Blasters V. Ions V. Beams

Ripdog · Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2005 8:39 pm Post subject:

Noooo its called future-proofing! What that answer is too serious? Ummmm, ooo i kno its to supply power for the aliens she has on the ship! What, that answers worse?

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Kythorak · Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Posts: 37 Location: Starscape RPG

da chicken · Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 16

I build three ships. All of them have shield and engine, and by the end of the game all of them are Devastators (I tend to overmine, so I have a lot of free resources).

1. Capital assault. Use for destroying pesky capital ships that have invulnerable bits as well as mining danger zones. Filled to the brim with Beams, 4 nova bombs, and a few batteries. This is the primary ship, as it can do everything in a pinch.

2. Fighter sweeper. Max Photon torps, missle drones, nova bombs, and missile/bomb bays. This one typically has no grav beam.

3. Mule. 6x Blaster II, one nova bomb, grav beam, and everything else is cargo. Since Blaster II's are 1x1, they allow for 6 more Cargo Bays! I usually have enough cargo space to mine a sector from full to empty, which is a lot more cargo space than the Aegis itself has.

OvermindDL1 · Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 138

Those sound identical to my general loadout.

Wolf Warhead · Joined: 16 Oct 2005 Posts: 9 Location: S.O.L.A.R. HQ

Blasters do decent damage and have that great charge up attack. However, there is rarely time to use that attack when you need it the most. Ion weapons don't do great damage, but they have a good range, both forward and sideways. Beams do massive damage, but come in very, very late and are pretty much only used when you reach the final boss.

My all-time favorite is missiles, though. 2 Plasma torpedoes, 8 missile bays and I'll rarely run out of ammo while doing a lot of damage. Bombs are also quite nifty. They run out of ammo quickly, but you only need a few to clear an entire field of enemies.

My final ship had 4 Lasers, 2 Plasma torpedoes, 8 or so missile bays, 2 Nova bombs, 4 bomb bays. No more cargo bays since I didn't need to mine anymore. The final boss didn't stand a chance.

Vector · Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 3

My Vote: Beams

Wasnt an easy decision by any means. True, beams come pretty late in the game, but hey, just in time with all of Zone 5 coming at you, plus every space monkey and asteroid aiming at you. The power use is something one could do without, especially with my tactic, mounting 6 Level 4 beams on a Devastator, with a couple missile drones, and about 6-8 cargo pods.

(Probably a horrid ship layout, but it's served me pretty well Laughing

)

Shagazar · Joined: 19 Oct 2005 Posts: 10

Missiles take the cake for me, but mostly because they're homing (I can't aim...). Beams would have been top if their charge-up attack didn't have such little range...

Vector · Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 3

hainsay · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Posts: 3

Artinum, what you posted on the first page is EXACTLY what I found. even the sudden plasma torp fenzy in zone 5 lol

bsperan · Joined: 25 Nov 2005 Posts: 3 Location: SouthWest Missouri

Considering how early you get Ion Cannons, they do still fill a niche - depending upon your strategy. As some have pointed out, both Blasters and Beams take too long to charge up. So having charging weapons (while extremely cool Cool

) is not always that useful. Also, after beating Boss #3 you get access to Lv 4 technology. That means you can research Ion Cannons Lv 4, which are significantly better than Lv 2 or Lv 3!

I've found that a Devastator hull with SIX Ion Cannons Lv 4, ONE Nova Bomb Lv 3, seven (or NINE) Bomb Bays and two Beam drones deserves at least some respect. (Had to add in at least one Battery Lv 4, however!) In fact, it is my ship of choice for the purpose of killing Mining Barges and Interdictors and it's nearly decent against other capital ships.

However, that setup is not ideal for taking on Lava Worms... nor for mining operations! You get to have up to three ships, so that was one of my standbys. It still racked up nearly 4000 kills, though!

Particularly in Zone 5, the enemy drones and frigates can quickly overwhelm your ship - even when lugging out Nova Bombs one at a time! But with SIX Ion Cannons Lv 4, you can let 'er rip on the capital ship while the 4x6 (24!!!) ion streams bounce of this ship to spray the swarm of drones closing in behind. That, combined with a steady stream of Nova Bombs is enough to wipe out all but the deadliest of swarms (like multiple capital ships).

