Could someone please explain the classification for weapons/shields etc?

[jpinard]

Here is a screenshot I took to use as reference. As a new player, outside of the red and blue markings, the numbers mean absolutely nothing. So if someone would be so kind as to fill in the blanks that'd be great! (I did already check the pilots guide)

* Class - Both are Class 1. What does this mean? Is there stuff that is Class 2?

* Rating - Old weapon is an "F" and new one is a "D". Why is the "D" rating better? What is it rating? Power? An average of different stats?

* Mass - Higher mass means slower ship and shorter jumps?

* Integrity - I'm sure it means resistance to damage. How many letter grades outside of "B" are there?

* Power Draw - How much power it uses per second? Run out of power, weapon won't fire correct?

* Damage - Scale makes sense, but it it damage per hit, or damage over time (per second)?

* Armor Penetration - seems backwards? "A" is better than "B"? How many letters does this go down to? So far I only see it go down to "B".

* Rate of Fire - Easy

* Damage per second - Easy

* Thermal load - I didn't know some weapons will make your ship overheat. Or does it just overheat the weapon and won't fire?

Thanks from all the newbie players for the detailed breakdown!

 

[Sandmann]

Class - Both are Class 1. What does this mean? Is there stuff that is Class 2?

If you look at your ship's slots you will see the class and rating of theneevice fitted to each slot, and the class of that slot. If you have a class 2 slot you can fit a class 1 or 2 device to it, a class 4 slot can have a class 1, 2, 3, or 4 device etc.

B]Rating [/B]- Old weapon is an "F" and new one is a "D". Why is the "D" rating better? What is it rating? Power? An average of different stats?

A higher rated device will be better than a lower rated one. That can mean it's lighter, more powerful, uses less energy, goes futher, or any combination of these. Compare the new item to your old one to be sure. Be careful, some items (shield gens, fs drives, power supplies etc) are made for ships of a certain size (in tons). You can fit it to a heavier ship but it won't work as well.

Mass - Higher mass means slower ship and shorter jumps?

Yep. When your fs drive puts you in hyperspace the maximum available distance is calculated by a certain amount of fuel PER TON OF SHIP WEIGHT, including cargo and fuel weight, remembering that each fs drive has a maximum amount of fuel it can use in one go. Increasing the overall mass of your ship decreases the maximum jump distance.

Integrity - I'm sure it means resistance to damage. How many letter grades outside of "B" are there?

Unsure. I thought it was the amount of "wear and tear" it had already suffered. Just guessing.

Power Draw - How much power it uses per second? Run out of power, weapon won't fire correct?

Yep. Your ship's reactor can deliver a certain amount of energy. Each module draws a certain amount. Exceed your reactor's capacity and modules start shutting down. You can configure which ones shut down first by setting each module's priority in the right hand screen, modules tab. You can also improve the performance of each module by upgrading your "energy distribution" module.

Damage - Scale makes sense, but it it damage per hit, or damage over time (per second)?

Damage per shot, I assume.

Armor Penetration - seems backwards? "A" is better than "B"? How many letters does this go down to? So far I only see it go down to "B".

Energy weapons are better at penetrating shields, projectile weapons are better at penetrating hull armour. Just.guessing here...shields recieve 100℅ damage from a weapon, but some weapons deliver only a percentage of that damage when attacking hull. Armour penetration is a measure of how much of the damage per shot is applied to hull (after shields are depleted). A is best (if my theory is right A=100℅), don't know how low it can go.

Thermal load - I didn't know some weapons will make your ship overheat. Or does it just overheat the weapon and won't fire?

Again just guessing... Most heat goes to the weapon and stops it firing when it overheats, some goes to the ship's overall heat. This theory comes from the fact that heat sinks also remove weapon heat. I haven't tested this theory.

 

[forger]

from my experience thermal load is exactly what is says: how much heat generates weapon per shot or in case of beam laser/multi-cannon then per some period of time (probably a second), so high thermal load weapons (rail guns i.e.) will generate a lot of heat

 

[jpinard]

WOW fantastic! I just learned so much from this thread. I also had no idea some weapons could shoot further than others. It's going to be a lot more fun looking at the outfitting screen without it all looking like a foreign language