Current "the best": Pulse, Burst, or Beam?

[DukeIronHand]

I know this topic has been batted around a dozen times but, one thing I'll say for ED, it's hard to get in a rut with equipment as things often change.

Getting busy with my combat career and have, once again, been studying weapon loadouts.
Looking for whatever the latest concensus is for non-Engineered laser weapons - Engineering will be down the road. I know everyone will throw out their favorite non-laser weapon, plus their favorite Engineer mod for it, but I am looking strictly at the lasers...just a personal preference.

Pulse, Burst, Beam?
In just looking at the numbers (as I understand them) it would seem that Burst lasers are the best of all worlds? Looking, basically, for the most damage with the least power draw.

 

[Minoo Minou]

Again, there's no "best" lazor.

 

[Only Mostly Here]

Depends on your criteria of 'the best'.

Burst has slightly higher DPS and DPE than pulse meaning you do damage quicker and more of it per capacitor charge, but puts a high demand on your ship's reactor meaning they can make your power budget tighter. The larger burst lasers, huge in particular, have a very awkward firing pattern with a long pause in between shots in the burst.

Pulse has the lowest DPS and only slightly worse DPE than burst but has by far the lowest reactor demand, making them easy to fit into a build.

Beam has by far the highest DPS but awful DPE and high heat generation as well as high reactor draw, making them poor for sustained combat unless your other weapons are very light on the distributor.

 

[Elyssaen]

This sometimes confuses me too. On paper, the burst does look great – or at least viable. But I've actually never even tried burst lasers, as I read very early on that they weren't very good and never looked back.

I use beams and pulses regularly, and consider them fairly well balanced. My decision comes down to what I'm trying to add to a loadout. Early on I used all pulses quite often, and as long as your ship has decent potential firepower (like the Vulture) it's still effective. They're easy to use, easy on the distributor, and against small ships still do enough hull damage.

Beams are wonderful, but the draw and thermal load really does need attention in your build, and I feel you need to think about how to use them quite a bit more. Like, I'll bother getting within 600 m before firing as I don't want to waste weapon cap. on beam damage outside the fall-off if I don't have to. But, don't forget that the damage fall-off is actually less than pulse and burst, so beams can snipe a little better.

My 'default' long-lasting loadout is a combination of beams and multi-cannons, as they complement each other perfectly. Using beams on shield and multi-cannons on hull isn't too tough on the distributor... using both on both is generally going to need 4 pips to weapons though, so you'll lose ability or toughness.

On my one ship that refuses to use ammo, my Imperial Clipper, I started with all pulses, and my goal is to work toward two beams and two pulses, all along Range... but I know my distributor won't like it. I should probably ditch the beams (I was fascinated with Regeneration Sequence, but am disappointed it doesn't work on NPC allies), and might consider all burst.

So basically: beams are great, but expect to need to mix them with low draw kinetic weapons for your distributor's sake. All pulse is easy and often can work, though it's a tad unimpressive. Burst, I can't say.

 

[DukeIronHand]

Depends on your criteria of 'the best'.

Burst has slightly higher DPS and DPE than pulse meaning you do damage quicker and more of it per capacitor charge, but puts a high demand on your ship's reactor meaning they can make your power budget tighter. The larger burst lasers, huge in particular, have a very awkward firing pattern with a long pause in between shots in the burst.

Pulse has the lowest DPS and only slightly worse DPE than burst but has by far the lowest reactor demand, making them easy to fit into a build.

Beam has by far the highest DPS but awful DPE and high heat generation as well as high reactor draw, making them poor for sustained combat unless your other weapons are very light on the distributor.

Well you touch on a interesting subject with this.
I found it to be a tough decision as, in looking at just the numbers, each type has its own strengths and weaknesses that almost seem to make them all roughly "equal" so to speak with no clear winner.
As intended I presume.

- - - Updated - - -

This sometimes confuses me too. On paper, the burst does look great – or at least viable. But I've actually never even tried burst lasers, as I read very early on that they weren't very good and never looked back.

I use beams and pulses regularly, and consider them fairly well balanced. My decision comes down to what I'm trying to add to a loadout. Early on I used all pulses quite often, and as long as your ship has decent potential firepower (like the Vulture) it's still effective. They're easy to use, easy on the distributor, and against small ships still do enough hull damage.

