Tips for Beam-Ion-Laser combo loadouts?

[Chicken an Rice]

Generally I avoid using missles because I find it annoying to manage ammo. My preferred loadout is Beam Weapon - Ion Weapon - Laser Weapon.

I really enjoy Beam Weapons due to the extreme damage and 100% accuracy that they provide. Combining this with an Ion weapon and a weak Laser weapon is usually my go-to. The Ion disables the shields, and then I unleash a barrage with my Beam and Laser weapons.

Any tips/suggestions for this kind of loadout? Is it good, bad, etc?

[stcaFylnO]

I'll take your OP as great advice; seems like a solid build to me. My thoughts:

Beam=deadly, just incase a ship needs to be killed quickly, &/or damage many systems at once
Beam=100% hit in RNG heavy game (priceless)
Beam=Target groups of enemies for boarding party and aim at only one room to preserve hull
Ammo=misses unless evasion is countered; meanwhile supply & scrap issues are avoided
Ammo=save it to trade at events for more scrap
Laser=always good: snipe systems, aid in shield depletion, shoot groups for boarding party
Ion=Zoltan shield killer; preserve hull for boarding parties and possibly stun enemies
Laser/Ion=deplete shields for beam; if not, improve them or drain with Hack.

What about to finish the build? Some ideas:
1 Engi for repairs
1 Slug to see enemy positions even if scanners are down [add: Mind Control immune pilot]
2 Zoltan, used in pairs, so Ions don't take down your last shield bubble
2 or 4 Lanius, Mantis, or Rock for boarding parties (0 O2, DPS, Flame Immunity)
Teleport
Med/Clone (preference/availability)
Reconstructive Teleport (why wait?)
Weapon Auto-Loader (faster is better)
Weapon Pre-Igniter (first strike is a beach)
Hack to lock rooms for traffic control, drain shields, drain weapons, whatever
Mind Control to lure enemies into shield room, then shoot them, while they fight each other

[stcaFylnO]

er, wait, I'm confused. Did you want to discuss the non-missile variant of your build, or to alter it into a missile version? Your title implies missile, but closing remark indicates non-missile (to me anyway).

Non missile: See above post.

Missile (just a few alterations/thoughts):
Bombs teleport so they bypass drone defenses.
Bombs seem best for status effects, while missiles seem more damage oriented.
Build the boarding party to complement tylpe of ammo (fire & Rock, breach & Lanius)
Both miss alot unless evasion is eliminated, so disable the enemy pilot first...
...Displace pilots with damage, 0 O2, teleporters, or Mind Control just before attacks.
...Lock potential pilots out of cockpit with a Hack (toggle locks by removing/adding power).
...Favorite: Hack, Teleport, MC at shield room, lure all inside, lock doors, leave, blast 'em.
Explosive Replicator is wonderful for ammo.
Long reload times really benefit from Weapon Pre-Igniter & Auto-Loader.
Since you are used to Ion, Ion Bomb does 8 damage to Zoltan Shields, 4 bars Ion normal.
Late game, Ion Bomb isn't enough vs 3-4 shield bubbles so supplement if possible.
Everything else? See old post and focus on crew-kills, as usual, for more scrap rewards.

[Chicken an Rice]

Originally posted by stcaFylnO:

er, wait, I'm confused. Did you want to discuss the non-missile variant of your build, or to alter it into a missile version? Your title implies missile, but closing remark indicates non-missile (to me anyway).

Oh whoops, I misnamed the title of the thread (it's fixed now). I was implying that I don't use missles.

Thanks for the tips! Having two Zoltan in the shield room is great, I never thought of that. I usually run with the Zoltan Cruiser so that works well.

[Skinny Pete]

Hacking and beams are a killer combo, and Halberd Beam is the most versatile in the game. Glaive Beam is awesome because it causes more damage than any other weapon in the game with one fire, but while it seams like just one single power, the difference between a 3 power and 4 power weapon is pretty big in terms of practicality.

The Hull Beam is the worst, but like most beams, still pretty good. I seriously don't like the whole "shooting at empty rooms" thing, though.

Best power for dps is the Mini Beam some ships come with. You can't buy it.

[stcaFylnO]

I love Skinny's Halberd Beam, since aiming at a shield's system (penetrating a single bubble), can damage it enough that all other rooms take full damage, and it is more useful vs. Zoltan shields.. I prefer it over the Pike, since I tend to get more value from a higher damage rating, than longer exposure. I will use large power cost weapons, but prefer not too, incase I run into power issues (Ion storm, damaged system, hacked battery).

I don't use hull weapons much either. I spend most of my time trying to keep the hulls intact for crew-kills. I never feel threatened by empty rooms, so I focus mostly on weapons, clone/med, or whatever.

Great info on mini too, I hadn't thought of that, thx man.


More info on Zoltans:

1) Many times, I find Ion storms will decrease my shield bars to an odd number. If the Zoltan wasn't in the room, moving him there will complete the bubble. This probably applies to Ion damage from enemies, but never occurred to me until now.

2) I read a tip on subset that really helps me. Zoltans that run through system rooms will juggle reactor bars around. If one bar is left free, it will auto adjust. Without a free bar, sometimes systems can end up underpowered. Without the free bar, I used to always be like, WTF is going on!?

[Veritas]

I prefer laser/beam/flak combos. The good ion weapons are pretty power intensive for what they do, and I like being able to take down systems.

[stcaFylnO]

Originally posted by Snazzy Dragon:

I prefer laser/beam/flak combos. The good ion weapons are pretty power intensive for what they do, and I like being able to take down systems.

That sounds great, since Flak will be charged up when needed, can do 3 bubbles, lower overhead, and more versatile due to damage. Thx!