Ships & Modules

Unfortunately, I don't have a screenshot to prove it but I've done one 600+ dmg volley with 425s at 33km. Ok, not full damage, but close enough.

Stats were:
- Range with Barrage: 3,9+27 km
- 2x Gyrostab II and 2x TEs used
- No damage rigs or projectile damage implants

Well. Now Blasters and Autocannons have entered laser territory. This needed to happen, but in some cases; You know, effective engagement range (28,000m overheated warp disruptor). Lasers don't offer that much. Oh well! Time to look @ some amarr ships and boost them I suppose.

Even with an omnitank the base resistances still matter. And really, nothing stops you from buying 1-2k of base hybrid/ac ammo and use it as backup. It's as effective as backing out to T1 crystals and so cheap it's almost irrelevant.



The "substantial tracking numbers" on pulses are at the worst in the game among all turrets. Beams do have best tracking, true, but it's irrelevant since at ~20km the angular velocity is miniscule anyways, and up close it doesn't matter if your tracking is 0.7 or 1, you're still not going to hit anything.



No, they don't. What else can I say? Look at damage modifiers. Laser ones aren't particulary high. In fact, highest numbers are on both Hybrid and AC sides. Base DPS also isn't any higher either, with the exception of beams and who uses those? Even if you did, you aren't going to dictate range in an Amarr ship, maybe with the exception of the Slicer.

I know that lasers have largest optimals, but again, that's a two-edged sword since you're going to lose the most from using the -50% range ammo.

That translates to something like 200 DPS, lmao.

Full damage from a 425 AC cane is around 900 on a weak resist.

Very true, the problem is that Ytter doesn't necessarily instil me with confidence given his changes to the frigates, the fact they're only doing a few at a time and remove mining frigates without having the replacement in the game.

Fly Oracle ... it's awesome.

Lasers.

Pros:

1) Good optimal and thus damage application at range. A laser ship must be able to dictate range of engagement to fully use that potential.

2) Instant swap. Not so crucial since lasers can't manipulate damage type much.

3) Lenses are durable and take little space in cargo. A laser ship can make use of free cargo in PVP. Probably an Ancillary Shield Booster could be a good choice.

Cons:

1) CPU/PG requirements. A laser ship either should have more base resources or require less turrets for the same DPS.

2) High energy consumption. A laser ship either should have an outstanding capacitor or fit capacitro modules or require less turrets for the same DPS.

3) Poor tracking for pulse lasers. A laser ship must be able to dictate range of engagement to overcome troubles with tracking.

4) Lasers have 10-15% higher base DPS than Autocannons and 18-25% lesser than blasters(T2 stats, all guns respective to their tiers). This inbetween position may be balanced out by the good optimal and therefore damage application but becomes a total drawback in a "Brawl" situation.

So what do all these points mean? A perfect laser ship is a Sansha ship! It avoids drawbacks of weapon system with shield tanking, high base speed, lesser number of turrets for the same DPS while maximising its potential with very same attributes.

Another example would be Abbadon. Most large fleet engagements tend to be ranged where lasers excel with their damage application and their drawbacks are mitigated. 8 guns, 1 med slot for an MWD, 1 for capbooster, 2 for tracking comps, 7 lows for tank and damage modules, damage bonus+ressistance bonus make a perfect combination for a ship which only has to stay on the battlefield and keep firing.

Flavor-wise "All-Amarr" fleet may create a defensive cordon with Devoters and Harbingers fitted with Scorch ammo while retaining armor tank for the ease of Logi support. All justified!

The above concept however can't be used in small engagements where every ship get's an up close and personal attention from the opponent. This is why we see a lot of shield tanked Harbingers and Oracles.

That is why a capsuleer market and anti-guerilla warfare needs more shield based highspeed ships like Sansha's. If I was a developer Amarr manufacturer I would defentely make use of this demand.

So much this. Doesn't effect Amarr's mid range Battleship lineup much but kills in the smaller ships where speed is a much bigger factor then sig. Especially since it is a double dip on the plates and the rigs with such an important stat. Amarr has good range with mediums but it doesn't make up for the hit in a lot of cases. The so called laser cap problem is not a problem when Amarr fits with Armor and have the Grid / CPU to run a Cap Booster. If CCP can bring small scale Armor back into play it will revitalize the T1 Amarr Ships below Large weapons. Hopefully CCP hasn't halted their look into rigs.

That and the secondary problem of Ship design. A few weeks ago the Punisher was the second best T1 Autocannon Frigate in the game and now it is competitive across the board with Lasers. A lot of the sub Battleships struggle with this. The first real laser boat before the Punisher buff was the Coercer which couldn't solo and the Harbinger whose base speed combined with rigs made it marginal in comparison to its competitors leaving Battleships as the first real taste of Laser combat for Amarr and now the new Oracle.

Now the Punisher / Tormentor is a herald of the new upcoming balance which redesigns the ships for their weapons. The Punishers bonus and fitting were reworked and those were its major faults. The Maller and Prophecy might not be Autocannon boats for long if CCP makes a similar design decision. I am sure CCP is looking into the Omen which is the all around Cruiser Laser Ship that suffered under the Tier System. The Omen really is the poster child for bad Cruiser Balance.

To sum up currently the biggest issues with small scale Amarr Warfare is Fitting bonuses and Armor vs Shield and not the guns themselves.

Because Top 20 placement is almost purely determined by a ship fitting into one of the popular nullsec fleet doctrines.

Covered that above.


A Cap Use Bonuses is no bonus at all when it is alone. People fit all kinds of guns to a Myrmidon because if a ship does use guns as a primary weapon it either needs a DPS Bonus or has enough DPS already to be useful and a secondary bonus that is so good it covers the difference. Otherwise people will use projectiles that have better fitting, selectable dmg and no cap use most of the time.

It isn't that they are better but that they are designed for a ship that accommodates those low maintenance stats. A ship that has higher maintenance stats can do a lot with the rest of the setup with the extra fitting and cap. Lots more tank for instance with similar DPS to lasers. Look at the Punisher now. No one fits Autocannons anymore because they redesigned it to accommodate lasers. Auto's still have all the previous advantages but they just are not worth putting on anymore when compared to lasers.

Reason why Battleships are good with Lasers and Sub-Battleships are meh is that CCP fell down in the design process of most Amarr Sub-Battleships.