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. Note that not all tips may be accurate, nor are they necessarily correct for all situations. I'm just a voob after all.

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 A chart of the damage modifiers and armour classes can be found here (however it is out of date).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.

Damage modifiers are normalized so that the damage multiplier versus Light armour is 1. Therefore, a weapon that has a higher base Damage Per Second deals more DPS to lightly armoured targets. Weapons that only damage shields are normalized so that their damage to Light shields is 1.

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	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	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Disruptor 1	Heavy (DM03)	12.8	8.0	200%	1250	625	60.0	None
EW Disruptor 2	Heavy (DM03)	16.0	8.0	200%	1250	625	60.0	Supremacy
EW Disruptor 3	Heavy (DM03)	20.0	8.0	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.
You can even galv asteroids, however it takes a pack of fighters and some time to destroy an asteroid with galvonics. The main use of this strategy is to galv tech rocks the enemy may use for a backup techbase or to replace a techbase your team has recently destroyed.

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	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	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Utl Can 1	Utility (DM01)	27.5	6.0	200%	1000	750	119.8	None
EW Utl Can 2	Utility (DM01)	31.1	6.0	200%	1000	850	119.8	Tactical
EW Utl Can 3	Utility (DM01)	38.9	6.0	200%	1000	850	119.8	Adv. Tactical

EW Sniper

This is what stealth fighters use to attack anything other than an AI-controlled ship. It deals good damage to everything except utility (and stations, obviously). It also has long range, doesn't consume energy quite as fast, and is very quiet, not raising your signature by much. This means that you can remain cloaked and fire at enemy ships without being spotted. However, you must still watch your energy, as if you run out you'll be unable to fire and probably revealed. The main use for this weapon is to quickly take out small to medium-sized ships before they can retaliate, as if you get spotted they will destroy you much more quickly than you can destroy them, since stealth fighters are fragile and not very agile.

Shoot enemy ships from outside their range. If they get in range they will kill you very quickly.
You can cloak while shooting to make it very difficult for other ships to spot you. However they can still chase the source of your projectiles (i.e. you) and eye you if they get close enough. You must also watch your energy or else you will be killed.
If you run into a miner or constructor you can still kill it, albeit much more slowly. This means that you will probably fail if there is any defense at all. In this case, pick off the defenders first! That's what sniper is good at. If there is a lot of defense or their base is in the same sector, it is extremely unlikely that you will kill the drone. Call your teammates in, and harass defenders if you can.
It's possible to use snipers to defend against bomb runs, and it's a necessity if your faction lacks Hunters. However this is very risky and you can get eyed (and podded shortly thereafter) if you're not careful. Get behind the bomb run (not directly behind to avoid prox) and pick off nans. If you do get eyed, stop firing and perhaps unmount your hunters to lose eye, pull back, remount hunters and use those. If your energy is starting to run low, pull back and keep using your hunters.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Sniper 1	Light-medium (DM04)	28.0	8.0	0	40%	1500	1050		80.0	Tactical
EW Sniper 2	Light-medium (DM04)	35.0	8.0	0	40%	1500	1050		80.0	Adv. Tactical

Turret Weapons

These are the weapons that are frequently found as turret weapons on ships of all sizes. Note that the larger ships may mount these as forward-facing guns, however they usually have turrets as well which are much stronger.

PW Mini-AutoCannon

This is the small version of the autocannon. It is found on the turret of the Heavy Scout and a few other ships, and as a forward-facing weapon on the Gunship and some capital ships. Upgrading the autocannon also upgrades the mini-AC. The mini-AC is almost identical to the autocannon, but deals less damage and has less range, and has less spread and faster projectiles.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW Mini-AC 1	Very light (DM11)	90.4	12.0	0.005	200%	2000	1000	12.0	None
PW Mini-AC 2	Very light (DM11)	99.4	12.0	0.005	200%	2000	1000	12.0	Supremacy
PW Mini-AC 3	Very light (DM11)	109.3	12.0	0.005	200%	2000	1000	12.0	Adv. Supremacy

PW AutoCannon

This is the full-sized autocannon turret weapon. Its most common usage is as a turret weapon for bombers. It is also found as a turret weapon on gunships and capital ships, however these ships have better alternatives that can be used as turret weapons. It is also found on the forward-firing mount of some capital ships, such as the Frigate and Destroyer, however it is not the main weapon for these ships. The autocannon turret has a good range and deals a large amount of damage, optimized against light armour. This weapon is not very effective against capital ships (considering you will usually use this only on bombers) and there are usually better alternatives available if your team is fighting against capital ships. This weapon has a lot of spread and most shots fired against small ships at the weapon's maximum range will miss.

