Which Guardian weapons to start with?

[Fnord Velkor]

Which Guardian weapons to start with?

Just that really, I bit the bullet and finally went out to gather weapon blueprints - stopped for the night after collecting just two blueprint fragments (dinner called).

There are so many weapon unlocks available but I don't fancy spending forever gathering technology components so what are the thoughts on a four-weapon collection for a Krait build? (you can only fit four of these I assume.) Maybe alternatives?

Thanks

 

[GroG79]

get Gauss

 

[Jack Winter]

I'd recommend Salvation modified plasma chargers as very heavy hitting and pretty to watch when they hit. Maybe the big drawback being that they obscure the hearts for a while after hitting. If you use them then set trailing sights.

 

[Kissamies]

Normal Medium Gauss at first. That is just a straight unlock after you can buy as many as you want with credits. Test it with those for a bit to see how comfortable you are getting close. When you have gotten a measure of that, get to Mbooni and get 4 Medium Modified Plasma Chargers if you can get close and personal, or 4 Medium Modified Shard Cannons if you think you like to keep bit of a distance. Former have effective range of 1km and latter (and the Gauss) 1.5km. You will have to pay materials for each.

 

[tolm]

Unlocking standard Gauss is very useful as they’re still the best (I believe?) for whacking hearts and it’s A permanent unlock.

I unlocked two of the C2 Modified Plasma Chargers a while back but only used them recently. I really like them: charging them up gives good damage and the high shot speed means I can actually reliably hit things with them - even Scouts. And they look EPIC. But they do require one blueprint - along with a bunch of other stuff - for each individual weapon you want, as opposed to a single unlock and then just buy as many as you want with credits.

I recently went back out to get blueprints for two more of those and also the Modified Shard Cannons in various sizes - which also require a new blueprint for each individual weapon. TBH, I think getting 6 (4 C2 and 2 C1) was overkill. They’re a little underwhelming at medium-to long-range, I thought, but good at short range. Also - for reasons I don’t fully understand - they seem better at taking hearts out than the Plasmas. Maybe they’re more accurate? Dunno ... plasmas look better on paper to me …

Currently I’m putting a Krait together with two of each (Plasma Chargers / Shard Cannons) and I’ve put the C1 Shards on a Viper MkIV which I plan to pair with a couple of gimballed EAX MCs for a lightweight Scout hunter. The Shards are very good for a quick “finish off” hit on a close-up Scout.

 

[space voyager]

Gausses are phenomenal with 0 travel time, though that several seconds heat-up phase is dreadful. You will get the hang of it eventually. I'm experimenting with modified plasmas and so far they are pretty cool to use as you can hold them ready and release instantaneously.

 

[Jack Winter]

I like the modified plasmas as they fire when you release the fire button, but I do find the whining noise mildly annoying, the other possible drawback is that the explosion obscures the heart on impact.

 

[Kayvan]

The main drawback of ModPlasmas is that they have a very bad efficiency vs hearts. Against interceptor hulls they are the best guardian weapon, but against hearts the worst.
Shards are the opposite: best against hearts, worst against hull. And they generate a lot of heat, which the plasmas don't.
Gauss are the middle ground, average effectiveness vs both hull and hearts. But ofc DREADFUL to aim especially if you're using a joystick setup.

For this reason, my main AX ship actually runs a mix of 2 Plasmas and 2 Shards, and I usually use only 1 type at a time, depending whether a heart is exerted or not. Added benefit is more controllable power and heat management. Cyclopes can be destroyed immediately after wrecking the last heart.

 

[nanothargon]

Medium gauss and small gauss. Gauss are the most effective AX weapon, but take a bit of getting used to. It's also worth getting the 'lance' (gauss) guardian fighter.
You can buy the new gimballed AX multicannons if you need an easier time; they're great for scouts but you really need gauss for the interceptors.

 

[Viridian-]

In my experience gauss coupled with flack is best for soling interceptors quickly, salvation plasma chargers or shard cannons are excellent as well. Salvation gauss is trash.

