What does "optimum range" mean?

[Suicide Junkie]

I suspect that level 2 or 3 multiplexing is all you need, and the AI won't effectively use anything higher:

MX 1 (no component): The AI bLasts a ship apart, and can't fire unused weapons (due to range or target being destroyed)

MX 2: The AI kills one ship, and starts on the next in one turn,
-or-
fires long range weapons at a primary target, and short range at a target of opportunity.

MX 3: Same as above, put can also shoot unused PD cannons at sats.

[PvK]

So if a starbase has MX 5, it won't vaporize 5 targets per turn?

[Suicide Junkie]

If you've got a base with enough weaponry on it to completely vaporize four targets, then yes, multiplex 5 would be useful.

By the time you get big bases, your opponents will likely have really big ships as well, so you might find it difficult to kill four in one turn.

[PvK]

Unless the enemies are pre-damaged, and you're finishing off hulks.

Or is using a mod like Proportions, where small ships are actually used later in the game.

Or, more likely still, if the enemy launches large numbers of little fighter Groups, and PD isn't wiping them all out. Then high MP tracking could be very useful.

PvK

[PvK]

Or, against a mob of drones!

[Phoenix-D]

Or if your ship strategy is based more around disabling than destroying- say your ship is armed with engine killers. LOTS of engine killers. You might have enough to kill the engines of more than a few ships.

Phoenix-D

[Suicide Junkie]

1) If you're finishing off hulks, you don't have to worry about multiplexing them, since you can easily get a 20:1 kill ratio

2) PD dosen't count towards the limit when autofiring on fighters as they move. It only counts against multiplexing when manually firing them, which usually only occurs against sats, which stack.

3) PD autofires on drones, IIRC, and so, dosen't use multiplexing.

4) Ion/Tachyon/Neutrino/Nullspace weapons, combined with a 10% damage per ship rule would require a good multiplexing. That's a fairly specialized ship example, though.