User:Mathchamp/Equipment Quick Guide

This is currently a quick guide to equipment in Community Core, the most popular core in the game (as of April 2012). All numbers are from cc_14, but most changes from cc_13c are indicated as cc_14 is unavailable on planet2. It will not explain absolutely everything, but it will give a quick overview of the different items you can load onto your ship, their stats, and in which situations they are used for. If you are a veteran player, feel free to add your own tips or correct existing tips.

This is a "quick" guide as for each item it just gives a paragraph for a quick description, some bullet points for uses and tips, and a table with the more important numbers. It is not a complete tutorial or guide to using each item, the way the Cadet I Nanning Guide is for the nanite gun, but it should explain when, where, and how to use various equipment.

Damage Modifiers and Armour Classes

Every projectile and missile has a damage modifier, and every ship, station, probe, or any object (including minefields) except floating parts/cash/powerups and bullets has an armour class. All shields also have an armour class. The damage modifier determines how much weapon damage is multiplied by against a certain armour class. Unused armour classes and damage modifiers are omitted from the table. A chart of the damage modifiers and armour classes can be found here (however it is out of date).

In short, the damage modifiers determine what kind of targets different weapons are most effective against. For example, the gattling gun is most effective against light targets, while the disruptor is most effective against shields and capital ships, and the anti-base missile is most effective against stations.

Weapons

Weapons (guns) are generally your main tool for attacking. Nearly all ships can mount some type of weapon. All ships can equip 0-4 forward-firing weapons, controlled by the pilot, and 0-4 turret weapons, each controlled by a turret gunner who is another player on your team. The number of each type of weapon mount depends on the ship, and which types of weapons can be equipped to which mounts also depends on the ship. Note that the number and type of weapon mounts can vary between factions, even for the same ship. For example, Belters ships tend to mount a larger variety of weapons than other factions' ships, some Omicron ships have an extra turret mount, and so on.

Small Ship Weapons

Scout Weapons

While the scout can mount the same weapons the fighter can, the scout only gets one weapon mount, whereas fighters get 2-3. However, the scout has its own unique "weapon".

ER Nanite

i.e. "nan"

This is probably the most important "weapon" in the game. Note the quotation marks; this isn't really a weapon, but a tool for repairing nearby friendly ships, drones, and stations. You fire it the same way you would fire an ordinary weapon, except that you target a friendly unit instead of an enemy. It fires bright blue rings containing nanites, which instantly repair any target they hit. As a scout pilot you will want to always carry this with you, either mounted or in cargo, as it is EXTREMELY effective at saving the life of a friendly miner or constructor from enemy attack. Note that the nanite gun is ineffective against shields, so do not fire until the target is damaged or about to take armour damage. The nanite gun drains the scout's energy rapidly and you will fire very slowly if your energy runs out. For a guide on using ER Nanite, go to this Cadet I article.

• Nan friendly miners when they come under attack to reverse the damage done by enemy ships. Even one nanite-equipped scout can save a miner's life.
• Follow friendly constructors and nan them when they come under attack to keep them alive long enough to build.
• Escort your team's bomber and nan it so that it can destroy the enemy base.
• If your team's station is damaged, use the nanite gun to repair it. The station can repair itself, but very slowly, and repairing it fully will allow the shields to charge, which is much more rapid.
• While capital ships can be repaired, it is rather inefficient and you will generally be more useful as a gunner. However, if your team is too poor to afford additional capships, feel free to nan the ones you have. It's better than doing nothing.
• Belters can mount the nanite gun on nearly all of its small ships, including all levels of fighter, stealth fighter, and the heavy interceptor. You should always carry one in cargo unless you absolutely need the space for extra ammo/missiles/fuel.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
ER Nanite 1	Repair (DM10)	-90.0	4.0	0.01	5%	400	400		120.0	None
ER Nanite 2	Repair (DM10)	-120.0	4.0	0.01	5%	400	400		120.0	Starbase, or Treasure

Fighter Weapons

PW Gattling Gun

The gattling gun is one of the most commonly used weapons in the game. It is mounted on the fighter and scout, as well as being the forward-firing gun for the bomber, however in this scenario it is rarely fired. The gattling gun is an ammo-consuming weapon with moderate damage and range, and does decent damage versus almost everything except stations. In particular, the gattling gun is most effective on lightly to moderately armoured targets. Therefore, it is the default weapon you will mount on your fighter, and you will almost always be using it except when the situation calls for a more specialized weapon.

