PBE problems!

[Pyre]

Howdy all,


I just grabbed a script that adds a Yaki shipyard and EQ dock to Senetor's, and decided to try out the susanowa (im sure i spelled that wrong), since it could mount PBE's.

Now, ive only seen PBE's being allowed on larger ships, so i thought they would be Kha'ak like railguns, or at least those blue bolts (faster then PPCS) on caps... (they turned out to be CIGs )

Anyway... whacked on the APBEs.. and lo and behold, a lone pirate nova coming to check me out. Now, up to now, ive never seen PBEs in action, so i was pretty keen... until i realised that at about 2kms... i still wasnt getting an effective weapon's crosshair...Turns out i can spit further then the APBE....

Is that true with all PBE's? I mean.. the RoF is awesome... but pointless if i need to touch the craft im shooting...

Hence, i'd like to ask.. what are the respective ranges for A/B/G? PBEs and what do you guys use em for?

Cheers

[Tarcon.]

Hmm, not sure about range, very close indeed, I've never found a real use for these. I guess others have with differing tactics... For me, the BHEPT are the go in general.

[DDM_Reaper20]

Howdy all,


I just grabbed a script that adds a Yaki shipyard and EQ dock to Senetor's, and decided to try out the susanowa (im sure i spelled that wrong), since it could mount PBE's.

Now, ive only seen PBE's being allowed on larger ships, so i thought they would be Kha'ak like railguns, or at least those blue bolts (faster then PPCS) on caps... (they turned out to be CIGs )

Anyway... whacked on the APBEs.. and lo and behold, a lone pirate nova coming to check me out. Now, up to now, ive never seen PBEs in action, so i was pretty keen... until i realised that at about 2kms... i still wasnt getting an effective weapon's crosshair...Turns out i can spit further then the APBE....

Is that true with all PBE's? I mean.. the RoF is awesome... but pointless if i need to touch the craft im shooting...

Hence, i'd like to ask.. what are the respective ranges for A/B/G? PBEs and what do you guys use em for?

Cheers

PBEs are close-range weapons, excellent against shields, poor against hull.

Their rate of fire and muzzle velocity means they are deadly against small, agile targets.

The alpha version has an effective range of 900m, the beta reaches about 100m farther.

I use them for capping, mainly, as they eat up shields and don't damage the ship otherwise.

They are perfectly balanced as they are -- give them a longer reach, and every other weapon would be . . . crappy.

[Chemical-mix]

Hi mate, try out this site:

http://www.hentschke-keramik.de/rmh/x3_weapons.xls


Its has all the weapon ranges and effects.

Hope it helps

[cucomiguel]

I have 4 Beta PBE's on my LX for capping purposes. Great against Falcon and Novas to drop their shields quickly. Instant kill against Harrier and Buzzards, no escape, a tap on the trigger are they are gone.

[Gazz]

For my LX I use 8 BPBE and 8 AHEPT and switch them via script.

Once shields are gone I switch to the Green Death(tm) because PBE are rather inefficient at actually killing anything.

[Treachery]

I use 2 APBEs and 6 AHEPTs on my LX. different weapon groups, PBEs are always on. Weapon groups range from 2 HEPTs, 4 HEPTs, and 6 HEPTs with both PBEs. 1 group is 2 HEPTs only. I find this makes capping very quick. just wait til you are within just under 1KM of target and open up for about 2 or 3 seconds with all weapons. 6 HEPTs and 2 PBEs I usually get at least one pilot to bail in a group of 3 or more pilots. By the time your HEPT fire gets there sheilds are gone. Vary this according to the type of ship you are shooting at. ie, M5 2 HEPTs, 2 PBEs. etc etc.

[Gazz]

Hmm... with all this talk about weapon switching - I think I'll hack Bunny's Weapon Changer to automatically switch to another weapon set once the target's shields drop. =P

[pjknibbs]

You've actually stumbled into one of the great questions of the game there, Pyre--why DO Egosoft allow a gun with a maximum range of less than a kilometre to be installed on a capital ship turret? It's one of the eternal mysteries of life...

[xalien]

For PBE's on fighters I consider 1 km to be a very long range because they never miss. Personally I don't even bother firing AHEPT's at the fighter before I close within ~0.5km, and I find the ability to destroy M4/5's from 1km range absolutely adorable. You'd think that BKyons with their 3+ km range should be awesome ... until you try them.

[Gazz]

The adorable speed of PBE is also their main problem. They are too fast.
With even a little lag they often pass through ships without hitting so even though they are "on target", only half or less would actually hit the ship.

[TBV]

I love the apbe's on my LX. I use them all the time I think there is even the slightest possibility of a bail.

When the enemy ship is hit, it will try to evade. With pbe's they can't stop evading long enough to return fire.

Range? pah! Who actually fires hept's at more than 400 metres in a dogfight anyway?

But yes as capital ship weapons, I have to agree, they are useless.

[Pyre]

You've actually stumbled into one of the great questions of the game there, Pyre--why DO Egosoft allow a gun with a maximum range of less than a kilometre to be installed on a capital ship turret? It's one of the eternal mysteries of life...

Maybe for those of us that prefer the ramming style of ship captaincy