Are the weapons unbalanced? (read post before using poll)

[Oddball_E8]

I feel that pretty much everyone is using a combination of lasers for taking out the shields and multicannons for taking out the hull after that when it comes to dogfighting in smaller vessels.

Sure, against some of the larger vessels (python and up) it's more effective to use dumbfire missiles, but that's about it.

Is anyone out there using anything but the lasers/multicannon configuration?
And if so, why?

 

[Pebble feline]

I use 2 medium beams and 2 small pulse

works better to disable modules than auto cannons, you dont end up killing the ship when removing the cargo hatch

takes sheilds out before sheild module will work in pvp

Still does good hull damage bounty hunting

Dont run out of ammo

 

[Joe Spivey]

Except for a mining laser.

 

[Risenzealot]

I'd like to vote "no" because so far that is all I use. However I honestly don't have the experience to say "it's the best there is period" so I'm not comfortable using your poll lol.

 

[Feldspar]

I use pulse lasers and cannons, I like cannons, they go boom!

 

[crushdepth]

Python with triple C3 gimballed burst lasers and twin C2 torpedo launchers. Basically the lasers knock down any AI target quickly and fit well with my power distributor capacity. I may upgrade to beams later.

The twin torpedoes are a reserve weapon for emergencies and pretty much put a stop to any fight.

 

[wenkman]

Beam+multi, gimballed because i can't hit the mosquitos with fixed weapons.

1 slot dedicated to something heavier (1med HP with dumbfire on the viper, the 2 small hp on the bottom of the asp with rails) for heavier ships.

 

[Oddball_E8]

I'd like to vote "no" because so far that is all I use. However I honestly don't have the experience to say "it's the best there is period" so I'm not comfortable using your poll lol.

I actually had a "I haven't tried any other combination" option on the poll originally

 

[DimGook]

PVE: all multicannons, no lasers (hold down trigger for maximum dakka)
PVP: really depends on the situation, I use everything except cannons and plasma accelerators

 

[Oddball_E8]

I've been trying out cannons lately, which is why I made this poll.

I've tried railguns before and missiles.

Haven't tried frag cannons, plasma launchers or torpedoes yet, but so far it feels like cannons are pretty lame compared to the dps of the multicannons (even though they have the same dps on paper).

I've tried using combinations of cannons and multicannons in conjunction with my beam laser (by far the best at taking down shields imho) but it is still slower than using purely multicannons on the hull.

I think it's because of the miss rate of cannons (even gimballed ones) due to the maneuvering of the target.
So while you might miss with a few shots of the multicannons every now and then, a miss with the cannons knocks off a huge chunk of the DPS from that fight.

I'm playing in a cobra right now, doing missions in warzones to try out the weapon combos.

I'm going to go for a Med Beamlaser, 2 small multicannons and 1 medium cannon when I get the cash to buy the cannon.
I've used Med Beamlaser, 2 small cannons and 1 Med multicannon before, but the cannons felt wasted due to the large miss ratio from the enemy maneuvering (even at close ranges, the shells from the cannons are just too slow).
I've also used Small Beam laser, small multicannon and 2 med multicannons, and that was the most effective at taking down targets fast so far.

The lasers-only option is actually a valid one, but it still takes longer to take down a target than with the lasers multicannon option.
I've used all kinds of combinations of lasers only on my cobra and they still aren't as efficient as the multicannon option (other than for precision like stated above).

Dumbfire missiles are a godsend against large targets though.
Even just two small hardpoints of that can take down an anaconda in rapid succession.

Looking forward to trying out the plasma accelerators though. But the frag cannons I'll most likely skip due to the (very) short effective range making them potentially faster at killing, but slower overall because you need to stay really close to the enemy (and they tend to just boost away when shields are down).


But I have to say, I still feel that the weapons are unbalanced.
Beam lasers are better than pulse and burst for taking down shields (and even hull damage IMHO).
Multicannons are better than cannons and frag cannons at taking down hull (other than super-close range for frag).
Dumbfire missiles are better than pretty much anything elese at taking down large targets (even their shields go down faster than beamlasers with enough dumbfire missiles.)

Seeker missiles, cannons, frag cannons, railguns all seem pretty inferior right now.

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PVE: all multicannons, no lasers (hold down trigger for maximum dakka)
PVP: really depends on the situation, I use everything except cannons and plasma accelerators

In my opinion it's a waste of ammo to use multicannons on shields.

 

[SuBSynk]

Not a fan of Beam lasers at all to be honest, way too much heat for very little extra damage.

 

[fergal]

You are saying lasers to take out shields, multicannons to take out the hull.
This is a very good combination.

There are 3 types of lasers, so you have a bit of variety there.
I'm still not sure about cannons vs multicannons damage. Cannons do seem to be more for hitting bigger ships.

What other weapons are there? Frag cannons, missiles and railguns.
Frag cannons don't seem to useful to me right now, railguns are a bit specialised, and have very limited ammo like missiles.

Ammo aside I would say railguns are pretty powerful, but have a big drawback. I see most players at combat zones using them to fight.

 

[Mephane]

I always use lasers - pulse or burst - as my primary weapon, and as a secondary option either multi-cannons or cannon. Recently I started swapping out the multi-cannons on most of my ships for cannons.