• Use it when dogfighting against other fighters and interceptors, however you will generally lose a one-on-one dogfight against an interceptor.
• Use it against enemy scouts to get rid of the enemy's eyes.
• Use it against enemy stealth fighters who stray too close to your ship.
• Use it to destroy enemy bombers, transports, and other threats.
• Use it to destroy enemy miners and constructors. The gattling guns don't do great damage to utility hull, but so do nearly all other weapons in the game. A fighter with gattling guns and dumbfire missiles can kill an undefended miner rather quickly.
• Do not use it against capital ships (except for the unpiloted carrier drone) unless you have no choice, as the EW Disruptor is much more effective against them.
• The gattling gun is also your primary damage-dealing gun on scouts (as the nanite is only useful for repairing friendlies, and is useless when you are out alone).
  • Use it to clean up any enemy probes you find.
  • Use it to harass enemy miners early in the game. You probably won't kill one unless the enemy team is careless, but you are likely to slow down their mining somewhat.
  • You can dogfight with the scout's gattling gun, but only as a last resort. You are not meant to dogfight in a (non-Technoflux) scout, and will always lose to a fighter or interceptor. Resist the urge to use that gat and run.
  • On the other hand, if you run into a stealth, your gattling gun will kill it quickly. Just watch out for their own guns and missiles, and remember that they have low agility.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW Gat Gun 1	Light (DM02)	32.0	10.0	0.005	200%	600	600	10.0		None
PW Gat Gun 2	Light (DM02)	40.0	10.0	0.005	200%	600	600	10.0		Supremacy
PW Gat Gun 3	Light (DM02)	50.0	10.0	0.005	200%	600	660	10.0		Adv. Supremacy

EW Disruptor

The disruptor cannon can be mounted on any weapon mount that can take a gattling gun, however it is not used as frequently. The high projectile speed and lack of ammo consumption may be attractive to new players, but the very low damage output means that you're much better off with the gattling gun, even if your aim is mediocre. The main use of this weapon comes from its damage modifier: The disruptor is most effective against heavily armoured targets, such as capital ships and light stations, and should only be used against those targets. The disruptor is also very effective against shields compared to the gattling gun, however most targets do not have enough shields to merit using a disruptor over a gattling gun.

• While disruptors will quickly lower the shields of the target, it will take forever to chew through the hull of even a scout with this weapon. Do not use this against small or medium ships unless you have absolutely no choice.
• Disruptor's main use is against capital ships, as disruptors do bonus damage against capital ship hull and shields, while gattling gun is poor against both. Note that you will need a group of players in fighters, all carrying dis, to destroy a capital ship.
• Do not use disruptor against the carrier drone. The carrier drone has no pilot, no weapons, no shield, and utility-class armour, which takes negligible damage from disruptors. The attack carrier, on the other hand, has a pilot, turrets, shields, and takes bonus damage from disruptor, but is a very rarely seen ship.
• Disruptor's other main use is against the light stations of Gigacorp, or the light tele-refineries of Omicron, or the light He3 refineries (as of cc_14) of Dreghklar Empire. Again, you will need several fighters, preferably enhanced at least, and preferably with Disruptor 2 at least. Disruptors drain energy rapidly and it takes a lot of disruptor fire to destroy a light station.
• If you are playing on the Dark Nebulae core, which is Community Core's predecessor, the Phoenix faction can mount medium assault shields on their bombers and transports, since their ships can't be nanned. In this case you may want to use disruptor on their bombers and transports as most of their HP is in shields.
• Again, scouts can also mount the disruptor gun. Since the scout can only carry one disruptor, it drains energy just as fast as the scout's energy regenerates, therefore you can fire indefinitely.
  • This does not mean you should take one, however. The damage is even worse considering you only have one, and once you drop the target's shields you do about 0 damage.
  • If you find Disruptor 2 floating in space at the beginning of the game, however, feel free to grab it. It's a nice tool for harassing miners. Drop their shields, make their AI start running home, and retreat. You will never kill a miner with disruptor alone, though, even if the enemy team is stupid.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Disruptor 1	Heavy (DM03)	12.8	8.0	0	200%	1250	625		60.0	None
EW Disruptor 2	Heavy (DM03)	16.0	8.0	0	200%	1250	625		60.0	Supremacy
EW Disruptor 3	Heavy (DM03)	20.0	8.0	0	200%	1250	625		60.0	Adv. Supremacy

