Unknown Weapon

[tiberiansun371alexw]

Has anyone ever been in a case where they were a gunship (meaning no capture rewards if the merchant rips you off) and purchased an unknown weapon in sector 4 or later? I have once because I was that desperate for a weapon. My only offensive options were my Burst Laser II and Artemis, meaning against all those nasty 3 shield enemies I had to hit 4 times in a row just to do any damage. I got a chain laser out of it which normally is a "meh" but in that run I think it saved my run because before then I was going through 3 missiles a fight.

[Ray Robertson]

Yes. During my "Livin' off the Land" challenge runs with all 28 ships I aggressively sought these black market traders out. I got ripped off many times, but on a few occasions I did find decent weapons. Burst laser mkII, flak I, Halberd, etc. Even got a Vulcan once.

[Skinny Pete]

This is usually not worth it without blue options (or for a special challenge). For instance Mind Control is sometimes worth it. You might get a chance to see whether it's actually worth 45 scrap. It's usually preferable just to attack the guy. Just taking the offer right out of the gate means you lose 45 scrap half the time, so on average it costs you 90 scrap to buy a random weapon. Not only is the average weapon worth less than that, it may not be even remotely useful.

I'd say unless you're really desperate for a weapon, i.e. about to die otherwise, or have Mind Control, it's better just to attack this guy.