Viper Loadout
- Thread starter AgilaPro
- Start date
Quad fixed beams was always my favourite. No ammo cost, perfect for targetting sub systems, best range, perfect convergence and no need for heavy and power hungry 'A' sensors - you can use 'D' to keep the weight and power draw down.
In terms of weapon layout, I use a pair of Beam Lasers in the Class 1 slots (fixed sight), then a pair of Multi-Cannons in the Class 2 slots (gimballed) - in a fight, I break the shields down with the beam lasers, chuck a limpet on the cargo hold, then polish the job off with a big dose of gimballed multi-cannons on the exposed hull ... nice 
doesnt quad fixed beams draw A LOT of power?
Got my first viper last night so I've not tried many variants with it yet but I'm having a blast with an asymmetric loadout. I have fixed beams on the right c2+c1 and gimballed multi-cannons on the left c2+c1. I like it because its a nice balance of power on the beams and get a lot of fire time with them and still get plenty of punch
I use the same weapon loadout as HeavyGroovez.
Two medium and two small fixed beam lasers totals 3.62MW of power. However, if you are running A everything, plus D sensors and life support, you can simply set your cargo hatch, FSD, and fuel scoop to lower priority and have no power issues.
In terms of weapon layout, I use a pair of Beam Lasers in the Class 1 slots (fixed sight), then a pair of Multi-Cannons in the Class 2 slots (gimballed) - in a fight, I break the shields down with the beam lasers, chuck a limpet on the cargo hold, then polish the job off with a big dose of gimballed multi-cannons on the exposed hull ... nice
Same here. Seems the most effective.
Er, I don't think so. No ammo cost, sure, but fixed weapons good for targeting subs? Not unless you're a decent distance away so the limited gimbal ability allows them all to converge (it IS a viper) and it doesn't do great damage, either. Not compared to gimballed class 2 MCs. Gimballed MCs track and hit subs FAR better than anything you could hope to accomplish with lasers (especially fixed), and do far more DPS to said subsystems than lasers, too.
I'm not trying to convince you to change your build or anything, but it I want to correct something that's basically incorrect factually speaking.
Agreed. The most conventional build you'll come across would be half fixed lasers and half gimballed MCs. There's a reason such a build is so ubiquitous: very flexible, very manageable, not super ammo-dependent yet not too power hungry either, great killing power, the list goes on.
As far as my build goes, I run with a class 1 fixed beam, 2 class 2 gimballed MCs, and a class one dumbfire missile bank. I wouldn't call it the "best" (sweet baby jesus does it take forever to knock down Conda shields) but I'll be damned if firing a whole stream of missiles isn't a bunch of fun!
I use x2 C1 beams and x2 C2 multi-cannons. Both fixed as I don't like gimbaled also fixed do more damage
Gimbals ?
Good luck with them against somebody who has played more than a couple of hours PvP....
And true to form my current Python build uses a pure Beam loadout.
Thats 3 x Class 3 and 2 x Class 2 fixed beams. You are gonna get melted regardless how much chaff you spam or SCBs you pop.
Having used pretty much every loadout on every ship i can confidently say that pure beam loadouts are the boss.
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Gimbals and turrets have inherent drift/wobble and the idea that you could be more accurate with them than with fixed weapons outside of 1km is ludicrous. They also do less damage than their fixed equivalents.
They are good if you have convergence issues or are constantly fighting off bore at point blank range, but anyone who can aim will have the advantage with fixed weapons.
They are good if you have convergence issues or are constantly fighting off bore at point blank range, but anyone who can aim will have the advantage with fixed weapons.
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I use 2x gimballed c1 beams on top and 2 x gimballed m cannons on bottom, every target loses their shield in 10 second no matter how agile they are, and gimballed cannons to finish em off, somethimes i dont even need to use cannons at all if i fell greedy..(you cant kill a conda wtih shields, but you will roll on pythons and anything a like).
Currently using all fixed multi canons. does decently well, but the issues larger shields do arise when fighting condas/dropships
I have a question with these Beam loadouts. Does Excess power actually benefit the Recharge rate of weapon energy or is it only the power distributor rate no matter how much power you got extra in the reactor?
Power plant and heat management is the key to energy weapons.
Usually you will find that excessive core temps prevent your beam weapons firing, the distributor only distributes as much juice as is available from the power plant given the current load and temp.
Only the power distributor.