Best Ship Weapon Setups?

[Zodiac]

As per the title, wondering what everyone is using as their ship weapon setups for the most optimal (and quickest) combat situations.

For myself, I've been leaning alot to a Range 5 setup with 4 sets of 2AP Torpedos in order to cripple enemies from afar and to retreat if needed.

[Aimstrong]

I have tried this setup and is too RNG based and definately not the fastest in average=> takes too long time to cripple a ship or win a fight(especially if you are fighting a >=Vengence in tonnage or any well armored/shielded).
Range 5 is my least favorite especially against Xenos ships which I don't think 4x lvl 7 Torpidoes are going to make a big difference.
Prefer to fight @ range 1-3 with Railguns/Lances/Plasma Cannons and especially lots for boarding.
Prefer crippling effects to crits/raw damage because my priority is to take no damage.
Regarding the number of weapons used 4-5 is more than enough in my opinion:
2x max Railguns
1-2x max Torpidoes
1-2x Lance or PlasmaCannon
Cheers.

[Nirlem]

i am using 2 small torpedos for ranges 4-5, 1 large retribution cannon for ranges 1-3.
Combined with boarding for the other 4 rp.
Not the quickest usually, but works well :)
Cheers.

[FAT WANZER]

the lance is good if you got crit,the enemy will have -2 reactor point if lucky (it stack) i once got 8 full reactor going vs xecno ship with -2 reactor point btw if u go 4 torpedoes and range 5 with the scanner talent(the one that give +25 acc and def)u rarely got hit and after about 6 round i usually destroy enemy engine with minimum damage taken evasive (stacking + defense and - acc vs enemy ship)

[Exuberant112]

Sword Battlecruiser :

Just the 3 weapon slots, 2 x lvl 3 torpedo - low dam high cripple change (range 4-5)
Keep them at a safe distance and try to cripple whilst they shoot void and get smashed

Last weapon slot 1 x lvl 7 missile launcher - high dam / rads med cripple (range 3-4)
If they are down to 30% hull but refusing to cripple get close and board.

I have done about 300 consecutive battles, disabled nearly all, stole all stuff, taken barely any damage at all, never lost a crew member, accidentally blown up a few not keeping eyes on their hull lol.

The ship is set up for long range bounty hunting, all components upgraded fully, crew is like 40% pilots so nothing ever hits and when it does I take very little damage. Even xenos pose little threat now i've gone from level 10 captain with my starting ship (Guardian Interceptor) to level 30 captain with the best ship in the universe within a weeki.

Got rid of all passenger bays, prisons, spare weapons I never use, and 3 of the hull buff upgrades - replaced them with armoured officer cabins, weapons lvl 5, better sensors, tonnes of fuel, though I kept 45 carge just because I like the odd bit of spice trading.

During each battle, I do the same tactics now - ships with close range weapons get pounded down at distance then crippled. Ships with long range weapons I forgo shooting at them and use battle cards to evade hits and get right up snug before boarding.

I find boarding is the quickest route to high level crew since you get big experience bonuses for killing crew but not destroying the ships (Magnanimous victory card). I have been spending wildly on my ship the entire time and refuel/pay crew/medical every single planet I land on - and I still managed to complete all story missions easy whilst saving up $3M.

So far I have yet to find a better tactical approach, though i'm a little bored of playing this style now as there is practically zero challenge at this difficulty what with the ship being a beast.

Hope that gives you some idea of how you can accidentally overpower yourself lol. I am gonna start a new Captain on higher difficulty now :) Best of luck Captain!

[Kaerius]

I usually just do 2x torp, 2x lance, and 1 plasma as an overlapping backup weapon. I focus on boarding, and prioritize crippling% over anything else, so lvl 7 torps, lvl 3 lances, and lvl 4 plasma. I count on only having 4 engine power to work with for shooting.

I've also tried working perfected approach into my routine and using a 3 ap lance on ships that come with it standard, but I prefer not to rely on that because there's better defensive talents I'd rather be using. I also prefer longhaul engines over chaser engines for the range, so I don't have to stop to refuel so often.

[BmChum]

Well my level 29 captain just died to a xeno hive ship so guess this isn't full proof but also I did get to that level on hard so it ain't bad either. Also I should have retreated after RNGesus decided the xeno couldnt miss despite a ridiculous pilot level and all my defensive buffs. Oh well, anyway...

This setup does require level 11+ gunners and pilots. Was running a vengeance class most of the game with two high level HX-2 railguns (I always take these!) and two high level X2 Plasma batterys. Obviously you can't shoot it slot 5 so I use forward thrusters (pilot skill 11) and move forward. Next turn start popping vigilant scanners (+25% accuracy and defense) and firing plasma batterys. Unless you fail to move forward (in which case fire plasmas and use twitch surge) I then fire off all guns and pop gunners firing orders (+35% damage and accuracy). Doesn't take long to cripple an enemy ship this way, with a few crits they'll have very few reactor points to shoot back. Sit in slot 3 blasting and boarding with my ace boarding team, setting off bio bombs and ferocious crossfires. Quite aggresive playstyle. Use acrobatic dive and bolt/fast getaway if things turn south. Nuked a few xeno crusiers as well as everything else. Got a tad unlucky and perhaps complacent with the hive ship.

Fun times until the end :'(

[prozac_27]

Damn the torpedos! Swap all weapon slots to pilot/nav/boarding mods. Board them, slaughter crew and throw lots of wrenches. Space Marines ftw!

[DARI]

no need to board if your gunner is able to headshot the enemy captain with torps/rockets XD

[chefcook90]

If you want fast, long-range combat, Tri-cast / Aramech X2 Missles offer a near optimal combination of range, accuracy, and damage output. They also save on Small slots compared to 4x Inferno Torpedos, which means more room for assist modules. (if you need more Gunnery points, you can install some MK2 Alpha Torpedos in your medium slots and just not use them)

I actually stopped using them because they killed things TOO fast, and I prefer crippling ships so I can drag intel out of them with my Zealots

BTW, you can also try to cheese the enemy with Engine Precision and triples missles instead of just two, or throw in a Helios Railgun for the -35% Accuracy and Void Resist Debuff.

[nDervish]

Two of the best 2RP torpedoes I can get my hands on for opening salvos at range 5-4, then a 3RP lance as I continue closing to board. I never have more than 4RP for guns because I'm always spending the other 4 on advancing or boarding.

Weapon selection within each category is prioritized for cripple chance and maximizing the ratio of void/radiation damage to normal damage (which, for the lance, means a low-tier gun, because the bigger ones both increase normal damage and reduce radiation damage) - I want to do as much damage to crew/components as possible while leaving the hull untouched so that I can keep shooting them without accidentally blowing the ship up.

I've also got a maxxed-out pilot assist and nav assist, of course, so I can just drop an Evasive Maneuvers at the start of the fight and, unless I'm fighting xenos, I can get into boarding range and kill all their crew up close and personal without taking more than one hit every 5-10 battles. (On Normal difficulty. I would expect to take more hits on Hard, of course.)

[Drunk-Side Jedi]

For larger ships I like:

1x torp
1x missile
1x Rails
1x Grav

/w Chaser Engine

Use Perfected Approach, fire torps + missles, advance. Fire Rails + torps, advance. Light them up with the Grav + Rails.