The Analysis of Infinite Space, Part 2d: Large Weapons

The Analysis of Infinite Space, Part 2d: Large Weapons

Apologies for the long delay between posts; I'd been on vacation in London the previous week pondering which direction this blog should take next, and much of this week assembling a pair of LEGO sets. But I am now back online and resuming my analysis of my Steam games.

When it comes to long-range combat, large weapons are usually your only option. These range from simple high-explosive missiles to exotic and highly advanced weapons. The cheaper ones, however, have at least one major drawback, and this limits their usefulness considerably. Thus, it is well worth the time, cost and effort to obtain what I consider to be the "elite" weapons of Sea of Stars, but I will start this discussion with the cheaper weapons and move on to the more expensive ones later. All of them have low fire rates, and such they should be combined with faster-firing weapons.

The Impaler Missile Rack, Fission Torpedo Pod and Fission Missile Rack are cheap and usually deliver plenty of damage for their price, but each of them has a major drawback, limiting their usefulness. The Fission Missile is slow-moving and vulnerable to point defense, the Fission Torpedo does not home in on anything, and the Impaler is rather weak compared to the other two. I therefore never use any of them in practice; the only time you would have to do so is when you are trying to win a custom-made battle scenario on a limited budget. And since the Fission Torpedo is not a standard item for any faction, you should stick with the other two in such circumstances.

The other four long-range weapons are powerful enough to be considered superweapons, and, apart from the Graviton Disintegrator, are the only such weapons worthy of this classification. One of these, the Multi-Missile Launcher, is the only such weapon guaranteed to be obtainable; it can be purchased at Haven Station (although it costs 575 credits), although if the Muktian Homeworld, Bandur, appears in the sector map, you can buy it there for 4 coins. You are not guaranteed to obtain the other three elite weapons; two of these can only be acquired by creating them with a Timeless Bauble.

The Multi-Missile Launcher and Cobalt Torpedo Tube have the longest range of all weapons in the game, but they cannot automatically target fighters, and the MML is further constrained by a minimum range, within which it becomes ineffective. However, a direct hit by an MML pod which has not released its clusters is very damaging - and unexpected, since the MML is seldom used this way. In addition, the Cobalt Torpedo Tube is a standard fitment on the Damocles, but that vessel only appears in the quest to destroy Primordius, so that weapon is seldom seen, whereas AI-controlled Muktian and Terran capital ships can carry at least one MML in the later stages of a game.

The Particle Vortex Cannon works differently from any other weapon in the game: it fires a sphere which does no damage on its own, but discharges a bolt of lightning at nearby targets, and these bolts are quite painful to anything they hit. Only one ship (the Tan Ru Decimator) carries it by default, and even then it can be countered by having your own PVC or, better still, sniping it with an MML, which has a longer range. An upside to the PVC's unique firing pattern is that it is the only heavy weapon which actually works against fighters. It is not the absolute best weapon you can obtain in the game, though.

Nova Cannons are regarded as the most effective weapon overall in the game, and rightly so, since despite having a shorter maximum range than a Multi-Missile Launcher, they travel faster, have the most damage per shot of any weapon available, and have a decent fire rate when allied to a high-end targeting system. They are only obtainable by activating a Timeless Bauble and creating the weapon by entering its exact name. It is a weapon to be feared; Yellow Kawangi Dreadnoughts have one of these mounted in their nosecones, but fortunately, no other vessel carries it by default. When you do get to use it, always exploit its immense firepower; a direct hit will destroy most ships instantly and cripple others.

In short, large weapons require the most effort to master. However, used carefully they can be incredibly useful against capital ships. When the enemy presence is high enough, sometimes they are your only means of winning a battle outright without sustaining casualties yourself. Choose with care and you will end up with properly terrifying space-going siege machines!

