Newcomer / Intro Railgun use for new players

Hythos · Feb 1, 2015

Tell me about the Railgun.
As it's described as having armor penetrative capability (I read it somewhere, maybe not on the in-game "tool-tip"), but is it as effective as I might be lead to believe?

Is it more effective vs hull and not as much vs shields? (Use LASERs to take down shields, Railgun to seal the deal?)
What are the up-sides?
What are the down-sides? (Is the cost of ammunition prohibitive in most situations?)

Exard3k · Feb 1, 2015

It's equally good vs both afair from testing.

Pro: very good damage

Con: high power need, only fixed version, has ammunition.

Great weapon. I don't use them because of the low amount of ammuntion you can carry. If that's not a problem and you got a good power plant -> have fun!

and yes, ammo is expensive. Just buy one and test it in some anarchy system. If you don't like it, sell it as you don't lose credits for selling

carlisle · Feb 1, 2015

I believe armour penetration refers to the weapon's ability to damage internal subsystems.

krysohmyz · Feb 1, 2015

That above. You can even damage a subsystem on the other side of the ship - "through the hull"

Raaya · Feb 1, 2015

Railgun: Fun for 5 minutes tops. Then your ammo runs out.

Avoid.

krysohmyz · Feb 1, 2015

Raaya said:
Railgun: Fun for 5 minutes tops. Then your ammo runs out.

Avoid.

Well it's nice against the Elite Annies in the hunter missions, for instance. For general bounty hunting at beacons and such, where you want to kill as many targets as possible and stay for as long as you can, it can be a bad choice, yes.

Asp Explorer · Feb 1, 2015

There is no point in trying to kill Elite Anacondas with 2x turreted beams in a Sidewinder.

There is no point in trying to unclog a sink ubend with a mig welder and a toaster.

As with anything - use the right tool for the job.

the100thmonkey · Feb 1, 2015

Railguns are great fun, but you need to be able to aim.

They're good for teaching yourself trigger discipline - you can only fire when you know you've got the shot because:

1. Ammo is eye-wateringly expensive.

2. The consequences of friendly fire are high. It's more than a cr400 fine when you hit a cop, take his shields to zero and put 40% damage on his hull.

Hythos · Feb 2, 2015

Asp Explorer said:
There is no point in trying to kill Elite Anacondas with 2x turreted beams in a Sidewinder.

There is no point in trying to unclog a sink ubend with a mig welder and a toaster.

As with anything - use the right tool for the job.

hah! I'm pretty crafty

But I see your point

the100thmonkey said:
Railguns are great fun, but you need to be able to aim.

They're good for teaching yourself trigger discipline - you can only fire when you k ow you've got the another because:

1. Ammo is eye-wateringly expensive.

2. The consequences of friendly fire are high. It's more than a cr400 fine when you hit a cop, take his shields to zero and put 40% damage on his hull.

Thanks Monkey; That's pretty much what I had expected

the100thmonkey · Feb 2, 2015

Apologies for the typos. The result of trying to type at pace on a phone.

M0rdresh · Feb 2, 2015

How do Plasma Accelerators relate to Railguns?
They seem to have similar characteristics.

ScottGust · Feb 2, 2015

FD has really balanced the weapons well..thers no single "best" weapon..Rails are powerful but are all fixd and take time to charge in addition to being expensive ammunition. That being said, if you can master the timing and fixed mount it is completely possible to destroy a ships critical subsystems and blow it while it still has much of its hull intact.

Himmel Tropf · Feb 2, 2015

Haven't used plasma myself, but i've read that they tend to fry your ship to blistering heat levels within 3/5 shots. I read it is amongst the hardest hitting, and can take down a Lakon Heavy in =<6 shots.

krysohmyz · Feb 2, 2015

M0rdresh said:
How do Plasma Accelerators relate to Railguns?
They seem to have similar characteristics.

Plasma accelerators are also awesome, but slooooooow.

And despite similarities in description, they are kind of opposite in effect.

Railgun shot is quick and very precise so it's nice for obliterating subsystems.
Plasma accelerator shoot big, sluggish ball of plasma with more of an area effect.

They are equally destructive IF one can hit with them.

ScottGust · Feb 2, 2015

M0rdresh said:
How do Plasma Accelerators relate to Railguns?
They seem to have similar characteristics.

No they are 2 completely diff weapons tho similiar in that they both require ammunition and both inflict thermic damage although rails inflict thermic and kinetic...plasma inflicts higher thermic damage.

Hythos · Feb 3, 2015

Hmm if aligning in such a way that a Railgun shot would strike the cockpit or other critical system, does the combat-physics take this into account?
Is it possible to "ace" a target? (one shot), or is damage applied as an HP pool, if you will.

Wedgetail · Feb 3, 2015

Focus firing on a critical system works well (power gen, fsd)

But as far as aoe goes... Nah it kinda sucks tbh. Although aoe can damage multiple subsystems and hull at the same time, the damage effects are minimal, and basically irrelevant until the final 1% of a critical system, at which point your target undergoes critical existence failure - so a weapon that brings 5 subsystems down 20% with each hit is less effective than a weapon that can bring a single subsystem down 30% with each hit (assuming you can hit your target of course)