Question on turrets

[CMDR X]

My turrets are broken. They never do what I would like them to. Tried every setting and combination under the sun.

If I want them to fire they don't. If I don't want them to fire they do. Worst of all, they are racist and don't like guns of
a different type. Sometimes they track, other times they just sit there. I never know what to expect.

One time they worked but I went out to the fridge and didn't see it. All the ships were gone by the time I came back.

I give up on turrets.

 

[Brrokk]

"Fire at will" sounds fun, and I do it sometimes, but it's not usually good tactics. Faced with multiple enemies it's better to concentrate fire to destroy one ASAP rather than damage them all.

 

[LumberTubs]

Are there any more out there who never use turrets, ever? I dislike the damage penalty but mostly the fact I constantly gotta keep an eye on them. Or at least I feel like I do.
Since they increased the margins for accidental damage, I never had a fine for friendly fire anymore. So how do turrets fare these days in that respect?

I don't use them either. The only ship I have which would justify them is the Cutter and if I get interdicted in that I just submit, boost away and go back into SC.

Having a play on Coriolis shows that, even if you engineer a turreted pulse laser (for example) to G5 overcharged with the exp effect that increases damage, it still has less DPS than the gimballed version. Obviously in a Cutter, say, the turrets will hit more often than the gimballed so not a great comparison but it does demonstrate how weak they are damage-wise.

I can see why it would be useful to go to a CZ in a Cutter with maxed out shields and have your turrets firing at enemies but I wonder if that would get better results than taking a medium combat ship and killing stuff in a more proactive manner.

 

[Just Paul]

I mainly use turrets as utility weapons, like LR emissive pulse or high cap corrosive multi. They hit consistently without my input to keep the effect going and to prevent shield recharge. The actual damage is neglectable anyways for size 1 so turrets make the most sense to me for applying effects.
For AX I also use AX-Multi turrets in combination with gauss cannons for scout hunting, the turrets do their thing and I can concentrate to hit with the gauss.
I always have them in "Target only" mode.

 

[WinterKing2112]

I do all my mining in an anaconda. I use the 2 medium HP's for mining lasers and 2 large HP's for the abrasion blaster and the seismic charge launcher, so that leaves the 2 small HP's at the front and the large and huge HP's on the belly free for weapons. Just wondering if it's worth putting turrets on the large and huge HP's or just have gimballed weapons on the belly for those times when I have to sort out those pesky pirates?

 

[Masta Squidge]

I can see why it would be useful to go to a CZ in a Cutter with maxed out shields and have your turrets firing at enemies but I wonder if that would get better results than taking a medium combat ship and killing stuff in a more proactive manner.

Watching netflix while farming mats = superior every time.

 

[photomankc]

I do all my mining in an anaconda. I use the 2 medium HP's for mining lasers and 2 large HP's for the abrasion blaster and the seismic charge launcher, so that leaves the 2 small HP's at the front and the large and huge HP's on the belly free for weapons. Just wondering if it's worth putting turrets on the large and huge HP's or just have gimballed weapons on the belly for those times when I have to sort out those pesky pirates?

I've got a similar arrangement but I only used one large for the charge launcher and one small for the abrasion blaster. That left 1H, 2L and 1S. I put multicannon turrets on the 2L's and 1 frag canon turret on the small. It seems to do an acceptable job of tearing up most NPC attackers. I do tend to avoid combat with wings though or other large class ships. My shielding is not up to continual pounding. I tend to reverski the NPCs since dogfighting in a 'conda is tedious, but I like the turrets to keep up the damage even if they boost past me for a bit.

I was just scratching my head because I didn't get the need to trigger them first and then they kept shooting no matter what sometimes. I get it now though. You have to trigger them and keep them in an active group. That explains some of the 'what the heck are they doing moments'.

 

[WinterKing2112]

I've got a similar arrangement but I only used one large for the charge launcher and one small for the abrasion blaster. That left 1H, 2L and 1S. I put multicannon turrets on the 2L's and 1 frag canon turret on the small. It seems to do an acceptable job of tearing up most NPC attackers. I do tend to avoid combat with wings though or other large class ships. My shielding is not up to continual pounding. I tend to reverski the NPCs since dogfighting in a 'conda is tedious, but I like the turrets to keep up the damage even if they boost past me for a bit.

I was just scratching my head because I didn't get the need to trigger them first and then they kept shooting no matter what sometimes. I get it now though. You have to trigger them and keep them in an active group. That explains some of the 'what the heck are they doing moments'.

I eventually decided to try 1H, 1L and 2S gimballed multicannons, all G2 overcharged, corrosive on the H, emissive in the large and incendiary and oversized on the two small HP's. Got attacked by 4 pirates while I was mining, and was pleasantly surprised when they went down 1 by 1, and I still had 1 ring left in my shields when the last pirate ship exploded. So I managed to answer my own question: gimballed work fine for getting rid of those annoying pirates, leaving me free to mine in peace!

 

[Hooplah]

Turrets...

There are a hundred or more posts using them but I'll keep it simple.

Forward Fire - Act as fixed weapons. When an enemy target is using chaff gimballed weapons miss a lot. Fixed weapons if you can hit the target defeats this. Even with regular gimballed weapons deselect the target then these fixed weapons defeat chaff.

Target Enemy - They will continue to fire unless you deselect the target or select another fire group. Comes in handy when using advanced engineered weapons in different fire groups. If your combat skills are poor in a slow turning ship they will keep firing if you engineered your ship to take the damage.

Fire at Will - They will defend your ship with any red designated enemy attacking you. OK, but if the good guys show up, or worse in a CZ if you hit one of them you're going to have to get out of Dodge with a fine. Worse with notoriety if your turreted weapons kill them. Best used in Anarchy systems without a fine or 1-on-1 in open play if you scanned them as wanted. The problem is that they may kill you while completing the scan. Seconds count in open play.

When used properly turrets have an advantage although the least DPS in the game for new players. Those who have excelled at this game in an Anaconda, Corvette, Cutter, Clipper, Fer de Lance, even a Python or may I suggest an interesting engineered Imp Courier doesn't need turrets. But you will figure that out.

NEVER depend upon your ship build and weapons. Always depend upon your piloting skills and learn from your experience and mistakes. Then you can fly any ship in the game knowing exactly how to best use it. That is the difference between playing a game and understanding the game. Maybe Zen has a lot to do with it...go figure.

Regards