*disclaimer. I don't generally look up other builds players come up with. This build was made entirely from trial and error, and testing different engineering blueprints until I found one that fit my playstyle.*
So I finally did it. After weeks and weeks of grinding the credits, unlocking engineers, and waiting for 4 weeks in PP to get the Imperial Hammers followed by another few days of testing, tuning, and rerolling for good engineer RNG, I finally have my dream FDL.
https://eddp.co/u/abYFNaFM
That's my exact in-game FDL. I used regular railguns until I got the hammers and that was a blast too.
At first glance, you'd think combining beams with railguns would be too hot for an FDL, and you'd be right. When overcharged and tuned for short range combat, the loadout simply generated too much heat even with strict pip management. I was forced to wait long periods between shots, resulting in a DPS loss that was just too significant.
So then I reengineered them for long range rails and fixed efficient beams with thermal vent. It requires a decent amount of piloting skills to pull off, since missing punishes with even more heat, but that brought the thermal load to manageable levels, assuming I hit my target with the beams to vent the heat generated by the rails. Not only that, but the power draw is low enough now that I can generally just keep only one or two pips into weapons and only really ever need to worry about managing shields and thrusters.
It *does* still overheat if I push it too hard, but the loadout fits my playstyle really well. Use the rails at long range while I close in on the target, and then finish off their shields and vent heat at the same time with the beams as I maneuver around behind them. Then I finish them off with the overcharged corrosive huge multicannon and beams, using rails whenever heat allows.
I'm sure the build's been done before. But having spent weeks testing it and tailoring it to my exact playstyle without looking up other combat builds online has left me with such a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I came up with this, and I love how it feels to fly it.
So I finally did it. After weeks and weeks of grinding the credits, unlocking engineers, and waiting for 4 weeks in PP to get the Imperial Hammers followed by another few days of testing, tuning, and rerolling for good engineer RNG, I finally have my dream FDL.
https://eddp.co/u/abYFNaFM
That's my exact in-game FDL. I used regular railguns until I got the hammers and that was a blast too.
At first glance, you'd think combining beams with railguns would be too hot for an FDL, and you'd be right. When overcharged and tuned for short range combat, the loadout simply generated too much heat even with strict pip management. I was forced to wait long periods between shots, resulting in a DPS loss that was just too significant.
So then I reengineered them for long range rails and fixed efficient beams with thermal vent. It requires a decent amount of piloting skills to pull off, since missing punishes with even more heat, but that brought the thermal load to manageable levels, assuming I hit my target with the beams to vent the heat generated by the rails. Not only that, but the power draw is low enough now that I can generally just keep only one or two pips into weapons and only really ever need to worry about managing shields and thrusters.
It *does* still overheat if I push it too hard, but the loadout fits my playstyle really well. Use the rails at long range while I close in on the target, and then finish off their shields and vent heat at the same time with the beams as I maneuver around behind them. Then I finish them off with the overcharged corrosive huge multicannon and beams, using rails whenever heat allows.
I'm sure the build's been done before. But having spent weeks testing it and tailoring it to my exact playstyle without looking up other combat builds online has left me with such a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I came up with this, and I love how it feels to fly it.
