Shock cannons NEED Engineering

Jaylem · Dec 10, 2018

with the current suggestion hype on Shock cannon ammo (or lack there of) I decided to test them out once more as it has been a long while since I used them.

I Equipped 4x size 2's on my FDL, they are still gimballed (I got these just to give them some more versatility of use, you seen fixed weapons on a type-10 or clipper? it ain't pretty

) and my size 4 Multi-Cannon to strip shields like butter.

After my first kill I found why I never really use them much, I have dusted them down a fair few times as I really love the weapon! but... even on small ships, bursts of 4 rounds feel like the are just plinking paint, dissolves eagles and such in mere seconds, but so does a single shot from my Pacifiers or Plasma Accelerators. against bigger ships, it is noticeable, but not ground-breaking. I found mu single size 4 Multi to be FAR more devastating on it's own.

In fairness, I was as I said using gimballed Shocks, so we can expect less damage, but even across the board with size 3's in the past. they are not as glamourous as you may think.

Compared to cannons and Multi cannons the Shock does come out on top for raw stats, however the others can be engineered as well as have special effects placed. making them far more superior with even the most mundane upgrades.

This is where I suggest that the Shock Cannon also receives the same treatment, it mimics the same old regular upgrades in common with other kinetic weapons. but will have it's own unique or fitting special effects to make the weapon stand out a bit more. including a unique upgrade (if you don't mind me suggesting) that would be quite helpful.

-Absolute converter- Where some upgrades focus on increasing damage or rate of fire (not needed for shocks) this upgrade takes a more tactical approach, with each upgrade a portion of damage will be converted to Absolute, with G5 being 80% of damage per shot. this would make the weapon more universal on both shielded and armoured opponents, and give it more edge for PvP aspects as well. downsides include more power and distributor draw.

Special effects unique to the weapon can include;

-long barrel- Decreases spread when firing rapidly enormously, but increases the weight of the weapon.

-High velocity shells- fires ultra fast shells that have a much higher AP rating. however they deal slightly less direct damage to hull

- "Bottomless clip"- Enhances the Shock cannon's inbuilt auto-loader to rapidly feed rounds, at the expense of higher power draw

-Plasma loading- Converts a small portion of damage to Absolute (10%) at the cost of higher power and distributor draw.

-Heat Vent- Reduces heat generated significantly. no negative side effects

Common effects can include;

-High yield shell

-Scramble "spectrum" (will need to be renamed)

-Thermal conduit

-Dazzle shell

-Incendiary rounds (will not override "plasma converter" upgrade, just replace remaining damage with thermal.)

- many more, there is quite a variety.

Hopefully sometime in the future these weapons( along with all tech broker weapons and modules) can be engineered to match or even exceed the current standard weapons. because at the moment they are really expensive with very little gain.

Thoughts?

CMDR Jaylem.

AtotheCtotheG · Jul 21, 2019

I like it. Some of your ideas would make them OVERpowered, such as the absolute damage mods...but overall, yeah. Good stuff.

[VR] Goooost · Jul 21, 2019

I suggest that an experimentals engineer be placed in colonia to make sure that anyone who ends up with these highly specialized weapons really had to work to get them, otherwise there might be some backlash from players saying that they arent fair.

AtotheCtotheG · Jul 22, 2019

Bleh. No. I don’t like the idea of being “forced” to go to Colonia. Going to Guardian space for the hybrid weapons is understandable, but there’s no logical reason why the only experimental engineer would be all the way out in Colonia.

RamirezKurita · Jul 23, 2019

I'd say no to shock cannons themselves getting engineer mods - the whole point of tech broker stuff is that is comes out the gates stronger than regular modules but can't be improved further.

However, if they were to introduce a regular mass-produced alternative to shock cannons, suffering from reduced performance down to stock multicannons and regular cannons, then I'd be more than happy to see these mass-produced versions moddable.

That way, we get the best of both worlds as those that don't want to engineer can still just unlock the shock cannons and take advantage of their greater out-the-box performance, while those that want to tweak their gear to its utmost can instead buy the mass produced "repeater rifles" or whatever they'll be called and engineer them to their liking. Newer players that haven't seen tech brokers nor have unlocked engineers would also gain other kinetic option for their early outfitting.

Sylow · Jul 23, 2019

In contrast i would say: shock cannons are already behind a seperate gating mechanism. No need for BOTH.

Unfortunately they currently perform sub-par for what you would expect. So in my eyes, a direct buff (e.g. bigger ammo supplies) would be the best choice. No engineering or anything, merely one direct buff and be done for.

If two upgrades would be possible: also switch it to full auto. I mean, i have solved this with my HOTAS. When i have shock cannons on the ship, i switch to mode 3, where a button is bound to simulate pressing and releasing the fire button in quick succession. My shock cannons fire at maximum speed that way. The same can be achieved for mouse users by some small programs. But such tools shouldn't give you an avantage. And the easiest fix for that would be to make the weapon full auto by default. As spread ramps up, trigger discipline is not only still essential but even more critical when the weapon is fully automatic. But it would make it more intuitive and less cumbersome to use.

dm06 · Jul 23, 2019

I used them to kill known pirates: FDLs, anacondas, corvettes. I piloted python with two thermal vent fixed beams and three class 3 gimballed shock cannons. And I'm not sure that I need any special effects for the weapons, just because they'll be barely noticable because targets die much faster.

Bloodsign · Jul 26, 2019

I love shock cannons, but the low total ammo count and inability to synthesize ammo are pretty crippling. Two Class-3 gimballed shocks cannons barely has enough ammo to take down a single Python of the level of NPCs that I'm typically facing these days, whereas I can kill dozens of ships if I swap those out for engineered MCs.

I'm in favor of a direct buff, due to the required unlock. I would suggest:

increase total ammo count by 4x
lower heat generation by 30%
ability to synthesize ammo

cmdr Startempler · Mar 27, 2022

dm06 said:
I used them to kill known pirates: FDLs, anacondas, corvettes. I piloted python with two thermal vent fixed beams and three class 3 gimballed shock cannons. And I'm not sure that I need any special effects for the weapons, just because they'll be barely noticable because targets die much faster.

Bloodsign said:
I love shock cannons, but the low total ammo count and inability to synthesize ammo are pretty crippling. Two Class-3 gimballed shocks cannons barely has enough ammo to take down a single Python of the level of NPCs that I'm typically facing these days, whereas I can kill dozens of ships if I swap those out for engineered MCs.

I'm in favor of a direct buff, due to the required unlock. I would suggest:

increase total ammo count by 4x

lower heat generation by 30%

ability to synthesize ammo

sounds to me like they do need to have the ability or be engineered. i understand that they have a higher raw output damage because they are semi auto but that shouldnt make them feel so bad to use over multi cannons. even if they lock engineered shock cannons behind CGs i would still like to see something come from them. base shock cannons dont seem to be worth the work to get them when you only get one at a time from the vendor.