Focused Pulse Laser are my weapon of choice

[lemny]

After testing many combinations of weapons for my Anaconda, I used a 4 Beam turret / 4 Gimbaled multi cannon mix for a long time.
With 3 pips in weapons the turrets could fire for ever and with 4 there was enough power for multi cannons too.

But then I tried a full G5 Focused Pulse Laser build and fell in love. Three of them have a scramble spectrum special effect.

The kill speed was even higher because (as you can see in the video) you can strip down the shields while the other ship still throwing cotton pads at you.
I can now use 2 pips for the turrets and even charge my capacitor a bit, that leaves 4 pips for shields while not using the gimbals.
The higher range is good to get fleeing ships too.
They run much cooler than the beams.
The high armor piercing granting a lot of hull damage, especially against higher NPCs with armor upgrades.
They cost much less, which lowers the rebuy cost a bit too.
Never run out of ammo.

I use focused above long range because the stretched falloff is good enough to handle longer distances. The higher armor damage is more important than pure range. And at more than 3km the jitter takes most of the damage.

Since many combat situations in larger ships take place at around 1-2km the damage felt higher than efficient beams and MCs, because the falloff of the beams and projectile speed of the MCs lower their damage output at these distances below the focused pulses.

The 3 scramble spectrum scoring quite often. I know they don't stack, but it raises the chance of the effect an as you can see in the video, after the shields are down, his thrusters went offline for a few seconds.

[video=youtube;ToOSv5W6qcE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToOSv5W6qcE[/video]

 

[jijik2]

Thanks for the heads up. Been running efficient beams (without experimental effect) for awhile now.
Tried a all laser boat, but the hull just didn't want to go down. This looks really good and no re arm.
Then i can finally try the scramble spectrum. I'm going to get those tonight and engineer them (need a week or more i am afraid )

edit: any tips for the mats grade 5 ;-)

 

[anikaiful]

Interesting. Not a great fan of laz0rs myself tho, in a 'conda I have only C1x2 and C2x2 as laz0rs (2 tiny beams + 2 smallish burst), the bigger ones being MCs (gotta love the dakkadakka!)

 

[Aashenfox]

Thanks for the heads up. Been running efficient beams (without experimental effect) for awhile now.
Tried a all laser boat, but the hull just didn't want to go down. This looks really good and no re arm.
Then i can finally try the scramble spectrum. I'm going to get those tonight and engineer them (need a week or more i am afraid )

edit: any tips for the mats grade 5 ;-)

Efficient is for small ships, cos of the pathetic damage fall off (600m). Long range is the beam mod of choice, especially for larger ships that can handle the extra draw but rarely get close to the enemy. Full damage out to 6km(!)

My FGS uses a single large long range beam and a pair of seekers for small ships, while the medium PAs (focused) and small rails (long range) are for the big boys. It works really well.

 

[lemny]

any tips for the mats grade 5 ;-)

It's straight forward:
MILITARY SUPERCAPACITORS -> High Grade USS in War/Civil war Systems (I usally fly directly out of the plane and had most success at 100k ls and further into deep space.)
REFINED FOCUS CRYSTALS -> Often dropped by larger ships like Anacondas. Best to find in HAZ RES I think.
NIOBIUM -> Surface prospecting. Look EDDB.io for places near you with 2% or more.

Should not take long for 30 or more rolls. I was quite successful for all 8 Pulses with no more than 5 rolls each. One time I also got the desired scramble spectrum for free.

 

[lemny]

Efficient is for small ships, cos of the pathetic damage fall off (600m). Long range is the beam mod of choice, especially for larger ships that can handle the extra draw but rarely get close to the enemy. Full damage out to 6km(!)

The Problem is that beams are so hungry, you can't feed 4 (2 Large and 2 Medium) Turrets, let alone gimbals, without draining your capacitor.
The efficient mod is AFAIK the only mod with absolutely no drawbacks and huge thermal and capacitor usage improvements and you also get a damage bonus.
That was the reason I went to efficient mods on my beams. But since I use the Pulses, all these don't matter anymore.

Maybe I try out a full long range build to see if the totally absent falloff compensate for the lesser armor damage. But I think the hit rate above 3km is too low. But I think I give it a try.