I would really love to also use the Fragment Cannon, Railgun and Plasma Aaccelerator, but at the moment these are all too crippling for my ships:

Fragment Cannon - too little ammo. Give it 100 shots like the cannon and we have a deal.
Railgun - too little ammo, too high passive power draw. Neither my Eagle nor my Viper could even equip one without completely overloading the power plant.
Plasma Accelerator - also too high passive power draw.

Btw, the power issues on these two ships will become even more severe when the passive power draw of Shield Cell Banks will get increased. It's possible I might have to downgrade them on the Eagle and the Viper just to have them function at all.

Thus my Eagle uses two pulse lasers and one cannon, the latter as a short range high damage per shot secondary. I would absolutely love to put a fragment cannon in there, but since I would have to get back to a station 3 times as often to rearm, no thank you.

And my Viper yearns for a railgun or a plasma accelerator as a secondary heavy hitter, but as I said there is simply not nearly enough power for neither.

 

[bassman]

I think cannons are under powered given the difficulty of aiming (no small auto aim zone like multi cannons and slower projectile) and rails have too little ammo (should have at least 100 like cannons).

Seems like every player I fight uses beams/MC which makes things a bit boring, would be nice if the other weapons were more viable.

 

[Frenotx]

My Asp has a C2 fixed cannon, a C2 fixed beam, two C1 gimballed MCs, and two C1 dumbfires.
Small ships: Just use the beam
Medium ships: Beam for shield, MCs for hull
Medium ships I want to kill extra-quick: Beam + MCs for shield, dumbfires for hull
Large ships: Beam + MCs for shield, cannon + MCs for subsystem targeting.

The cannon is a bit of a hassle to aim, but the fact that it uses like, no power, is quite nice. I can put 4 pips in shields and 2 in engines, and fire the cannon for quite a while before running out of weapon energy.

 

[Khan]

There are only eleven weapons in the game, and three of them are totally useless, and another four have jack for ammo.
With three sets of laser to choose from and only two kinetic types of weapon.

Of course laser and multicannon is so prevalent, there isn't much else!
Game suffers in the combat department.

 

[bassman]

There are only eleven weapons in the game, and three of them are totally useless, and another five have jack for ammo.

Of course laser and multicannon is so prevalent, there isn't much else!
Game suffers in the combat department.

Agreed, the thing about acute ammo restrictions is that it doesnt work as a balance mechanism - its just adds to the inconvenience and hassle and needlessly discourages a weapons use.

 

[LtCasey]

C2 MC and C1 guided missiles on my Cobra. Works very well against larger vessels taking out modules. Also handy against Cobras. And its kind of refreshing from the usual MC and Lasers. Credits for this combo goes to Hethwill for figuring it out.

 

[PhazonAran]

4 C1 pulses lazers on my Asp, and 2 plasma accelerators. The lazers take care of anything up to the Cobra and for anything bigger, just look at the size of the hole that PAs make in the power plant healthbar !

 

[BBcokeley]

Have tried every weapon quite extensively. here is my take on it:

Lasers.
pulse/burst: Decent damage if using 3 or more, no ammo good all rounder, best used in conjunction with projectiles for hammering down the hull.
Beam: best used as fixed good damage, starts flagging a bit on bigger than asp ships, better to use class 1 gimballed than class 2 as the power draw difference is significant, best used in conjunction with multicannons
.
Projectiles.
Multicannon: best as high rate of fire means more punch when hitting sub systems and more likey to hit target
Cannon: did not like the slow projectile speed, nor the low damage considering the clip size
Rail gun: was great in Prem beta when there was no ammo, now there is ammo they are still great, but better at close range
Plasma Accelerator: I personally loved this, amazing at taking out shields, and also takes out multiple sub systems when shooting them in the @$$, extremely expensive to re supply
Missile Launcher: with dumbfire it is the most bang for buckas seen many times, with seeking they are pretty lame, reminds me of the early limpets just failing to land on target
Torpedo: very high damage, extremely expensive acts like dumb fire nuff said
MineLauncher: LOL its pointless, needs some sort of magnet vibe so it will actually sort of lead to target and now just float off..... quite disappointing, and a waste of a slot imho
.
Best combos: (for fun, not just outright gank and then end up skint after a restock)
1. gimballed Pulse/Multicannon (most popular)
2. fixed beam, gimballed multi (what I currently use)
3. Plasma/Multi (heat gets this on a viper, its ok on cobra and above though) gets expensive, but extremely fun and satisfying when you land them both and take off the shields in one hit
4. All Laser of any choice all gimballed
5. as above but fixed (good practice for when chaff get really popular)
6. Gimballed Beam/Multi (the beams in gimball are pretty lame at long range)
7. rocket launchers (cant justify the costs and the chances of finding dangerous and above ASPS condas and pythons is quite rare and takes a while to find so you tend not to kill the little ships as you will lose over all)
8. rails/multi (not as much fun when rails didn't have ammo, the clip size is too small)
.
that's about it really, not a lot of variation, but then again not a lot of choice, until the rare overcharged guns come back in circulation (haven't seen them in a long time) there may be better builds, would like more weapon choices, but realistically this is about right.