What do you like? Fxed or gimballed?

[WizArDEVIL]

I've been away for a loooong while.
Currently doing CG at LP 128-32. Boynty hunting. And I'm no fighter.
Using my cobra mk III , and some gimballed multicannons. Then I tried to fit fixed burst lasers... or was it pulse...
That was fun as hell! My aim isn't that bad what it used to. I use VR and X-55 Rhino. I was surprised how good my aim was.
I actually have no favourite weapon. I just like to switch between. But now that I can hit things.... ..ooh Rail...

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Back in the day (like, Freespace era and before) I used a joystick and everything was fixed. So I was naturally good with it.

Then games like ED came along. And I got lazy. Lol
I also use a gamepad, which makes fine aiming too much of a faff these days.
So I basically just use gimballed weapons where possible.
They also have the bonus of more time on target.

That said, I often take the SLF out for a spin and mine are all fixed loadouts.
I'm getting better, but I can still miss the topside of a T9 at times. Lol

If I had a desk, I'd go back to a HOTAS and fixed weapons in a heartbeat. But I've never actually played ED with a hotas, so I'd have to learn everything all over again. Flight, combat, everything, even the menus. Lol
And I don't have room for a desk.

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[Mrat13]

I'm a gimballed scrub, who also uses a docking computer.

Pretty certain I could learn to manage without either of them, but that requires effort, and I'm lazy. Same reason I avoid engineers (especially after the changes hit). Luckily, I avoid open, so no worries of God ships for me.

But I have fun, and blaze my own trail, so I don't care what others think of me, at this point.

 

[MissMeYet]

There's no "better" or "worse" between gimbals and fixed weapons; both have advantages/disadvantages. Try to balance things out by using a combination of both. My Viper has fixed Enforcers and gimbals multi-cannon; it can keep firing on target even if chaff is used, and when chaff has expended then the gimbals can keep fire on target when outside of the fixed arc of fire.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

There's no "better" or "worse" between gimbals and fixed weapons; both have advantages/disadvantages. Try to balance things out by using a combination of both. My Viper has fixed Enforcers and gimbals multi-cannon; it can keep firing on target even if chaff is used, and when chaff has expended then the gimbals can keep fire on target when outside of the fixed arc of fire.

Just don't try using fixed weapons with different munition velocities if you plan to fire both at once.

2 separate lead indicators...fun. Lol
You get a choice of which weapon to miss with. Lol

 

[PhanttoM]

I pretty much always fly mixed weapons builds.

Fixed + Gimballed
Fixed + Turrets
Fixed + Missiles

*EDIT* Whether I have more fixed or tracking weapons depends on how power/distributor/heat hungry they are.
Fixed are usually either the main damage dealer or debuffer (cascade rails for example)

 

[Kzak]

Depends on my weapons loadout. Usually gimballed, but if some weapon types only offer fixed, I can use those too. For the Chieftain, I'll use a mix of gimballed and fixed (railguns + Efficient beams).

 

[GunnerBill]

Fixed or Turrets.
Can’t stand gimbals!

I used to love ‘em but all that swinging around with chaff just annoys the poop outta me!

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Depends on the ship and my mood. In slow ships with little manouverability I use gimbals, but in my vulture I use a fixed beam or pulse and a gimbaled cannon.

 

[Ouberos]

One problem I have with all fixed weapons on the Cobra is the placement of the the lower hardpoints means I have to raise the nose a bit to hit which then throws the higher hardpoints off. So I tend to run Fixed on the Class two's above and put gimballs on the class one's below. Or fit heat seekers / torps depending on what I am up to.

A better ship to learn about fixed weapons is the Eagle or Imp Eagle. Both have nice hardpoint locations and are really fun ships to chuck around.

Also they are cheap. So if you are missing 7 out of 10 times you shouldn't go bankrupt when you get dead.

Like a couple of people have mentioned, it doesn't really matter.

 

[Ouberos]

Just don't try using fixed weapons with different munition velocities if you plan to fire both at once.

2 separate lead indicators...fun. Lol
You get a choice of which weapon to miss with. Lol

This is a very important point. Some people spend a long time engineering weapons to get equal velocities on different weapons. It is easy to get mixed up about which is which too and you end up firing the wrong thing.

 

[Wobblin-Gobblin]

I've tried fixed lasers at the CG in the Califonia nebula, and it was a lot of fun. I've bought an eagle down there and equipped it with them.

But I've noticed that even the fixed ones get a little 'help' by the ship's computer (?), as the crosshair went from alone the last milimeters.

Or am I wrong?

 

[Kefhyr]

I loved my fixed weapons till... i met one dodgy pirate on eagle. Oh my god that was long fight :'D Gimballed since then.

 

[Kaa Mchorror]

For me it depends on where the hard point is located. On my FDL using fixed on the mount under the nose actually does less damage than gimballed unless I feel like being sober. I do try to use fixed whenever possible.

 

[Arry]

I've been away for a loooong while.
Currently doing CG at LP 128-32. Boynty hunting. And I'm no fighter.
Using my cobra mk III , and some gimballed multicannons. Then I tried to fit fixed burst lasers... or was it pulse...
That was fun as hell! My aim isn't that bad what it used to. I use VR and X-55 Rhino. I was surprised how good my aim was.
I actually have no favourite weapon. I just like to switch between. But now that I can hit things.... ..ooh Rail...

On my Cobra III I use turreted beams, in the small slots and Gimbled Multi-cannons in he mids. Works well for me; I can strip the shields of a ship chasing me.

 

[Jankules]

Fixed always.

 

[Toffmeister]

Since I cannot hit the floor with a brick usually, I use turrets.

 

[Aashenfox]

Railguns are very rewarding to shoot well. /nod

 

[Dutchman141]

Gimbal weapons here, and on the somewhat slower turning bigger ships a couple turrets too.
I'm 52 and need reading glasses so it's save to say, age caught up with me

 

[Maka Gucci]

Once you go fixed it's hard to go back. You forget chaff is a thing.

PA's and Rails are my favourite and only come fixed, then Missiles, Mines, Frags, again fixed. Only thing I gimble are cannons, even though I hate the reduction in damage, in practice it just seems to work out a lot better when module sniping with 'em. (This might be related to the fact you gotta get so close with cannons, at which point the the convergence is quite spread out.)