sidewinder or Eagle compared to 2x pulses, and overall they will finish off an Anaconda or Python quicker too. (which is why i use them)
i also run Vultures with small 16t cargo bays for doing missions and running contraband - they always use 2x pulses due to the extra power needed by the cargo hatch and scanners etc. - the beam Vultures are always overloaded to the max power-wise, and don't have any to spare for anything that isn't weapons, thrusters or shields
i also run Vultures with small 16t cargo bays for doing missions and running contraband - they always use 2x pulses due to the extra power needed by the cargo hatch and scanners etc. - the beam Vultures are always overloaded to the max power-wise, and don't have any to spare for anything that isn't weapons, thrusters or shields
The only thing I find bad about c3 beam lasers is the exaggeratingly high price. Beam weapons are the most useful in the game at the moment because they are hitscan and do not require leading. I for myself tried a lot on my vulture already but always came back to two c3 pulse lasers because I can just precisely melt hardpoints on an enemy ship and sustain fire for ages. You might also want to try one c3 beam laser and a projectile based weapon, one c3 beam wont deplete very fast if you have a good energy system and you can take down certain targets faster with a multicannon.
That is just false. Medium beam lasers do the same burst dps as Large Pulse. Not the other way around. If you run out of juice because you cannot manage your power, or figure out how to slot a kinetic weapon, or alternate L-R fire for sustained and burst, that is pilot error.
Beams are fantastic if you know how and when to use them. However if you just want to spam all beams on every hardpoint on the ship all the time and do the same damage-over-time as pulse, then you are basically asking for beams to be the best weapon in the game. They aren't expensive because they are the best. They are expensive because they give you more options to regulate your dps for burst.
Its the same with turrets.
My 2 Medium Beams as an example do 1% ish Hull per second on say a Cobra, and my 3 Large Beams do 2.5% ish per second. I will record it.
I'm probably off the mark, but I feel that the Large Beams should do a lot more damage than they currently do.
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Read your post again. You compared medium pulse to large beams... must have been a typo?
In any case the damage scaling varies depending the weapon type. Beams do crap damage to hulls. That is why we have kinetic weapons
It is all fairly well balanced if you know how to outfit your ship. The type of laser is also important. Pulse does more damage per energy. Beams do more damage per second of burst. Burst lasers are are balance of damage and energy usage. The mount counts. Fixed does more dps and dpe. Turrets do the worst but compensate for this by hitting more often. Class 3 fixed beam lasers do insane shield damage for ships with good Power Distribution - put one of these on a vulture and it's almost like having two pulse. On the other end of the spectrum a Class 3 beam turret can turn a slow turning ship like the DBX into a shield shredding machine. If you actually take the time to read this link it will all be clear how each weapon fits into the pecking order. Compare the yellow bars to your ship's Power Dist MJ/s to see how well you can maintain the DPS.
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=140240
Sorry, was a typo, I'm meaning beams for everything.
I feel that Large Gimballed Beams are underpowered, when comparing them to Medium Gimballed Beams. (either that, or Medium Gimballed Beams are OP)
3 Gimballed Large Beams seem to do only around 50% more damage, when I use them instead of my 2 Gimballed Medium Beams.
I will do more testing tonight, just to make sure though.
Edit: Had a quick look, and the Large Performance is lackluster comparing them to mediums. Nearly tempted to run a full Medium Setup due to loosing 1 DPS, but being able to fire them for a lot longer both heat wise and power wise:
I feel that Large Gimballed Beams are underpowered, when comparing them to Medium Gimballed Beams. (either that, or Medium Gimballed Beams are OP)
3 Gimballed Large Beams seem to do only around 50% more damage, when I use them instead of my 2 Gimballed Medium Beams.
I will do more testing tonight, just to make sure though.
Edit: Had a quick look, and the Large Performance is lackluster comparing them to mediums. Nearly tempted to run a full Medium Setup due to loosing 1 DPS, but being able to fire them for a lot longer both heat wise and power wise:
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