Multi-cannon - the best kinetic weapon in the game?

dementia

dementia
Even though the multi-cannon is only 2E/2F (gimballed variant) max (as far as I can tell - FD! We need an upgrade!) I have a belief that the multi-cannon is still the best kinetic weapon to have and here is why...

High ammo count ... Over 2,100 rounds in 90 round clips
High cyclic rate ... 7.5 rounds/s
Has a gimballed variant (slightly less powerful than the fixed version but it trumps in being able to get more ordinance to hit the target more of the time with less missing).
Mid range damage per second although they have a relatively low individual damage score
Very low thermal load (it will keep firing for as long as you've got ammo)
They are cheap to buy

Looking at the specs for all the other kinetic weapons, yes others are much more powerful but they are nerfed by having unusably low ammo counts or high thermal loads or low cyclic rates (or all of the above).

I've tried them all and yet still keep coming back to the multi cannon.

Opinions? Have I gone space crazy?
 

LeetNoob

LeetNoob
I use then on my class 2 mounts on my Python, I think for PvP though something more powerful would be better.

Putting 6 multi cannons on an Asp is always a bit of fun too.
 

dementia

dementia
LeetNoob said:
I use then on my class 2 mounts on my Python, I think for PvP though something more powerful would be better.

Putting 6 multi cannons on an Asp is always a bit of fun too.
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I'll bet but unfortunately my Vulture only has 2 hard points and I like to have a thermal weapon in one of them (3C beam laser in my case).
 

PanicButton

PanicButton
dementia said:
Looking at the specs for all the other kinetic weapons, yes others are much more powerful but they are nerfed by having unusably low ammo counts or high thermal loads or low cyclic rates (or all of the above).
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Yep, the MC's high ammo count is a big plus when doing RES. Also the hit/miss ratio seem a LOT better with gimballed multicannons - compared to gimballed cannons for example.

Can't comment on Pvp.

The only problem I have with multicannons is that they don't come in C3. :(
 
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Zenny

Zenny
LeetNoob said:
Putting 6 multi cannons on an Asp is always a bit of fun too.
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Oh yes, I was flying an A-rated combat ASP with that load-out for a long time, it was extremely fun. The only thing I was afraid of were swarms of Sideys (try fighting against a wing of eight of them *shudder*)
 
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Sire

Sire
IMO MC have great efficacy against ships not bigger than an ASP. From Clipper to Conda they do nothing more than tickling if used in couples. I guess that six of them could be a little more effective. I'd still prefer cannons for larger ships, though.
 

dementia

dementia
Zenny said:
Oh yes, I was flying an A-rated combat ASP with that load-out for a long time, it was extremely fun. The only thing I was afraid of were swarms of Sideys (try fighting against a wing of eight of them *shudder*)
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I tried that too. It is like getting stung to death by a cloud of wasps!
 

igor37

I
I just started experimenting with kinetic weapons, now that I realized the Courier just can't fight large ships just with laser weapons, I needed something that doesn't need much energy. So I tried cannons - nice against subtargets, but as soon as the power plant can't destroy the whole ship anymore it's probably useless. Fragment cannons? Good fireworks, but almost zero damage if you consider the low ammo count, even at close ranges. Railgun and Plasma Accelerator? Too high energy consumption.

So the only thing that's left are the MCs, and they seem to shred everything like paper in comparison. They really should rebalance the weapons, at least give them more ammo. In a combat zone I used up all my ammo of the fragment cannon for a single Python, and that stuff didn't do much more damage than my pulse lasers. Worthless.
 

Alex Brentnall

Alex Brentnall
There is actually a Dev comment about class 3 multi-cannons.
Not 100% sure because it was a long time ago but they said it was way too overpowered and if they'd made a C3 version then it would be exceptionally difficult to balance.

My personal view is that the nerf on the C3 variant would be so painfully obvious compared with C1 & C2 that they didn't want the inevitable backlash (something like projectile speed or accuracy or something).
In any case I agree its probably the best all around projectile weapon.

Although I do use a full flak cannon loadout on many trade ships like Anaconda where staying in the fight isn't as important as high alpha damage. If I can get 1 barrage off accurately it usually seriously deters anyone from chasing me as I charge my FSD :)
 

Zeeman

Zeeman
The problem with cannons, is that you may as well climb out of your ship, spacewalk over to the enemy vessel, and smash that shell against the hull with your fist for how damn slow the thing travels...

It got nerfed thanks to the Cannon load outs on Viper back in Beta, like a lot of things, waaayy over nerfed, now just mostly pointless.

It either need faster muzzle velocity, or more ammo to be even close to competitive with multi cannons.

Z...
 

Alex J

A
igor37 said:
I just started experimenting with kinetic weapons, now that I realized the Courier just can't fight large ships just with laser weapons,
Click to expand...

The courier copes very well with large ships with two pulses and 1 beam (middle)... it requires a lot of timing and management of sys and weapons .... and attacking at closer range.
 

Apos

Apos
Best kinetic is surely the rail gun.

I prefer the Class 2 cannons when it comes to anything else though.

Not sure if I just can use them better or find them plain sexier, but if I don't use rails on my Python, it's cannons. :p
 

Alex Brentnall

Alex Brentnall
Apos said:
Best kinetic is surely the rail gun.

I prefer the Class 2 cannons when it comes to anything else though.

Not sure if I just can use them better or find them plain sexier, but if I don't use rails on my Python, it's cannons. :p
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Doesn't railgun and Plasma Accelerator count as thermic (mixture of kinetic and thermal)?
 

Harrius

H
Sire said:
IMO MC have great efficacy against ships not bigger than an ASP. From Clipper to Conda they do nothing more than tickling if used in couples. I guess that six of them could be a little more effective. I'd still prefer cannons for larger ships, though.
Click to expand...

I find them pretty effective against subsystems of big ships. Tbh I find them more effective than the big hitters because I usually miss the target with cannons or PAs! I'm getting better with rails, but I still usually miss the power plant and just end up getting hull damage. It's just a shame about the low ammo count of rails, but I presume it's a balance thing, everyone would roll with them if you 100 or more shots.
 

Bacalao

Bacalao
Multicannons have seemed lackluster against large targets, I really prefer a class 3 or 4 cannon, if I am going to put something with good hull damage on a class 2 I'd go for rails. A 6 MC asp sounds fun though. Hitting things with a cannon hasn't ever been a big issue, just learn the timing to catch them when they can't get out of the way.
 

dementia

dementia
An interesting angle from fellow commanders. Cannons and rails come into their own when loaded onto ships larger than the Asp against ships larger than the Asp it seems. Does seem that a the MC is deserving of larger upgrade to keep in line. Maybe the solution is to increase the calibre of the MC at the expense of say ammo that can be carried.

OR

FD should increase the ammo capacity and cyclic rate of higher end classes of the cannot/rail/etc.
 
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McLulzypants

M
Multicannons aren't the "best", they're just the easiest to use when gimballed because of their velocity and rate of fire. If you have the skill fixed cannons are the best kinetic.
 
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