Whats so Great About Burst Lasers?

[Icebergy]

Honestly I feel like the regular old Laser Cannon on my NovaDive is the best of all the lasers, I tear people apart with it, and I've been running Quad on almost all my other ships. Can someone explain to me why everyone thinks Burst Lasers are so good?

[Kuciwalker]

Dogfights are filled with many blocks of time in which you cannot actually target the enemy. Burst lasers have lower sustained DPS than most other weapons, but they concentrate that damage into fewer shots. The result is that burst lasers have a much higher effective uptime on the target than other weapons and so do more actual damage.

 

The tradeoff is that they require somewhat more skill to use, as you have to carefully time your shots for when they are actually going to hit. Other lasers allow you to hold down the trigger and just try to hold your cursor over the leading indicator most of the time.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Kuciwalker

[reclipsed]

tl;dr.

 

burst go boom, others go pewpewpew

[ptwonline]

Burst Cannons are good for those tight, close range dogfights that so many fights trun into, especially around the satellites. They are more likely to hit at close range and they do more damage each time it hits, making a kill more likely before the target can repair, regen shield, or flee.

 

Generally speaking I find the Quads and the Burst about equal overall. They are better in different areas.

Edited January 8, 2014 by ptwonline

[Nemarus]

It's really about how/where you fight. If you like to get in close and dance around satellites, Burst are vastly superior to anything else because your windows of line-of-sight are brief.

 

However, if you like to range people down from just-shy of maximum range, then yes, Laser Cannons, Quads, and Heavies are superior (especially when maxed out with a Range capacitor).

 

My Sting uses Quads, my Flashfire uses Burst Laser Cannons, just so I get a variety of play. Honestly I've never felt that either one gives me better results. I tend to have the same ratio of victory/losses, the same number of kills, the same damage dealt, regardless of which I am doing.

 

The only thing you can really do wrong is to not take advantage of the strengths of the weapon you're using. Trying to use Burst Laser Cannons for long range, open space combat is not wise. Trying to use Quads for close-up work is possible, but definitely more difficult than if you were using Bursts.

 

The only cannon I'd say is really superior in various situations are Heavy Laser Cannons, available on the Strike fighters. Maxed out for range, they can hit at 6900m. They have shield piercing and super high accuracy. They have modest power draw. And they have the slowest rate of fire second only to BLC's. This means that their damage is relatively bursty as well, meaning they can be good for close range combat. However their firing arc is very narrow, so you do have to center up your shots a bit more than with Burst Laser Cannons.

[Sharee]

However their firing arc is very narrow, so you do have to center up your shots a bit more than with Burst Laser Cannons.

 

The problem is that they have the highest tracking penalty of all the guns, at 2% per degree. That will make you miss a lot in a turning match where most of the shots get fired at the edge of the aiming arc.

[Itkovian]

The problem is that they have the highest tracking penalty of all the guns, at 2% per degree. That will make you miss a lot in a turning match where most of the shots get fired at the edge of the aiming arc.

 

Aye, they're just about only good for center shots... which are relatively easy for long range shots.

 

What really makes great is their range and shield piercing IMO. Their DPS is still lower than pretty much all other guns, and realy they're not that bursty. I hit almost as hard with my quads, and much faster... difference is HLCs have better range and part of that damage goes to the hull, which is wonderful.

 

Of course, BLCs also get shield piercing, because I don't know. Not like it needs the advantage.

[-KeggER-]

DPS ( Damage Per Second) is lower than other lasers due to slower rate of fire. Burst laser cannons excell at shorter range, and have the highest Damage Per Hit. These are more effective with precision shots, rather than spray and pray

[Slivovidze]

They also have way lower tracking penalty than other lasers, so you can somehow reliably hit enemies farther from your 12.

[silvershadows]

750

875

1335

 

*BOOM*

 

That's what's great.

Edited January 8, 2014 by silvershadows

[Sadishist]

It's really about how/where you fight. If you like to get in close and dance around satellites, Burst are vastly superior to anything else because your windows of line-of-sight are brief.

 

However, if you like to range people down from just-shy of maximum range, then yes, Laser Cannons, Quads, and Heavies are superior (especially when maxed out with a Range capacitor).

