Turret metal grades - what's it mean?

[thegazbeard]

On all the turrets I've bought or salvaged, it states in top of the tooltip a metal type (Iron, Titanium, Naonite, etc.). I'm not asking about mining and salvaging turrets - I figured out that those indicate the resource level they can collect. I'm asking about Armed and Defensive turrets

What is that metal indicator for?

Is it what the turret is made from, or what it can shoot and damage, or is it solely to show the hull type it can be placed upon?

Thanks in advance.

[Miss Incarnadine]

Turrets of a specific material tier need that material or better for placement, so you can't put a naonite turret on an iron block, for example. The other thing that turret material affects is the bonuses given to a fighter made from that turret. Each tier of material gives different bonuses, and those bonuses can take a fighter beyond the restrictions of its attributes, like speed or maneuverability.

[CMDR Sweeper]

I also think the material of the turret means efficiency vs those materials as well.
Iron turrets shooting at Trinium seems to struggle more damage wise vs Trinium turrets.

[umop-apisdn]

Originally posted by CMDR Sweeper:

I also think the material of the turret means efficiency vs those materials as well.
Iron turrets shooting at Trinium seems to struggle more damage wise vs Trinium turrets.

That makes perfect sense, seeing as (for example) a Trinium mining turret will wreck an iron rock almost as soon as you shoot it, but takes f o r e v e r to cut up a Xanion rock.

[Miss Incarnadine]

Originally posted by CMDR Sweeper:

I also think the material of the turret means efficiency vs those materials as well.
Iron turrets shooting at Trinium seems to struggle more damage wise vs Trinium turrets.

Completely forgot about this! Mining lasers are only effective one material level up. Thus, iron mining lasers will only mine up to titanium. To get naonite, you need at least titanium mining lasers. Damage is halved for a mining laser trying to mine material above its grade.

[Jorboc]

I haven't played much myself yet, but if the turret material just follows the same rarer=better ladder as the rarity itself, then it seems like a bit of a missed opportunity.

What if different materials could provide different attributes?
-Iron? Denser chaingun rounds.
-Titanium? Lighter/faster missiles, with bigger payload.
-Naonite: It makes shields, so it could give plasma bolts more cohesion?
-Trinium: Makes docking fields for fighter bays, which could translate to more disruptive zappers.
And so forth (that's as far as I've unlocked so far)

[rickcarson]

Originally posted by CMDR Sweeper:

I also think the material of the turret means efficiency vs those materials as well.
Iron turrets shooting at Trinium seems to struggle more damage wise vs Trinium turrets.

I've heard this said, and last time I read the code it 100% applies to mining lasers (and I think salvaging too maybe).

But I'm not convinced that it applies to normal (i.e. not mining or salvage) weapons - despite some people swearing on stacks of old Moo2 manuals that it does. I just don't believe them. Show me the code.

[Firefrye]

- different materials of turret do not gain *damage* vs other materials
- different material tiers are needed for both salvage and mining (you can mine/salvage one material "better" than your turret's material). If you are "live salvaging" an enemy ship, you will still damage them if your turret is the "wrong" material, but you will not gain the scrap from breaking blocks (or at least extremely little).

- in terms of stats, different materials have ON AVERAGE more base stats the higher the material. BUT those are averages, and the stat range is very wide. PLUS those stats are affected by tech level. A high TECH LEVEL iron turret might have higher dps than a lower tech turret of a higher material, but finding a turret of that tech level WITH the higher material will have a better chance at having higher stats. But... all stats in this game are VERY high rng. A tech 52 avorion turret has the highest POTENTIAL stats, but it's rng if you ever get close to that potential.