PvP PA how to use them?

[Spartanous]

So I built my PvP FAS today and tried some training with the pa.
I suck at this, what can I do? How can I improve and try to hit with this?
With the rails it's easier to hit. But with he plasma it's not understood.
Thanks in advance

 

[Stigbob]

If you've got a corvette slap two into the huge slots, with the corvette you can tank damage whilst missing a lot while you learn to hit with them (and activate leading reticule). Use plasma slugs to give yourself limitless ammo for this.

Once you can hit consistently with huge PA's in a slow turning corvette try them out in more maneuverable ships and you'll find you've become the angel of death destroyer of worlds.

 

[Herbrand]

I use Long Range. It helps hitting, and especially it helps hitting first (thus triggering TLB).

On a FAS you could even get away with two sets of, say, 2 Long Range size 2 and 2 Efficient size 3 for close range whopping.

 

[Chongo]

Yeah, it's just practice. If you're used to hitscan you're used to flying with your nose on target - the transition to leading blind is rough in this regard. You'll get it though. LR definitely shortens the lead though.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Yep, OP. Practice. Aim at the reticle, not at the target.

Go find big stuff to shoot. Pythons and up make good target practice.

You'll get there.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

Cover your ship in them.

Mod for efficiency.

Spam until target dies or runs away.

 

[Nero Tacitus]

I run two huge PAs on my Corvette (efficient), it took some getting used to I'll admit, but I can reliably hit with them now.
-Don't bother firing beyond about 1.2km, the AI will just dodge it (may be different in PvP, I haven't done too much of it).
-Don't bother using them against agile craft (I don't use them against anything smaller than a FDS, unless I see a perfect shot).
-Learn when your opponents are vulnerable, if they're pitch turning consistently, or they're trying to hard-turn (and therefore stalling out for a few seconds), that's the time to line up a shot.

PAs can be rediculously effective, but their balancing mechanic is their travel time. You have to pick your shots to get their full potential, and like said, practice is the best way to learn when/when not to fire. Youtube is also a great way of learning how others use them effectively.

 

[ryan_m]

I use Long Range. It helps hitting, and especially it helps hitting first (thus triggering TLB).

On a FAS you could even get away with two sets of, say, 2 Long Range size 2 and 2 Efficient size 3 for close range whopping.

Long range is one of the worst mods you can use for PAs. Adds power draw and weight compared to Focused, which is only a small increase of thermal draw and rate of fire.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

I'm having trouble deciding which PAs to use.

I generally go with efficient, but I have all sturdy mount PAs on my FAS, and it's absolutely smashes things. One of each effect that effects targeting, then phasing sequence.

Problem with that is, I can't spam them like the efficient ones. Heat isn't a huge issue, but the increased distributor draw is, I can't always fire off a full volley.

 

[Herbrand]

Long range is one of the worst mods you can use for PAs. Adds power draw and weight compared to Focused, which is only a small increase of thermal draw and rate of fire.

It has drawbacks, yes, but it also nearly doubles projectile speed at G5; it helps beginners like me to hit.
And while I'm sure this is common knowledge for you, someone else reading this thread may not know since the speed bonus is not advertised in the mod description.

 

[DragonsClaw]

I really wouldnt recommend using 'long range' or 'focused' - at g5 they increase the projectile speed to that of a multicannon. If you can hit targets with a fixed multicannon, you should have no problem using g3-5 'long range' or 'focused' PAs. However, that wont help you practice your aiming AT ALL. If you can force yourself to use 'efficient', you will very much appreciate the extra heat/energy efficiency as well as that damage bonus coming with the upgrade. Just keep these in mind:

1. Depending on your target's speed & current vector, your aimpoint may be so far away from it that it wont stay in your field of view. Better wait a with your shot until both your target and your aimpoint are WELL within your field of view, because:
2. Your target will almost certainly use it's directional thrusters (up/down/left/right) in order to avoid your fire. Your aimpoint may not always get calculated accurately enough to hit it - if you cant even see it, there's a quite high chance to miss.
3. You do all your max. damage in a single salvo, and your PAs will need 3 seconds until you can unleash the next salvo. Is there any need for you to keep your crosshairs aligned to your aimpoint constantly? Not at all really, but then, that leaves you with 3 valuable seconds you can use to perform evasive maneuvers...

 

[ryan_m]

It has drawbacks, yes, but it also nearly doubles projectile speed at G5; it helps beginners like me to hit.
And while I'm sure this is common knowledge for you, someone else reading this thread may not know since the speed bonus is not advertised in the mod description.

Focused has the same shot speed increase. It's bad advice to have beginners use focused/long range if they're trying to use PAs, because efficient is far-and-away the best mod, and that will be an additional learning curve after they get used to the projectile speed.

If you can use efficient PAs, you can use all the others, too.

 

[jasonbarron]

So I built my PvP FAS today and tried some training with the pa.
I suck at this, what can I do? How can I improve and try to hit with this?
With the rails it's easier to hit. But with he plasma it's not understood.
Thanks in advance

You're just used to hitscan, then. Learning to use a PA is going to be as much about changing your mindset as anything else. Mod for Efficient and go to a REZ or CZ and just focus on hitting small ships. Do that until you're eyes cross. About the time you think you'll never get it you'll start to hit them, and once you can nail an Eagle with a Plasma volley hitting everything else will seem easy.

 

[Chongo]

Long range is one of the worst mods you can use for PAs. Adds power draw and weight compared to Focused, which is only a small increase of thermal draw and rate of fire.

I get what you're saying and trust in your insight, but saying it's one of the worst seems a bit hyperbole. Yeah, meta seems effi5 and I've never used anything else on pa's, not refuting that - but these guys are talking about learning with the difficulty of the lead reticle. Pen mod on the focused is worthless with pa's because of the ceiling right? I always thought focused vs. LR on pa's was a bit of a wash. Always a fair point on mass though.

 

[ryan_m]

I get what you're saying and trust in your insight, but saying it's one of the worst seems a bit hyperbole. Yeah, meta seems effi5 and I've never used anything else on pa's, not refuting that - but these guys are talking about learning with the difficulty of the lead reticle. Pen mod on the focused is worthless with pa's because of the ceiling right? I always thought focused vs. LR on pa's was a bit of a wash. Always a fair point on mass though.

Focused is long rage but without the drawbacks. 100% range increase, which is an increase in shot speed, same as long range. No power draw increase or mass increase with focused. The only drawback is a slightly slower ROF and a none-to-slight thermal load increase.

Also, the thing that sucks about both focused and long range is that your shot speed has to be within 100 m/s of each other or you end up with different reticles. REALLY annoying.

 

[ryan_m]

Really? I may need to re-roll my focused PA's. They always seem to overheat the crap out of my Vulture, while my long range PA's do not. Clearly, if I could sort the heat issues, focused would be the better option for the increased armor penetration. Had much the same experience on my FDL, although I didn't try LR on that one to compare.

It's possible to get a thermal load reduction on both rolls, so check your thermal load.

 

[Morbad]

Focused still has falloff, but since this is pushed out to 3.5km+ before it even starts, it's irrelevant in most scenarios.

I will say there is an argument for long range on larger ships where ten tons more mass doesn't mean anything and the increase in power draw is often less punishing than any increase to thermal load. Then again I've shied away from PAs on my corvette because I can expect constant TLB and even LR/focused ones aren't easy to land on faster targets with no target lock. LR5 also takes CIF, which is generally harder to find in quantity than Focused 5 materials and unlike hitscan weapons, you need to use the grade five mods on projectile weapons to get the highest possible projectile velocity as it's directly tied to the maximum range increase.