If you are a turret gunner for a bomber, do not fire if the bomber is uneyed, even if a target is in range. Firing any weapon raises signature, which could cause the bomber to be revealed prematurely and allow the enemy to set up a defense.
Avoid firing at targets that are out of range. Note that if your faction or team has improved PW Range that the target may be in range before your reticle appears.
Due to the high spread of the weapon, you will not get many hits on small targets that are far away. If you have a choice, fire at a target that is closer to your ship. On the flip side, the spread helps you land hits even if you have poor aim or high latency.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW AutoCan 1	Very light (DM11)	118.0	12.0	0.01	200%	1000	1500	12.0	None
PW AutoCan 2	Very light (DM11)	149.3	12.0	0.01	200%	1000	1500	12.0	Supremacy
PW AutoCan 3	Very light (DM11)	186.6	12.0	0.01	200%	1000	1500	12.0	Adv. Supremacy

PW SkyCap

This turret is seen less commonly, as it only appears on gunships and capital ships. It is also found as a forward-firing weapon on some of the larger capital ships, however this mount is rarely fired (except against other capital ships) as capital ships are extremely inagile. Similarly to the autocannon, it is optimised for dealing damage to light targets. On the other hand, it is significantly more useful against capital ships since you will usually be in a capital ship yourself, facing an enemy capital ship with the same weapons in its own turrets. While the skycap doesn't do much more damage than the autocannon, it has a longer range and greater accuracy that allows it to pick off small targets quickly before they can get in range to fire their own guns.

If you are a turret gunner for a capital ship, do not fire if the ship is uneyed, even if a target is in range. An uneyed capship run is extremely deadly, while an eyed capship run can be destroyed quickly with a proper defense.
Unlike the autocannon, the skycap will hit more reliably at long range. It has the same spread, but faster projectile speed and area damage. It is still recommended to fire at nearby targets if there are any.
Use skycaps in your capital ship to fight other capital ships. While the DPS versus capitals is not very high, it is still significant and most likely the other capital will have skycaps as well. You can even try to shoot down incoming missiles fired by the other capital ship, which can be very damaging if they hit.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW SkyCap 1	Very light (DM11)	60.0 + 60.0 x 10m	4.0	0.01	200%	1500	2000	16.0	None
PW SkyCap 2	Very light (DM11)	75.0 + 75.0 x 10m	4.0	0.01	200%	1500	2000	16.0	Shipyard
PW SkyCap 3	Very light (DM11)	93.8 + 93.8 x 10m	4.0	0.01	200%	1500	2000	16.0	Drydock

PE LongTom

The Plasma LongTom is the ultimate anti-light turret weapon. While it can be considered as a "SkyCap 4" in the tech tree, it is rather different. It has an even longer range, and fires more slowly, but does a great deal of damage to all ships, especially lightly-armoured ships. It also has no spread, but consumes energy as well as ammo to fire. However, the energy consumption is quite low compared to that of an energy weapon. It can be mounted anywhere where you can normally mount the SkyCap once researched.

Use it wherever you would use SkyCap. Use it in a similar way to SkyCap, but note the different properties (lower rate of fire, higher damage per shot).
This weapon takes a second to charge up before it starts firing. Take note of this when an enemy is approaching your gun's range limit.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE LongTom	Very light (DM11)	100.0 + 100.0 x 20m	1.0	0	300%	2000	2500	16.0	20.0	Drydock + Heavy Class + SkyCap3

Capital Ship Weapons

These weapons are unique to capital ships. Depending on the ship and weapon, they may be a forward-mounted weapon or a turret weapon. These weapons cannot be mounted on small or medium ships (even the LongTom can be mounted on the gunship once researched).

