turrets with beams or cannons?

[softgunforever]

this is something that's been on my mind for a few days: i got a ship with turrets that fire laser bolts, but i was wondering, would beams be a better choice? they hit almost instantly, but do they have the same damage output? what do you guys think, cannons or beams?

 

[Will2brown]

Beams are cool, but cannons are better for quick moving targets

 

[Criss]

If they do the same damage output then I would say choose whichever one you prefer.

 

[Keptick]

They both have the exact same damage output, it's the delivery that's different. Cannons are projectiles, meaning travel time (chance to miss). Beams have half the range of cannons and missiles but instant hit.

Depends what you need, really.

 

[Criss]

I would have liked it more if it were the opposite. Beams travelling very far in space would be cool looking.

 

[softgunforever]

They both have the exact same damage output, it's the delivery that's different. Cannons are projectiles, meaning travel time (chance to miss). Beams have half the range of cannons and missiles but instant hit.

Depends what you need, really.

hmm, sounds like beams is the choice for me. ok, another question: how can i increase the damage output on small turrets? i have some 34 turrets on my ship, but they are all small to be able to fit on the ship, i'd say around 10 blocks from barrel to rear, and 7 blocks from side to side, so not a lot of room for extra stuff. they are really only used for fending off pirates, but from what i can see, they only do around 30 damage per shot.

 

[Keptick]

If your ship has the power, I'd suggest using the overdrive effect on your turrets. 3x damage 6x power consumption. Otherwise damage is linear with block count.

 

[MrFURB]

hmm, sounds like beams is the choice for me. ok, another question: how can i increase the damage output on small turrets? i have some 34 turrets on my ship, but they are all small to be able to fit on the ship, i'd say around 10 blocks from barrel to rear, and 7 blocks from side to side, so not a lot of room for extra stuff.

When linked to a weapon, the Overdrive effect increases it's damage output by up to 3 at the cost of 6x the energy use. If you have turrets that are uncharacteristically small you can still make them pack a decent punch as long as your reactors are big enough.

 

[Criss]

They are connected in a large group right? If you want more damage you can do two things. Add more beam blocks. Or you can connect the beam systems to an overdrive system to get massive boost to damage at the cost of a lot more power.

 

[Keptick]

I would have liked it more if it were the opposite. Beams travelling very far in space would be cool looking.

hehehe, that's EVE influencing you :P. But yea, I'd totally make a blastertron if it was possible! <3 close range combat.

 

[softgunforever]

If your ship has the power, I'd suggest using the overdrive effect on your turrets. 3x damage 6x power consumption. Otherwise damage is linear with block count.

ah, thanks for the idea! im certain my ship's power can handle it, it seems to me right now, that with all my turrets shooting, it only consumes around 1:10000 of my total power, so an overdrive module should not affect my ship.

 

[jzimmerman4]

I would suggest cannons on turrets since AI has the same accuracy despite the weapon type and cannons have twice the range. Now beams do look a whole lot cooler for sure so I guess its dependent on what you are looking for.

 

[antiboom]

Erm... No one noticed the main issue with beams on bobby ships: they always lead their shots, even with hitscan weapons.

 

[jayman38]

As far as I know, you still need cannons for anti-missile turrets. Smaller turrets don't need a lot of damage per shot, so if you are going anti-missile, you probably need to go with cannons.