Beams are wonderful, but the draw and thermal load really does need attention in your build, and I feel you need to think about how to use them quite a bit more. Like, I'll bother getting within 600 m before firing as I don't want to waste weapon cap. on beam damage outside the fall-off if I don't have to. But, don't forget that the damage fall-off is actually less than pulse and burst, so beams can snipe a little better.

My 'default' long-lasting loadout is a combination of beams and multi-cannons, as they complement each other perfectly. Using beams on shield and multi-cannons on hull isn't too tough on the distributor... using both on both is generally going to need 4 pips to weapons though, so you'll lose ability or toughness.

On my one ship that refuses to use ammo, my Imperial Clipper, I started with all pulses, and my goal is to work toward two beams and two pulses, all along Range... but I know my distributor won't like it. I should probably ditch the beams (I was fascinated with Regeneration Sequence, but am disappointed it doesn't work on NPC allies), and might consider all burst.

So basically: beams are great, but expect to need to mix them with low draw kinetic weapons for your distributor's sake. All pulse is easy and often can work, though it's a tad unimpressive. Burst, I can't say.

Thanks for your thoughts. May just end up being a matter of preference and spaceman "coolness"!

 

[bubbabenali]

I use a combination of rapid fire turrets and efficient gimbaled pulse lasers on my Anaconda and it's ok for CZs.

But when I want fast melting I use full efficient beam lasers on my Corvete.

Beam lasers have nice heat inducing and profiteering experimentals, while pulse lasers have scramble spectrum to render small ships useless.

 

[StiTch]

Pulse/Burst are relatively similar on DpE concerns. Technically burst is a little bit better but if you have any kind of power or heat concerns, or still drain the cap too fast anyway, pulse straight up holds its ground.

Since efficient, beams are not as unwieldy as they used to be. Still better used if you have zero cap concerns, but they DO come with a perk most people miss - they have a naturally better range. Falloff starts a little later. Doesn't match up to long range pulses if you want to fight at distance, but it's a perk none the less in their favour.

Ultimately they all do a job now, where burst used to be kinda poor and beam used to be hardly viable if you had more than one. And so which one is right for you cannot be said without more information on your ship/intended loadout. But to address your specific concern "most damage with least power draw", pulses are always always best for power draw, but if you meant capacitor draw it's fairly even between burst and pulse. It's up to you whether you want to sacrifice more power consumption and heat efficiency to deal the damage faster but drain your cap faster too.

 

[DukeIronHand]

Cool thanks.
Guess we'll give Burst a go-round.

 

[CMDR ANCALAGON]

I had my FDL fitted with a yuuge MC (gimbled), two gimbled 2F MC's and two gimbled 2F pulse lasers. I recently switched the pulses out for gimbled beams and am loving them. I haven't attempted to quantify the difference, but my perception is that they are getting shields down quicker than the pulses.

For me, the question has been gimble vs fixed, vs turret. I had the yuuge MC on fixed, and while the damage is greater so are the misses. For this reason, and for me, gimbled yields higher damage rates.

I swapped my gimbled medium MCs for turretted ones, and am loving that. I recently thougjt I would give the turretted beams a go, but I did not feel like I was seeing the same difference in effectiveness gained by switching the MC from gimbled to turretted. I suspect this is because the MC's are mounted in the slots on the front of the ship, so both are always have the same line of sight on the target. The beams are on either side of the ship, and I noticed that when turretted, often only one of them had a clear line to the target.


I know this may not be a direct answer to your question, but the point is that there are other variables in play, namely hardpoint location, complementing loadouts (hardpoints, power supply, ENG Mods, etc), skill level/combat style, and combat scenario (CZ, RES, PVP) that makes it unlikely that there is a single "best" between the two, and if there is a better option, hard for anyone other than the ship's commander to know what that is.

So, go with one and do some initial field testing in a HiRES and then go with the other and see how it fees. After I had become comfortable with both, I went to a HAZ RES for testing to get a clearer picture of the performance differences, where it is a little easier to see the effects on the target when it isn't being attacked by five other ships at the same time.

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

I've have had a love affair with fixed beams for a while now but they are trickier to use on some hard points.

 

[wrmiller]

On my Python and Corvette I use beams and multi-cannons with pretty good results. Disclaimer: the extent of my combat interactions are interdictions and occasional RES play in Solo.

