What is the weapon of your choice, and Why?

[Fyron]

Slynky said:
You are in a tough Category! Your poll doesn't provide enough choices, I think, and I don't know how to do it better.

Problem is, early game location can dictate what your choice will be. Aside from all that, games start with 1 planet, 3, 5, or 10. THAT can make quite a difference in early game choice (where someone might skip DUCs). Then, there is the full-tech games...which all have an early part. So....you get my drift.

But, in general, I've heard it said that PPBs can be a weapon to use the entire game! And while some really like APBs, I hate them (unless I have the Talisman). They are darned expensive to research to surpass the PPBs. And without the Talisman (given all ships/fleets are trained), darn hard to hit from ship to ship at full range (so why bother?).

You overlook fleet stacking. That is where the range 8 comes into play as compared to range 6 PPBs and MBs (and range 5 DUCs). I thought we covered this in the Last round of these discussions? APBs are one of the most efficient weapons, once past the research costs, which is part of what makes them so powerful in the later stages of the game... Unless you give your ships max range strategy without having a significant advantage in combat bonuses, there really aren't any glaring weaknesses of APBs, except possibly against huge crystalline armored ships...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

While the older players have been over this, some of the newer ones havn't, and they may come up with something that hasn't been thought of.

[Atrocities]

I use only DUC's as they are the besta weapon in the whole gosh darn game. Golly Gee.

Trop's, And APB's for me.

[brianeyci]

Yes, fleet stacking is the obvious reason why to choose APB's...

I actually am more interested in finding out what situations certain weapons would be useful in. Like, when would it be preferable to research a Meson BLaster rather than Anti-Proton Beam?

I looked at torps earlier, and concluded that the only reason why you would want to use torps would be for the negligible cost decrease.

Share your secrets gentlemen. I am especially interested in knowing combinations of weapons people use on ship designs.

For example, to me, missiles seem useless. Two point-defense cannons on every ship gets rid of the missile problem... or does it? How much dmg resistance are the higher level missiles, and would it be enough to overcome the one to two PD's most people put on their ships? Colonel, if you could post a couple useful missile ship designs (light cruiser and battlecruiser preferably)... thx.

Brian

[Fyron]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
While the older players have been over this, some of the newer ones havn't, and they may come up with something that hasn't been thought of.

Umm... that statement was directed solely at Slynky, who said pretty much the same things Last time... No need to take it out of context to mean something it did not.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Ok, sorry, my brain is fried for some reason. Possibly fiberglass fumes. How to turn cheap pLastic weapons into things you can spar with, real life lessons 101.

[Renegade 13]

Well, in the early part of most games, I go for DUC 5's. On a light cruiser, along with a PD cannon or two, this is very effective until higher level weapons and shielding come into play.

For mid-game situations, I like the Phased Polaron Beam, with again, a couple of PD cannons. By this time (by the time I have cruisers or battlecruisers) I like to have level 3 combat sensors and ECM on my ships, also armor to provide the extra defense bonus. Shiels are still usually Shields 5 (not phased).

By the time I have a lot of the tech researched, I usually stick a couple PD cannons, 2 shield depleters, and fill the rest up with Anti-Proton Beam XII's. This combination works wonders for me, and usually is a match for the best ship designs.

[Fyron]

A heavy mounted Ionic Disperser works wonders against people that neglect a supply storage component (or quantum reactor) on their ships.

[Atrocities]

I looked at torps earlier, and concluded that the only reason why you would want to use torps would be for the negligible cost decrease.

We have discussed this before.

Torps are a great tool when coupled with the strategy Maximum Weapons range.

In one game a player used APB's and Torps as primary weapons in a small fleet of about 30 BC and wiped the board against a fleet of superior BS + DN with PPB's because his ships had the range to fire. They fired first and the rest is history.

(Coupled with 115% Agg/Def with 10% fleet and Ship training with the EMC - Scattering Armor - Combat sensors - and such.

Both fleets were evenly matched in all regards except one used PPB's Optimal range with more ships, the other APB's and Torps at Max range.

Simulation after simulation showed the PPB fleet obliterating the APB/Torp fleet but when actual combat occured, it was the APB/Torp fleet that won.

Tnarg, CNC, were in on the game as well. I honestly don't recall the other three players. Was a brillent game though. One of the Star Trek ones.

[Karibu]

Does Torpedoes have some accuracy bonus which is not mentioned anywhere? THis has been debated time and again in this forum, but I don't remember if anyone has provided a clean ansver to that. That is about only reason I can think a torpedo fleet to win against PPB or APB fleet if other ways equally matched.