Does any one actually use CIG's and IPG's when you have.......HEPT

[Sn4kemaster]

well i have been flying an M6 just for the hell of it for the last 2 nights, a Skiron to be precise, just trying one out as you do, the odd assassination mission and a bit of Piracy to boot......just for a change from an M3 really

anyway when it came to weapon loadout, (trust me this is not one of them what do you load you ship with posts by the way) i load it with 4 CIG's + 2 IPG at the front and EBC's sides and back....

CIG'S and IPG'S ....well i have to say, there not actually any good really are they?, huuuuuuuuuuge energy consumption, for the same damage as HEPT's, a just a little extra range and a few spins ( which can also make the rest of your hits miss )

so i think mmm so ill try the good old HEPT (never thought id go back to them since X3R ).....but what a difference!, 8 HEPT can dish out more damage with a far lower energy consumption than 4 CIG's + 2 IPG's, they also have a higher speed and a quicker fire rate so are also far more acurate....just lose out on a little range

maybe CIG's and IPG's are better suited to M7's ? due to their better laser generators, but still................?

[Cronos988]

Well CIGs have far better hull damage. This isn't a factor most of the time, but it may come in handy.

Also CIGs have a better "burst damage" which makes ist easier to finish of enemies and allows you to strafe and evade most of your time.

HEPT are better all around, but I do like to use CIGs in harder battles, because I just need less hits.

[Sn4kemaster]

but are they better in a 'hard battle' ?

8 HEPT will do 74.4 shield damage per second while using just 1504 energy a second

6 CIG's will do 58.8 shield damage per second while gobbling up 1860 energy a second

when you look at the cold hard figures....that a very poor show by the CIG, but if you see any posts on equipping M6's etc it always seems to be use CIG's etc...and i cant actually see why.

[mrbadger]

CIGs are good for stopping your opponant firing back, because they keep kknocking their ship and disrupting aim.

I don't use them any more, and for that matter, don't use Hept much either. I discovered the PAC, with its longer range and very satisfactory hit rate.

[Sn4kemaster]

i know what you mean about the speed/faster hit rate being more far important in a dog fight, i would never use HEPT on a M3, only ever use PRG's now for exactly the same reason ( unless the targets big then its EBC ... but that feels like cheating a little )

[Galaga]

I use a full bank of 8 CIGs up front in my Skiron (EBCs in the turrets), and compensate for the Skiron's wide turning radius by performing slashing attacks, strafing the target then flying past out of weapons range (firing missiles along the way) before turning around to perform another pass. This also let's the laser energy recharge enough to let the CIGs fire a full strafing run again. The Skiron's wide turn radius and high speed (for an M6) suits it I believe.

I rely on an abundance of missiles to swat M4s/M5s, most M3s also fall to missiles, or get swatted by a salvo or two of CIG fire when they get careless.

Possibly not the most effective method of attack, but it has worked well enough so far. Plus its my first time flying an M6 (or anything above M3), so I'm not sure whether to fly them as massive fighters or a small capital gunship.


So basically, yes I use CIGs, but perhaps because I don't know any better.

[Chealec]

My Dragon has 4 CIGs and 4 PBEs ... not the most effective loadout but you'll never get cooked by a blastclaw while it's spinning round and round in circles

[Spectral-Fremen]

I use 100% HEPT on my hyp with PAC's on the rear turrets. Works great. Although I do think i overuse HEPTS a bit (i'm still too used to Reunion lol)

[Fragile Ego]

I wasn't all that impressed with CIGs either, way too much energy drain for what you get. My Dragon is currently packing 4x HEPT and 4x EBC. I'll use HEPT only against fighters so I don't waste ammo, and then open up all 8 on opposing M6s until the shields are gone then switch to just HEPT, unless I need to finish them of quickly.

With only 4 HEPTs, energy drain is minimal and I can hang in a firefight for as long as it takes. So far in this game I've only come up against two M6s at a time in assassination missions. But based on the outcome of those fights I figure I could take on 4 or 5 M6s without much trouble. The only issue would be shields, not laser energy.

[Alkeena]

CIGs can be good for turrets. The aim isn't necessarily to kill the opposition, just keep them off your back while you do the killing of the primary target with your main guns.

[yourpowersareweakoldman]

I don't use them any more, and for that matter, don't use Hept much either. I discovered the PAC, with its longer range and very satisfactory hit rate.

YAY a PAC convert!

[Galaga]

PACs as a Corvette main battery? (Full bank of 8 I assume)

Sounds interesting, accuracy and speed enough to swat fighters, energy cost to fire continuously, but does it have the speed of damage to quickly destroy opposing M6s?

I'll have to try it out some time.

[The_Lost_Marauder]

my first Teladi Falcon had 4/8 CIG and with those weapons I killed really hundred of enemies, even Kha'ak Carriers.
Don't underestimate those weapons

[Kapakio]

I just don't understand your complainings about the CIGs. I have my Hyperion with 5 CIGs up front and it's literally a killer machine. With the support of EBC on the turrets I can kill a Q in just two passes.

CIGs have a good range and almost never miss because they have a blast radio and they explode when they are close to the target.

[Rednoahl]

My Dragon has 4 CIGs and 4 PBEs ... not the most effective loadout but you'll never get cooked by a blastclaw while it's spinning round and round in circles

Used that loadout myself quite a lot, it's really good for capping and killing, but my rig seems to be struggling withs PBEs at the moment which is one of the reasons I use IPGs a lot now.

I really can't see the point of using an all PAC loadout in a corvette - might as well just stay in my Nova Prototype. Can't imagine capping a Tiger would be much fun just using an all PAC loadout too. CIGs and IPGs are all about accuracy IMO but each to their own.

[mrbadger]

PACs as a Corvette main battery? (Full bank of 8 I assume)

Sounds interesting, accuracy and speed enough to swat fighters, energy cost to fire continuously, but does it have the speed of damage to quickly destroy opposing M6s?

Yes it does. It does less damage per hit, but you hit more often, so that makes up for it. Keep some retargetting missiles on board as well (tempest and Tomahawk), and you'll be laughing.

The main advantage of the PAC is that it will quickly take out any M4/5 ships, and you'll encounter those a lot more often.

[Lancefighter]

why not ISR? ion shards seem to be more effective than most other weapons of that size, more dps than hept and better speed

[pjknibbs]

why not ISR? ion shards seem to be more effective than most other weapons of that size, more dps than hept and better speed

The extra DPS is tiny--less than 10% extra shield damage. Hull damage is better, but by the time you're hitting the hull damage is fairly meaningless unless you're shooting a capital ship. And that tiny increase in DPS is accompanied by a 150% increase in energy requirements, so unless your ship has a MASSIVE energy generator, you're probably going to run out of energy before you even get to the point of hitting the hull!

[Kor'ah]

-CIGs have a far better damage per shot. More usefull in OOS calcs.

-CIGs have a large bullet size. They'll hit when HEPTs and ISRs would miss.


It's hard for the normal M6s to support the power drain of CIGs and ISRs. If you can aim and make the shots count this can be delt with. M7s on the other hand don't have this problem for the most part, use GIGs on those and they start to shine.


If I had to use a normal, non-uniqe, M6 it would be the Katana now that the terrans have at least one working missile (Specter) type. Wraith and poltergist missiles are still borked and need fixing.

[Lancefighter]

didnt realize the isr was that costly
been a while since i flew an m6 in combat, and back then i used cig's like everyone else >.<