 

[CptXabaras]

Pulse/Burst are relatively similar on DpE concerns. Technically burst is a little bit better but if you have any kind of power or heat concerns, or still drain the cap too fast anyway, pulse straight up holds its ground.

Since efficient, beams are not as unwieldy as they used to be. Still better used if you have zero cap concerns, but they DO come with a perk most people miss - they have a naturally better range. Falloff starts a little later. Doesn't match up to long range pulses if you want to fight at distance, but it's a perk none the less in their favour.

Ultimately they all do a job now, where burst used to be kinda poor and beam used to be hardly viable if you had more than one. And so which one is right for you cannot be said without more information on your ship/intended loadout. But to address your specific concern "most damage with least power draw", pulses are always always best for power draw, but if you meant capacitor draw it's fairly even between burst and pulse. It's up to you whether you want to sacrifice more power consumption and heat efficiency to deal the damage faster but drain your cap faster too.

StiTch, I'm fitting a second Cutter as an trader capable of fend enemies. Yet to go with Broo Tarquin (will go today), I've fitted 4 burst turrets (2xC2 2xC3), for a change. Undecided if going rapid fire or efficient with them. Effect of choice will be scramble spectrum. Any advice?

 

[DukeIronHand]

Yes fixed Beams are what I am rocking now and they seem satisfactory but I am always willing to give something else a try.
Used to be always Pulse and oddly I have never tried Burst...not really sure why.
Seems like "back when" Pulse lasers were the concensus choice.
Again, they all seem to be balanced in one way or another so the clear "winner" is not immediately obvious - least to me in looking at the numbers.
And another again, as intended by FD I reckon.

 

[lenna]

Again, there's no "best" lazor.

+rep... However, there is merit in comparing the trade-offs between them.

@OP: If you are looking for the best compromise then you are right... Burst is probably the best choice for you.

Short Version - In the energy weapon world: Pulse lasers are for those on an energy/heat budget, and Beam lasers are for those who are willing to take the energy cost/heat gain hit, Burst lasers are somewhere in between.

Personally, I use a mix of weapon load-outs but tend to steer clear of fixed weapons unless I feel I can put them to good use - which is not often. I favour time on target over alpha damage personally.

 

[CMDR Corlas]

Yes fixed Beams are what I am rocking now and they seem satisfactory but I am always willing to give something else a try.
Used to be always Pulse and oddly I have never tried Burst...not really sure why.
Seems like "back when" Pulse lasers were the concensus choice.
Again, they all seem to be balanced in one way or another so the clear "winner" is not immediately obvious - least to me in looking at the numbers.
And another again, as intended by FD I reckon.

Burst really shines when fixed.

Beams and pulses (and multicannons, for that matter) are more "stream of fire" weapons, where time-on-target is important to get Max damage from them. Bursts works more like rails, plasma, and cannons, where you deliver all your firepower in a, well, a burst, and then have a short cooldown period. If you're turning with a turning target of at least roughly equal skill and agility, often your fixed weapons have a fairly small firing window, and bursts are purpose-build to put as much damage into that small window as possible.

In that sort of scenario, where you get a second on target every few seconds, bursts will outdamage beams.

 

[lenna]

Burst really shines when fixed.

Beams and pulses (and multicannons, for that matter) are more "stream of fire" weapons, where time-on-target is important to get Max damage from them.
In that sort of scenario, where you get a second on target every few seconds, bursts will outdamage beams.

"Time on Target" is primarily a Fixed v. Gimballed v. Turreted question rather than a weapon type question.

Fixed weapons rely heavily on the pilot being able to bore sight the opposition in a very accurate manner thus when attacking larger or less manoeuvrable targets fixed weapons will naturally do well. However, that also means that you are restricted in the tactics you can use to attack your targets. Strafing, Hit-and-run and classic dog fighting being about the only real options. Alpha damage can be critical in such scenarios since your time on target can be limited; However, damage over time is the key measure of success. It is not a simple formula IMO since there are numerous variables to consider. A target who is faster and/or less predictable will be much harder to hit, in such circumstances continuous beam and high rate of fire weapons could be better options than slow firing high alpha damage weapons since the cost of a wasted shot is less critical in terms of ammo/energy/heat budget and potential loss of firing time.

