Using an all Beam Laser build on a large ship is amazing. Change my mind.

[Just Paul]

Beams are fun. Long range with thermal conduit, target the power plant and more often then not ships explode before the hull is at 0% from up to 6km away.
Still need to go back to base after every high CZ to repair the heat damage and fill up on heatsinks, but at least no more ammo synth.

 

[Iron Golem]

My main CZ ship is a FDL with 4x C2 gimballed multi-s (short range blaster, one corrosive) and a fixed C4 long range thermal vent beam. It's effective but runs out of ammo pretty quickly & with four to reload synth isn't a practical option for me.

I'll give it a try the other way round like yours, see if it's a better compromise

I use to run all multis but reloads got old once in awhile .

 

[Iron Golem]

I run Anaconda with 1xc4, 2xc2 and 2xc1 beams with 3xc3 multis. Best of both worlds. The Anas power distributor is great.

I really love beams and switching gimbals to fixed is useful. I cant wait to get Vette so I can use 2xc4 beams.

 

[Caramel Clown]

As soon as they're efficient. Otherwise you need some really good air conditioning

 

[Riverside]

I use to run all multis but reloads got old once in awhile .

Yeah I want something that can stay in the fight for longer but that FDL is my most effective ship atm. A friend has an almost identical FDL but with 4x fixed frags. Theirs is significantly better against hull at <500m range but at >500 & <2km my multi-s do more. >2km & <6km we both have the same long range thermal vent fixed C4 beam. With 204 on the distributor as either of us approach the shield gets stripped (usually), but my multi-s help with the shield if it's still up at 2km range so overall I prefer my setup for it's better versatility but at very close range, with the FDL's ability to maintain target & both evade incoming fire and tank a fair bit of damage the frags are better but you have to be close; with my multi-s I don't.

I can usually do three low CZs or a medium and a low, or one high (not alone in the FDL mine doesn't have enough shields) without rearming.

 

[Iron Golem]

I guess it's always going to be a compromise and it's up to everybody to decide, for themselves, where they want to make that compromise.

To digress slightly, I always used to run a pair of C7 SCBs on my 'vettes and they worked but they were always the eventual reason why I'd have to bug out of a fight.
When I got rid of them, it meant I could remain in combat for as long as I want.
Thing is, "as long as I want" is a finite length of time.
That being the case, there's not much point in building a ship that can remain on station for longer than I'll actually enjoy being there.

A pair of 4A beams can explode 95% of the ships you'll ever see at a RES or CNB.
Once every 15 minutes, or whatever, an Annie or Corvette will show up and killing that will be easier with the assistance of MCs or FCs.
In that case, a 'vette with 4A beams and secondary projectile weapons can easily remain on station until I've got bored.

Things are a little different in CZ's, these days, now the ships there are tougher.
As a rule, I tend to find that I can win between 1 and 2 CZs before I need to synth reloads for my MCs.
Again, though "time to boredom" is also a factor.
If I was running all-lasers, I wouldn't be winning CZs as quickly so I might win 2 or 3 before getting bored and going home.
With MCs I can kill ships faster, win the CZ faster and, thus, I'll win 4 or 5 before I get bored and go home.
That means maybe 1 or 2 reloads so that's not a huge amount of mat's and it's acceptable to me.


At the other extreme, if I was running an all-MC loadout on my 'vette (and I have tried it) it'd mince opponents quickly but it irritates me to be wasting ammo' just swatting things like Eagles, Cobras and Asps.
For Assassination missions, that'd be a terrific loadout but for farming CNBs and CZs it's too wasteful of mat's for me.

Again, it's about considering all the factors and then choosing the appropriate compromise.

Truth I noticed when going in everyone's hull is much stronger just made me focus on detonating plants and the beams arnt optimum. Still my favorite fun build.

 

[Bigmaec]

I actually just changed my Corvette from a MC/Beams/rails build to an all fixed Pulse Laser build. I gave all the Pulse lasers long range (500 m damage drop off is brutal) with various experimental effects (there's 7 so I had lots to choose from) and it's a bit a beast in res sites. I mostly did this because I am trying to train my NPC to Elite and this build can stay in res sites indefinitely. I honestly didn't think I was going to like it but after giving it a test run before letting my NPC take the helm I was surprised how much fun I was having with it. It can be a bit slow burning through the hull of the larger ships but shields melt pretty quick. I have not done any CZ's yet but I can see how with the increased hull of NPC's you might want something corrosive for those.

That pulse build wil suffer in CZs.
I tested a LR phasing pulse Krait some days ago for CZ endurance runs, and quickly went back to pacifiers/rails.

 

[Red_Beard_98]

That pulse build wil suffer in CZs.
I tested a LR phasing pulse Krait some days ago for CZ endurance runs, and quickly went back to pacifiers/rails.

Yeah I kinda figured it would, I don't think I would even attempt it. I know what those hulls are like in CZ's, they're brutal.

