Energy Weapons

### Overview

Energy weapons are the most common weapons in the game. They differ from other weapons in a number of ways.

* They don't use ammunition. There's no limit to the number of shots, and there's no need to buy replacement ammunition.
* They need power from the ship. If two energy weapon types are fitted (one primary and one secondary), they each have their own power supplies. It's certainly possible to temporarily drain the available power for a weapon, especially on a ship that hasn't been upgraded.
* The farther down you drain a weapon, the slower it will recharge. If you find your weapon power running down too quickly, use some short bursts to keep from draining too much power at a time.
* The choice of ship energy distribution is important in determining how long you can fire before temporarily running out of power, and how long it will take to recharge the weapons.
* There's a trainable pilot skill to raise their effectiveness by up to 40%.
* They are most effective within 200 meters and relatively ineffective beyond 400 meters. The targeting distance readout changes color to reflect those ranges.
* Multiple cannons of the same type don't completely add their damage ratings together. Very roughly speaking, dual cannons are about 50% more powerful than one cannon, while triple cannons are about twice as powerful as one cannon. This rule may or may not apply when cannons of the same type as the primary are mounted on the hardpoint.
* They can be blocked by energy shields. It will be necessary to break the shield down before the weapon can damage the target. Energy shields are inoperative in atmosphere.

Most models of combat ship come with plasma cannons as their primary weapon. The I-9 Eagle, Viper, MK-6 Pretorian, and MK-8 Triad come with laser cannons as their primary weapon. The Black Swan can be fitted with plasma cannons as the primary weapon (on the hardpoint). The remaining combat ships (MK-10 Quad, the gunboats, and the B-1 Doom Rider) can all be fitted with either plasma cannons or laser cannons as the primary weapon (on the hardpoint).

### Plasma Weapons

From the game: "Main energy weapon. Constantly recharges and allows an unlimited number of shots. Damage dealt depends on distance fired from and amount stopped by shields."

Plasma cannons are always the primary weapon when fitted, even if mounted on a hardpoint. They are repeating-fire at about five shots per second.

Plasma turrets will automatically attack targets of opportunity with repeating fire at about five shots per second. They're usually found on the upper surface of the craft, which makes them unable to attack downward, but some capital ships have side-mounted or even bottom-mounted turrets.

Manual control of plasma turrets is achieved by selecting the Rear Guns view option. All turrets will aim at any locked target and will fire together when triggered. These are the only weapons that can be fired rearward. Note: the ship cannot be controlled while in Rear Guns view and will continue in a straight line.

Plasma weapon damage ratings
 2
 3
 4

These ratings are presumably based on targets within 200 meters, and do not reflect the multiplier (up to 40%) available from the energy weapons skill.

### Ion Cannons

From the game: "Energy weapon specialized in shield destruction. 4x more efficient against shields than plasma cannon. However, they deal less damage to physical armor. Efficiency depends on distance fired from. Recharges with time."

Ion cannons are always the secondary weapon when fitted. They are repeating-fire at about 3-1/2 shots per second, which is slower than the other energy weapons. The "4x more efficient against shields than plasma" statement is per hit; it's more like 3x more efficient per second.

Ion cannons are of little value when fighting in atmosphere, where all shields are inoperative. Per hit they produce only about 50% of the damage that plasma weapons can do, and about 20% of what laser weapons can do. Due to the slower repeat rate, those numbers drop to around 35% and 15% when measured per second.

Ion cannon damage ratings
 2
 3
 4

These ratings are presumably based on targets within 200 meters, and do not reflect the multiplier (up to 40%) available from the energy weapons skill.

### Laser Cannons

From the game: "Energy weapon specialized in hull destruction. 50% more efficient against hulls than the plasma cannon. However, it deals very little damage to energy shields. Efficiency depends on distance fired from. Recharges with time." The damage ratings indicate that they're actually twice as efficient against hulls as the plasma cannon.

Laser cannons are an *alternative* to plasma cannons. A ship can only have one or the other. Laser cannons are always the primary weapon when fitted, even if mounted on a hardpoint. They are repeating-fire at about five shots per second.

Laser cannon damage ratings
 2
 3

These ratings are presumably based on targets within 200 meters, and do not reflect the multiplier (up to 40%) available from the energy weapons skill.