Gimballed weapons give pilots a little more flexibility to pilots wrt manoeuvring options and can allow for more weapon time on target but the weapons are vulnerable to countermeasures such as chaff. However, with a little common sense you can beat such measures.

Turret weapons are the ultimate time on target weapon, but under AI control can be vulnerable to countermeasures and wasted shots. With the commanders update, this may change for crewed ships. However, even before commanders it can allow less manoeuvrable craft to defend themselves better (or attack more effectively) against faster and more manoeuvrable targets. Turreted weapons can also give faster and more manoeuvrable ships more time on target (e.g. during a strafing run or while dodging incoming fire).

In PvP scenarios, fixed/dumb-fire weapons can be a clear winner if the opponent is effective at using stealth tactics and/or countermeasures since a target lock is notionally required for gimballed, turreted, and seeking weapons (although gimballed can be fired using the bore-sight method when you do not have a target lock). In PvE scenarios, the options are less clear.

Overall though, I would favour gimballed and turreted weapons with seeker missiles as a backup.

 

[Spacecat]

I run beams with the efficient weapon mod on several of my ships. I run pulses and plasmas on my Viper III just because it's powerplant is limited (even engineered to grd 5).

 

[StiTch]

StiTch, I'm fitting a second Cutter as an trader capable of fend enemies. Yet to go with Broo Tarquin (will go today), I've fitted 4 burst turrets (2xC2 2xC3), for a change. Undecided if going rapid fire or efficient with them. Effect of choice will be scramble spectrum. Any advice?

Rapid fire's dead.

You want efficient or long range depending on your intention. Long range would probably give you a stronger DPS in all fairness as you have no damage falloff, but efficient won't drain your cap mega fast and at longer ranges your turret tracking will be awful anyway. Any changes in speed and they struggle to keep up and adjust to the new velocity.

You only need to have one scramble spectrum one - the other ones can be left without effect and just keep dat pure DPS. If you really want two, do it on your two C2 nacelle slots and have the C3s for raw DPS.

 

[StiTch]

Turret weapons are the ultimate time on target weapon

Note regarding this - against a faster opponent you may not necessarily get more time on target than gimbals at all, especially if you can fly competently in the first place.

Unlike gimbals and their ability to track as long as they're in your cone of fire, any change in velocity on the enemy's part and the turrets have a delay in tracking them. So every time your opponent decides to kick into a new direction, or whack the throttle up, your turrets aren't hitting while they reacquire the target - you can observe this using any turrets that will fire in front of you.

IMO for pure combat ships turrets should be avoided. I used them on a trader cutter and kept the turrets for winged CZ farming, as I can use them to "tag" literally anything in the CZ within range without effort. 3 efficient beam turrets and 1 burst turret will grab the attention of almost any NPC to allow a comrade's shields to recharge. And frankly any engineered setup will melt NPCs anyway.

But yeah, for serious combat ships, I'd stick to fixed and gimballed.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

I know this topic has been batted around a dozen times but, one thing I'll say for ED, it's hard to get in a rut with equipment as things often change.

Getting busy with my combat career and have, once again, been studying weapon loadouts.
Looking for whatever the latest concensus is for non-Engineered laser weapons - Engineering will be down the road. I know everyone will throw out their favorite non-laser weapon, plus their favorite Engineer mod for it, but I am looking strictly at the lasers...just a personal preference.

Pulse, Burst, Beam?
In just looking at the numbers (as I understand them) it would seem that Burst lasers are the best of all worlds? Looking, basically, for the most damage with the least power draw.

i think it depends on your ship and how well it can cope with beam lasers (beams are all well and good but if you spend half your time with drained capacitors or over heating then they are pointless.

right now for my vulture and my FGS i have been toying with rapid fire pulses and focused bursts + efficient burst lasers.

the vulture can put sustained fire down for quite some time with 1xfocussed and 1x efficient burst.

my FGS currently has 1 large rapid fire pulse, 2 small rapid fire pulse and the rest Multicannons

but to be honest i think that is a little too conservative on the distributor so thinking i will remove the large rapid fire pulse and put on a focused burst


its fair to say those are my 2 faves right now.

without ENG however then for me personally its definitely the bursts, pulse are too slow and beams are too hot and power thursty.

this is all from a PvE view. i know little of PvP in ED