Tenlar's Guide to Lasers and Tactics (updated 8 August 09)

[Tenlar Scarflame]

mmmmm...

some contradictions, then. Alright, looks like (though I did my best to avoid it) I'll need a weapons spreadsheet open when I do the 2nd edition updates. This'll take a bit more time but I suppose the hard statistics needed to be here anyway.

And it would appear I'm confusing the ISR with the IPG, as I suspected. Meaning I'll probably need to set up a field test, same with flaks and a few other guns.

I'm also surprised that the HEPT and the CIG have the same shield damage per second. Perhaps it's the range advantage and the noisy explosions that make the CIG seem punchier...

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'll try to represent everyone's experiences as best I can. Glad this is a popular idea

[pjknibbs]

-Incendiary Bomb Launcher-

ICBLs are crap. I have no idea why people keep saying you need to save them when you find them. They are absolutely sucky capital weapons.

Sucky they may be, but they ARE capital class weapons, and they're the only ones that most M7s can mount! It would perhaps be truer to say that they're extremely powerful frigate-class weapons than to say they're extremely poor capital-class weapons.

[AdrianB1]

For an M3+ EBC is far better than HEPT: even if HEPT do marginaly higher damage (a few percents only) the EBC has longer range, much faster projectile speed (so you hit easier fast targets) and, most important, a full battery of 8 HEPTs depletes the laser energy reserves of any M3+ in seconds, so you cannot kill a M6 (Xenon P, for example) in less than a minute because you have no energy for that. With EBC you just keep firing until it's dead, 7-8 seconds and it's gone

[Squishee]

Very well written, love the article!

-Fragmentation Bomb Launcher-
..
Countermeasures: point and laugh. If you ever get killed by one, tell me. I want to know how.

[Gazz]

IMO PRG do not "replace PAC" but they replace absolutely everything below EBC.
If the ship can use PRG there is no point in having IRE / PAC / HEPT.

PRG vs PBE is a judgement call and a matter of personal preferrance.

For both HEPT and PRG the limiting factor is laser energy, not being able to transfer all your laser enegy into damage fast enough.
That means that the slightly lower DPS is meaningless and instead of half the hull damage you do 2/3.
Actually, you typically get equal or higher DPS out of PRG because the hit percentage is so much higher.

ICBLs are crap. I have no idea why people keep saying you need to save them when you find them. They are absolutely sucky capital weapons.

Except for the range IBL are slightly worse but practically identical to PPC.


Ion Cannons are amazing if used correctly.

An M2 with near infinite laser energy may not have to bother with them but for an M7 with a small laser generator they give you a nice 18 % more shield damage for the same energy that PPC would use or 36 % more than IBL.

IC are specialised weapons that can never be mixed with other lasers. They should only ever be used by a weapon changing turret script.
That or in different weapon groups as cockpit lasers.


Gauss are potentially awesome but if laser energy is a no-issue... just not worth it.

Their shield damage is equal to PPC and their hull damage beats everything else out there.
On paper they have lower shield damage but on the same piece of paper they are 10 % more accurate so...
No, this is not some guess. I have analysed the accuracy effect of bullet speed.

The Shrike is unique in that it has been built around it's Gauss Cannons. It's a worthless pile of scrap metal without them. With them it cuts through the opposition like a rusty... chainsaw.

[Nanook]

IMO PRG do not "replace PAC" but they replace absolutely everything below EBC.
If the ship can use PRG there is no point in having IRE / PAC / HEPT.....

I disagree. HEPT's in general kill much faster than PRG's. If you are in a furball with lots of enemies, I'd recommend using both HEPT's and PRG's (unless your ship can equip EBC's, then use those instead of HEPT's). HEPT's to kill the M3's fast and PRG's to kill the small fighters and to help take out missiles. Also, enemy pilots seems to bail a lot more often when I deal damage with HEPT's than with PRG's, most likely because of the faster drop in shield/hull. Although I do agree with the PRG vs IRE/PAC part.

IMO, EBC's replace HEPT's and PRG's replace IRE/PAC's.

Also, something that's missing in the OP's discussion is accuracy. I've found that some weapons seem to be more inaccurate than others. EMPC's fall into this category. It's much easier to hit with HEPT's, say, than EMPC's. Even EBC's seem to suffer a bit more from inaccuracy than HEPT's. Perhaps it has to do with the size of the 'bullet'. HEPT bullets are significantly larger than both EMPC and EBC ones. So for a newer player, it may be wise to forego some of the 'better' weapons and go for one that hits more often until their skill improves. In which case, PAC's are better than PRG's, because they are easier to hit a target with their bigger bullets.

[Gazz]

Also, something that's missing in the OP's discussion is accuracy. I've found that some weapons seem to be more inaccurate than others. EMPC's fall into this category. It's much easier to hit with HEPT's, say, than EMPC's.

This is the spread of lasers at 2km (less if they have lower range), measured from the center of the intended target.

