Vanguard Weapons Update

Don’t ask me why, but CIG locked down two of the missile launchers so they have to be S3, so if you knew the S2 Rattlers do more damage than any S3 and were loading quad shots, you can no longer do that.

The guns are another story. Tye nose guns can now select from many different types rather than just the four the various Vanguard come stock with, and those 4 stock guns now do more damage than ever. The laser repeaters match velocity with the Galdereen quite nicely, so for the first time in the life of the Vanguard, its nose and chin all have good anti-fighter choices.

Most else stays the same. The Sentinel is still the only ship in game with 1S1 and 1S2 reactor which makes it unusually stealthy.

Tractor the turret off a Hurricane and put it on a Sentinel with 4 NBD30, and you won’t need to worry about power creep anymore. The missiles have been nerfed to be sure, but the guns are buffed. Flying in stealth with just 1 crew it has a signature of 6.0, bursts for 3,700 and that’s with the EMP available.

Seriously, the gun buff makes a difference. The Sentinel is back, and if you have a REO, quad S3 guns are enough to justify them sitting a turret.

4xGVSR + 1AD5B yields high speed damage at 4224 DPS, tuned to acceptable pip displacements. That is very serious bang-o-rang. Very few ships give so much DPS to the pilot alone, and you still have the EMP, which IIRC is best in game. The all ballistic solution drops the signature to 4.9 with the EMP active, which is insane for such a heavily armed ship. Emerging from stealth a 3 second burst will put down literally any fighter given huge projectiles flying through their hull. Truly brutal.

The Dominance -2 does only slightly more damage than the GVSR and with half the range and speed, and even then only if all pellets hit.

No joke, the GVSR got a very serious buff. If you want to go all ballistic, the BRVS has good DPS, speed and ammo supply. This is also a major buff. I personally like the all ballistic solution. Screw shields. These weapons are full of awesome. Just note the BVRS are only good for 54 points armor, so no good against the tanker ships. For them you now have Deadbolts. GVSR penetrate at 100. Both are great options now.

What I want to know is why they keep nerfing missiles. Isn’t it obvious no one uses them?