So here I am, sitting in my new shiny Cerberus (40 million I paid for the ship and equipment so it better be pimped!) with his 2x FAA up/down/left/right (which coverage by the way is very good and pretty much preventing AI fighters from approaching from either side), 2x CIG rear, 4x CIG + 4x IPG up front and 6x Eclipse with PBG and EBC in the hangar. I think it's pretty good layout but feel free to suggest a better one.
I'm in the mission when you are supposed to follow a Khaak Scout to a station and then wreck that station. I come close to the station remembering how fast I completed this mission before in ships like Tiger, Thresher, Agamemnon, Deimos, Shrike and even Vidar...
I come and just like in those other ships I UNLEASH all my firepower on the station expecting to go home soon after. To my surprise and amusement there's only like 20s of unleashing, target loses 4% of shields and I'm at 0% energy.
"HORNETS!" I scream to the crew and they quickly torpedo the thing with whole stash of my favourite missiles... I stopped counting around 30, dozens of hits, epic sounds of explosion (I wonder why my science teacher lied there's no sound in space while I can clearly hear it!) but station still well over 70% shields.
So I order "UNLEASH AGAIN" since my energy is back at 100%. BAM! BAM! BAM! IPG+CIG salvos pound at the station mercilessly... and they lower the shield by another 4% before I'm out of energy again. Crap!
Next order is "TYPHOONS!" and half a hundred Typhoons lighten dark space around me bringing shields down to around 20%. I start counting the cost of this operation, still remembering how fast Shrike, Tiger or Thresher can wreck such a station. But since I'm here and since I have the ship I have there's no going back. I have to finish the job or the Angry Split General will kick my buttocks upon returning and have me executed for desertion in face of enemy.
Luckily, during Typhoon salvo my energy went up to 100% again and I could UNLEASH all my firepower to bring another 4-6% of shields down. After that station is still standing happily at more than 10% shields, I'm out of missiles, out of energy, have nothing more to UNLEASH, Teladi support is chasing scouts and I pretty much want to give up and call my Truelight Seeker with GCs to finish the job...
When Teladi Condor's captain who watched my whole struggle from the bridge of his floating nearby ship decides it's great time for a punchline and says:
And I think that's the best summary of Cerberus firepower ever."Can't you afford better weapons?
That's why I alt+tabbed to tell you the story.