The Can Openers of Infinite Space: High-Risk, High-DPS Single-Shot Weapons

The Can Openers of Infinite Space: High-Risk, High-DPS Single-Shot Weapons

Having previously discussed critseeking in Infinite Space and how to accomplish (or counter) it, as well as the weapons best suited for such a strategy, I will now move on to a class of weapon that causes a large amount of damage with every direct hit. These weapons are generally called can-openers - a term borrowed from BattleTech used to describe any weapons with this capability. They fire a single large projectile at a time, instead of a continuous beam or multiple smaller projectiles at once. In addition, they tend to be of the direct-fire variety, so you'll need to lead the target to improve your chances of a direct hit (although targeting computers make this easier to accomplish). Moreover, they generally have a low muzzle velocity compared to other weapons, and are therefore best suited for use against capital ships; conversely, they are less effective against fighters, and to reflect this, some can-opener weapons cannot automatically lock on to fighters or other small craft.

One of the most common can-opener weapons in Infinite Space is the Gauss Cannon. According to its description, it fires a large metal projectile through a set of magnetic coils at high velocity. It is a staple weapon of the Terrans, Zorg, Tan Ru and Muktians, and the Urluquai and Calatians offer it for sale on their respective home systems. While it is far from the most powerful weapon, it delivers a high amount of damage for its (relatively low) price, with a decent fire rate and good range, making it ideal for low-to-mid-budget builds. In particular, the Zorg Frigate goes one step further by carrying two of these weapons by default - in fact, it the only ship in the game with such a setup for its stock loadout.

The Gauss Cannon - a favorite of many space-faring civilizations throughout Sector Prime.

The Plasma Cannon is another good example of a can-opener weapon. Like its smaller counterpart, the Plasma Blaster, it fires a ball of plasma, but in the form of a larger, slower-moving projectile that causes more damage on impact. Unlike the Gauss Cannon, it is a much rarer (but equally versatile) weapon; apart from Arch Fenster's Swamp Pirates, the Calatians are the only known users of this weapon, and even then, its size precludes its use on any Calatian vessel smaller than a Dreadnought. Nevertheless, it fires fast enough to be useful in most combat situations, especially against capital ships.

The Plasma Cannon is a worthwhile alternative to the Gauss Cannon, fielded (almost) solely by Calatian forces.

Some missile weapons also fall into the can-opener category. The Fission Missile Rack is a good example: it cannot target fighters automatically, but in return it delivers more damage per shot than the Impaler Missile Rack, and is longer-ranged to boot. However, only two factions (Terrans and Muktians) use it, and it is vulnerable to ECM systems and point-defense weapons. Even so, it remains useful (especially for lower budgets) due to the fact that, unlike Gauss and Plasma Cannons, they fire homing missiles, making them effective indirect-fire weapons. Many Terran and Muktian capital ships have at least one by default; the Muktian Destroyer's stock loadout has two, providing a more potent long-range punch compared to other Muktian ships. However, both factions will replace them with deadlier Multi-Missile Launchers at higher tech levels.

A staple of Terran and Muktian capital ships, the Fission Missile Rack often the go-to anti-capital ship weapon for medium- to long-range combat at intermediate tech levels.

The ultimate can-opener weapons, however, are unobtainable by normal means, if at all. One of them, the Cobalt Torpedo Tube, is only available as part of a quest (Primordius); the other (the Nova Cannon) is the most overpowered weapon in the whole game, and will be used against you in another quest (Yellow Kawangi invasion). The Cobalt Torpedo Tube is basically a high-speed, high-yield cruise missile launcher that, by default, does not lock on to fighters. However, each individual torpedo causes more damage than an entire salvo from a Multi-Missile Launcher. Damocles (which only spawns as part of the quest to destroy Primordius) is the only ship to carry this weapon by default; in fact, comes equipped with two of them as standard, and a direct hit from two of these weapons at once is almost as devastating as being hit by a Nova Cannon.

Normally exclusive to the Damocles, the Cobalt Torpedo Tube is one of the best weapons in the game, especially when fired in pairs.

Speaking of which, the Nova Cannon isn't just the best can-opener, it's unquestionably the best weapon in the game. The only way to acquire it in a normal game is to acquire a Timeless Bauble, activate it, and type "Nova Cannon" when prompted to enter the name of the item you want. This will give you a Nova Cannon, a weapon normally exclusive to the Yellow Kawangi Dreadnought. Once you use the Nova Cannon, you'll quickly find out why it is so effective: it delivers more damage per shot than any other weapon in the game. In fact, the best way to counter a Nova Cannon is with another Nova Cannon, especially when fitted to a ship that has a Plasma Coil Cloaker.

Apart from rarity and price, however, these two weapons share one major weakness: a slow rate of fire. This can be mitigated by fitting a targeting computer to the ship armed with these weapons. Moreover, the Nova Cannon's ability to automatically lock on to fighters, while beneficial in some situations, is generally a hindrance when attacking a mixed fleet of fighters and capital ships (or a space station) - a common workaround involves selecting the ship carrying the Nova Cannon, and targeting the capital ship (or space station) you want to attack. Finally, a Nova Cannon shell or Cobalt Torpedo missile can be intercepted using point-defense weapons, although this is very rare due to the fact that neither of these projectiles is actually treated as a missile in-game. 

The final weapon in this category is the Lava Bomb. Unlike the other weapons shown here, it is built into the structure of certain Tchorak ships (Lava Pod, Crust Buster and Vent Mother) and cannot be used by any other vessel. It fires a slow-moving stone pod that causes heavy damage on impact (though not as much as a Nova Cannon) and will disintegrate into a devastating cloud of fragments if it is destroyed in mid-flight. The best way to counter it is therefore with an ECM system (especially if said system is the more advanced Signature Projector); it's not foolproof, but when it works, the pod will spiral out of control harmlessly away from your fleet. Also, its fire rate is even slower than that of a Nova Cannon, and cannot be increased further with targeting computers, since Tchorak ships lack equipment slots.

Unique to some Tchorak ships, the Lava Bomb's homing capabilities, high-yield warhead, and ability to release fragments if destroyed mid-flight make it a formidable weapon that rivals the Cobalt Torpedo Tube and Nova Cannon.

To put it another way, if the Cobalt Torpedo Tube is reminiscent of an Arrow IV Artillery missile launcher (and in fact, both of those items became lost technology for a time, before later being rediscovered), then the Nova Cannon is more like a Clan ER PPC (Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon), especially one with a PPC Capacitor fitted. However, a Nova Cannon cannot be destroyed altogether, only disabled temporarily until it is repaired outside of combat. The Lava Bomb, meanwhile, combines elements of the Nova Cannon and Cobalt Torpedo Tube, but at the expense of being unobtainable in normal gameplay (mainly for balancing reasons). As for the other can-openers shown here, they're nowhere near as potent, but the fact that they're far more easily available makes them viable at all levels, especially the lower ones.

In short, can-opener weapons are generally more challenging to use than others, but more rewarding when you use them correctly due to their greater damage per shot, which compensates for their relatively low fire rate. However, they are generally more effective when combined with other weapon types (especially faster-firing ones), except in the rare use case of when they are fitted to a scout as its sole armament, and even more so if said scout is fitted with a cloaking device. Other weapons are more practical in many situations, but nothing beats a can-opener - especially the infamous Nova Cannon - for sheer shock and awe.