What Does Good Damage?

[The Shadow Rose]

I have 3 2x cannons on each side along with 2 2x ion swarm missiles and i do no damage to anything even thats half my threat level. My fighters do all the damage and no matter what i use nothing makes anything hp go down a noticable amount so i just thought ide ask.

[Bozobub]

To be brutally frank, those weapons are kinda poo ^^'. Only use such when you have nothing but junk parts to replace. Try to get to Sniper Cannons and/or Pulser Cannons as soon as you can, for both range and DPS.

The "big four" for damage in SPAZ 2 are probably Plasma Dispensers, Mass Drivers, Pulsers, and Sniper Cannons. Plasmas and Mass Drivers are probably the best "mothership killers", although using too many of either is often a mistake that leaves you open to enemy strike craft. Generally, 1-2 Mass Drivers and/or 2-3 Plasmas seems about right to me.

More hopefully useful semi-random advice:

• Build ships you WANT to fly. Sacrificing a bit of power for aesthetics, for example, isn't really much of an issue, even on "Insane" (if you know what you're doing, of course). Build ships that are fun.
  
  
• Try to figure out synergy, if you can (it's all over the forums). It's not essential, but can make especially the early-to-midgame WAY easier, where you seem to be.
  
  
• Try to optimize your weapons' ranges to be the same, or at least similar, for best performance.
  
  
• Drone-heavy "carrier" builds can be extremely effective, but are honestly quite boring, at least to me. They also can have...issues...in certain situations, including some spoiler-y stuff ^^'.
  
  
• "Maneuverability is life", in SPAZ 2. Both speed, and to a slightly lesser extent turn rate, are VERY important, most especially fighting strong Zombies. Facetanking Zombie bombs is not healthy, that simple, much less concentrated strike craft and drone fire. It is possible to make builds — even pretty early in the game — that outfly pretty much everything you see on the screen, including strike craft or even, in extreme cases, drones =). Most of my builds outspeed everything but Sniper Cannon fire, when under boost; this isn't only SUPER-useful, it's a lot of fun, and really helps the next one:
  
  
• Ramming is INCREDIBLY fun in SPAZ 2, and if you're not doing it often (with caveats!) you're missing out! But you have to make sure your build can take such shenanigans, of course; armor is NOT a "dump" stat. Melee (under 250 range) ramming builds can be outrageously strong, but you do need to build them a bit differently compared to longer-range versions.
  
  
• You can definitely do well using other approaches, but I tend to prefer direct damage for my main "kill" strength, with Zapper drones as my only indirect damage.
  
  
• Try to optimize any build for as many of the largest module you can field as possible.
  
  
• You can get to high enough level to field at least medium parts by grabbing all the Lore drops, IIRC. You'll at least be damn close; you'll also get a fair amount of resources, to boot.
  
  
• NEVER use less than 2/3 speed on the Starmap. If you don't have enough Rez to do so pretty much all the time, there's a serious problem somewhere. Not only is this more convenient, it's also safer, and is pretty much essential on "Expert" and "Insane". Once you get past a certain level, suddenly your little fishy behind becomes OK to eat! Don't be the slow fish.

[The Shadow Rose]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

To be brutally frank, those weapons are kinda poo ^^'. Only use such when you have nothing but junk parts to replace. Try to get to Sniper Cannons and/or Pulser Cannons as soon as you can, for both range and DPS.

The "big four" for damage in SPAZ 2 are probably Plasma Dispensers, Mass Drivers, Pulsers, and Sniper Cannons. Plasmas and Mass Drivers are probably the best "mothership killers", although using too many of either is often a mistake that leaves you open to enemy strike craft. Generally, 1-2 Mass Drivers and/or 2-3 Plasmas seems about right to me.

More hopefully useful semi-random advice:

• Build ships you WANT to fly. Sacrificing a bit of power for aesthetics, for example, isn't really much of an issue, even on "Insane" (if you know what you're doing, of course). Build ships that are fun.
  
  
• Try to figure out synergy, if you can (it's all over the forums). It's not essential, but can make especially the early-to-midgame WAY easier, where you seem to be.
  
  
• Try to optimize your weapons' ranges to be the same, or at least similar, for best performance.
  
  
• Drone-heavy "carrier" builds can be extremely effective, but are honestly quite boring, at least to me. They also can have...issues...in certain situations, including some spoiler-y stuff ^^'.
  
  
• "Maneuverability is life", in SPAZ 2. Both speed, and to a slightly lesser extent turn rate, are VERY important, most especially fighting strong Zombies. Facetanking Zombie bombs is not healthy, that simple, much less concentrated strike craft and drone fire. It is possible to make builds — even pretty early in the game — that outfly pretty much everything you see on the screen, including strike craft or even, in extreme cases, drones =). Most of my builds outspeed everything but Sniper Cannon fire, when under boost; this isn't only SUPER-useful, it's a lot of fun, and really helps the next one:
  
  
• Ramming is INCREDIBLY fun in SPAZ 2, and if you're not doing it often (with caveats!) you're missing out! But you have to make sure your build can take such shenanigans, of course; armor is NOT a "dump" stat. Melee (under 250 range) ramming builds can be outrageously strong, but you do need to build them a bit differently compared to longer-range versions.
  
