Ships 4A Beams Vs 4A PAs

Hi CMDRs

I've been watching a number of videos showing Federal Corvettes running 4A Beams and the rest Multi-Cannons. Then I saw one CMDR using 4A Plasma Accelerators and the rest Pulse Lasers.

Any thoughts on what the current best set up is? I don't have any weapons engineering at the moment so bear that in mind.

Thank you.
 
There is no "best" set up. It all depends on what you're trying to do, what your level of skill is with various weapons and even what level of engineering you have access to. Almost everyone agrees that beams suck though.
 
Two huge efficient fixed beams don't suck at all. But they have to be engineered this way of course. Unengineered I think I would prefer two huge multicannons and pulse lasers for the remaining hardpoints.
 
PAs are terrific weapons due to high absolute damage output.
Problem is, you have to hit with them to deal that damage :LOL:

I currently run two huge fixed efficient thermal vent beams, and they work like a charm.

Edit: Forget PAs or beams without a lot of engineering, Multicannons or Cannons are for you...
 
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PAs are terrific weapons due to high absolute damage output.
Problem is, you have to hit with them to deal that damage :LOL:

I currently run two huge fixed efficient thermal vent beams, and they work like a charm.

Edit: Forget PAs or beams without a lot of engineering, Multicannons or Cannons are for you...

Thanks Bigmaec and all responders.

You may have seen from my other threads I'm not a very good PvPer, even against NPCs. At the moment I protect myself in Solo made to be honest.

Following your advice I with try Cannons on the huge spots.

How does this sound?

4H x 2 Cannon
3L x 1 Multi-cannon
2M x 2 Pulse Laser
1S x 2 Pulse Laser

Or do you suggest something else? Any advice appreciated.
 
Thanks Bigmaec and all responders.

You may have seen from my other threads I'm not a very good PvPer, even against NPCs. At the moment I protect myself in Solo made to be honest.

Following your advice I with try Cannons on the huge spots.

How does this sound?

4H x 2 Cannon
3L x 1 Multi-cannon
2M x 2 Pulse Laser
1S x 2 Pulse Laser

Or do you suggest something else? Any advice appreciated.
In solo you want to strip the shields of your enemies with the smaller hardpoints, and then kill the hull with the larger hardpoints (because the hull has a hardness, which is ignored by bigger weapons usually).

If you're not engineered, you need to use weapons with a low power drain, so I'd recommend putting fixed pulses in the c1-c3 slots, and two huge gimballed multicannons or cannons in the huges (Multis make it easier). You both learn to fire fixed and are not that affected by chaff with this outfit. That's a classic PvE setup.

edit: or two pulse turrets in the c2 against small evasive ships.

Reasoning why I don't like your setup is you need three firebuttons which the game doesn't support. I usually put all my lasers on button 1 and all cannons on 2 (for example).
 
In solo you want to strip the shields of your enemies with the smaller hardpoints, and then kill the hull with the larger hardpoints (because the hull has a hardness, which is ignored by bigger weapons usually).

If you're not engineered, you need to use weapons with a low power drain, so I'd recommend putting fixed pulses in the c1-c3 slots, and two huge gimballed multicannons or cannons in the huges (Multis make it easier). You both learn to fire fixed and are not that affected by chaff with this outfit. That's a classic PvE setup.

edit: or two pulse turrets in the c2 against small evasive ships.

Reasoning why I don't like your setup is you need three firebuttons which the game doesn't support. I usually put all my lasers on button 1 and all cannons on 2 (for example).


Thanks for the fast response. I shall do the turret version. Much appreciated,
 
I would use 2 huge multicannons and pulse turrets everywhere else. Turrets have lower damage, yes - but also lower power/distro needs.
 
As an average, non-PvP player, after using engineered G5 Huge Beams and rest MCs, I switched to IMHO better 2x Huge MC + rest Beams.
All gimball, all engineered, MC/efficient+autoreload and Beams/efficient.
First firing Beams only to take down shields, then adding MC fire to strip down hull.
Bonus damage: wingman with command "attack my target", especially when you encounter smaller&faster ships.

Beam turrets could be awesome as well, as they can fire outside your view angle, even behind the ship and independently cover multiple targets if set to "fire at will".
(Used all-auto-turret-beams on Anaconda recently and just left her and copilot set to "defence" sitting in Res. Amazing sight when small pirates attacked and she opened fire on all of them at once + wingman doing his work!)
 
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yep, my Corvette has 1 huge mc, 1 huge gimbaled beam, rest beam turrets - because i'm cheap and I don't want to rearm 2 mc in the field :)

But the OP has no engineering to weaps, hence my suggestion for pulse turrets
 
I like big multicannons, so that's what I put on the class 4 hardpoints. The rest I use focused burst laser turrets, because I like the way they work and they can tag enemies a long way off. I'm not doing any PVP. That's a different thing altogether.
 
The question of huge Beams or PAs depends on what you are fighting. PAs are great against other big ships, but are horrible against competent evasive opponents (focused PAs are somewhat acceptable, but lack the higher damage and lower draw of efficient).
Efficient fixed beams on the other hand are very effective against evasive mediums and the distributor can easily handle them. You also never need any form of heat reduction with an armoured powerplant in the corvette, it can even easily run overcharged beams without overheating. If your other loadout doesn't draw the distributor massively a mix of efficient and overcharged also works (~120dps), although efficient is better for prolonged combat. Add in a turret with corrosion and the beams surpass the damage of two PAs quite easily.
 
I have learned that PAs with long range work the best vs evasive ships in a Corvette, since you increase the bullet speed, and no falloff damage. But you increase the energy requirements and there is always the issue with ammo count.
Beams are more flexible in my opinion. More build friendly and can deal better with a wider range of opponents. And even if all your other weapons go dry, you can effectively keep fighting with the beams since the damage to hulls is significant.
So, play what you like.
 
I also run huge beams on my vette, efficient in my case. I spend lots of time in conflict zones, though, so ammo efficiency and general ship longevity matter more to me than raw damage efficiency. The beauty of dual huge beams is that a corvette can fairly easily melt mid-grade medium ships and weaker without ever rattling off a multi-cannon shot. This allows me to conserve my ammunition for the higher-grade mediums and large ships that naturally soak up damage.

I haven't gotten around to huge PAs...but they sound devilishly difficult to fly, but hilariously fun, too. I'm a fan of 'l33t skill builds'...but can't say I have the targeting acumen of Luke Skywalker with anything fixed.
 
I almost exclusively do PVE. I like using 2 huge multis, beams in the medium and large, and 2 frag turrets in the small. The Frags are fun for when small ships get too close, almosts acting like point defense. Regarding grouping, I like having the 2 huge on one trigger, and the Med/large on the other. Ive found that the placement of the large HP means I am angling the ship up to use it. The mediums are on the sides so they can work with either.

Also, Long range> efficient 4 life
 
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