https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S4faPZEwHBvimXa7_4bpdgnn3tWS_PWqGiXGkUWdn5A/edit#gid=2125521889
Post your thoughts on the new weapons figures. My first knee-jerk reactions, which means read "IMHO" everywhere below:
--S1 Suckerpunch is still the only distortion gun. Short range, requires a lot of installed power but still hoping we will see a mount to put two of them in S2 slots. Since you should expect it to overheat quickly, loading lots of them so you immobilize a target in short order is a worthy strategy. Would love to see 12 of them on a Cutty Black.
--The BEHR MVSA laser cannons rule the S2 weapons slot for DPS. This slot is the primary for many of the inexpensive ships. You'll need big installed power for them, but they do great damage now and have lots of range for S2 weapons. You will however need to shoot down shields. With so much difference in power between these and the Badgers, you truly will do better to learn to pick your shots rather than fly about with flames firing full-time. Practice trigger control. Laser cannons rock.
--S3 Pyroburst is nerfed some, but still easily rules the DPS for that slot. Very short range only. Otherwise the S3 weapons selection continues to be extremely complex and pilots who choose weapons for each occasion rather than always fly the same setup will continue to be more effective, so learn to shoot everything you can, IMHO. For general purposes, S3 Panthers do good damage but S3 Tarantulas fly through shields and kill heavily shielded targets faster. Fighting big shield opponents with fast refresh rates like the Vanguard probably calls for Tarantulas. The Broadsword sucks so bad it looks like a typo. Was this designed to make people want to swap out of the standard offering? Please someone tell me Broadswords to not suck as bad as they seem to. Why would anyone put them all over the Redeemer?
--Still nothing beats the S4 BEHR Ballistic Cannon for killing things dead and burying all the pieces. Great range, max DPS, good speed and does not require a hot reactor nor to take power from your shields. Actually does more damage than any of the S5 weapons. A pair of them in an S5 slot like the chin mount on Vanguard or Polaris should grow brown streaks. Mounted on the wings of a Ghost Tracker, you have a nightmare assassin on bath salts, looking to eat people's faces. Who needs missiles when you can attack from stealth at >2k dps? Hornets remain a wonderful fighter platform because of this weapon, and there is every reason to believe CIG has done this deliberately. Hornets were modeled after the US Navy Super-Hornet multi-role fighter, and that is exactly what they are.
--Most of the general philosophy behind 2.6 is still here: high damage is often ballistic gatling but they fly 25% slower to target and have shorter range. Ballistic Cannon have good range and do max damage, but you need to manage your trigger carefully. IMHO, if you can manage to squeeze the trigger just when you need to in order to hit opponents without spraying shots along their flight paths, you should shoot a ballistic cannon as that will kill opponents the fastest. Years of Mechwarrior informs me, if you can't do this and want to be a combat pilot; you can learn to do this.
As noted elsewhere, there is a huge change in the 2.6.2 missiles. Larger is now faster instead of slower.
Still no stats published about personal weapons dps. Weapon selection there is all about fighting style, it seems by design.
Post your thoughts on the new weapons figures. My first knee-jerk reactions, which means read "IMHO" everywhere below:
--S1 Suckerpunch is still the only distortion gun. Short range, requires a lot of installed power but still hoping we will see a mount to put two of them in S2 slots. Since you should expect it to overheat quickly, loading lots of them so you immobilize a target in short order is a worthy strategy. Would love to see 12 of them on a Cutty Black.
--The BEHR MVSA laser cannons rule the S2 weapons slot for DPS. This slot is the primary for many of the inexpensive ships. You'll need big installed power for them, but they do great damage now and have lots of range for S2 weapons. You will however need to shoot down shields. With so much difference in power between these and the Badgers, you truly will do better to learn to pick your shots rather than fly about with flames firing full-time. Practice trigger control. Laser cannons rock.
--S3 Pyroburst is nerfed some, but still easily rules the DPS for that slot. Very short range only. Otherwise the S3 weapons selection continues to be extremely complex and pilots who choose weapons for each occasion rather than always fly the same setup will continue to be more effective, so learn to shoot everything you can, IMHO. For general purposes, S3 Panthers do good damage but S3 Tarantulas fly through shields and kill heavily shielded targets faster. Fighting big shield opponents with fast refresh rates like the Vanguard probably calls for Tarantulas. The Broadsword sucks so bad it looks like a typo. Was this designed to make people want to swap out of the standard offering? Please someone tell me Broadswords to not suck as bad as they seem to. Why would anyone put them all over the Redeemer?
--Still nothing beats the S4 BEHR Ballistic Cannon for killing things dead and burying all the pieces. Great range, max DPS, good speed and does not require a hot reactor nor to take power from your shields. Actually does more damage than any of the S5 weapons. A pair of them in an S5 slot like the chin mount on Vanguard or Polaris should grow brown streaks. Mounted on the wings of a Ghost Tracker, you have a nightmare assassin on bath salts, looking to eat people's faces. Who needs missiles when you can attack from stealth at >2k dps? Hornets remain a wonderful fighter platform because of this weapon, and there is every reason to believe CIG has done this deliberately. Hornets were modeled after the US Navy Super-Hornet multi-role fighter, and that is exactly what they are.
--Most of the general philosophy behind 2.6 is still here: high damage is often ballistic gatling but they fly 25% slower to target and have shorter range. Ballistic Cannon have good range and do max damage, but you need to manage your trigger carefully. IMHO, if you can manage to squeeze the trigger just when you need to in order to hit opponents without spraying shots along their flight paths, you should shoot a ballistic cannon as that will kill opponents the fastest. Years of Mechwarrior informs me, if you can't do this and want to be a combat pilot; you can learn to do this.
As noted elsewhere, there is a huge change in the 2.6.2 missiles. Larger is now faster instead of slower.
Still no stats published about personal weapons dps. Weapon selection there is all about fighting style, it seems by design.
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