Best weapons for highly maneuverable ships?

[100thMonkey]

I'm playing as the Mortalens. Their "special" tech is the Swift Vector Engine,which gives their ships high maneuverability. Obviously a plus for defense. But what about attack?

Are there weapons that would take advantage of that extra maneuverability for attack (assuming that their speed is average)? If so, which ones?

[Llamageddon]

Quick answer would be anything without seeking (which mostly means not a missile/torpedo) which is assigned to a hardpoint with a narrow arc of fire. E.g. a gauss weapon mounted in a slot that only has 90 degree arc of fire. In theory, the faster your ship can turn to face a target, the faster it can start shooting.

I have read quite a few people claiming that vector manoeuvring doesn't make as much difference as would be expected over regular engines though.

[OloroMemez]

I have read quite a few people claiming that vector manoeuvring doesn't make as much difference as would be expected over regular engines though.

Definitely. Situation is so bad that the CustomizableModPack (CMP) doubles the vectoring thrust that they provide in order to actually provide a use case for them.

[SirHoraceHarkness]

I'd say the missile weapons would be a great combo on a fast nimble ship due to the massive range the mid and late tier missiles get so you can simply kite your targets outside their effective ranges and pummel them with salvos.

[100thMonkey]

Quick answer would be anything without seeking (which mostly means not a missile/torpedo) which is assigned to a hardpoint with a narrow arc of fire. E.g. a gauss weapon mounted in a slot that only has 90 degree arc of fire. In theory, the faster your ship can turn to face a target, the faster it can start shooting.

I have read quite a few people claiming that vector manoeuvring doesn't make as much difference as would be expected over regular engines though.

Sorry if it's a stupid question, but what do you mean by "gauss" weapon?

I had already come to the conclusion that seeking and area weapons wouldn't benefit from higher maneuverability. And it does seem to me too that high maneuverability isn't a great advantage, at least offensively. I feel that speed is probably always better.

But the Mortalen's special tech is about maneuverability. So I'm trying to figure out how to maximize its benefits.

[100thMonkey]

I'd say the missile weapons would be a great combo on a fast nimble ship due to the massive range the mid and late tier missiles get so you can simply kite your targets outside their effective ranges and pummel them with salvos.

You wrote "fast" AND "nimble" ships. But the Mortalen's Swift Engine is about maneuverability, not speed. I'm in the early part of the game (first gen of proton engine), and I'm trying to identify which weapon types would benefit the most from the extra maneuverability that the Mortalen's Swift Engine will bring. My ships will probably be way more maneuverable than fast for a while.

But even with late tier missiles, don't you think that maneuverability would have a very small impact when the missiles are launched from far away?

[SirHoraceHarkness]

I'd say the missile weapons would be a great combo on a fast nimble ship due to the massive range the mid and late tier missiles get so you can simply kite your targets outside their effective ranges and pummel them with salvos.

You wrote "fast" AND "nimble" ships. But the Mortalen's Swift Engine is about maneuverability, not speed. I'm in the early part of the game (first gen of proton engine), and I'm trying to identify which weapon types would benefit the most from the extra maneuverability that the Mortalen's Swift Engine will bring. My ships will probably be way more maneuverable than fast for a while.

But even with late tier missiles, don't you think that maneuverability would have a very small impact when the missiles are launched from far away?

Long range only matters if you can keep that range as you fight them. If you are slow then they can easily close the distance and use higher damage closer range weapons. You don't have to be super fast just fast enough to not allow them to quickly close in.

[MichaelJ007]

Way I see it, you would be better off using high dps close range weapons. Rail guns, blasters.

Your best strategy will be to drop in right on top of the target, rather than moving in slowly from range. Once close, you will be able to bring weapons to bear quickly on any target, and depend on focus fire and countermeasures to outdps them.

Enemies with slow maneuverability will be less able to bring max damage weapons to bear as they have to turn their ships first. Enemies with seeking weapons wont have that problem, but seeking weapons have lower dps, and your higher countermeasures will supplement your point defense.

Closing speeds are so slow in this game that ships with very long range weapons will get in quite a few licks if you jump in at a distance and then have to move closer while under fire.