Weapons Guide (Page 1 of 4)

Written by wathman00,



This is an overview of weapons found in the X3TC v3.1 that I put together using my personal experience, some accounts I've read recently on the forums, and the previous weapon guide written by Tenlar. I also reviewed stats found at Roguey's TC site, and the X3TC wiki page while analyzing the weapons. As for the commentary, these are mostly my own opinions and are by no means the final word. Amendments to my comments are welcome and needed as I have not personally used every weapon in the game yet.

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Impulse Ray Emitter

The IRE is a basic weapon that is mountable on nearly every ship in the game except those belonging to Khaak or Terrans. IREs are most likely to be found on fighter drones and M5 ships. This weapon has poor overall damage, but its high projectile speed and good rate of fire make it a serious threat when used in numbers. IREs are also the most energy efficient non-ammo weapon in the game, so they can be fired for very long periods of time with no need to wait for energy to recharge. It is possible to use IREs in turrets, though there are usually better options for that role.

Hull damage	21 (F-)	Range	1.4km (D-)
Shield damage	220 (F-)	Rate of fire	400 r/m (B+)
Speed / accuracy	1162 m/s (A)	Energy Usage	4 (A+)

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Particle Accelerator Cannon

The PAC is a common and flexible weapon that mounts on many ships. It has improved damage and range over the IRE, but at the expense of projectile speed rate of fire, and energy usage. This is a weapon that is equally suited to M4's as it is turrets on larger ships since it performs at average in nearly all areas. Energy use is rather efficient so there is less worry of draining your weapon reactor in prolonged battles. If you are having trouble deciding what weapons to mount in M4's through M6's, PACs are a good place to start.

Hull damage	143 (D-)	Range	1.9km (D)
Shield damage	1,155 (C)	Rate of fire	314 r/m (B+)
Speed / accuracy	703 m/s (B)	Energy Usage	23 (B)

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Mass-driver

The mass driver is a specialty weapon that can be an inconvenience to an enemy if used incorrectly or very deadly if used properly. Mass drivers cause no shield damage because they ignore shields completely, and the low hull damage per shot is not as bad as it seems when you account for the very high rate of fire. Since the weapon is ammo based, there are no weapon reactor issues with prolonged firing. Accuracy of the weapon is very good since the projectiles are fast, but bear in mind that you have to get up close and personal with a 1km maximum range. Split, Argon, Pirate, and some Teladi ships are capable of mounting mass drivers.

Hull damage	15 (F-)	Range	1km (F)
Shield damage	n/a	Rate of fire	741 r/m (A)
Speed / accuracy	739 m/s (B)	Energy Usage	Ammo based

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Phased Repeater Gun

PRGs are in many ways an improved version of the PAC. They fill similar roles and in most cases you are better off using a PRG given that the ship is able to equip it. Range and projectile speed give this weapon an edge in combat when compared to other weapons of similar size. These attributes are valuable in the main guns of an M4, or in the turrets of anything larger. 2.3 km of range and better accuracy for turrets is useful for nailing missiles before they get too close to your ship. The only apparent weakness for the PRG is that it has relatively low damage per shot, but fires rounds rapidly to make up for it. This can drain weapon reactors faster than you'd expect in a fire-fight. This weapon makes a good choice for preserving the hulls of potential ship captures.

Hull damage	72 (F+)	Range	2.3km (D+)
Shield damage	680 (C-)	Rate of fire	638 r/m (A)
Speed / accuracy	1,560 m/s (A)	Energy Usage	4 (B-)

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Energy Bolt Chaingun

The main feature of the EBC is that it uses ammo to provide the energy for damage dealing, so it is extremely energy efficient. Each shot consumes the same amount of reactor energy as IRE does, but it is a small amount compared to the weapon's destructive power. The EBC performs well in most areas for its size, and can fill many roles in M3 ships and larger. The projectile speed is not quite as good as the PRG so you do not get good pinpoint accuracy, but the ability to spray prolonged bursts of greenish blobs of death with little burden to the reactor may make up for this.