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

I decided to bite the bullet (or rather the plasma slug) and acquire two medium modified plasma chargers to replace the non-AX G5 rapid fire multicannons on my ship (Cobra Mk III). I was pleasantly surprised. Highly effective against Thargoid scouts and any human ship that presents a threat. As my ship is strictly configured as a multirole (40LY exploration, surface SRV and on-foot work, missions, CZ and HazRES combat, light cargo, search & rescue and salvage), these new weapons are perfect for me. They need to be, as although my ship is fast (boost 620 m/s), it’s shield is only 229 Mj and hull is only 642. So I need to beat a retreat when the interceptors show up.

AX pilot: “Thargoid interceptors coming in hot! Watch yourself commander”.
Me: “Yes, well jolly good luck with those! Cheerio!”
||||||||||CHARGING||||||||||

 

[tolm]

I decided to bite the bullet (or rather the plasma slug) and acquire two medium modified plasma chargers to replace the non-AX G5 rapid fire multicannons on my ship (Cobra Mk III). I was pleasantly surprised. Highly effective against Thargoid scouts and any human ship that presents a threat. As my ship is strictly configured as a multirole (40LY exploration, surface SRV and on-foot work, missions, CZ and HazRES combat, light cargo, search & rescue and salvage), these new weapons are perfect for me. They need to be, as although my ship is fast (boost 620 m/s), it’s shield is only 229 Mj and hull is only 642. So I need to beat a retreat when the interceptors show up.

AX pilot: “Thargoid interceptors coming in hot! Watch yourself commander”.
Me: “Yes, well jolly good luck with those! Cheerio!”
||||||||||CHARGING||||||||||

Hull of 642?

My Viper MkIV has 2300 integrity and I don’t stick around when an Interceptor shows up … 2k hull on a small ship disappears in seconds to those swarms …

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

Hull of 642?

My Viper MkIV has 2300 integrity and I don’t stick around when an Interceptor shows up … 2k hull on a small ship disappears in seconds to those swarms …

I find my hull more than good enough for scout hunting, but yes, on the few occasions I‘ve lingered too long when the interceptors/swarms show up I’ve had my behind handed to me. Need to keep the ship’s configuration as it is though as I don’t like module swapping and want to maintain a good jump range, 16t cargo, SRV and what not. This is a multirole ship (well, my only ship) and to be honest 642 hull and 229 shield is plenty against most human NPCs as well as Thargoid scouts.

 

[tolm]

I find my hull more than good enough for scout hunting, but yes, on the few occasions I‘ve lingered too long when the interceptors/swarms show up I’ve had my behind handed to me. Need to keep the ship’s configuration as it is though as I don’t like module swapping and want to maintain a good jump range, 16t cargo, SRV and what not. This is a multirole ship (well, my only ship) and to be honest 642 hull and 229 shield is plenty against most human NPCs as well as Thargoid scouts.

I applaud your “one ship” approach! o7

I just switched my multi-role to a Krait Phantom, essentially by accident. Had been using a FAS but reworked that for Thargoid combat. Was trying out a Phantom as well and when it wasn’t “better” than the FAS, I somewhat nonchalantly slapped a bunch of modules in it just to have ‘em stored and then realised I had a ship with engineered military hull (from the AX build), decent shields and weapons for combat missions / HazRES sessions; good jump range (45-ish LYs) and a fuel scoop for getting around; plus limpets for salvage missions and enough cargo (32T) for small delivery runs.

 

[Cmdr Esteban]

I applaud your “one ship” approach! o7

I just switched my multi-role to a Krait Phantom, essentially by accident. Had been using a FAS but reworked that for Thargoid combat. Was trying out a Phantom as well and when it wasn’t “better” than the FAS, I somewhat nonchalantly slapped a bunch of modules in it just to have ‘em stored and then realised I had a ship with engineered military hull (from the AX build), decent shields and weapons for combat missions / HazRES sessions; good jump range (45-ish LYs) and a fuel scoop for getting around; plus limpets for salvage missions and enough cargo (32T) for small delivery runs.

Krait Phantom was my “one ship” for years, before I sold it and ‘rediscovered’ the Cobra Mk III. You’ll find the Phantom is a great multirole ship.

 

[Cmdr Snuffler]

Hull of 642?

