Question for the Pro\'s
 

Okay I have the demo still but I have a good feeling that I'm getting SEIV this Christmas so I have to ask this.

Okay:
Meson BLasters: They seem to be useless to me as they can't usually hit their target and if they do they don't hurt much.

DUC: Seems to be useless against shields although they rip through unarmored targets rather quickly. I never use these either as my early ships usually have missile tubes instead until I get the AP cannons.

Anti-Proton Cannons: They are good at knocking out shields as far as I can tell and they are also pretty good against armor so I usually equip my early stage light cruiser gunship designs and even my early dessy's with these. But the AI continues to use DUC cannons as the majority of their guns even when they have AP guns.

So which of these weapons is good for what and which is the best of the three?

And as for later stage weapons in the demo I can't really comment on them as I tend to either use Phased Polaron beams or Incinterator beams only. Ripper beams are good and all but just don't hit HARD enough or am I mistaken?

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

well, Meson's are cheap, research wise. not that i'm a pro.

[ December 16, 2003, 02:00: Message edited by: narf poit chez BOOM ]

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

The weapon balance in the Demo is quite different than that in the full game.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

I think you'll find (at least MY experience) you will see DUCs and then PPBs. PPBs are a good weapon for most of the game.

My opinion, the other weapons have a more special use. A lot of the people with the Religious Talisman swear by the APs but it's quite a bit of research to get their range and damage past the PPBs.

I could go on but when you get into deeper discussions, you will see that the weapon you choose sometimes depends on the game situation. When you have several games under your belt, you will see what I'm talking about.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Ah because in the demo the AP cannon is not hard to get at all so I generally go for that as apposed to Meson BLasters or DUC cannons.

I take it in the full Version AP cannons come AFTER phased weapons?

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

No. There are 12 levels of APB in the full game, 5 levels of DUC and 5 levels of PPB. 6 Levels of MBs.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Okay.....but still is a Meson bLaster actually any good because the only times I used it I ended up watching my ships die rather quick and sad ends?

[ December 16, 2003, 03:15: Message edited by: Starhawk ]

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

It is not quite as strong pound for pound as the APB, but it has other advantages. It is cheaper. It is smaller, so there can be more of them, and you might be able to get less wasted damage with the Last shot that destroys each ship because of that. Also, in some situations the fact that there are more shots done might lead to more damage done overall due to differences in number of hits with MBs as opposed to APBs, with the right combination of offense and defense bonuses on each side. And then there is the missing more at max range with ABB (max range 8) than with MB (max range 6), which is not much of an issue if your ships use Optimal Range and not an issue if they use Point Blank.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

meson bLaster is a killer if used right because of the low cost and decent damage-to-kt-to-cost-to-reload-to-range-to-research ratio. easy to get, difficult to employ. fails miserably in mid-game, but late game its good.

DUC is an early game weapon, nothing beyond that.

APB is the all-round weapon, has good range, cost, damage, everything you want

PPB is early/mid game weapon, but youll find that higher levels of APB are better

Ripper beam is the best weapon in the game, if you get to shoot it. it has all the best ratios except for perhaps being difficult to research.

EDIT: im not a pro http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

[ December 16, 2003, 05:40: Message edited by: Taera ]

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

hey Starhawk, where's your sig from?

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Thanks for all the advice guys I beleive with your info I will be able to keep my handy dandy tactical edge in battle ;-).

Narf my sig comes from the Grim Stalker's Imperial Guard web site for a game called Warhammer 40k.
It has lots of interesting and funny quotes like

"Good their behind us the officers will slow them down while we hide."

"I'm looking for a few thousand good men"
and

"We may not be the Emperor's finest but we have the big guns!"

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Also when you get the full Version you can use the specialty weapons with greater effect if you build the ship they are on right. In other words direct fire weapons can be placed from left to right to compliment each other. If you put your shield depleters in front of your most damaging weapons they will fire first and (depends on target) knock all shields down before your main guns come to bear.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

I am by no means a pro, 90% of my post count comes from O.T. discussions.

But after playing a while now, I like playing Psychic, so I have decided to use those weapons, of course I am limiting myself, but in a way I am RPing my race, I do use DUC's in the begining since they are so easy to research.

Get the game, you wont be disapointed.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">sounds funny. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif i think i'll check it out once i wake up.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Shoot. Really? Man, I had no idea it worked like that. Great. Now I've got to go and redesign every single bloody ship I've got in all my games. Ugh.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

I've never had much luck with shield depleters as either I cant deplete the enemies shields quickly enough for my main battery to do damage OR the enemy brings down my shields faster with conventional weapons then I do with shield depleters.

As for the Grim Stalker site, it's not really funny it's mostly serious about the Warhammer 40k Imperial guardsman but the quotes can be funny and they do have a jokes page.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I don’t use shield depleters often myself, it was just the only example I could think of on the spur of the moment.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

Shield depleters are crucial once the enemy starts doing things like building Battleships (or larger) with 3+ phased shield generator Vs. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Won't be the Last time you do that, believe you me.

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

shield depleter is the best gun in the game - cheap to get, cheap to build, cheap small, nasty damage, nice range, ROF of 1. it's even considered an overpowered weapon by some.

racial traits are a must experience. me, every race of mine has some racial trait just because i like the roleplay aspect of HAVING MY CRYSTALS TEAR THROUGH THEIR ARMOR ugh sorry, got carried away http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

Re: Question for the Pro\'s
 

I'm a meson bLaster fan, personally, and have won several competitive games using them (combined with several other techniques, of course). They have some advantages and disadvantages, but are one of the better weapons. I think they have some subtle advantages when used in certain ways. APB's have advantages in range and damage once the large amount of research has been invested to reach level XII. PPB's are expensive and I think less cost-effective than MB's, but of course have the wicked advantage of skipping unphased shields.

PvK