a weapon question
 

My favourite weapon is the Phased Polaron Beam. It skips normal shields and at level V it has a range of 6 and does 50 damage.
Why whould anyone use the Anti-Proton-Beam or Ripper-Beam or the Meson-BLaster?
They all do less damage, do not skip anything and have inferior range, too.
So who uses them and for what purposes?

Re: a weapon question
 

At the start this is ALL you have and later in tech with Phased Shields the PPB is the same and you can get more damage later when the PPB stops http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: a weapon question
 

APBs have +1 range at max tech, and do more damage at minimum range. That can make all the difference, especially on faster ships and with phased shields.

A Tractor Beam -> Rippers -> Repulsor beams can be devastating, since your hange is essentially extended, plus you get to fling the remains far enough away that it will have a tough time attacking you next turn. Quite difficult to get tweaked just right.

Many mods try to avoid uberweapons like the APB and PPB.

Re: a weapon question
 

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>My favorite weapon is the Phased Polaron Beam. It skips normal shields and at level V it has a range of 6 and does 50 damage.
Why would anyone use the Anti-Proton-Beam or Ripper-Beam or the Meson-BLaster?<hr></blockquote>

It's all in what you are trying to accomplish with these weapons. The Phased Polaron Beam is the better choice in the early and mid game due to its shield skipping ability, but the APB has the edge overall due to its slight advantage in damage and range, which favors the end game where mass combats make minor advantages more important.

If you are asking as a candidate for an AI, the PPB is probably a good choice if your race is aggressive since its shield penetration in the early game can be crucial for a race that fights often, and the PPB is not all that bad in the end game either. However if your race is one of those types that will try to negotiate its way to survive, it will probably not fight much early on so the Anti Proton Beam is probably a better choice as the stronger end game weapon.

Re: a weapon question
 

I asked as a player but thanks a lot for any aspect and any insight on the advantages/disadvantages of direct fire weapons!
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: a weapon question
 

Another weakness of PPB's is that they are expensive in minerals and radioactives. Your ships may seem better than their opponents, but your opponents may have more of their ships, or do other things with the time, space, and resources you put into the resources required to build and maintain PPB's.

PvK