Rail guns or lasers?

[White]

If you had to choose, which would you put on the majoirty of your ships and defense stations?

[Meewec]

depends on various factors but for my general ships it's usually a mix. if you're specializing a fleet vs someone else you pick what works best against them. same goes with defensive stations, like if they're going to be in a system that strips shields you just go for hull damage weapons.

[MightyFox]

Against the AI it usually doesn't matter too much, as they usually run balanced setups, but against humans and crises factions, you need to try and fit what works against their best builds.

Personally, I prefer rail guns, but lasers and kinetics are really just the same weapons with different parameters.

[Red Dox]

I choose the old ways
https://imgur.com/a/oPhV54a

[Botji]

For me it depends a bit on 'when'. Early game I use missiles with lasers on my corvettes because missiles are simply great and shields are weak at this point in time so I value the extra accuracy on the lasers higher vs the higher range and on-paper-DPS of the mass drivers.

[Half Phased]

Originally posted by Botji:

For me it depends a bit on 'when'. Early game I use missiles with lasers on my corvettes because missiles are simply great and shields are weak at this point in time so I value the extra accuracy on the lasers higher vs the higher range and on-paper-DPS of the mass drivers.

I think rail guns do better in this situation. Since the missiles slip through the shields, but the time the lasers have made it through the shields there’s no armour for them to shoot at, the missiles have destroyed it all. Rail guns get through the shields faster and can help the missiles deal with the armour as well.

[Botji]

Originally posted by Half Phased:

Originally posted by Botji:

For me it depends a bit on 'when'. Early game I use missiles with lasers on my corvettes because missiles are simply great and shields are weak at this point in time so I value the extra accuracy on the lasers higher vs the higher range and on-paper-DPS of the mass drivers.

I think rail guns do better in this situation. Since the missiles slip through the shields, but the time the lasers have made it through the shields there’s no armour for them to shoot at, the missiles have destroyed it all. Rail guns get through the shields faster and can help the missiles deal with the armour as well.

Its mostly a preference thing since you dont know if the corvettes will have 2 shields 1 armor or 1 shield and 2 armor unless you scout them first. Either way any damage bonus to armor or shields only affects a small part of its health pool compared to the hull.

I prefere a more guaranteed damage over hit and miss RNGesus unless the advantages are large enough and I dont think mass drivers have that.

Its also a tech thing where I generally find myself fairly quickly getting tier 2-3 lasers because no other useful techs appeared in the physics field(and T2 lasers unlock most other energy weapon techs as well as PD) while engineering research is packed full of super useful stuff in most tiers.

You want larger ship hulls, ship hull upgrades, station sizes, afterburner/s, engines and after all that you still want armor, missiles, faster ship building, mineral buildings and possibly robots. None of these have anything to do with the kinetic tech tree so its not at all uncommon for me to be in like battleship/titan tech levels with only T1 mass drivers as my kinetic weapon :)

Physics only have like power, energy buildings, sensors, combat computers and shields as high prio techs and you can put off both shields and energy buildings for quite a while.. as well as the FTL techs.

So yeah, imo I just find myself with high tier energy weapons way more often than not while engineering research is stuck researching everything but kinetic weapons.

[White]

Thanks for rhe resposnes, and this question was meant against AI.

[Belhedler]

Originally posted by Red Dox:

I choose the old ways
https://imgur.com/a/oPhV54a

I'm replacing a few plasma with a few Neutron Launchers instead. Neutron launchers appear to have a slow speed before reaching target to the point that it seems to me that a long range kinetic attack is often able to destroy the shields before the neutron hits the target, what is the best scenario you could hope at this point.

[tomasoltis]

Originally posted by Belhedler:

There are alternatives to lasers (plasma especially). Locking the laser research branch is usually easy as it often comes with the first pirate encounter. Since you locked this branch you get more choices in your tech. That pays on the long run.

Originally posted by Red Dox:

I choose the old ways
https://imgur.com/a/oPhV54a

I'm replacing a few plasma with a few Neutron Launchers instead. Neutron launchers appear to have a slow speed before reaching target to the point that it seems to me that a long range kinetic attack is often able to destroy the shields before the neutron hits the target, what is the best scenario you could hope at this point.

neutron torps are instant damage, have 90% accuracy and 130 range. That means, Neutron launcher will have a better hit probability than a Large plasma Kinetics are stuck at 75 accuracy, kinetic arty, mega, giga cannons have 75% as well. Only missiles and strike craft fly, the rest is instant hit/miss/evade based on maths.

Neutrons will wipe most small ships in 1 hit especially when they dont stack on armor. Unlike plasma that does staggering 1/4 damage to shield, neutron does 1/2. Also, vs armor it isnt bad at 1.5 modifier, against hull it is 1.75. So, neutrons are only worse against extra heavily armored targets. (proth come to mind)

Auxiliarytargeting computer for ships does not work. For example, precog line computer gives 15 accuracy, resulting in 105% ... you cant go above 100. You have 10 more track. Against non-evading ships, your general purpose weapon is neutron. It hits much better than kinetics. IF auxiliary targeting worked, kinetics would be way more useful even for arty ships.

Neutron has 130 range, KA 120, low tier weapons such as T5 railgun is 100 L.

With range upgrades, or if you utilize a starbase where shields dont work, you put up a neutron-only towers, with 20% base range upgrade, 50 more from targeting uplink you have a total of 221. Range not far from base titan range (which gets artillery computer upgrade anyway)

IF you really want kinetics on stationary turrets with reasonable hit probability, you dont really go above medium slot, just like Starbase weapons - Starbase Targeting computer however has a working 5% accuracy upgrade, so against most targets, they end up with 80% hiit chance with medium weapons. (75 base range, +70%=)127 range.

Lasers are a low tier kind of weapon. 90% accuracy, just like neutrons, 80/60/40 range, 5/30/50 track. At low tiers, lasers have a very realiable hit chance, but they do no bonus to hull, just to armor but 1/2.to shield.

tip, if you engage high evasion targets, picket computers add up to 40 track, so cruisers with neutrons with picket comps, preferably with titan that has tracking aura, you will hit all targets very probably, while small evasive ones when hit still go boom. Neutron is the highest hit probability of large high tier weapon. Very slow to fire, but then immediately on another volley enemies disappear. If oyure a militarist, your starbases cant escape and you use those, no retreat will provide a tellable fire rate increase.


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Most combat is hitscan based. That is, proton/neutron torpedo either hits, misses. At the same time, turret fires the projectile and if it hit and destroyed enemy ship, the target ship will not explode until the said killing blow neutron torpedo visually connects. Do not let visuals fool you.

[Knight Commander Martellus]

I choose neighter, I choose space dragon, MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

[Belhedler]

Found a very expert reason to take or not take Blue Laser, in this well-made article on beelining:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/a-guide-to-technology-beelining.1090197/

[jconan7777777]

aathe easy answer is check what you are fighting, and use whatever works best.

[Danny]

Torp+Autocannon MASS corvettes, they take down shields
PD/Flak Destroyers, they take down enemy missiles, Torpedoes and bombers/fighters

The other ships more energy weapon orientated/mix, to deal with what's left. XD