Weapon Types

Weapon Types

Beam Weapons

Beams

The location and range of beam weapons are indicated by red firing arcs originating from the players' ship. After the Weapons officer selects a target, the ship's beam weapons will automatically fire at that target when it is inside a beam's firing arc. The officer can use the frequency selectors at the bottom right, along with data about a target's shield frequencies provided by the Science officer, to remodulate beams to a frequency that deals more damage. Note that you can change the beam frequency instantaneously.

Beam weapons fire at a target's hull by default, but the Weapons officer can also target specific subsystems to disable an enemy. If you simply wish to destroy an enemy, however, it's best left on hull.

Missles

Homing

A simple, high-speed missile with a small warhead.

This target-seeking missile is the workhorse of many space combat arsenals. It's compact enough to be fitted on frigates, and packs enough punch to be used on larger ships, though usually in more than a single missile tube.

Nukes

A powerful homing missile that deal tremendous damage to all ships within 1U of its detonation.

A nuclear missile is similar to a homing missile in that it can seek a target, but it moves and turns more slowly and explodes a greatly increased payload. Its nuclear explosion spans 1U of space and can take out multiple ships in a single shot.

Some captains oppose the use of nuclear weapons because their large explosions can lead to 'fragging', or unintentional friendly fire. Shields should protect crews from harmful radiation, but because these weapons are often used in the thick of battle, there's no way of knowing if hull plating or shields can provide enough protection.

EMP

A homing missile that deal powerful damage to the shields of all ships within 1U of detonation, but don't damage physical systems or hulls.

The electromagnetic pulse missile (EMP) reproduces the disruptive effects of a nuclear explosion, but without the destructive properties. This causes it to only affect shields within its blast radius, leaving their hulls intact. The EMP missile is also smaller and easier to store than heavy nukes. Many captains (and pirates) prefer EMPs over nukes for these reasons, and use them to knock out targets' shields before closing to disable them with focused beam fire.

Mines

A powerful, stationary explosive that detonates when a ship moves to within 1U of it. The explosion damages all objects within a 1U radius.

Mines are often placed in defensive perimeters around stations. There are also old minefields scattered around the galaxy from older wars.

Some fearless captains use mines as offensive weapons, but their delayed detonation and blast radius make this use risky at best.

HVLI

A group of 5 simple lead slugs fired in a single burst at extremely high velocity. These bolts don't home in on an enemy target.

A high-velocity lead impactor (HVLI) fires a simple slug of lead at a high velocity. This weapon is usually found in simpler ships since it does not require guidance computers. This also means its projectiles fly in a straight line from its tube and can't pursue a target.

Each shot from an HVLI fires a burst of 5 projectiles, which increases the chance to hit but requires precision aiming to be effective.