The Analysis of Infinite Space, Part 2c: Medium Weapons

The Analysis of Infinite Space, Part 2c: Medium Weapons

Medium weapons are also a mainstay of Sea of Stars, and encompass a whole spectrum of weapons from short-range guns to long-range beam weapons. Prices vary greatly, from just 150 credits for a Micro-Meteorite Gun to 506 credits for a Graviton Disintegrator. There are 10 weapons of this size class, each with their own pros and cons, but all can only be mounted on capital ships with at least one medium-sized turret. I will now give a detailed description of each of them.

The Micro-Meteorite Gun has the shortest range of all medium weapons, but is surprisingly useful. Its spray of shrapnel, though inaccurate at range, is devastating up close, just like a shotgun. Given that it is standard equipment on Tan Ru Inspectors and Demolishers, you should attack them at range to avoid being blasted by debris. In fact, combining this weapon with a Plasma Blaster will make a capital ship extremely effective in close-range combat.

Gauss Cannons, like Neptunium Railguns and Mass Drivers, are magnetically powered, but spit out a large projectile every few seconds instead of several small shells every second. This weapon is commonly used throughout the game, particularly by Terran, Muktian and Zorg capital ships. It is also standard equipment on Tan Ru Dominators. While it's a good all-round weapon, it doesn't stand out in any area either, but it's still a great affordable medium-range gun for most situations, although the slow muzzle velocity makes it less useful against fighters.

The Gatling Laser is basically a cluster of laser beams revolving about a common central tube, and is even more powerful than the standard Laser Beam or Repeater. Its high fire rate compensates for its mediocre damage per shot and short range. This weapon can wear down light shields far more quickly than even a Neptunium Railgun or a Cone cannon. There are better close-range weapons available, though, but this one is far more affordable.

The Strange Quark Projector and Proton Phasor Beam are also short-range beam weapons, but sacrifice fire rate for more damage per shot. While it may be tempting to use a Phasor, especially since the Klakar utilize it, its slow fire rate can be a hindrance at times, although against most capital ships it can be quite useful. The quark beam is a better bet, though, due to its superior fire rate. It helps that although the Urluquai mount them on Deep Hunters and Carriers, you can buy these weapons as well and, if you have a cloaking device, use their own tactics against them.

The Plasma Cannon is the Calatian counterpart to the Gauss Cannon, and is standard on Calatian Dreadnoughts and Super Dreadnoughts. It's basically a Plasma Blaster scaled up to the size of a Gauss Cannon, but with emphasis on damage per shot and range. In fact its price and stats are basically identical to that weapon. Thus, they both have the same strengths and weaknesses.

The Antichronon Pulse Blaster and Positron Scrambler Beam are antimatter-based hitscan weapons. Both cost 253 credits each, but the positron beam delivers more damage per shot. The antichronon beam is standard equipment on Zorg capital ships, however, and can be bought from their homeworld. The slow fire rate makes them most useful as medium-range siege weapons, but they are equally effective against all ship types, particularly when allied to a targeting computer of some sort.

Now this is a real must-have medium-sized weapon! The Tachyon Ray Gun, if you can obtain it, is one of the best general-purpose weapons in the whole game. It's more potent than most other medium weapons and has a better fire rate than other beam weapons. The long range makes it ideal for chewing up whole flotillas when combined with other high-end weapons. In fact it is possible, though rare, to acquire two or more of them in the same game. There is, however, one medium weapon which is even deadlier, but good luck acquiring it...

Only one medium-sized weapon is more powerful than a Tachyon Ray Gun. The Graviton Disintegrator is the most terrifying beam weapon of them all. Its bright yellow beam has a shorter range than the purple one emitted by the TRG, but it is much more powerful and fires faster. It's only used by the Yellow Kawangi (whose dreadnoughts carry four such weapons, making anything other than long-range sniping practically suicidal), and thus the only way to obtain one in the campaign is to create it using a Timeless Bauble (although you can use it freely in the Combat Simulator). When you get your hands on one of these nasty things, however, you will obliterate entire fleets in no time at all.

In short, medium weapons make a nice complement to other types of weapons, depending on what your strategy is based on. However, you may also need a targeting computer to really make it work. Choose carefully and your flotilla will be feared by every foe you encounter throughout Sector Prime!