 

[Stealthie]

Truth I noticed when going in everyone's hull is much stronger just made me focus on detonating plants and the beams arnt optimum. Still my favorite fun build.

Uhuh.

Again, it's all about the compromise, though.

If "the big 3" weren't a thing, I'd probably build, say, a bunch of FGS's with different weapon load-outs for RES's, CZ's, Assassinations etc.

As it is, though, my Corvette has got enough shields that I can sit in a CZ without ever taking visible damage unless I do something dumb so there's no incentive to specialise it to suit CZs at the expense of other capabilities.

About the only combat in ED that would require me to "go back to the drawing board" is 'goid combat, which (fortunately) I'm not really interested in because I'm still hoping that one day FDev will set the game up so those who've attacked 'goids will get ther comeuppance.

 

[Noobilite]

What its like for you

What its like for your enemies

What its like for the security personnel watching you

It works until you get to CV's on my corvette because of the distributor not being able to handle even two long ranged beams for more than 12-24 seconds.

 

[Old Duck]

Yeah I kinda figured it would, I don't think I would even attempt it. I know what those hulls are like in CZ's, they're brutal.

Brutally STUPID... (The hull strength of NPCs in CZs, that is)

The madness that comes with grinding CZs four days straight is almost enough to make me want to dye my hair purple! Luckily for you all I don't have much hair left to dye.

 

[Noobilite]

Just redesigned my ship in edsy. This might help with CZ. It needs weapon focused instead of charge focused.

Corvette Beams!

I'll have to make it and test the heat.

 

[Nerwan]

Fine for bounty hunting, not so great for CZs. They’re basically great against shields and HazRez are full of ships built like shields glass cannons.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Layzors!

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

Sorry to to Necro this, but I don't want to make a new thread. Last night I discovered the majesty that is G5 Charge Enhanced PD + Long Range Beam Lasers + Thermal Vent on my full laser build Corvette.


It's amazing to just watch my ship take aim and then ZZZZZZZZZZzzZzzzzzzZzZZZZZZ. Whoops. There goes their shields and maybe even a bit of their hull. Oh and look at that I'm at 0% heat and my weapons are already recharged and the ship hasn't even turned to face me yet. Sure would be a shame if I....ZZZZZZZZZZzZZZzZZZZZ.

 

[Screemonster]

I switched up my CZ krait.
Previously: three large efficient ventbeams, two medium efficient PAs for smacking the harder targets. Nice, melted shields like nothing else, but I was stuck relying on the PAs to wear hulls down since the beams took ages (even if the distro could happily keep up)
Now: Ditched one beam for a high-cap corrosive frag. Swapped the PAs for two more efficient ventbeams. All I need to do is tap the frag every few seconds to keep corrosive up and whoa mama.

 

[Bigmaec]

I switched up my CZ krait.
Previously: three large efficient ventbeams, two medium efficient PAs for smacking the harder targets. Nice, melted shields like nothing else, but I was stuck relying on the PAs to wear hulls down since the beams took ages (even if the distro could happily keep up)
Now: Ditched one beam for a high-cap corrosive frag. Swapped the PAs for two more efficient ventbeams. All I need to do is tap the frag every few seconds to keep corrosive up and whoa mama.

Yep. You definitely need a corrosive effect applied
But then beams are sufficient.

 

[Screemonster]

Yep. You definitely need a corrosive effect applied
But then beams are sufficient.

Ye. I thought about running bursts to trade a little DPS for WEP efficiency, but the krait has such an insanely oversized distributor that it's not needed.
Plus bursts are spicy while beams come with the anti-spice experimental.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

My main CZ ship is a FDL with 4x C2 gimballed multi-s (short range blaster, one corrosive) and a fixed C4 long range thermal vent beam. It's effective but runs out of ammo pretty quickly & with four to reload synth isn't a practical option for me.

I'll give it a try the other way round like yours, see if it's a better compromise

I ran my FdL like that for a long time. But as NPCs got more and more health points, the quad multis more and more felt like pea shooters with too little damage against large ships and eating up ammo too quickly. Switched to quad beam and huge corrosive MC, never looked back. These days I'd probably roll in a single feedback cascade hammer in place of one of the beams. Simply denying NPCs their SCBs is more elegant than brute forcing past them by outdamaging their regeneration. But my FdL is in semi-retirement, with the Mamba taking over with single huge beam, dual large MCs and dual small cascade rails.

 

[Just Paul]

I switched up my CZ krait.
Previously: three large efficient ventbeams, two medium efficient PAs for smacking the harder targets. Nice, melted shields like nothing else, but I was stuck relying on the PAs to wear hulls down since the beams took ages (even if the distro could happily keep up)
Now: Ditched one beam for a high-cap corrosive frag. Swapped the PAs for two more efficient ventbeams. All I need to do is tap the frag every few seconds to keep corrosive up and whoa mama.

You could target the PP once shields are down, then corrosive is not needed. At least on my beam conda it was sufficient and I could run a high CZ without reload. I needed to go for heat repair after, but bright lazers are mesmerizing.