  
• You can definitely do well using other approaches, but I tend to prefer direct damage for my main "kill" strength, with Zapper drones as my only indirect damage.
  
  
• Try to optimize any build for as many of the largest module you can field as possible.
  
  
• You can get to high enough level to field at least medium parts by grabbing all the Lore drops, IIRC. You'll at least be damn close; you'll also get a fair amount of resources, to boot.
  
  
• NEVER use less than 2/3 speed on the Starmap. If you don't have enough Rez to do so pretty much all the time, there's a serious problem somewhere. Not only is this more convenient, it's also safer, and is pretty much essential on "Expert" and "Insane". Once you get past a certain level, suddenly your little fishy behind becomes OK to eat! Don't be the slow fish.

Thanks >.> why not 2 snipers and 2 mass drivers and 2 dispenserys? Also what hanger ship is the best?

Also why do my shields and health melt in like 5 seconds even though i have like 30k shields and 100k health? Plus shields recharge so slowly their almost useless in a battle so i just use my wingman as the meatshield. Lastly What is good for engines? Missiles are never in back of me even if im super quick so miniguns seem a bit pointless and bombs dont seem to do much damage if any.

[Bozobub]

I would use only 1 Mass Driver and 3 Plasmas , in your example, but that would work fine. Reason for the Plasmas? they're actually pretty damn good vs. shields, too. If not another Plasma, I'd have another pair of Sniper turrets for anti-SC support.

The only drone type I use, generally, is Zappers, and I use them primarily for defensive purposes against incoming ordnance. I mostly reserve the rear of my ships (as they are oriented to the front, not for "broadsides") for drones and point defense (Flak/Mini Guns). No, PD is NOT useless, even with a fast ship.

Re: shields/health: HP is *almost* useless; it's the "dump" stat, to be frank. If your shields go down in front of a strong opponent, the consequences will likely be quite dire, no matter how much HP you have. As for why you lose shields, then health so fast, you're almost certainly too slow; anything under 120-150 for a Speed stat is desperately slow, in my opinion.

Shields don't recharge all that slowly, unless you've lost ALL shields. If that's happening a lot, something is "up". You may need to change to a different playstyle, that doesn't have you under enemy fire quite so often.

[Potentiality12]

Find what works for you.

Just that.. find what works for you. Some people will have more fun experimenting than others, of course...

Remember that what each person posts is largely personal opinion, although the advice might be perfectly valid and sound and give you great input regarding how to start or even exactly what you want (more for some than for others... but that's what makes life interesting, or at least not as boring as it might otherwise be: we're all different!).

[Prometheus]

Particle hoses and Machammers are also deadly to ships and are devastating to strike craft. The particle and mac are better than they seem because they go from the single turret on the medium piece to double turret on the large piece. The double mac is the highest potential dps in the game. I recently did a game where I used 2 large of each of the particle and mac. The rest were a combination of zappers, miniguns and one ion bomber hangar. Roll up to a ship, let the macs and hoses do some work. Giv'em a love tap (ram them) and boom, dead.

[Bozobub]

Quite so! They work quite well with ramming, I agree. I still like to throw in some Plasmas, however, even for a "brawler" build; out to about 250-350, they're pretty spectacularly effective, and you still have pretty decent long-range performance, as well, when used properly =).

I've used MacHammers less; I'll give them a whirl on my next run (going to do a melee brawler, much along these lines).

Thanks, BTW, for reminding me of other weapons ('sides Pulsers and Snipers) that get that "2 for 1.5" turret bonus. I assume there's some missiles that do the same thing but I avoid most indirect fire, so...

[Prometheus]

Oh another fun combo I did a while back. Krules, slowing (leech beams/gravity missiles) and the black hole bomb. 2 Krules will make short work of just about anything but you need that something to not run away. Slow'em and get'em stuck in a singularity then carve them up with Krules. Zappers and ion SRM take down the shield and distract point defense for you. Also the singularity is supposed to cause extra damage if there is debris in the field. Nothing better than the parts the Krules carve off the ship for that.

[The Shadow Rose]

Originally posted by Promethian:

Particle hoses and Machammers are also deadly to ships and are devastating to strike craft. The particle and mac are better than they seem because they go from the single turret on the medium piece to double turret on the large piece. The double mac is the highest potential dps in the game. I recently did a game where I used 2 large of each of the particle and mac. The rest were a combination of zappers, miniguns and one ion bomber hangar. Roll up to a ship, let the macs and hoses do some work. Giv'em a love tap (ram them) and boom, dead.

