Multi-Role Guns

[Borealis4x (OP)]

For my carriers (100,000 tons) and escort destroyers (10,000 tons), I want something that can act as both point defense and as a decent beam weapon if push comes to shove. I'll have at least six of these things on, so the massed fire should be enough to stave off anything I can't outrun while anything I can't outgun gets done in by my bombers. What can you suggest?

[kilo]

DP guns will be 2nd class weapons against missiles as well as against ships.  Anti-missile beams need to be turreted, high rate of fire per tonnage and cheap for maintenance reasons.  Anti ship beams on the other hand need penetration & range.  I guess there is no weapon that can fulfill all the requirements in the game perfectly.

So what can you do?

1.  Small lasers with short reload times in turrets.  They will be decent anti-missiles and okayish against ships.
2.  fast firing railguns.  These can be devastating in close combat situation and give a lot of volume of fire against missiles.  It requires a fast ship due to no turrets though.
3.  small particle beams.  These have no damage drop-off.  This makes them better at range against beam ships and the worst option against missiles so far.

4.  You could bring turreted mesons, but my anti ship experience in C# is literally 0.

[Steve Walmsley]

If I only have a single beam weapon, I would choose railguns, especially at lower tech. The same weapon with the same fire control can be used for both attack and defence. Lasers are more flexible overall but you generally need separate mounts and fire controls for attack and defence.

Lasers have a range advantage over railguns, but railguns have greater damage output at close range.

Particle beams are primarily offensive and not suited for point defence.

Gauss are very good for PD, but very short-ranged so not useful on attack.

Mesons and Microwaves are both situational and would generally be used as back-up weapons, although turreted Mesons are OK for point defence.

[Zap0]

Railguns have good dps at close range, as said - and a even 12 or 15 cm rails can be quite servicable as PD. You get less barrels total, reducing the PD capability, but gain some range. As long as your reload speed is still below the time you expect successive missile volleys to land in, there's no issue with that.

Or go with turreted lasers, 10 and 12 cm ones get 5s reloads at cap recharge 3 and 4 respectively. They're not quite as good PD as rails, but have a bit of range and punch. Good against beam fighters and FAC, too, and the option I went with to arm my carriers.

The problem if you're slower than the enemy is that you need a range advantage. If your fighters aren't home/out of ammo and somebody with reasonably large guns (= range) comes along, you have a problem. Consider a single spinal laser for being able to punch out at range to prevent any small ship faster than you from kiting you. Or carry a small set of beam fighters!

[Steve Walmsley]

Yes agreed. The main disadvantage of railguns is getting in a fight with a faster enemy armed with lasers. The AI will work out your max range by observing your fire, then hold position inside its max range and outside yours. Game Over.

[misanthropope]

a mix of two 10 lasers to one 15cm, all on turrets.  that's the most... omnivorous one-tree mix i can come up with.  the 15cm is my nomination for most all-purpose weapon in the game, but spamming those things exclusively would leave you a little weak in missile defense. 

[83athom]

Your best option would be lasers, most likely a laser turret with as big a laser you can get but still have a 5 second reload. However I've always had a soft spot for railguns at lower tech levels thanks to the raw volume of fire (until you get higher tech gauss, which start overtaking them).

Alternatively; in the past I've had success with mixing Plasma with Particle on the same ship, though keep in mind to actually make use of the plasma you need to have pretty fast ships. But those ships were only protected by missiles because of CIWS and AMMs, I highly advise against using Particle or Plasma in an anti-missile role.

[QuakeIV]

I think that basically point defense specialized lasers are pretty much ideal for what you want.

What you want is not necessarily ideal, but PD lasers are reasonably workable, and they will do a truckload of damage if they somehow manage to close the distance with a ship target.

[Droll]

All this bloody talk of PD lasers....

You just need more DAKKA - can't go wrong with railguns IMO.

I've always wondered why railgun damage decays over distance - do they fire projectiles through the aether?

[Jorgen_CAB]

I've always wondered why railgun damage decays over distance - do they fire projectiles through the aether?

Seems reasonable giving how they work... I would say missiles work in a similar way as well as a missile travelling at speeds you see in the game would do far more damage having that much kinetic energy to mass ratio. The impact of the mass would be far more greater than the heat energy or radiation of the nuke warhead.

Over time Lasers probably is the better weapon versus Railguns... but in general I don't think it matters all that much which way you decide to go.