 

[jijik2]

Efficient is for small ships, cos of the pathetic damage fall off (600m). Long range is the beam mod of choice, especially for larger ships that can handle the extra draw but rarely get close to the enemy. Full damage out to 6km(!)

My FGS uses a single large long range beam and a pair of seekers for small ships, while the medium PAs (focused) and small rails (long range) are for the big boys. It works really well.

WOW, 6km..... that is far. now im confused which i am going for...
know what i will try both on an laser boat . Keeps me busy till after the weekend.

It's straight forward:
MILITARY SUPERCAPACITORS -> High Grade USS in War/Civil war Systems (I usally fly directly out of the plane and had most success at 100k ls and further into deep space.)
REFINED FOCUS CRYSTALS -> Often dropped by larger ships like Anacondas. Best to find in HAZ RES I think.
NIOBIUM -> Surface prospecting. Look EDDB.io for places near you with 2% or more.

Should not take long for 30 or more rolls. I was quite successful for all 8 Pulses with no more than 5 rolls each. One time I also got the desired scramble spectrum for free.

Super thanks so much!

 

[StiTch]

I quite liked the idea of focused upgrades, but one of the crippling issues with lazors is damage dropoff. The range increase means nothing, as you're doing effectively negligible damage at its max range anyway.

I'm using long range mods a lot these days, and am happy for it.

 

[Aashenfox]

The Problem is that beams are so hungry, you can't feed 4 (2 Large and 2 Medium) Turrets, let alone gimbals, without draining your capacitor.
The efficient mod is AFAIK the only mod with absolutely no drawbacks and huge thermal and capacitor usage improvements and you also get a damage bonus.
That was the reason I went to efficient mods on my beams. But since I use the Pulses, all these don't matter anymore.

Maybe I try out a full long range build to see if the totally absent falloff compensate for the lesser armor damage. But I think the hit rate above 3km is too low. But I think I give it a try.

You're right, beams are rarely optimal and I dare say your focused pulses will be more effective, but since jijik mentioned he was using efficient, I thought I'd make the point. I just like the beam animation, pulses are definitely more efficient, I just don't enjoy them as much.

You mention 3km as well, and again you are right, pulses would be better cos they will either hit or miss once, where a bean will probably spend more 'ammo' off target than on due to its continuously firing nature.

 

[Apos]

Focused doesn't increase the drop off distance.

Armour Penetration doesn't increase hull damage. If anything, it decreases it because you get more often module damage.

You'd be better off with Long Range modifications.

 

[lemny]

Focused doesn't increase the drop off distance.
Armour Penetration doesn't increase hull damage. If anything, it decreases it because you get more often module damage.
You'd be better off with Long Range modifications.

Focused doubles (at grade 5 good roll) the range and stretches the falloff with it. For pulses it's around 1km instead of 500m then.
Armor Piercing ist calculated against the hull hardness: Actual Damage = Piercing / Hardness * Base Damage

That armor value of your target lowers the damage of the lasers. I don't think the formula ist totally correct because I think the damage is capped at base damage and do not raise above if you piercing value is above the hardness.

If you fight against larger, armored ships with an hardness of 100, your large beam do 50% of their damage while the Pulse laser does 83% which results in 20% more damage if you take the higher DPS base value of the beam into account. And all that for half the capacitor drain and half the heat.

So you can run 8 pulse laser for ever without draining your (charge enhanced) capacitor at all. With 8 beams you are having a BBQ at the bridge... for a few seconds... then your cap is empty.

 

[Apos]

Focused doubles (at grade 5 good roll) the range and stretches the falloff with it. For pulses it's around 1km instead of 500m then.
Armor Piercing ist calculated against the hull hardness: Actual Damage = Piercing / Hardness * Base Damage

That armor value of your target lowers the damage of the lasers. I don't think the formula ist totally correct because I think the damage is capped at base damage and do not raise above if you piercing value is above the hardness.

The Sturdy and Focused mods are incorrectly worded. They alter penetration, not piercing.

Either way, the lack of drop off of long range would result in more total damage.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

Going from 52 to 83,2 in armour piercing is damn good on a pulse laser which punches through most armour with ease.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

All vanilla stuff sucks. I believe most is because of damage drop off. Burst Lasers were half decent last time I used them.

 

[lemny]

Going from 52 to 83,2 in armour piercing is damn good on a pulse laser which punches through most armour with ease.