EW SkyRipper

The SkyRipper is an energy weapon made for capital ships to be used against other capital ships. Even one skyripper will destroy another capital ship in seconds. The devastator can mount one forward-facing skyripper, as can the battlecruiser. The battleship can mount skyrippers for its turrets, which will instantly vapourise capital ships that come in range. This weapon is effective against smaller targets as well, however it is limited by its shorter range, spread, and energy consumption.

This is the devastator's main weapon. Use your devastator's skyripper to destroy the opposing team's capital ships and stations.
The SkyRipper can damage all stations, including techbases. However, as techbases have a lot of life, it takes a while to destroy one compared to using a ship that mounts nuclear missiles, and you may very well run out of energy. Use skyrip to clear out small bases.
While SkyRip is not optimized versus small targets, it still deals tremendous DPS. However, you will find it difficult to hit a small target with a forward-firing skyrip mounted on a capital ship.
While the Battleship can mount skyrippers in its four turrets, and turret skyrippers are much better at shooting small targets than forward-firing skyrippers, firing four skyrippers will drain the Battleship's energy in about ten seconds. Use LongTom turrets instead unless the enemy has capital ships. LongToms are much more accurate and have a much longer range for picking off small targets before they can get in range.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW SkyRip	Heavy (DM15)	149.3 + 149.3 x 10m	14.9	0.01	200%	800	1600		119.4	Shipyard + Devastator

PE Mass Driver

This is one of the most powerful weapons in the game. It shoots rocks out the front of your ship. It can only be mounted as the forward-facing weapon for the Battleship. It is an anti-base weapon, but while it can be used on absolutely anything that passes in front of your battleship, this is generally a waste of ammo. While it takes longer to destroy a base with Mass Driver than with nukes, it has an extremely great range.

Use to destroy stations quickly from a great distance. The projectiles cannot be shot down, unlike cruise missiles, however they can be blocked by flying between the battleship and its target (usually getting the blocker podded instantly, although many small ships can absorb 2-3 of these). It will take a little while for mass driver to destroy the enemy base.
You can only fire about 10 shots before needing to reload ammo.
While you can use it to kill capships from afar, this is very inefficient on your ammo and energy. Close in and use skyrippers.
Due to the large projectile size, you will frequently hit incoming missiles in front of your ship, destroying both the projectile and missile instantly. If you fire your own missiles you will probably hit those as well, wasting the mass driver. Do not fire the mass driver and your missiles at the same time.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE MassDriver	Stations (DM08)	75.0 + 75.0 x 250m	0.5	0	400%	1000	4000	150.0	150.0	Drydock + Battleship

Faction Specific Weapons

Some factions have weapons unavailable to other factions. In some cases, other factions may be able to arm these if they destroy an enemy ship and salvage the weapon, and Belters can even steal some tech (such as Technoflux plasma weapons).

Rixian Unity

As the Rixian Unity lacks missiles, they have some unique weapons that replace certain missiles which the other factions use.

EW Anti-Base Stinger

Used by Rixian bombers, instead of anti-base missiles. Rixian bombers carry two, while fighter-bombers and HTTs carry one. Since it consumes energy Rixian bombers do not have to dock to get more missiles. On the other hand, the energy runs out rather quickly and often before a techbase or garrison is destroyed, resulting in its destruction taking much longer.

Use this weapon on stations. It has a very large spread and you will miss if you try to shoot at anything else.
Use this weapon on capital ships if your team doesn't have anything better.
While you can hit small to medium ships by getting very close, you rarely want to attempt this.
Since Rixian HTTs mount one, they can destroy bases. This is mostly used for cleaning up teleports and refineries (which cannot be captured by a HTT), however you can destroy outposts and techbases too if you are unable to capture the base and the defenders are unable to destroy you. If you want the base, stop firing once the shields are down before you destroy the base.
If you plan to use bombers to destroy enemy tech, you should get Stinger 2. It deals much more damage and has slightly less energy consumption, allowing you to destroy large stations without running out of energy. Note that there is no Stinger 3, unlike Anti-Base missiles, which have three tiers.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW A-B Stinger 1	Stations (DM17)	48.0	8.0	0.075	200%	800	800		80.0	None
EW A-B Stinger 2	Stations (DM17)	80.0	8.0	0.05	200%	800	800		72.0	Supremacy

PW Lancer

The PW Lancer is a extra-long range weapon mounted on Rixian destroyers, as the Rixians do not have Hunter-Killer missiles. The Lancer is optimized against lightly armoured targets, destroying small ships from extremely large distances quickly.

