Questions about turrets

[ahiredgun]

I have some questions about how turrets work.
Will they only fire if I deploy them.
If I set them to fire at target while I have a station targeted will they shoot the station? (resulting in my death)
Is thare no target hostile only mode? (would be useful)
Can they deploy by themselves?

 

[tetra]

Will they only fire if I deploy them.

They will only fire if they are deployed, in a fire group and you pull the trigger to trip them.

If I set them to fire at target while I have a station targeted will they shoot the station? (resulting in my death)

Yes, if you target something, just as with any weapon and fire them, they will fire, friend or foe.

Is thare no target hostile only mode? (would be useful)

No, it's up to you to target the correct ship. Although agreed would be nice to have IFF.

Can they deploy by themselves?

No, see the first question.

 

[SongMinKi]

turrets currently have three modes : forward fire, target only, and fire at will.

Forward fire: All turrets behave like fixed weapons, meaning they aim forward with minimal tracking like with fixed weapons.
Target Only: Will track and fire at your selected target, even if they move out of your field of view, as long as the turrets can get a firing solution. (target must be hostile,thus unless a station is already hostile, then no the turrets will not fire on the station)
Fire-at-will: All turrets will track their own targets as long as they are hostile. Note; This does not mean they automatically return fire for some odd reason. As of right now they will only automatically fire at hostile targets at CZs as far as i can tell. Any other time you would have to manually engage the enemy(ies) first before your turrets start tracking and firing. Whether that be using a non-turret weapon, or your turrets in fixed firing mode.

Note: When turrets are on "Fire at will" mode, you will not incur friendly fire penalties nor will you incur bounties when they fire at a neutral ship if the ship blocks fire. Basically the game absolves you of responsibilities in the sense that you are not in control of what your turrets hit.

No, they will not fire when not deployed because they are still in the interior of your ship, and firing in this scenario would likely cause unwanted damage as your turrets try to reach the enemy though your ship from the inside.

As for deployment, they do not automatically deploy, as they are considered weapon hardpoints.

Also, when outfitting your turrets, note where they are located on your ship, as turrets can only hit what they have a line of fire at. As in, if the turret is placed on the upper hull of your ship, then it can't fire at what is under your ship. Imagine drawing a straight line from your turret and your target, if there is anything in the way, the turret won't fire.

 

[Don Alvarez]

Target Only: Will track and fire at your selected target, even if they move out of your field of view, as long as the turrets can get a firing solution. (target must be hostile,thus unless a station is already hostile, then no the turrets will not fire on the station)

It is important to note that if you are actively firing on a hostile target and you change targets to a friendly, the turret will not disengage and will fire on the friendly incurring a bounty. The only way I know to stop turrets from firing once you've engaged them is either when the target is completely destroyed, or when you cycle fire groups.

 

[SongMinKi]

yes my mistake, i meant to say your turrets wont BEGIN firing until the you have a hostile target.( though i could be wrong here. I usually just engage and pop them on fire at will when i use turrets)

 

[Kastor]

My small point to note.

Currently Fire at Will turrets are also the only thing that can track silent targets. Not as intended. Intended is no turrets can fire at silent targets.

 

[ahiredgun]

So if a target is friendly and I just want to scan him the turrets will not fire correct

 

[Darth Ender]

I think tracking targets is a bit strong when discussing turrets. It seems more like the turret tracking protocol was coded by a bunch of people who didn't want to get shot at.

 

[rightsideupsidedown]

I have found that turreted weapons seem to work best between 0-3km between 3-6 they are questionable even with A sensors. Fixed and gimballed weapons with manual control for managing power consumption and reduce misses at long range seem more efficient however the nice little tradeoff is that the turreted weapons use less power.

Turrets seem to work well with Beam or Pulse because they have a high power consumption and will activate at a shorter range. Cannons wouldn't be a bad choice because they miss less at close range but tracking still seems a little slow for a passing ship so I would probably choose Fragment Cannon if I wanted a Kinetic turret. Multicannons are good at long range so I wouldn't put them on turrets with their current responsiveness.

I might be wrong but it feels like the AI gets a break with turrets working really well at longer ranges (3-6km+). Anaconda's/Pythons with turreted beams have a devastating defense against a small fast ship that can distance itself to regain shields. Thankfully the larger ships can more easily fit a missile pod or additional kinetic/pulse to keep them on the run.

The biggest ship I have is a Clipper and I am still unsure of turrets effectiveness. If I place them on the smaller points I need to remember to turn with my belly to the target to get a good beam in. If I had an Anaconda I would certainly mount turrets somewhere. If I had trouble with F/A turns or wanted to conserve power for a PA or Rail I would probably use turrets more often.

I wasn't a fan of turrets when I first used them because I was under the impression that when you target a ship or station under "target only" mode they would fire on unscanned targets automatically. I tested it the other day to find out that I needed to manually activate the turret in this mode to fire on a new target, when I switched from the hostile target to system security under target mode it didn't keep firing. Maybe I was out of range? It probably keeps firing on "Fire at Will" mode. Did anyone have a different experience with this?

 

[SongMinKi]

I have found that turreted weapons seem to work best between 0-3km between 3-6 they are questionable even with A sensors. Fixed and gimballed weapons with manual control for managing power consumption and reduce misses at long range seem more efficient however the nice little tradeoff is that the turreted weapons use less power.

Turrets seem to work well with Beam or Pulse because they have a high power consumption and will activate at a shorter range. Cannons wouldn't be a bad choice because they miss less at close range but tracking still seems a little slow for a passing ship so I would probably choose Fragment Cannon if I wanted a Kinetic turret. Multicannons are good at long range so I wouldn't put them on turrets with their current responsiveness.

I might be wrong but it feels like the AI gets a break with turrets working really well at longer ranges (3-6km+). Anaconda's/Pythons with turreted beams have a devastating defense against a small fast ship that can distance itself to regain shields. Thankfully the larger ships can more easily fit a missile pod or additional kinetic/pulse to keep them on the run.

The biggest ship I have is a Clipper and I am still unsure of turrets effectiveness. If I place them on the smaller points I need to remember to turn with my belly to the target to get a good beam in. If I had an Anaconda I would certainly mount turrets somewhere. If I had trouble with F/A turns or wanted to conserve power for a PA or Rail I would probably use turrets more often.

I wasn't a fan of turrets when I first used them because I was under the impression that when you target a ship or station under "target only" mode they would fire on unscanned targets automatically. I tested it the other day to find out that I needed to manually activate the turret in this mode to fire on a new target, when I switched from the hostile target to system security under target mode it didn't keep firing. Maybe I was out of range? It probably keeps firing on "Fire at Will" mode. Did anyone have a different experience with this?

basically turreted laser weapons will be okay since their effective range is 3km max anyways (for players)