My Viper MkIV has 2300 integrity and I don’t stick around when an Interceptor shows up … 2k hull on a small ship disappears in seconds to those swarms …

Not if you build a cold orbiter...or add a longer range class 1 beam with thermal vent to your build.
As long as you're < 20% heat the swarms do little to no damage at all.
Scouts are not that hard and you can get away with almost any build. Interceptors are an entirely different ball game all together and you really need a dedicated AX ship build.
Was wasn't the Phantom as good as the FAS? My 1st AX build was a shielded Phantom that I used to learn how to solo Cyclops Interceptors. Was ok, just didn't have enough hard points. Switched to a shieldless cold orbiting chief now.

 

[tolm]

Not if you build a cold orbiter...or add a longer range class 1 beam with thermal vent to your build.
As long as you're < 20% heat the swarms do little to no damage at all.
Scouts are not that hard and you can get away with almost any build. Interceptors are an entirely different ball game all together and you really need a dedicated AX ship build.
Was wasn't the Phantom as good as the FAS? My 1st AX build was a shielded Phantom that I used to learn how to solo Cyclops Interceptors. Was ok, just didn't have enough hard points. Switched to a shieldless cold orbiting chief now.

I have yet to find dropping my heat using a heat sink has any appreciable effect to how much a Thargoid hits me: Interceotor, Swarm, Scout … I can pop a heat sink and drop to zero heat and they still shoot me. I know it’s supposed to work - maybe I need to sustain low heat for longer? - but thus far I’ve had limited success in that regard.

For the Phantom vs FAS, it was a combination of better manoeuvrability and better hull (both higher integrity and improved hardness rating) for me.

I also wasn’t keen on the Chief. I know it’s supposed to be better but, against Interceptors, I’ve generally preferred the Krait MkII in the past.

 

[Kayvan]

I'm not sure about swarms, but when you're <20% heat, ceptors can't lead their shots on you anymore. So if they still hit you then that would be because you're not moving enough laterally. Try using your lateral thrusters more.
Most Krait cmdrs seem to prefer boom-and-zoom tactics anyway. I.e. start out a few km away, come boosting in with guns blazing, scoring whatever hits you can, and then boost out of range again before you take too much punishment.

 

[tolm]

I'm not sure about swarms, but when you're <20% heat, ceptors can't lead their shots on you anymore. So if they still hit you then that would be because you're not moving enough laterally. Try using your lateral thrusters more.
Most Krait cmdrs seem to prefer boom-and-zoom tactics anyway. I.e. start out a few km away, come boosting in with guns blazing, scoring whatever hits you can, and then boost out of range again before you take too much punishment.

Ah yes, lateral thrusters … those will be the ones I never use.

TBF, I do use up/down thrust a bit but “boom ’n’ zoom“ is definitely more my “style”, if one can call it that!

 

[Cmdr Snuffler]

I have yet to find dropping my heat using a heat sink has any appreciable effect to how much a Thargoid hits me: Interceotor, Swarm, Scout … I can pop a heat sink and drop to zero heat and they still shoot me. I know it’s supposed to work - maybe I need to sustain low heat for longer? - but thus far I’ve had limited success in that regard.

For the Phantom vs FAS, it was a combination of better manoeuvrability and better hull (both higher integrity and improved hardness rating) for me.

I also wasn’t keen on the Chief. I know it’s supposed to be better but, against Interceptors, I’ve generally preferred the Krait MkII in the past.

Don't fly in a straight line. Always use lateral or vertical thrusters at full speed as your main propulsion then their shots miss you. If you stand still you will get a pasting.
As long as you're less than 20% heat you should be good.
I use a class 1 gimballed long range thermal spread beam laser to shoot the interceptor with to keep heat 0-1% on my Chief. I can even shoot plasma charges while doing this without going above 20%, gauss cannons need a little bit of control as it's very easy to creep up to 50% heat without realising, even when firing the thermal vent beam. If that happens just drop a heat sink.

I'm not sure about swarms, but when you're <20% heat, ceptors can't lead their shots on you anymore. So if they still hit you then that would be because you're not moving enough laterally. Try using your lateral thrusters more.
Most Krait cmdrs seem to prefer boom-and-zoom tactics anyway. I.e. start out a few km away, come boosting in with guns blazing, scoring whatever hits you can, and then boost out of range again before you take too much punishment.

My Phantom was a Hot Orbiter with a shield With perma boost only needing two pips to the engines I just constantly laterally boosted, which had the same effect as a cold orbiter whereby their shots just missed you. I just ignored the swarm altogether. Great for cyclops...not so good for harder variants.