Well as far as i figured it pout the damage is per shot so...
i.e
-- Gun 1 --
Dam Hull 100
Dam Shld 50
Rate of fife 2.00
-- Gun 2 --
Dam Hull 65
Dam Shld 30
Rate of fife 4.00
-- Comparison --
Gun 2 will be more effective dough it causes less dammage per shot... Why?
(described in 1sec time)
Gun1 - Hull 100 * 2 = 200 / Shld 50 * 2 = 100
Gun2 - Hull 65 * 4 = 260 / Shld 30 * 4 = 120

That is what I was thinking also. That the higher rated fireing weapons would be more effective. But I have seen posts to the contrary...

So is the Rate messured in seconds? IE: 8.33 would be 8.33 shots per second.

Lets go with some real numbers:

Justice Mk II Class 2 Hull 20 Shield 10 at 8.33= 166.6 / 83.3

Lavablade Mk II Class 2 Hull 122 Shield 61 at 2.00= 244.0 / 122.0

Looking at the spec's when buying them, they look miles apart, but they are alot closer than you think if what I think is true.


M Raye
Louiville, KY

Yes it means that it fires 8.33 rounds per second so in one secod it can cause about DAM * 8 if all projectiles HIT

----------------------------------------

I love the smell of fresh radioactive dust in the morning...

When comparing weapons w/ different rates of fire, it's important to consider how the weapon will be used: continuous fire or in short bursts. In a typical firefight, I find it's rare to keep the mouse button pressed for more than a few seconds at a time, and much more often, I probably fire for less than a full second. If you're the kind of pilot who likes to line up the shot before opening fire, you may find that the weapons that have slower rates of fire w/ higher hull damage are very efficient for. You only need to land a few hits to smoke the enemy.

On the other hand, if you like to light up the sky w/ a lot of shots, and you aren't quite as concerned with your aim, then the higher rate of fire weapons will tend to be a bit better for you. (Fire a barrage of shots, and a few have to hit, right?) Also, if you prefer this style of firing a lot of shots, you probably want to look for weapons that use the least amount of energy so as not to drain your power too quickly.

I was originally one who went for the fastest shots possible approach, but after 60+ hours of playing, my aim is a LOT sharper and I now find that weapons with a slow fire rate like 3.03 are just fine...so long as they do 400+ hull damage per hit

As the Nomad Cannon I suppose?
Four of them will give an enormous damage output, and u will have two LvL 9 Guns and a LvL 9 Tower with the VHF. (here is no LvL 10 Towers.. :'( )

Actually, if you get the Nomad blasters (as opposed to cannons) you have guns with a rate of fire (4.00) and projectile speed (600) that match the Corsair Salamanca Mk II. So all your projectiles hit at once. The cannons, however, do a little bit more damage than the blasters per second at a slower firing rate (3.03) and once you have four of those you don't NEED any more guns. VHF level 9 hardpoints are for Cannonball missile launchers. Woo hoo!

I'm gonna use what's left of you to grease my ship...

Actually the weapon I was referring to is the Wyrm 1. I'm currently flying a Hammerhead, so can't equip the class 10 weapons yet. Wyrm 1 does something like 424 hull damage w/ a firing rate of 3.03. Weapon speed is 700m/s which matches all the other weapons I currently have equipped, but the energy use is fairly high on the Wyrm. I only recently obtained this pair of Wyrms which seem to be extremely devestating to the stuff I've been facing. Rest of my layout is 2 Krakens and a couple of lazers or photon weapons that I can't recall the names of. This layout works well for my style. After a second or so of fire, that target is usually dusted, then move onto the next idiot who's trying to attack me.

I'm looking forward to purchasing a ship capable of equipping those class 10 weapons. Hope to have enough credits soon, but right now I'm busy exploring and paying bribes to keep various factions off my back. I'm down to only 1 faction hating me, with the rest neutral or friendly, so trading is going to be a breeze.

To confuse matters further, as I understand it, the weapons have different effectiveness against different types of shields. At least that's what the words say in the descriptions of the weapons, and it's certainly possible to buy different types of shields.

So what does the damage spec of weapons actually mean? Is it the maximum damage for the type of shield it is designed to be most effective against, or an average value across the 3 types of shield?

Status: Elite - BBC Micro