EW Galvonic Blaster

The galvonic blaster is one of the more advanced technologies in the game, and just like the disruptor, it is a specialized weapon. It can only be mounted on the Advanced Fighter, and only on its first gunmount. It is extremely effective against capital ships, even moreso than Disruptor. A swarm of fighters with galvonics + disruptors can tear apart a fleet of capital ships. However, its more common use is against minor stations. A group of fighters will frequently engage in what is called a "galv run" where a pack of fighters carrying galvonic blaster swarm an enemy minor station (teleport receiver, refinery, or outpost) and destroy it.

• While this weapon eats through shields, again it is mostly useless against small or medium targets, though significantly better than the disruptor.
• Use it in any situation where you would use disruptors. Simply replace your first disruptor with the galvonic blaster.
• Use the galvonic blaster against minor stations to damage or destroy them. It takes a while to eat through the shields but the hull goes down rather quickly to galvonics.
• Attack minor stations in groups. While you will probably not run out of energy firing your galvonic blaster, even minor stations have a lot of HP (especially outposts, which have a lot of shields), and a solo galver will usually be podded before they do much damage.
• If the enemy is building a new minor station, rush it with galvonics. When a station is brand new it has no shields and galvonics tear through minor station hull much more quickly than shields.
• Press 1 on your keyboard (not on the numpad, but on the main keyboard above the letters) to disable your other guns, allowing you to just fire your galvonic blaster and save energy/ammo. When you want to fire your other weapons, just press 1 again.
• The galvonic blaster is quite heavy and will weigh down your fighter quite a bit, decreasing your acceleration. If you have no plans to use it, it is best not to take it.
• Iron Coalition's minor stations are Heavy, meaning they have major base hull and shield armour classes. Therefore, the galvonic blaster is completely ineffective and utterly useless against their stations.
  • This also means if you are Iron Coalition and the other team captures one of your minor stations, you can't galv it. On the flip side, if they are Iron Coalition, you are not, and they capture one of your minor stations, you can galv it.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Galvonic Blstr	Medium-heavy (DM07)	28.0	8.0	0	200%	1250	937.5		96.0	Adv. Supremacy + Dis2

Interceptor Weapons

PW Mini-Gun

A favoured weapon of many pilots, this is the primary (and often the only) weapon of the interceptor. The minigun is a rapidly-firing weapon with high damage output but poor range, therefore you must get close to the target in order to hit. It is most effective against lightly-armoured targets, and fares very poorly against capital ships. It is also quite weak against utility armour, however, the high damage output of the weapon more than makes up for this shortfall, and interceptors can kill miners rather quickly (although not as quickly as fighters with equivalent level technology).

• Use it for dogfighting. That's what this weapon is designed for. Kill fighters. Kill scouts. Kill stealths. Kill other interceptors.
• Use it for defense. Kill bombers. Kill transports. Kill teleport probes. A group of Heavy Interceptors with Minigun 3 (even Minigun 2 sometimes) can usually deal so much DPS that it overwhelms the nanites, killing the bomber or transport despite nanite support. Listen to the commander or a veteran player coordinating your team's defenses. They will usually tell you whether to attack the bomber or transport directly or to kill nans first.
• Use it against enemy drones. Miniguns might not be very efficient, but the sheer damage output combined with the high speed, agility, and toughness of interceptors more than compensates. A pack of interceptors can kill a miner quickly, or failing that, kill all the defenders, then kill the undefended miner.
• If your team pursues pure Expansion, this will usually be your best choice against capital ships. Expansion doesn't fare too well against Shipyard, however a coordinated defense with a large number of Interceptors can take down capital ships. The combined damage output will be quite high while the capital ship will take a long time to destroy all of the interceptors.
• If the enemy has light stations (Gigacorp, or Omicron and their telerefineries), a large pack of Minigun 3 Heavy Interceptors can destroy light stations. However, it is much less efficient than Supremacy's disruptors, so this strategy will fail in a small game.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW Mini-Gun 1	Very light (DM05)	50.0	12.5	0.01	200%	500	400	12.5		None
PW Mini-Gun 2	Very light (DM05)	64.1	12.8	0.01	200%	500	400	12.8		Expansion
PW Mini-Gun 3	Very light (DM05)	76.2	12.2	0.01	200%	500	400	12.2		Adv. Expansion