Originally posted by Bozobub:

Quite so! They work quite well with ramming, I agree. I still like to throw in some Plasmas, however, even for a "brawler" build; out to about 250-350, they're pretty spectacularly effective, and you still have pretty decent long-range performance, as well, when used properly =).

I've used MacHammers less; I'll give them a whirl on my next run (going to do a melee brawler, much along these lines).

Thanks, BTW, for reminding me of other weapons ('sides Pulsers and Snipers) that get that "2 for 1.5" turret bonus. I assume there's some missiles that do the same thing but I avoid most indirect fire, so...

Originally posted by Promethian:

Oh another fun combo I did a while back. Krules, slowing (leech beams/gravity missiles) and the black hole bomb. 2 Krules will make short work of just about anything but you need that something to not run away. Slow'em and get'em stuck in a singularity then carve them up with Krules. Zappers and ion SRM take down the shield and distract point defense for you. Also the singularity is supposed to cause extra damage if there is debris in the field. Nothing better than the parts the Krules carve off the ship for that.

I love ramming ships but i have yet to find anything early game that doesnt get me destroyed. Cannons and lasers do next to nothing a battles take forever plus they usually end in a loss and besides ion missiles nothing below torpedos do any damage. Its not very fun spending the first 30 mins to an hour just tagging behind others battles because i can never win a 1v1 till i get medium weapons.

[Prometheus]

Your experience makes no sense to me. Unless you are trying to pick fights with faction leaders and leutenants? They have a minimum power level and you are not supposed to be able to challenge them right off. There is a reason the game directs you towards bandits and those border invasions with just strike craft in the early game. You start out taking on the weak guys and scavanging what you can from resource nodes. The game calls your starting ship junk, literally, multiple times. It signals in every way possible that you are a small fry and need to earn your way up.

[The Shadow Rose]

Originally posted by Promethian:

Your experience makes no sense to me. Unless you are trying to pick fights with faction leaders and leutenants? They have a minimum power level and you are not supposed to be able to challenge them right off. There is a reason the game directs you towards bandits and those border invasions with just strike craft in the early game. You start out taking on the weak guys and scavanging what you can from resource nodes. The game calls your starting ship junk, literally, multiple times. It signals in every way possible that you are a small fry and need to earn your way up.

No even like threat 5 - 10 bandits i lose to without snipers or mass drivers. Doesnt matter if im quick and never get hit either since even if i load my ship with 15 cannons and vaporize the shields fast i do almost nothing to the hull with any weapon below 2 slots. Im clearly missing something and i have no clue what. I have synergy, speed and i never get hit and i still do nothing to anyone without almost end game weapons. And i dont challenge strong ones. I literally cant kill a 5 threat bandit with a 20 threat ship because i do no damage and if i do kill it it takes around 20 minutes per battle. Also yes this is on normal.

[Bozobub]

It will probably help if, when you start a game, you get all the Lore drops first. This will get you at least near to, if not past the XP level you need to start packing medium components. At that point, you can start using some decent weapons, most specifically Pulsers and Sniper Cannons. Put bluntly, basic cannons and lasers are just barely better than junk.

[The Shadow Rose]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

It will probably help if, when you start a game, you get all the Lore drops first. This will get you at least near to, if not past the XP level you need to start packing medium components. At that point, you can start using some decent weapons, most specifically Pulsers and Sniper Cannons. Put bluntly, basic cannons and lasers are just barely better than junk.

My games always have medium at level 15 >.> lol

[Bozobub]

And the Lore drops get you roughly to 10 or so (again, IIRC).

[The Shadow Rose]

Originally posted by Bozobub:

And the Lore drops get you roughly to 10 or so (again, IIRC).

They have never gotten me anywhere close to that. All my lore drops plus exploring a 100 sector map gets me to level 5.

[Bozobub]

The Lore drops have a set number, although you can change their value with sliders, IIRC; I just got to level 7, starting a new game (slightly larger and stronger than default factions at the start and "Deadspace" activated on Milky Colossus, but otherwise "vanilla" settings on "Expert"; "Insane" is a dreary slog). After *three* battles, assisting the Militia faction's leader, I was able to join the Militia (gaining 2 levels in the process). After that, it took roughly 30 minutes of game time to gain medium parts, harvesting XP by assisting the leader and other faction-mates.

The time spent grabbing Lore drops is also "The Golden Times" for picking up resources at nodes, since for much of it you will be under the limit where captains will "notice" you in a hostile manner (assuming you haven't changed that specific slider in the Sandbox settings =) ). It's the only time (besides killing time in Zombie space later) where I really bother doing so, in fact; I don't even bother actually assembling my ship to any kind of design, until I pass that threshold, while I zip around at 136+ Starmap speed and map the galaxy ^^'.