I find this Ion Cannon setup to work very well against Mining Barges for that reason. I can concentrate on the barge without worrying too much about the swarm of drones. Also, the spray of 24 ion beams pretty much covers the entire length of the Barge - so I can hit every one of those cargo containers simultaneously. And if there is a container that stubbornly refuses to blow, I turn the ship so the Beam Drone hits it. The only setup I've found to work better against Mining Barges is all Beams.

And I'm always in a hurry to take out the Mining Barges AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Those darned things skedattle in a hurry as soon as they take on damage! Then I would have to chase them around from node to node and facing swarm after swarm. Not pleasant... So I have to take risks and go in hot in a swarm of enemies. (Though if there is a capital ship right next to it, I'll have to take it out first.) Often times, I'll use "R" to call Aegis in for backup. That really helps to take out the Mining Barge quickly.

Also, with seven Bomb bays and only 1 Nova Bomb, you get 24 shots! With that much, I usually have enough to last until returning to Aegis.

However, I would not consider Ion Cannons unless I have a Devastator hull, Level 4 technology and Ion Cannons Lv 4. Anything less and I will always choose Blasters and Missiles/Torpedoes instead (or beams). So for much of the game I had an Avenger hull with two Lv 3 or 4 Blasters in the nose, two Heat Seekers/Plasma Torps in the wings and, later, two Missile Drones.

All that said, however, Beam weapons are my absolute favorite. That's where my vote went. Nothing beats a Devestator with six Beams Lv 4 and two Beam drones!! Shocked

But as others pointed out, you only get Beams at the end of the game. Sad

However, I still have considerable respect for Plasma Torps. Against Bosses #3 and #4 I might choose those. As an experiment, I tried a Devastator with four Plasma Torps, Two Beams and two Missile Drones. (Also with a Nova Bomb and some missile & bomb bays.) It's pretty nifty. The two beams I added to the nose/center to give it some extra punch for those armored capital ships like the Gravitron.

Finally, I don't understand why anyone would despise the Side Drones. They dramatically increase both firepower and the area of attack. Granted, Beam drones are very difficult to aim. That is, unless the whole ship is filled with Beams. Wink

And the Blaster Drone is nearly worthless. You can't even charge it up. But the Missle Drone has seeking missles - with infinite ammo! What's not to like? Question

tieron_asaki · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 37

Ions all the way for me. I actually found out the best way to use them for mining... But it involves having played pool for years and years and being the only person in one's highschool physics course to ace every test. Angles of reflection and refraction and all that good stuff when it comes to bouncing **** off of more ****. I mastered that and I could fire just a few shots into a swarm, coupled with some plas torps to knock stuff around, and stuff started going boom left and right.

Then there's the matter of the Mining Ships... would you like to know the dastardly thing I did to them? I would nail an ion blast right in that tiny little gap between containers. I would put three or four in there, just pelt the ship with ion blasts. I didn't usually take out the miner in one node, but it never took me more than two nodes to take him out... then just soak up all the resources...

Also, as said in the 'Last Boss too hard' thread, I took him out with all ions and a couple nova bombs at the end for a dramatic finish.

I'm all about the dramatic finish.

KJK::Hyperion · Joined: 20 Dec 2005 Posts: 4

Ion for the fun, beam for actual use. The bouncing action is great (I have terrible aim), and the spread angle comes in handy for large swarms. For added fun I mixed level 4 with a couple of level 3 ions on a Devastator class, so the pattern was a bit more varied; with two beam drones for precision hits (e.g. lining shots to the drone bays of a Gravitron). I found beams much more boring, but strangely satisfying when used as a lightsaber. Lightning mode? never used it, range too short, too little power, really not worth it and a far cry from the blaster's charged shot

A weapon I loved in Blasteroids and would love in Starscape: the Ripstar. Sends you spinning and shooting like crazy, clears out a whole screen in a single application (see also: the Death Blossom in the movie "The Last Starfighter"). Maybe a charge-up secondary weapon?

tieron_asaki · Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 37

clibin009 · Guest

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