And that why I like them... with focused you get the best of all worlds.

Good against shields AND armor, more range, no ammo needed, cheap, cold and not hungry for capacitor and reactor.

With mixed builds like beam/multi you sacrifice damage potential for half of your arsenal depending on the shield status of the enemy.

With the pulses you can always use all weapons. And you only need one fire group which leaves the second always open for a locked bounty scanner.

So many perks.

 

[TheNut]

I'm more of a long range turreted pulser in my conda, with a 4A milticannon.

1. It gives me that support battleship/carrier vibe as my SLFs go off to do the grunt dog fighting.
2. Turreted weapons I find can hit small targets up to 2 KM most of the time, some of the time at 3KM, and generally do poor beyond that due to jitter.
3. I can switch turrets to forward fire and snipe targets manually.
4. Safely take out capital ships in a CZ from a distance.
5. With the exception of NPC Condas and dropships/gunships, most other ships afterburn pass me and hit upwards of 2 KM. It's nice not having to chase them and still do 100% dmg from my position.

 

[lemny]

I think I am going to try a complete long range build to comparison.
But these Biotech Conductors are only a mission reward. Could cumbersome to get them in certain amounts. :-/
I have around 20 lying around I think... for a complete 8 hard point build, I need a few more.

 

[Aashenfox]

I think I am going to try a complete long range build to comparison.
But these Biotech Conductors are only a mission reward. Could cumbersome to get them in certain amounts. :-/
I have around 20 lying around I think... for a complete 8 hard point build, I need a few more.

If you have Sol permit, the population of the system combined with near perma-boom-state means the mission boards have huge numbers of missions (iirc one had 28 missions last night), which makes materials missions easy to pick up. I've seen lots of BC rewards recently, took a few just to keep my stocks up. Take a python so you get offered the outpost missions too.

By the way, you don't always need G5 for long range. Like you say yourself, 6km is of limited use over, say, 4km, and some of the lower recipes have less negatives, HOWEVER, this will reduce the potential for after-the-roll bonuses (they will be smaller than G5 bonuses), but in many cases (railguns particularly), a G1 is enough.

 

[lemny]

By the way, you don't always need G5 for long range. Like you say yourself, 6km is of limited use over, say, 4km, and some of the lower recipes have less negatives, HOWEVER, this will reduce the potential for after-the-roll bonuses (they will be smaller than G5 bonuses), but in many cases (railguns particularly), a G1 is enough.

Damn... you are totally right, have some rep . Since long range simply removes the falloff, 4-5km is more than enough. G4 or even lower should do the job just as fine. And for testing I can go for G1 or G2 where I can get nearly 4km and roll 100 times.

For long term use I prefer having the best possible G5 rolls... but the effort is only meaningful if I decide to switch over to long range.

Edit: and yep... I am here since premium beta, have Sol permit. I try it out for the conductors if I need them. Thanks for the tip.

 

[JudeSaint]

The Problem is that beams are so hungry, you can't feed 4 (2 Large and 2 Medium) Turrets, let alone gimbals, without draining your capacitor.
The efficient mod is AFAIK the only mod with absolutely no drawbacks and huge thermal and capacitor usage improvements and you also get a damage bonus.
That was the reason I went to efficient mods on my beams. But since I use the Pulses, all these don't matter anymore.

Maybe I try out a full long range build to see if the totally absent falloff compensate for the lesser armor damage. But I think the hit rate above 3km is too low. But I think I give it a try.

My current anaconda build.

2 large overcharged beams (with the heal beam) 1huge multi 1large multi 2med multi 2small multi .... I rip things up. Shields are gone in the matter of seconds even on the dangerous/elite NPC condas with just my beams. I can shoot them for a solid 10-12 seconds before i get to about 75 degrees where i let off for just a few seconds to let myself cool down. Even then thats with only 3 ticks to weapons. I ran full turrets for a while but the HUGE lack of damage from them is just too much. My two beams are fixed. my multis are all gimbled. Combined i have around 140DPS. None of my multis have engineering either.

I would suggest that you pick up some B grade thrusters (or A's if you can afford it) because honestly the anaconda is one of the better handling ships that ive used. I personally think it handles better than the python which was my ship before this. And i flew the FAS before that and i think its comparable in its handling. Its still a bit of a brick but i have no issues even taking on eagles with it.