Use against small to medium sized ships to destroy them in seconds from the other end of the sector.
Use against capital ships if you run into them. While not as good as skyrippers (which Rixian destroyers can mount) in terms of damage, it is still decent and the huge range means you can fire at them long before they can fire at you. You can also try to shoot down incoming missiles.
As of cc_14, this is a very good weapon for destroying asteroids. Do not attempt this in previous versions, or you will do 0 damage.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW Lancer 1	Light & medium (DM18)	160.0 x 25m	8.0	0.001	200%	2500	5000	120.0	None
PW Lancer 2	Light & medium (DM18)	200.0 x 25m	8.0	0.001	200%	2500	5000	120.0	Shipyard
PW Lancer 3	Light & medium (DM18)	220.0 x 30m	8.0	0.001	200%	2750	5500	104.0	Drydock

Ga'Taraan Federation

The Ga'Taraan Federation is known for its special Research Station, which unlocks new technology not available to any other faction. While other factions can salvage these special weapons from destroyed GT ships and mount them, they cannot reverse engineer them (not even the Belters).

EW Pulse Laser

The pulse laser is a replacement for the gattling gun. It deals the same damage as gat3, but with the same damage class as miniguns, making it less effective on enemy drones.

Use against enemy small and medium ships. The faster projectile speed makes it easier to hit enemies, and the damage is identical to gat3 for small and medium ships.
Use gats when attacking miners and constructors as the pulse laser is very bad against them.
Since this is an energy weapon, you do not need to carry ammo with you. However, if you use up your energy your ability to fight will be handicapped and you will have to fall back to recharge.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Pulse Laser	Very light (DM05)	50.0	10.0	0	200%	1250	625		65.0	Adv. Supremacy + Research Station + Gat2

EW Gauss Gun

The gauss gun is an alternative to the sniper. It deals much more damage but fires more slowly, and its range is somewhat better. However, unlike sniper, it raises signature a lot so you will probably get eyed when using it.

Use it when defending. The enemy shouldn't be able to bomb you when using this, as it destroys nans extremely quickly.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Gauss Gun	Light-medium (DM04)	15.6 + 15.6 x 10m	0.5	0	400%	2900	1160		96.0	Adv. Tactical + Research Station + Sniper1

PW Mini-dis

Mounted on the Ga'Taraan Heavy Interceptor's first gun slot, this weapon is similar to the fighter's EW Disruptor, and allows these interceptors to be more effective against capital ships.

Use it when fighting capital ships. Do not use it when fighting small or medium ships.
Note that this is a particle weapon that consumes ammo. This is probably as interceptors often have no energy battery at all.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW Mini-dis	Heavy (DM03)	20.4 x 10m	12.2	0	200%	500	600	12.2		Adv. Expansion + Research Station + Mini2

PE Striker

This weapon is mounted on GT Destroyers, and is similar in use to Rixian's PW Lancer. However, this is a plasma weapon with a shorter range and slower rate of fire.

Use it to destroy small and medium ships before they can get in range of your destroyer.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE Striker	Light & medium (DM18)	132.0 x 30m	4.0	0.001	200%	2625	2625	60.0	120.0	Shipyard + Research Station

EW SkyRipper LE

Identical to regular skyripper in every way except that it consumes 12.5% less energy.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW SkyRip LE	Heavy (DM15)	149.3 + 149.3 x 10m	14.9	0.01	200%	800	1600		104.5	Drydock + Research Station

Technoflux

Technoflux is a robotic faction that does not have the PW weapons used by other factions. Instead, they have plasma variants. These consume energy and often fire slightly more slowly, but don't spread out the way particle weapons do. As well, they lack missiles, similar to the Rixians, and thus have several weapons that cover niches normally covered by a missile (e.g. base destruction). The plasma weapons can be used by other ships that find them, and Technoflux pilots can use PW weapons if they find them. However, only Belters can reverse engineer the plasma weapons and arm their fleet with them.

