Ion Pulse Railgun
Ion Pulse Railgun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Main Gun |
| Available From | BOR |
| Fitted To | Medium ships |
| Role | Sniper |
| Required License | Military License (+10) |
In-game Description
Ion Pulse armaments use magnetic acceleration to launch ionised shards of super-heated plasma. As with most Boron armaments, such projectiles are more effective in depleting shields than damaging hulls of unshielded targets. Nevertheless, this weapon system, developed by Eleius Astrosecurity, excels at its intended purpose of intercepting fighters. As such Ion Pulse Turrets and Railguns are widely used on Boron military ships, and are known to clear a safe passage through enemy formations.
Tactical Overview
The Ion Pulse Railgun is the Boron variant of the Mass Driver and Boson Lance. But unlike those, the Railgun is actually usable. Quite effective even.
As a sniper-type weapon, it, of course, comes with high-speed projectiles, long-range and pinpoint accuracy. Unlike the others, though, it can fire up to 5 shots before overheating and can track a target! It also comes with the standard heat dissipation rate! This makes it leagues more effective and quite potent in combat. And that despite the damage per shot being lower than the Mass Driver.
Even though it can track targets, the tracking speed is still very slow, and engaging targets at range is preferable.
The Ion Pulse Railgun is effective against most targets. Fighters will be left on low health if not outright destroyed by a single 4-gun salvo, mediums take a heavy beating, and sniping the turrets of capital ships and stations is also very easy and effective with this weapon. Beating a capital ship's shield regeneration might still be difficult.
The Ion Pulse Railgun is the only actually effective sniper weapon in the game, and it performs that role very well. Sadly, it is only effective on a single ship, the Boron Hydra. The Boron Thresher only has a single weapon slot, which somewhat limits the potential of this weapon. No other ship in the game can mount this weapon.
Advantages:
- Good damage output
- Excellent accuracy
- Very good projectile speed
- Very long range
- Suprisingly good heat efficiency
- Can track targets unlike other snipers
Disadvantages:
- Limited damage output against hull of medium and larger targets
- Very slow tracking speed
- Only effective on one ship in the entire game, the Boron Hydra.
Specifications
| Medium Mk1 | |
| Shield Damage Per Second | 473 |
| Sustained Shield Damage Per Second | 284 |
| Hull Damage Per Second | 307 |
| Sustained Hull Damage Per Second | 184 |
| Shield Damage Per Shot | 1420 |
| Hull Damage Per Shot | 920 |
| Reload Time | 3s |
| Projectile Speed | 8000m/s |
| Maximum Range | 8800m |
| Dispersion | 0.1° |
| Rotation Speed | 20°/s |
| Heat Generation Per Second | 666/s |
| Heat Generation Per Shot | 2000 |
| Heat Dissipation Per Second | 2000/s |
| Maximum Shield Damage Until Overheat | 7100 |
| Maximum Hull Damage Until Overheat | 4600 |
| Cooldown Delay When Overheating | 2s |
| Reactivates At After Overheating | 4000 |
Construction Cost
Universal Build Method
| Medium Mk1 | |
| Credits | 759.116 - 1.295.558 |
| Energy Cells | 675 |
| Weapon Components | 217 |
| Advanced Electronics | 67 |
| Advanced Composites | 58 |