Titan Blaster or Phaser?

[TheMac]

I'm surprisingly back in the game so far. Had a friend help me to see that my old nemesis DX 11 might have been the cause of my recent crashes, and I've returned to the tried and true DXVK 1.x. The graphics and scrolling are certainly lower quality than DX 11, but I can play the game again which is the goal.

Now the real dilemma. I've had considerable success as the Guzarian race against a vastly superior foe using various blasters, and including the V1 Titan blaster in the last short war. The problem is they are smaller weapons and try as I might I found I was leaving space on my ships after fitting every slot, and that really bothered me. I like to fit within a few units of space in order to feel like I've designed my ships well.

Thankfully one of my automated construction ships found some debris which immediately gave me the Phaser Cannon, V1 or T1, which has high accuracy, high shield bypass, low damage, and a slightly larger size. Switching over to Phaser Cannons gave me the ability to fill my ship's space.

Here's where I am, my fleet comp, and what I'm up against. The problem is I've never used a Phaser Cannon before and I feel a little uncomfortable trading all that damage for shield bypass. Don't know if this is the right decision or if I've doomed my fleets.

What works for you, and why? How about against the fleet I'm facing (below)?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257830495

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257830815

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257831191

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257832315

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257833390

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257834356

Edit: Also, all my ships have boarding pods with the AI set to capture anything it can.

[TheMac]

Darn. Crashed again. Looks like the game is over for me. Switching over to DXVK only delayed the inevitable.

I'd still love to hear your thoughts on the weapons. Thanks!

[jorgen_cab]

In general I think Phasers are the better option if the enemy have access to good shields. From the picture you showed their shields are quite weak so Titan blasters are likely as good a choice as Phasors if not even better.

The enemy ships are rather weak in comparison with yours so I think you should win quite easily going with either option.

I also wonder why you have so many small phasors rather than bigger ones, the bigger ones are just better as they give you way better point defence for the same weight. The large Phasor have four times the PD potential over the small after compensating for the weight of the weapon system.

Bigger weapons also require less crew but that might or might not matter. But the large Phasor also have a slight weight advantage being 42 weight instead of 48... although I think this is a bug to be honest as there are some other values that are off with the large one such as range not being the same for example.

[TheMac]

Originally posted by jorgen_cab:

In general I think Phasers are the better option if the enemy have access to good shields. From the picture you showed their shields are quite weak so Titan blasters are likely as good a choice as Phasors if not even better.

The enemy ships are rather weak in comparison with yours so I think you should win quite easily going with either option.

I also wonder why you have so many small phasors rather than bigger ones, the bigger ones are just better as they give you way better point defence for the same weight. The large Phasor have four times the PD potential over the small after compensating for the weight of the weapon system.

Bigger weapons also require less crew but that might or might not matter. But the large Phasor also have a slight weight advantage being 42 weight instead of 48... although I think this is a bug to be honest as there are some other values that are off with the large one such as range not being the same for example.

Thanks for the info, Jorgen. After I made the post, I started thinking about the enemy's preference for armor with weaker shields and thought the Titan blasters might be the better choice.

Thanks for the info about the size and crew requirements for the larger weapons. What I see are blob attacks and I was thinking I'd like my slower ships to be able to hit whatever is around them without having to turn so much. Longer-ranged weapons are usually my preference for the big boys, and this is the first time I'm trying for a faster, big blaster boat.

[Nightskies]

Titans or Phasers, you're going to tear those spider's legs off so viciously that I'm shedding a tear for them just thinking about it.

At least the ones you throw a boarding pod at will have time to reflect on the error of their ways before facing your final judgment!

[TheMac]

Originally posted by Nightskies:

Titans or Phasers, you're going to tear those spider's legs off so viciously that I'm shedding a tear for them just thinking about it.

At least the ones you throw a boarding pod at will have time to reflect on the error of their ways before facing your final judgment!

LOL! BTW, looks like the game might continue. I followed the troubleshooting steps and ended up removing all the fun ship explosions. Graphics are awful compared to what I had before, but the game hasn't crashed in the last 20 min.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257905178

It does appear as though I'm capturing far more ships with the Phaser Cannons than the Titan Blaster.

[TheMac]

Originally posted by Nightskies:

Titans or Phasers, you're going to tear those spider's legs off so viciously that I'm shedding a tear for them just thinking about it.

At least the ones you throw a boarding pod at will have time to reflect on the error of their ways before facing your final judgment!

My goodness, were you ever right. I'm still quite stunned.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3257916690