deck cannon not worth the resources

[Phishfood]

So I've tested it out.

You either have 1 deck cannon giving you 6000 dps, but you need 30 crew to operate and reload it without dropping the firerate, probably because every time the cannon fires the crew have to pause their movement briefly

or

3 large cannons give you 6000 dps and you need 15 crew to operate and reload.

Not just that they can be fired for longer period of time because the deck cannon eats up ammo so fast your crew have to go further to get the ammo which will eventually drop the fire rate. On the other hand the large cannons can have a storage right under each cannon and so they will fire 2-3 times longer than the deck cannon.

You'd think you're saving space with the deck cannon and have some security with a well protected roof weapon but the disadvantages seem to outweigh the advantages.

Has anyone gotten them to work well?

[lalelunatic]

i´d put them more in the category of burst weapons, rather than the other side of the coin, which would be dps weapons. no fight takes forever, thus you only need enough firepower to actually win a fight. if they´re empty after that point is reached, it doesnt matter.

same goes for defensive stuff btw. you dont need all the shielding and armor the game has to offer, but only enough so your opponent is dead and you are not.

at least, well in brawls its that way. carreer mode... well depens on how much finetuning this needs for you to not go bankrupt... which i never heard of... so...

so as said, they´re more of the bursty kind. nothing for prolonged engagements. at least i see them that way.

[⇧⇨⇩⇩⇩]

Your analysis is a bit too simplistic. One aspect of the game is that you unlock all the tech way before endgame. Endgame fights are not defined by having the most super duper advanced weapon, but by being massive. Regardless if you use a fleet or use a big dreadnauht of some sort battles are fought with lots and lots of weapons getting fired. This means its not only their raw DPS output that matters but also how much punishment your ships can take while still remaining functional. All other cann9ns require surface area on your ship, the deck cannon does not need to be exposed. You can fit some deck cannons behind a row of regular cannons, or you can build a much more armored front than you can when relying on smaller cannons.

[Curious Cat]

Normal cannons tend to get shot out of my ship quicker than I can look, deck cannons I can put behind a fat layer of armor. That alone is worth it to me and has saved me a lot of headache and repair costs.

[HuMaNgUtAn]

It takes 20 crew not 30 to run a deck gun at 100% and that includes the 3 ammo factories (4 gunners, 12 ammo loaders and 4 factory suppliers is the standard) Most top designs I've seen run them with less than that to save crew and only lose a little DPS.

Deck Cannons also have far greater penetration than Large cannons and along with the higher burst damage make them generally more effective in combat. It is only the projectile speed that holds them back from being more popular in PvP, but in career mode I'd rate them as second only to rail guns as an easy win option.

[icuurd12b42]

In career mode, basically I just use them as space filler if I have the room, to take care of the ships that get stuck in my face and the other point weapons can't reach.

You use those for termination damage, not as a main attack weapon, unless you are late game (lvl 12+). it's not worth it because they are also so slow to aim.

[CptnRedstone]

Even if they have lower DPS, deck cannons still have distinct advantages:
- They're far easier to protect
- They're more space-efficient than normal cannons
- They effectively use no surface area, which is a much bigger deal than you'd think
- Their burst and/or penetration damage is superior
- Their firing arc is better than most other weapons, while other cannons' arcs are bad