 

My Sting uses Quads, my Flashfire uses Burst Laser Cannons, just so I get a variety of play. Honestly I've never felt that either one gives me better results. I tend to have the same ratio of victory/losses, the same number of kills, the same damage dealt, regardless of which I am doing.

 

The only thing you can really do wrong is to not take advantage of the strengths of the weapon you're using. Trying to use Burst Laser Cannons for long range, open space combat is not wise. Trying to use Quads for close-up work is possible, but definitely more difficult than if you were using Bursts.

 

The only cannon I'd say is really superior in various situations are Heavy Laser Cannons, available on the Strike fighters. Maxed out for range, they can hit at 6900m. They have shield piercing and super high accuracy. They have modest power draw. And they have the slowest rate of fire second only to BLC's. This means that their damage is relatively bursty as well, meaning they can be good for close range combat. However their firing arc is very narrow, so you do have to center up your shots a bit more than with Burst Laser Cannons.

 

What about Light Laser Cannon? It can do everything burst can, plus it's better at open space.

[Armonddd]

What about Light Laser Cannon? It can do everything burst can, plus it's better at open space.

 

Sure, for something like half the damage per shot, a significantly smaller firing arc, and twice the tracking penalty. And it's not like burst lasers are bad at open space combat, either.

[Nemarus]

What about Light Laser Cannon? It can do everything burst can, plus it's better at open space.

 

Range is 4000. Even with range capacitor, max range you get is 4400. Compared to 5750 with Laser or Quad, or 6900 with Heavy.

[Armonddd]

Range is 4000. Even with range capacitor, max range you get is 4400. Compared to 5750 with Laser or Quad, or 6900 with Heavy.

 

That's not comparing it to burst at all.

[Sadishist]

Sure, for something like half the damage per shot, a significantly smaller firing arc, and twice the tracking penalty. And it's not like burst lasers are bad at open space combat, either.

 

But at close range, the rate of fire of the Light makes up for all that over the Burst, no?

[Armonddd]

But at close range, the rate of fire of the Light makes up for all that over the Burst, no?

 

Only if they actually stay in line of sight long enough. When you're facing someone desperately dodging around a satellite in an attempt to stop your cap, or when you're using retro thrusters to dodge their missile and hopefully get a kill, or when they're just being slippery as hell, you don't have that luxury.

[Nemarus]

That's not comparing it to burst at all.

 

Oops, I misread.

 

But yeah, what Armonddd said. The advantage of Burst Lasers over other weapons (regardless of range) is that they let you slip in large amounts of damage in small windows of opportunity, even if they don't do as much sustained damage over a longer period of time. In the current gamemode we have, victory is determined by satellite ownership, so naturally lots of fighting happens close in and around satellites.

 

If the satellite capture radius was just a little bigger, the popularity of BLC's might shift a little, since people would be more free to get some distance from the satellite in order to get more sustained fire on someone orbiting the structure (right now if you fly even a little bit away, the orbiter will cap the satellite). But even then, BLC's would remain the best for any combat that involves frequent loss of line of sight.

 

That being said, I've had equal success doing both kinds of combat. Team tactics, ranged interception of incoming foes, and 3-dimensional thinking can let you have success using other weapons in Domination ... though I'm not sure Light Laser Cannons or Rapid-Fire Laser Cannons really have strong case for their choosing.

[Armonddd]

Rapid fires have the highest DPS of any laser currently available, which is great when flying against inexperienced pilots or if you're a god and can slip behind anyone. They're also strong against turrets, and because of their high rate of fire, they can tag almost any target at least once. And, of course, because there's so many shots, they're great against high evasion builds.

 

Lights kind of fill a middle ground between rapid and burst, but are worse at almost everything either one of them specializes in. Could use a buff imo.

[MaximilianPower]

Rapid fires have the highest DPS of any laser currently available, which is great when flying against inexperienced pilots or if you're a god and can slip behind anyone. They're also strong against turrets, and because of their high rate of fire, they can tag almost any target at least once. And, of course, because there's so many shots, they're great against high evasion builds.

 

 

Yeah, the more I use the rapids, the more I like them. In another thread somebody coined the phrase "laser bukakke" which is both appropriate and hilarious (at least, to my juvenile sense of humor). Coupled with blaster overcharge specced for ROF, it's basically a constant stream of destruction.