Heat mechanics from weapons: is c4 MC cold?

[sb413197]

Does the heat listed in stats for a weapon accumulate PER SHOT, or per DPS unit? The c4 multicannon fires a lot less frequently than other multicannons....does it build up heat slower as well than the slower multicannons?

I'm pretty new to diving down into weapons stats and engineering them since I do mainly PVE and it seemed like overkill since I figured out how to use 4 pips in shields (I have some resistance mods) and FA off; and trying to balance heat buildup etc. I want to use full multi cannons, overcharged, on my big ships like anaconda (except for two small efficient lasers on that - cutter will use full multicannon) and am trying to figure out whether to put incendiary mods on all of them - I'm a bit worried about heat buildup if I do that though so I was thinking of making the c4 multicannon an auto loader, one of the c3s a corrosive, then maybe mixing in some incendiary with autoloaders on the rest and the c2 MC both incendiary. On the other hand, if the C4 builds up heat PER SHOT (I.e. It's colder than a normal incendiary multicannon) then I should definitely run incendiary on it....

Or is the heat buildup not too bad on the big ships and thus I shouldn't worry about it? I use a L1 overcharged power plant that is no less heat efficient than pre-mod and the L5 dirty drive thrusters also go an ok heat roll, so I have decent heat management at baseline.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

I don't actually know the answers to your questions, but I regularly run rapid fire MCs on my little guys and almost never have heat issues. Occasionally I'll creep up to the 75% range, and I just have to lay off triggers for a moment.

 

[sb413197]

I don't actually know the answers to your questions, but I regularly run rapid fire MCs on my little guys and almost never have heat issues. Occasionally I'll creep up to the 75% range, and I just have to lay off triggers for a moment.

Thanks for the reply; question: are you using incendiaries, and why rapid fire instead of overcharged?

 

[Hooplah]

Multi-Cannons don't generate heat per beams. They are all about ammo and replenishing them. A4 beams when mildly engineered can fire all day taking out most opponents. It gets even better with fixed weapons per plasma accelerators, frag cannons and rail guns. Learn to use them and the game will get boring per how you can easily engage and take out opponents in combat with NPCs to start. Then you will be posting on the Forum as the game is too easy!

Regards

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Thanks for the reply; question: are you using incendiaries, and why rapid fire instead of overcharged?

So, I didn't start engineering regularly until fairly recently. I did try overcharged, but I just didn't really like them. They seemed sluggish, and I took a hit on magazine capacity, so I found myself reloading more than I wanted to. Since my Viper IV had gimballed MCs all around, I figured DPS was more important than raw damage. The Rapid Fire reduces raw damage, but increases rate of fire and thus DPS, and though I'm not in game I could swear reduces reload time as well. So between the ROF, the shorter reload time, and the full mag, you get near-constant trigger time, and I'm happy with them.

I'm not a stats guy, so someone might come along and say I should have gone with the OCs. To that I say "Meh, I like the rapid fires "

For that Viper, I had small incendiaries, and medium corrosives, due to the reduced damage against larger hulls. I did eventually swap out the small MCs for overcharged fixed pulses, but wouldn't be averse to going back to the old build. Unloading with full MCs is pretty fun.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Well now, I know I said I like my rapid fires, but I was actually hoping that a stats person might come in and offer their thoughts.

Truesilver? Anybody? What do you prefer, stats-wise? OC, SRB, RF?

 

[Comrade Napoleon]

I dont know the stats, but I prefer OC MC's with incendiary or thermal effect, it rips things to pieces fast, and can deliever a lot of damage the few seconds you have a target in Gimbals in a 'Conda. Heat in the 'Conda I have never experienced.

Cheers Cmdr's

 

[Ashnak]

With MCs, I prefer RF. At least according to Inara, RF will give you almost as much DPS as OC, but with extremely reduced distributor draw and no thermal punishment.
And I usually (ok, that sounds a bit overwhelming - I never had a fleet of combat ships, and currently only have one Sidewinder, which I run in varying configurations) run MCs because I can't (or don't want to) afford the power and heat budget of the more demanding guns. So far, I haven't pushed for special effects, although I think one of the MCs on that Sidey is currently running corrosives. I'll save that up until I get Todd at level 5.