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 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!
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