What I think I know about Weapons and what i should know

[Daemonshmike]

Hi Cmdr's
│
│
I played during the beta phase and then I only traded a bit, up to a type 6, so I have actually never fired a shot at anything
except in the combat tutorials.
I just recently started playing again and only thing I have done so far is to get my Saitek X35/X36 hotas working and sold my Eagle
I am going to start out with trading again but I do want a ship that can defend itself plus I intend to later have another ship
more setup for fighting.
│
So here's what I think I know and Assume:
A1. Beam lasers draw energy and heat up, once overheated must cool down
A2. Beam lasers are only good against shields
A3. Fixed mount means manual targeting only, aiming point moves only by manouvering my ship
A4. Gimballed weapons have some sort of auto track
A5. Turreted weapons can sometimes fire on targets you dont want them to
A6. Multi cannons use ammo and you have to buy it
│
Ok and now the Questions:
Q1. Can i use fixed and gimballed weapons in the same firegroup ?
Q2. Can I use beam lasers and multi cannons in the same firegroup ?
Q3. How does "auto track" work when using gimballed weapon/s
Q4. Are fixed, gimballed and turreted the only mounts ?
Q5. How do missiles work ?
Q6. Is multi cannons not effective against shields ?
Q7. How many weapon types are there ? Pros and cons ?
Q8. What do you use ?
│
I am sure I am forgetting many things but would appreciate your views/answers on the above.
Any tips, how to, and best practices are much welcomed.
│
│
Thanks !!

 

[PhazonAran]

Q1 : Yes you can. You have 2 "groups" of weapons in a single firegroup (primary and secondary fire).
Q2 : See above.
Q3 : Lock your target and keep it in front of you. If the target is in the weapon targeting radius, it'll aim at it.
Q4 : Yes. What do you mant more ?
Q5 : You have 2 kinds of missiles, dumbfire and seeker. Dumbfire are like rockets, they go in a straight line so you need to aim. Seeker need you to lock on a target, and they will pursue it.
Q6 : Kinetic weapons are not really effective against shields. So no.
Q7 : Not sure what you mean by type, but currently there are thermics and kinetics weapons. Thermics are effective against shields, kinetics are effective against hull. The plasma accelerators and the railguns are both kinetic and thermic but I don't recommand using them on shields.
Missiles are in a category of their own.

Don't hesitate to ask other questions Commander

Edit : Q8 : I personnally use a combination of both, but I use more lazers. Once the shield is down, target the power plant and even the big ships go down pretty fast.

 

[Frenotx]

Q1- Yes. A good combo is fixed lasers + gimballed multicannons
Q2- Yes. You can assign any weapons you want to the same firegroup.
Q3- Gimballed weapons will attempt to aim at anything you're locked on to within a certain arc in from of them. I'm not sure what the max angle is, but it feels like somewhere in the 40 degree range.
Q4- Yes.
Q5- There are two types of missiles- Seekers, and dumbfires. Dumbfires just launch in the direction your ship is pointed in, fly in a straight line, and explode on contact. They're functionally very similar to fixed cannons. Seekers require you to lock on to the target. The crosshair will do a little animation to show that the lock is in progress, and you'll hear a sound when the lock is complete. Once locked, launced seeker missiles will attempt to chase down the target.
Q6- In the shipyard, you'll see that multicannons are listed as "kinetic" damage type. Kinetic and explosive are weak against shields, but strong against hull. Conversely, thermal damage (lasers) is good against shields, and weak against hulls.
Q7- See here: http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Weapons

 

[Daemonshmike]

Thank you guys, really fast answers