On Outfitting: Part 2 Addendum, Salvation AX Weapons
02 Nov 2021Kissamies
I'm still off bubble, but my protegé has had chance to get her hands on some enchanced Guardian weapons and has been testing them with the squadron. The results are significant enough to add to my 'On Outfitting' series. To the Part 2 to be precise. The tested weapons were all medium variants of the Salvation modified weapons.Gauss. The variant is bit like the Imperial Hammer to the regular railgun. It fires a burst of 4 instead of single shot and also has 400 ammo, so it has 100 bursts compared to the 80 shots of the regular Gauss. The downside is that the damage dropoff start range is 1.2 km instead of the normal 1.5. Also the burst is not good for completely hitting the hearts. Definitely a sidegrade, and many argue a downgrade. I think there is some merit with this weapon if you want to fight Scouts and Interceptors and are not comfortable hitting Scouts with an all for nothing weapon. Gauss was already the best AX weapon, so it didn't need an upgrade really.
Plasma Charger. Very impressive. More damage, armor piercing value increased and the shot speed is crazy 6 km/s. The damage dropoff range is still the disappointing 1 km, though. It is better at exerting than Gauss at least for the lesser interceptor variants. You can exert a Hydra, but it requires closing in to the dangerous optimum firing range. It is also possible to hit hearts even without a xeno scan, though it's obviously easier with a scan. It has far better ammo capacity than Gauss, which makes it attractive for the AXCZs. The commander witnessed a Cyclops getting gibbed by a mob of plasma wielding ships right after the first heart was severed. While bullying a mere Cyclops is not that impressive, such fast dispatch wouldn't have happened with Gausses. Triple Charger setup also one shots Scouts most satisfyingly provided you are within 1 km or so.
Shard Cannon. 6,333 m/s shot speed, very tight spread, more damage and is pretty hot. AP is also increased. Middle of the road. Good for hitting Scouts, decent for hitting hearts, not so good for exerting. The reload time is annoying, but if you are into mixed loadouts you can alternate with Plasma Charger considering the reticle is the same.
Plasma Charger is definitely the winner for me. Now all I want for Christmas is a large variant (maybe even huge
) and a Xeno Scanner with more range than 500 m.