Burst Laser Mk 3 is UP

[Torchiest]

Bringing this topic back up because I also think Mk 3 is weak. My idea for a simple solution, though, is to just decrease its power requirement from 4 to 3. That doesn't tamper with its slower shooting time, but improves its damage to power ratio from 1.25 (vs 1.5 for the Mk 2) up to 1.67, making it superior to the Mk 2. This also means a ship with three slots could have two of them and still use something else.

[OptiSTR]

I think there is a side to it most of you fail to see...
5 shots = 5 shield reduced to 0
combine it with fire beam or pike beam and you can destroy any ship in the game with 3\4 shots
also use beam drones and ion and you will win easily

[5thHorseman]

I think there is a side to it most of you fail to see...
5 shots = 5 shield reduced to 0
combine it with fire beam or pike beam and you can destroy any ship in the game with 3\4 shots
also use beam drones and ion and you will win easily

Sadly it doesn't work that way.

With the evasion that late-game ships have, 2 (or more) of your 5 shots will miss on average, so you have to wait 19 (well not quite but you know what I mean) seconds for your next try. Meanwhile, your enemy (who doesn't have to conserve missiles) bombs the crap out of you.

In my experience, the 5 shots from the Mk3 will reliably take down 3 shields, and in a pinch can be used to eventually reduce 4 shields in a single volley. But give me 2 MK2s any day.

[Torchiest]

In my experience, the 5 shots from the Mk3 will reliably take down 3 shields, and in a pinch can be used to eventually reduce 4 shields in a single volley. But give me 2 MK2s any day.

Totally agree. Given the choice to have a Mk 3 (5 shots every 19 secs) vs two Mk 2s (6 shots every 12 secs) it's obvious which is better.

The first time I beat the game I had three Mk 2s through total luck, and they were utterly devastating when fired in sync.

[BKT]

Please try not to bring a BL2 into a gun performance comparison— it tend to make any gun sucks compared to it...

2x BL1 vs 1x BL3 ... Now that's will leads to a more thought-provoking discussion & argument.


BTW, making BL3 more deadly would mean that enemy also become more deadly as well... But that's a good thing, I guess...

[5thHorseman]

Please try not to bring a BL2 into a gun performance comparison— it tend to make any gun sucks compared to it...

2x BL1 vs 1x BL3 ... Now that's will leads to a more thought-provoking discussion & argument.

True, though most of the time for me, the best thing about the BL1 is that it's available

I'm truly wondering, and I almost think I'd rather (on a 4-weapon ship) rather have 2 BL1's than 1 BL3. At the very least, only one will go down when your weapons bay gets hit. Also, they will (almost) always be in sync and fire 4 shots in less time than the BL3 fires 5. Granted, you need something else to help out, but as we discussed above you need something else to help out the BL3 as well.

[BKT]

For me, there's no argument or difficulty deciding what to choose:— 2x BL1 all the way; given that there's a choice, there are very, very few reason to use BL3 instead of something else, even on a 3-weapon ships— it can't ignite fires, has retardedly slow rate of fire, low dmg (per shot), use high power, low versatility compared to smaller guns, expensive to buy, etc ... It's just terrible...

The only reason I believe why some inexperienced player like it is because it's more conductive to use with auto-fire; using more of a smaller guns required more effort, skill, experience, and a sense of timing to be able to use it effectively.

Don't get me wrong:— like all weapons in the game, it's usable, and I can perfectly see that it can work well in a certain weapon combination. But still...

[Decontest]

Whilst I agree that the BL3 is a poor choice on a ship built to pump lasers in the enemy, that's definitely not the end of the discussion regarding its utility.
In general, you have to build the ship the game lets you, not the one you want. Also I tend to find the games where I put together a laser machine to end up being a little dull, though that's just my own prejudice.
Some examples of times I've ended up using the BL3:

Fire Beam + BL3 + 2xRock Boarders: Similar charge times, rip off the shields, burn the juciest looking room then 'port.

Defence Drone II + BL3: Got handed one around Sector 7, having been boarding for most of the game I didn't need to sell it immediately, so I powered it up once there were no nasty missiles flying about.

So yeah, show it a little love

[aaaaaa50]

Playing the New Enemy Classes mod, I've run into a few enemy ships using BL Mk 3. I even encountered one ship with two Mk3s, and after my first shots missed he tore me to pieces. Mk3 solves the AI's problem with un-coordinated weapons fire by having enough shots to get through on its own.