PE Gattling Gun

Plasma variant of gattling gun. Same damage and rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE Gat Gun 1	Light (DM02)	32.0	10.0	200%	600	600	10.0	45.9	None
PE Gat Gun 2	Light (DM02)	40.0	10.0	200%	600	600	10.0	41.3	Supremacy
PE Gat Gun 3	Light (DM02)	50.0	10.0	200%	600	660	10.0	36.7	Adv. Supremacy

PE Mini-Gun

Plasma variant of minigun. Same damage and rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE Mini-Gun 1	Very light (DM05)	50.0	12.5	200%	500	400	12.5	57.0	None
PE Mini-Gun 2	Very light (DM05)	64.1	12.8	200%	500	400	12.8	56.5	Expansion
PE Mini-Gun 3	Very light (DM05)	76.2	12.2	200%	500	400	12.2	52.0	Adv. Expansion

PE EMP Cannon

Plasma variant of EMP Cannon. Same damage and rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE EMP Can 1	Light shields (DM13)	36.0 + 36.0 x 10m	4.0	0	200%	500	600	8.0	45.9	Expansion
PE EMP Can 2	Light shields (DM13)	45.0 + 45.0 x 10m	4.0	0	200%	500	600	8.0	43.0	Adv. Expansion

PE Mini-AutoCannon

Plasma variant of Mini-AutoCannon. Same damage, slightly slower rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE Mini-AC 1	Very light (DM11)	83.7	11.2	200%	2000	1000	11.2	50.1	None
PE Mini-AC 2	Very light (DM11)	92.0	11.2	200%	2000	1000	11.2	46.7	Supremacy
PE Mini-AC 3	Very light (DM11)	101.2	11.2	200%	2000	1000	11.2	42.3	Adv. Supremacy

PE AutoCannon

Plasma variant of AutoCannon. Same damage, slightly slower rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

The lack of spread makes it a lot easier to hit targets far away, but if you have bad aim you will miss more consistently.
Since both the Technoflux bomber's anti-base weapons and this gun consume energy, you may have to stop firing so the bomber has enough energy to destroy the base.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE AutoCan 1	Very light (DM11)	109.2	11.2	200%	1000	1500	11.2	52.5	None
PE AutoCan 2	Very light (DM11)	138.2	11.2	200%	1000	1500	11.2	49.4	Supremacy
PE AutoCan 3	Very light (DM11)	172.8	11.2	200%	1000	1500	11.2	46.3	Adv. Supremacy

PE SkyCap

Plasma variant of SkyCap. Same damage, slightly slower rate of fire, consumes energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE SkyCap 1	Very light (DM11)	55.6 + 55.6 x 10m	3.7	200%	1500	2000	14.8	30.9	None
PE SkyCap 2	Very light (DM11)	69.4 + 69.4 x 10m	3.7	200%	1500	2000	14.8	29.1	Shipyard
PE SkyCap 3	Very light (DM11)	86.8 + 86.8 x 10m	3.7	200%	1500	2000	14.8	27.3	Drydock

PE SkyRipper

Plasma variant of SkyRipper. Same damage, slightly slower rate of fire, consumes ammo and energy, no spread.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PE SkyRip	Heavy (DM15)	138.2 + 138.2 x 10m	13.8	0	200%	800	1600	13.8	149.5	Shipyard + Flagship 2

EW Anti-Base Cannon

Used by Technoflux bombers, instead of anti-base missiles. Technoflux bombers carry two, while fighter-bombers carry one. Since it consumes energy Technoflux bombers do not have to dock to get more missiles.

Use this weapon on stations. Unlike the Rixian's stinger, it has no spread.
Due to the lack of spread, you can destroy small and medium ships that get in front of you. However, do not dogfight in a Technoflux bomber when you should be bombing.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW A-B Can 1	Stations (DM08)	66.7	0.7	200%	450	675	65.8	None
EW A-B Can 2	Stations (DM08)	83.3	0.7	200%	500	750	62.5	Supremacy
EW A-B Can 3	Stations (DM08)	100.0	0.8	200%	550	825	54.9	Adv. Supremacy

EW Anti-Base Shield Cannon

Used by Technoflux HTTs, instead of EMP missiles.

Use this weapon to drop the shields of enemy stations.
This weapon is also extremely effective against enemy capital ships. One or two blasts will take out the shields.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW A-BS Can	EMP (DM12)	1750.0	0.5	0	200%	1000	1000		131.7	Expansion

PW Anti-Base Ion Blaster

Used by Technoflux stealth bombers, instead of anti-base missiles. Each stealth bomber carries one.

Use this weapon on stations. It is similar to the Rixian stinger in that it has huge spread, however it consumes ammo very rapidly. It does not consume energy.
You can fire for 4.5 seconds per ammo load on a Technoflux Stealth Bomber.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW A-B Ion Bls 1	Stations (DM17)	146.7	10.0	0.05	200%	400	600	1000.0		None
PW A-B Ion Bls 2	Stations (DM17)	173.3	10.0	0.05	200%	440	660	1000.0		Adv. Tactical

EW Heavy Anti-Base Cannon

Used by the Technoflux Flagship, instead of nukes. All levels of Flagship carry two.

Use this weapon on stations. It is similar to the normal Anti-Base cannon but more damage.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Hvy A-B Can 1	Stations (DM08)	133.3	0.7	0	200%	400	800		91.7	Shipyard
EW Hvy A-B Can 2	Stations (DM08)	166.7	0.7	0	200%	500	1000		87.1	Shipyard

Omicron

Omicron do not use anti-base missiles or nukes.

PW Anti-Base Hammer

Used by Omicron bombers and stealth bombers, instead of anti-base missiles. Omicron bombers have three turrets instead of two, with this weapon mounted in the first turret.

Use this weapon on stations.
You can fire this weapon at enemy ships as well, however it is less accurate and shorter-ranged than the autocannon, and consumes more ammo. Make sure you have enough ammo for the base and start firing at the base once it is in range.
An Omicron stealth bomber carries one of these in its main weapon slot, and can fire for about 9 seconds per load of ammo.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW A-B Hammer 1	Stations (DM08)	96.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	32.0	None
PW A-B Hammer 2	Stations (DM08)	128.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	32.0	Supremacy
PW A-B Hammer 3	Stations (DM08)	164.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	32.0	Adv. Supremacy

PW Light Anti-Base Hammer

Used by Omicron fighter-bombers, instead of anti-base missiles. It is mounted in the ship's first weapon slot. It is similar to the normal A-B Hammer but deals half as much damage and consumes more ammo.

Use this weapon on stations.
The Omicron fighter-bomber can fire this weapon for 8.5 seconds per load of ammo.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Prerequisite
PW LA-B Hammer 1	Stations (DM08)	48.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	120.0	None
PW LA-B Hammer 2	Stations (DM08)	64.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	120.0	Supremacy
PW LA-B Hammer 3	Stations (DM08)	82.0	4.0	0.015	250%	500	1000	120.0	Adv. Supremacy

PW Anti-Base Omega

Used by Omicron battlecruisers, instead of nukes or cruise missiles. The Omicron battlecruiser carries one of these.

Use this weapon on stations.
Once you get a drydock you can start development of Omega 2, but you won't be able to use it unless Super Heavy class is also developed.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
PW A-B Omega 1	Stations (DM08)	400.0	1.0	0	300%	1000	1500	100.0		Drydock + Heavy Class
PW A-B Omega 2	Stations (DM08)	400.0	1.0	0	300%	1000	2000	100.0		Drydock + Super Heavy Class

Multiple Factions

EW Seismic Cannon

Used by Rixian Unity, Technoflux, and Omicron bombers in place of their normal anti-base weapons to destroy asteroids.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Seismic Can	Asteroids (DM09)	40.0	8.0	0.075	200%	500	500		80.0	Starbase

EW Heavy Seismic Cannon

Used by the Technoflux flagship in place of its normal anti-base weaponry to destroy asteroids, and by Omicron capital ships in place of their skyrippers to destroy asteroids.

Weapon	Damage Modifier	Damage Per Second	Rate of Fire	Spread	Signature	Projectile Speed	Maximum Range	Ammo/sec	Energy/sec	Prerequisite
EW Hvy Seismic	Asteroids (DM09)	120.0	4.0	0.01	200%	500	1250		92.0	Shipyard