0;Impulse Ray Emitter;13
1;Particle Accelerator Cannon;17
2;Mass Driver;22
3;Phased Repeater Gun;17
4;Energy Bolt Chaingun;17
5;Fragmentation Bomb Launcher;15
6;High Energy Plasma Thrower;17
7;Ion Disruptor;3
8;Pulsed Beam Emitter;9
9;Plasma Burst Generator;366
10;Electro-Magnetic Plasma Cannon;17
11;Concussion Impulse Generator;15
12;Ion Pulse Generator;15
13;Ion Shard Railgun;17
14;Matter/Anti-Matter Launcher;19
15;Flak Artillery Array;25
16;Cluster Flak Array;25
17;Phased Array Laser Cannon;19
18;Phased Shockwave Generator;1410
19;Starburst Shockwave Cannon;17
20;Photon Pulse Cannon;17
21;Ion Cannon;17
22;Gauss Cannon;15
23;Incendiary Bomb Launcher;19
24;Point Singularity Projector;13
25;Plasma Beam Cannon;17
26;Tri-Beam Cannon;19
27;Fusion Beam Cannon;19
28;Mobile Drilling System;204
32;Alpha Kyon Emitter;15
33;Beta Kyon Emitter;19
34;Gamma Kyon Emitter;17
36;Experimental Electro-Magnetic Plasma Cannon;17
37;Prototype Matter/Anti-Matter Launcher;17
38;Prototype Starburst Shockwave Cannon;25

[Geek]

For both HEPT and PRG the limiting factor is laser energy, not being able to transfer all your laser enegy into damage fast enough.
That means that the slightly lower DPS is meaningless and instead of half the hull damage you do 2/3.
Actually, you typically get equal or higher DPS out of PRG because the hit percentage is so much higher.

This is entirely situational. It may be true against small, fast targets, but if you face slower or bigger ones, accuracy is less a problem and the extra damage of HEPT (especialy against hull) is worthy.

[Nanook]

Spread at 2km is not really very useful for dogfighting combat. Firing pretty much anything at a fighter at 2km range is a useless excercise in futility if you're flying another fighter. So take this list with a grain of salt when deciding what to use in a knife fight. My personal experience determined what I stated in my previous post. And most of that is garnered in close-in fights with other fighters. And remember, the spread is only half the equation. The other half is bullet size. So even though the PRG and HEPT have the same spread, the HEPT is more 'accurate' because the bullet is more likely to touch the target simply because it's a lot bigger than the PRG bullet.

[Gazz]

I figured in bullet speed in this test because what I did was place an array of one-hitable objects close to the center of the (invulnerable) real target.
If a bullet touched a test dummy... ding!

But yes, spread without bullet size would be meaningless. Just look at the PSG. =)

The test was actually for a different purpose (a friendly fire issue) because bullet size and spread have diametral effects and would somewhat cancel each other out.

[jjokey]

Did they take out the *weapon type* alpha/beta etc from the game? I haven't seen any of them anywhere!

[pjknibbs]

They took all those out in order to widen the variety of available weapons. The only weapons still available in alpha, beta and gamma forms are Kyons.

[Llama8]

Is there an equivalent to this for missiles? I was reading Nuclear-slug's excellent thread & realisedhow little I knew about missiles...

[pjknibbs]

No, what makes you think there is? There are lots of different types of missiles.

[Llama8]

I was hoping that either I'd missed it or that someone might be able to write one.

[God-Demis]

I would like to note about the electromagnetic plasma cannon that they aren't so much the same as the HEPT or the PAC. The one thing that makes it different is that the EMPC makes enourmous damage to the hull. Once the shield is down you see the hull even on a destroyer go down like alcohol on a drunk

[juanitierno]

It might be a minor thing, but in my game theres not a single pbe for sale in boron space.

In my game theres 9 sectors (i cheated to find them) that have PBE for sale, and they are all split. ( who hate me )

[Hieronymos]

Informative guide Tenlar. Your sense of humor is first rate!

Another semi-cheap tactic:

IonC's* and/or PBE's: use 'em to strip fighters shields, then pump off a missle or two to finish the target (Wasps, Hurricanes, Silkworms especially useful); rinse & repeat.
[* safe as long as done within c.900m no friendlies directly behind target]

Also, when in a fighter: Wasp missles are premier anti-M5 weapon in XTC. Save your laser energy for m4 or larger targets.

[kurush]

-Phased Array Laser Cannon (PALC)-
In a nutshell: the beam weapon used on laser towers.
Found: During certain mission, only two guns exist.
Mounted on: Panther or Tiger.
Uses: Due to extremely high range and also being an instant-hit weapon, this laser is very efficient against small fighters and on missile defense. It can also be used to slowly roast a capital ship while it is chasing your Panther/Tiger. Some friendly fire issues because of the long range.
Countermeasures: These lasers are only used on laser towers.

[Hieronymos]

kurush, is PALC using both graphics and stats of LT weapon? Or just graphics?

Btw, DDTC mod (expanded and updated DDRS mod for XTC) will have Split PALC forge as a uber-high level mission reward for the DDTC Split missions. PBC forge, FBC forge, TBLC forge, and A/B-Kyon forge will be final rewards for DDTC Argon, Terran, Paranid, and Yaki campaigns, respectively. DDTC mod: 60 new custom ships, the original PHQ, and tons of challenging new combat missions.

Betatesting to begin once v2.1 patch is released. Sign up here: http://xforum.chaos.net.nz/ (you'll need to register first)