PW EMP Cannon

This is the interceptor's secondary weapon, which can be used instead of miniguns. In cc_14, the Troop Transport can also mount four of these. It is not available by default and much be researched or found first. It is a very specialized weapon, dealing damage only to shields. It will wreck the shields of capital ships and light bases much more rapidly than miniguns will, and can also drop the shields from minor bases (i.e. any base that can be damaged by the Galvonic Blaster). However, it does zero damage against all types of armour. Exactly zero. Therefore you can't kill anything with it. This doesn't mean this weapon is entirely useless, though, however it is rarely researched, so if you want to use it, find it in space and secure it.

• You can use this to destroy capital ship shields very quickly, especially against smaller capital ships, as corvettes and battleships have exactly the same amount of shields. However, once the shields are down, you won't be able to do anything to the hull, and only those interceptors armed with miniguns will be able to damage it. Miniguns aren't too bad against shields and therefore are preferred in most cases.
• Use EMP Cannon to drop the shields of a light base to prepare it for destruction via miniguns. Note that the shields will recharge if you leave the base with full health so it is best to EMP down the shields immediately before your team assaults the base. Only one (possibly two) EMP interceptors should be necessary.
• Use EMP Cannon on outposts in order to capture with a regular Troop Transport if your team has yet to research the Heavy Troop Transport. However, this usage is rare as regular Troop Transports are fairly weak and quite easy to defend against compared to Heavy Troop Transports.
• Due to its area damage, you can use EMP Cannon to dispel minefields. This is usually reserved for caltrops as other types of minefields expire relatively quickly.
• While you can carry both a set of miniguns and a set of EMP cannons with you, this takes a lot of space, leaving very little room for fuel or ammo, both of which interceptors eat up rapidly.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW EMP Can 1	Light shields (DM13)	36.0 + 36.0 x 10m	4.0	0.01	200%	500	600	8.0		Expansion
PW EMP Can 2	Light shields (DM13)	45.0 + 45.0 x 10m	4.0	0.01	200%	500	600	8.0		Adv. Expansion

Stealth Fighter Weapons

EW Utility Cannon

This is the best weapon against utility armour (i.e. miners, constructors, and carrier drones) and the only weapon that deals bonus damage to utility armour. It can damage other types of armour and shields as well, but is not very effective. This weapon comes default on all stealth fighters. The energy consumption is very high, and the amount of signature increase when firing is also very high, therefore a stealth fighter will usually be forced to reveal itself when firing its weapons. Therefore, this weapon is used for the assassination of undefended or poorly-defended miners and constructors. While the stealth fighter will reveal itself while attacking the drone, by the time the defense can close in on it, the drone will already be dead and the stealth fighter will have faded into the darkness once again. Multiple stealth fighters can often assassinate a drone despite defenses if the defenders can't pod the stealth fighters in time.

• Use this weapon against enemy miners, constructors, and carrier drones to eliminate them swiftly. You can usually out-damage a nanite-equipped scout, however in this case it is recommended to work with a buddy.
• Stay hidden until you are in range to fire your utility cannons.
• Watch your energy. Your cloaking device also drains energy, and if you don't leave enough for your cannons you will run out before you can kill the drone.
• You can use this weapon against enemy ships, but only if your team doesn't have snipers or you don't have time to switch.
• While the utility cannon is super-effective against utility hull, it is not so against the medium shields that miners and constructors carry. Use your long-ranged hunter missiles to drop the target's shields so your utility cannons can be used to their maximum effectiveness.
• Decloak when firing utility cannons. It is futile to stay hidden while firing them and your cloak wastes energy you need for your guns.
• To destroy defended targets, you must co-ordinate with your team. Strike with several stealth fighters at once, perhaps picking off some defenders with missiles before closing in with your utility cannons.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Utl Can 1	Utility (DM01)	27.5	6.0	0	200%	1000	750		119.8	None
EW Utl Can 2	Utility (DM01)	31.1	6.0	0	200%	1000	850		119.8	Tactical
EW Utl Can 3	Utility (DM01)	38.9	6.0	0	200%	1000	850		119.8	Adv. Tactical