Knowing your operational range in a kiting or sniping ships is critical to your survival - dip in too close and you won't track your target, sling out too far and you will fall out of range. Here's a quick look at long-range turrets available in Eve Online.
The Overview
Beam Lasers | Railguns | Artillery | |
|---|---|---|---|
Faction | Amarr, Sansha, Blood Raiders | Gallente, Caldari, Serpentis | Minmatar, Angel |
Damage output | 19 DPS | 15 DPS | 14 DPS |
Damage type | EM/Thermal | Kinetic/Thermal | Variable |
Tracking | Good | Decent | Bad |
Range | 16.5 km optimal + 3km falloff | 18km optimal + 7.5km falloff | 15km optimal + 11km falloff |
Reload time | Instant | 5 seconds | 10 seconds |
Capacitor usage | High | Low | None |
Comparison based on the largest version of the small turret for a given type with standard mid-range ammo loaded. For a character with all skills trained to level 5 and no bonuses from the ship being applied.
Beam Lasers
Beam lasers are often fitted on Amarr hulls offering optimal range bonus, like Imperial Navy Slicer or Oracle. This lets them apply full damage even at extreme ranges. Paired with the instant reload of laser weapons, they can quickly switch up their ammo to adapt to the situation on the battlefield.
The biggest drawback is their capacitor use. Over prolonged use, often with Microwarpdrive running, the ships fit with beams are prone to capping out unless fitted with additional battery modules. Putting them under pressure by making them run both MWD and local repair modules is a good way to force them off the field.
Railguns
Railguns offer solid performance across the board without having any remarkable traits. Their use is dictated by the hull they are fit to - Caldari with optimal range bonus will most likely load long-range ammo and hang out at extreme ranges while Gallente favoring tracking bonus prefer loading close-range ammo and use the railguns as mid-range option. Fighting a railgun Naga will be a completely different experience than engaging a Talos, despite the fact that both would be using the same weapon system.
Artillery
The defining characteristic of the artillery cannons is their volley damage, or the damage applied with each shot. Well fit Minmatar battleships can apply upwards of 10k damage instantly, enough to remove smaller targets with a single press of a button. A pack of artillery Thrashers can single out a priority target, hit them with a well timed volley and extract before enemy realizes what hit them.
The tradeoff is that artillery has the lowest tracking of all the long-range weapon systems. Paired with long cooldown between each shot, it's critical to either line up the shots by reducing transversal speed between you and the target, or have some friends to immobilize or target paint them to make it easier to land a hit.
Comments