Thargoid Combat: Difference between revisions

The '''Shard Cannon''' fires a shotgun spray of energy pellets, dealing massive damage at short range. While these are somewhat effective against lowerall grades ofThargoid thargoidvariants, their short range places pilots at high risk of counter fire, especially to thefor deadlyshielded LightningAX attackpilots. However, the Shard Cannon has the highest potential damage output out of all hybrid weaponry. It has been widely used by both beginners and veterans of Thargoid combat.

The '''Plasma Charger''' has a unique mode of firing; the player charges up the weapon, and then can release the charged energy at will. These weapons uniquely deal pure absolute damage, unlike human plasma weapons which typically do either 50/50 Thermal/Kinetic, or 20/20/60 Thermal/Kinetic/Absolute. Unfortunately, Plasma Chargers have slow projectiles, low heart damage, and low Damage per Energy, making them the most challenging Guardian weapon to use for Thargoid combat. However, they are effective against both human and Thargoid vessels, albeit dealing lower damage than traditional Plasma Accelerators.

The '''Gauss Cannon''' is the most powerful of the default three weapons against Thargoids. They have an incredibly high 140 Armor Piercing, are hitscan, and deal heavy heart damage, making them the most effective of the standard weapons, and defaulta recommended choice for manymost yearsbeginners. Players who simply want to get into Anti-ThargoidAX combat as quickly as possible should choose this module to unlock. However, theyunlike cantheir alsohuman berailgun difficultcounterparts, tothe hittrigger with,must duebe toheld theirfor railgun-style1 firingsecond style,before wherein you holdfiring the trigger for one secondweapon, atmaking whichits pointusage theyslightly automaticallymore firedifficult.

Released several years later, these are specially-modified Guardian weapons created by thean individual who calledknown himselfas '''Salvation'''. TheyThese are dramaticallycommonly moreregarded potentas thanthe theirbest standardGuardian formsweapons available, and finallyare createused clearcommonly competitionamong with Gauss for bestveteran anti-ThargoidAX weaponforces. However, these weapons are more difficult to acquire; unlike standard modules, they cannot be unlocked and then purchased in unlimited quantity, but instead must be purchased using guardianGuardian materials each time. However, makingthey themcost dramaticallymuch moreless per unlock than their traditional counterparts, but will require a separate blueprint per expensiveunlock. They also can only be acquired in the Mbooni system, which requires a permit from the ''Glorious Prospect'' megaship in the nearby '''LHS 1163''' system.

'''Modified Shard Cannons''' have double the Armor Piercing, four times the projectile speed, and half the spread of their standard variants, in exchange for massively higher heat generation. They deal even better DPS to Interceptors than Gauss Cannons, and even better heart damage, while their spread and speed has been improved enough to make hitting a breeze. They also do not require learning the challenging firing style of Gauss Cannons. However, their massive heat can be challenging to control for beginner pilots. Additionally, their distributor draw is low enough that 6 of these can be fitted to a single ship at once.

'''Modified Plasma Chargers''' have 37.5% more Armor Piercing, 66% more damage, and four times the projectile speed of their standard variants. Their damage is absolutely massive, far exceeding Gauss or Shard Cannons, but because of this, their distributor draw is equally massive, making it nearly impossible to sustain them over long periods of time. Furthermore, their heart damage falls substantially behind either gauss or shards, which is compounded by theirthe massiveaforementioned distributor drawissue. Generally, they require more specialized builds to use (such as Large ships), or combination with other weapon types.

Finally, '''Modified Gauss Cannons''' are the only variant that are not strictly an upgrade. They fire a burst of four shots instead of one single shot, but the total damage per second is the same, and they have lower effective range, making it more difficult to use them effectively. They do have higher ammo totals, but these are better considered a 'side-grade' than a pure upgrade, like the other variants.

'''Guardian PowerplantsPower Plants''' are effectively pre-engineered G4 Overcharged power plants. They are not as powerful as fully engineered Overcharged power plants, but also do not have lowered integrity. They are a great way to get a new ship or build going more quickly without spending time engineering. However, they do increase heat generation substantially, and the extra power may not be necessary at the cost of cold running.

'''Guardian Power Distributors''' are similar, functioning effectively as G4 Charge Enhanced power distributors. These, however, do have a unique perk, increasing the power output of any power plant (not just Guardian) to a new maximum of 104%. They are a great way to get a new ship or build going more quickly without spending time engineering.

'''Guardian Module Reinforcements''' are a Guardian variant of the standard Module Reinforcement. It offers slightly superior integrity in exchange for a power cost. However, the effective protection value remains the same, so for players using an AFMU to repair their module reinforcements, their benefit is small. While they claim to protect against module shutdowns from lightning, the effect (if any) is minimal due to the incredibly rapid damage of the lightning.

===[[Guardian Hull Reinforcement Package|Guardian Hull Reinforcements]]===

'''Guardian Hull Reinforcements''' offer resistance to the 'caustic' damage type, in exchange for a power cost and lower raw hull integrity. All Thargoid damage is allcomposed orof partiallysome ofor theall caustic damage ''type,'' so this resistance can be considered fairly universal for AX purposes. Whether or not this resistance is worth it depends on a number of factors: