I just don't get it, re: cannons

[Frog]

So, I have two class 1 cannons (g) on my Cobra, along with fixed class 2 beam lasers.

I I just cannot see the pattern behind the responsiveness of the cannons. Why is it that sometimes I need to hold the assigned button for several seconds before they fire, while at other times they fire instantly?

Energy for weapons is full, the cannons are set to top priority, and the power plant is big enough. So, I don't think it's related to energy. Maybe the cannons are using magazines that need to reload, but if this is the case it's not reflected in the hud, the delay is also there when the bars for the cannons in the hud are full.

Any insight into this would be most welcome.

 

[Khan]

Are you experiencing the delay when the target is above you? If so then its the hull of the cobra that is in the way, preventing fire.

 

[Flying Penguin]

So, I have two class 1 cannons (g) on my Cobra, along with fixed class 2 beam lasers.

I I just cannot see the pattern behind the responsiveness of the cannons. Why is it that sometimes I need to hold the assigned button for several seconds before they fire, while at other times they fire instantly?

Energy for weapons is full, the cannons are set to top priority, and the power plant is big enough. So, I don't think it's related to energy. Maybe the cannons are using magazines that need to reload, but if this is the case it's not reflected in the hud, the delay is also there when the bars for the cannons in the hud are full.

Any insight into this would be most welcome.

IIRC, they have a 5 round magazine. The number of shots remaining should be on the HUD, just like for multi cannons.

 

[Derinahon]

Are you pitching up enough so they have line of sight to the target?

 

[Rieve]

Are you experiencing the delay when the target is above you? If so then its the hull of the cobra that is in the way, preventing fire.

Ah, I was experiencing the same frustration as the OP, thinking my joystick must be playing up - but this makes perfect sense now! Thanks.

 

[sklurk]

they're miniguns... they need to spin up to speed before they can shoot. From a dead stop it takes a few seconds to shoot, if you let off and shoot again they'll still be spinning and can shoot again.

 

[Erik Marcaigh]

Are they cannons or multicannons?

Multicannons have to spin up before they start firing. Hold down the fire key and wait a second.

If they're cannons, they have a reload time between shots AND between magazines. (They're shooting off little cannonballs, basically.)

IIRC, it's almost a one second delay between shots. The 5 round magazine reloads in about 3 seconds.

And like Kahn said above, your hull could be in the way, thus not allowing them to fire until they have a clear line of sight to the target.

 

[GJ51]

Beam lasers all the way - no delay - no reload - no ammo to buy - just manage your power correctly.

 

[Rall]

So, I have two class 1 cannons (g) on my Cobra, along with fixed class 2 beam lasers.

I I just cannot see the pattern behind the responsiveness of the cannons. Why is it that sometimes I need to hold the assigned button for several seconds before they fire, while at other times they fire instantly?

Energy for weapons is full, the cannons are set to top priority, and the power plant is big enough. So, I don't think it's related to energy. Maybe the cannons are using magazines that need to reload, but if this is the case it's not reflected in the hud, the delay is also there when the bars for the cannons in the hud are full.

Any insight into this would be most welcome.

The Class 1 mounts on the Cobra won't gimbal far up past your sights. They won't far if the target is out of the fire arc, you'll need the target to be bellow your sights, to get both cannon shots off simultaneously.

 

[lakofsth]

Beam lasers all the way - no delay - no reload - no ammo to buy - just manage your power correctly.

Big cannons will 1-shot smaller ships. It's also quite satisfying to get a hit at long range with a slow projectile.

 

[Derinahon]

Beam lasers all the way - no delay - no reload - no ammo to buy - just manage your power correctly.

They still won't fire through the Cobra's hull - I'm sure that's the problem here.

 

[smsKONG]

Like others have said - with each ship you have to account for clearance around the weapon if you are going gimballed.
Some ships are worse than others; but you generally get a good idea of fire arc when fitting them.
For instance a ship with fire points above the cockpit and on the underside of the hull is never going to achieve full tracking from all weapons as a target moves from below the centre line to above it.


My advice would be to not rely on gimbals too much.
I try to keep a good portion of my weaponry fixed firing as beyond the reasons stated here - you only have to come across one chaff happy pilot and you can have a very bad day indeed!

 

[Derinahon]

...My advice would be to not rely on gimbals too much.
I try to keep a good portion of my weaponry fixed firing as beyond the reasons stated here - you only have to come across one chaff happy pilot and you can have a very bad day indeed!

I've never seen it mentioned before, but you can easily defeat chaff when using gimballed weapons; untarget your prey and you have fixed firing weapons - tada.

 

[saulysw]

I've never seen it mentioned before, but you can easily defeat chaff when using gimballed weapons; untarget your prey and you have fixed firing weapons - tada.

Wow - this is cool! Do you still get the reward if it is not targeted?

 

[Derinahon]

Wow - this is cool! Do you still get the reward if it is not targeted?

Well I still get fined if I hit authority without targeting them so I hope so! Good point though - I target again as soon as the chaff stops popping so don't really know for sure