Hull damage	217 (C-)	Range	2.8km (C-)
Shield damage	1,357 (C-)	Rate of fire	395 r/m (B+)
Speed / accuracy	604 m/s (C+)	Energy Usage	Ammo based

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Fragmentation Bomb Launcher

With analysis of the stats and generally bad performance reviews from other players, I have completely avoided this weapon. The main "feature" of this weapon is an area of effect explosion that should be triggered by proximity to enemy ships, but by all accounts I've seen it amounts to fireworks and confetti celebrating your certain victory over your FBL wielding opponent. Overall, the weapon has slow projectile speed and slow rate of fire, so if used in a turret, the target is likely long gone by the time the bomb reaches where it should have impacted. It uses lots of energy for what little it does do, and basically attempts to fill a role that is not needed. Catra has commented that the FBL can be useful against frigates and corvettes, larger, slower targets are better for the FBL.

Hull damage	471 (C)	Range	2km (D)
Shield damage	2,793 (C+)	Rate of fire	189 r/m (D)
Speed / accuracy	359 m/s (D+)	Energy Usage	61 (C+)

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High Energy Plasma Thrower

HEPTs are the bread and butter of the M3 class, the power, damage, speed, and energy characteristics match well with the capabilities of most M3 class heavy fighters. HEPTs also have their uses in turrets and main batteries of M6/M7 class ships. This main weakness of this weapon class is the relatively slow projectile speed and greater energy consumption. HEPTs are most effective when used when closing in on an opponent that is slower than you. Hitting M4s is a bit tough, M5s even trickier; but if a few shots land, it's over for the little guys. In larger ship battles, HEPTs do not do so well against missiles and small fighters. When you use them to give some focused fire at an M6 or larger ship, they work pretty well in turrets.

Hull damage	332 (C)	Range	2.3km (D+)
Shield damage	1,995 (C)	Rate of fire	189 r/m (C)
Speed / accuracy	283 m/s (C-)	Energy Usage	40 (C+)

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Ion Disruptor

The ion disruptor is a speciality weapon with a very specific niche. It only does significant shield damage, and has very limited range. It does have a high probability of frying ship components so its most useful application is preparation for boarding operations, or perhaps capture for vessels smaller than M6. The ion disruptor bolt tends to jump to nearby ships, so it may not be a good idea to use in crowded sectors with friendlies nearby. Ships capable of mounting the ion disruptor are rather limited, most Boron vessels, some Argon, and a few non-combat ships from the Split. This is also a weapon you do not want mounted on AI controlled ships as you are just as likely to get struck by the bolt as the enemy is.

Hull damage	5 (F-)	Range	2.3km (F)
Shield damage	1,575 (C-)	Rate of fire	127 r/m (D)
Speed / accuracy	Instant hit	Energy Usage	78 (C)

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Pulsed Beam Emitter

PBEs are easily the favourite guns of pilots who want to capture enemy ships. Per shot damage stats of this weapon are low, but it has the fastest rate of fire of any weapon in the game. Projectile speed of this weapon is near instantaneous so if you are in range, you aren't likely to miss what you are aiming at. The weapon favors shield damage over hull damage, so you are more likely to get a greater hull percentage once you manage to convince the ship's occupant to hand it over. Nearly every Xenon M, L, and LX carries these, so it usually isn't a good idea to take on too many Xenon fighters at a time. The PBE may work well in M3s and M3+s that can equip them in turrets, though their limited range and high accuracy make them better at missile swatting than fighter killing. Also, the less obvious weakness of this weapon is that it gulps down weapon reactor energy very quickly thanks to its rate of fire.

Hull damage	35 (F)	Range	1km (F)
Shield damage	945 (D+)	Rate of fire	1,154 r/m (A+)
Speed / accuracy	6,980 (A+)	Energy Usage	14 (B-)