Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of various weapons systems of Eve Online can be a deciding factor in your PvP encounters. Knowing how each operates will help you decide your approach to each fight. We'll start with short-range turrets, as these are the most often used weapon systems on ships recommended to players new to the game.
The Overview
Pulse Lasers | Blasters | Autocannons | |
|---|---|---|---|
Faction | Amarr, Sansha, Blood Raiders | Gallente, Caldari, Serpentis | Minmatar, Angel |
Damage output | High - 27 DPS | Very high - 33 DPS | Moderate - 24 DPS |
Damage type | EM/Thermal | Kinetic/Thermal | Variable |
Tracking | Moderate | Excellent | Good |
Range | 4km optimal + 3km falloff | 1km optimal + 3km falloff | 1km optimal + 6km 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 close-range ammo loaded. For a character with all skills trained to level 5 and no bonuses from the ship being applied.
Pulse Lasers
The pulse lasers are the short-range weapon of choice for the Amarr Empire. Boasting impressive optimal range, paired with decent damage output make them a perfect choice for fighting at the edge of Warp Scrambler range. Given their damage profile, they are exceptional at taking down shield-tanked ships.
All that comes at a hefty cost - the lasers are capacitor-hungry, making the user especially susceptible to energy neutralizers. Additionally, they come with the lowest tracking of all the short-range weapons, making them struggle against opponents who can dictate the range of engagement and get too close for the guns to apply the damage effectively.
Blasters
The preferred weapon system of the Federation, the blasters offer incredible damage per second. Backed up by excellent tracking speed, they are the perfect weapon for people who like to get up close and personal with their ships. With many Gallente hulls sporting high damage bonuses (like 10% per skill level on Catalyst Navy Issue), they excel at short engagements where you either do or die.
The blasters are not perfect - they have the shortest range of all the weapons discussed and are locked into damage type that can't exploit holes in enemy resistances, as both shields and armor have moderate tank against them. If you can't get close, the on-paper DPS number may turn out to be very deceiving.
Autocannons
While mostly seen on Minmatar ships, due to low fitting requirements are some of the most universally used weapon systems, used as a filler on various ships. Having short optimal ranges, new players often think that they need to be hugging their opponents to apply well with autocannons. This couldn't be further from the truth - with exceptional falloff and reasonable tracking, ACs can be used in various situations. With no capacitor required to fire, they are the perfect choice for energy-hungry builds, ensuring that even when the battery runs out of juice, you can keep firing.
As a jack of all trades, the autocannons don't excel in any field - the range flexibility comes at the cost of the lowest maximum damage output, and the flexible damage type can be of little use when the reload takes a whopping 10 seconds.
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