Which weapon is better for fighters PRG's or HEPT's?

[ogamerdg]

I have heard it both ways and just want to know which is best and if one is better than the other depending on if you are IS or OOS.

[JAFA_NZ]

I personally prefer the PRG for the player fighter (thus IS) over the HEPT because "Bullet Speed"=Accuracy.

I don't know how the calculations are done OOS, but I imagine they'd favour the HEPT due to it's higher damage per hit (IIRC).

[garv222]

This depends actually on what you're fighting. If your fighter are going for m4 and lighter, PRG is fine. Heavier targets like m6 and slower m3, the HEPT will probably deliver better performance.

[tbowen]

I don't know how the calculations are done OOS, but I imagine they'd favour the HEPT due to it's higher damage per hit (IIRC).

I believe this is correct--in OSS combat the weapons don't miss and "bullet speed" is not a factor (nor rate of fire, I think). So, it is just a matter of totaling damage.

[Ravna]

Depends on the weapons generator too. HEPT need more energy.
Installed 8 on an LX and was out of juice after 5 sec.

[Insatiable]

PRGs for me. As JAFA_NZ said, quicker speed and rate of fire make it the scalpel to cut out the cancerous growths that are fighters.

[StarSword]

The HEPT does more damage per shot, but the PRG is more accurate and has a higher rate of fire. I personally like HEPTs for a general-purpose combat weapon, but many ships can't mount it, in which case I use PRGs.

Basically, my light weapon preferences are HEPT > PRG > PAC.

Also, I use PRGs on turrets for greater accuracy against missiles.

[Nanook]

Which weapon is better for fighters PRG's or HEPT's?

Both. If your M3 fighter can mount them, give it 4 HEPT's and 4 PRG's, in two separate groupings. Use the HEPT's for attacking M3's and above, and the occasional slow M4, and use the PRG's for the smaller, faster ships.

As far as which one does more damage the fastest, that really has to be the HEPT. The PRG may fire a lot faster, but it's actually a lot less accurate unless the target is small, fast and doing a lot of evasive maneuvering. The HEPT has a very large 'bullet size' or 'hitbox', whereas the PRG's bullet is quite tiny in comparison. This means that any HEPT bullets that get close to a target will hit it, whereas a PRG bullet must be almost dead on to make any impact.

You can see this if you engage an enemy fighter packing PRG's; try this in a well shielded M3. Get one to attack and chase you, while you slowly decrease the range by going slightly slower than your attacker. Notice the scatter of bullets, all missing you, until you get quite close. Then try the same thing with a HEPT-equipped enemy M3 and see how long you last. Trust me, you do want to save your game before engaging the HEPT enemy, whereas the PRG-firing enemy probably won't do much damage to you on the first pass.

In short, use the right tool for the job. And carry multiple tools.

[StarSword]

Actually, I once fielded a Blastclaw Prototype equipped with PRGs in all bays. (I would've used HEPTs, but somebody forgot to add HEPT compatibility when they wrote it into the game. And I hadn't hacked a PBG forge yet, so I couldn't use those, either.) Even when I was just ordering it around remotely, it shredded any enemy pilot it came up against.

Sadly, it was docked to a Zephyrus, which was recently lost with all hands. (RIP, Ghost Rider. *plays Taps*)

[JoeVN09]

PRG is my favourite TC gun (that wasn't in Reunion). I think it should be a bit cheaper. If you're outfitting fighters for use OOS, then definitely go with HEPT as the case then seems to be the bigger the better.

[StarSword]

I've actually got a purpose-built complex in the Asteroid Belt to supply my ships with HEPTs, PRGs, and PACs. (It also makes decent money for me selling surplus intermediate wares.)

[JAFA_NZ]

Actually, I once fielded a Blastclaw Prototype equipped with PRGs in all bays. (I would've used HEPTs, but somebody forgot to add HEPT compatibility when they wrote it into the game. And I hadn't hacked a PBG forge yet, so I couldn't use those, either.) Even when I was just ordering it around remotely, it shredded any enemy pilot it came up against.

Sadly, it was docked to a Zephyrus, which was recently lost with all hands. (RIP, Ghost Rider. *plays Taps*)

For the Brastcraw Plototype I recommend all EBCs & 100-150 crates of Ammo.

Throw in a bunch of missiles & 200 eCells, & it's hell on wheels (you may need to make it 200-250 EBC Ammo if you're gunning for Q's...).

[glenmcd]

I find firing the PRG a lot more fun than many other lasers. It sounds like it's delivering one hell of a caning to the enemy. Only it's not. For actually winning fights, there's no doubt that HEPT and then PAC are more successful.

In some ships you can put a combination of lasers, some ammo based and some energy based, firing at same time. Apportion them so that laser energy gets down to zero about the time that the Q you're attacking has been destroyed. This has been most successful for me in a Deimos and partially in the prototype Blastclaw.

My ideal personal fighter would be a Pirate Kestrel with 8 PRGs on main and no turrets. With that much speed and acceleration you can dodge anything, and literally run rings around M4 and up.

There should be a compromise situation between shields and laser recharge, such that the energy saved by deliberating reducing the rating on your shields is redirected to laser recharge and/or to producing energy cells for the turbo/jumpdrive. Makes perfect sense to me and adds something to "Thinking".
You might fit say 200MJ shields, but deliberating down rate them at times to 25MJ or 5MJ. 30 second changeover period to avoid abuse.

[Bill Huntington]

Ogamerdg, you asked the question, PRG vs. HEPT. You didn't say if the weapon is for your personal fighter or one piloted by an AI (either a wingman, fighter wing, or other.)

If you a considering a weapon for an AI, the PAC is actually the best choice for a number of reasons. PAC is the best for cost and availability, obviously. But energy consumption is a major consideration. I don't know how many dogfights I seen where a wingman has a target on the ropes ... and stops. The PRG or HEPT runs out of E. Or the EBC has run out of ammo, and there is none available is the part of the TC universe I can see. A fighter with PACs rarely runs out of E. (The Terran equivalent is the EMPC.)

A pilot should try all the weapons, of course. But after I considered the plus and minus of each weapon, I ended up putting PAC or EMPC on almost all my M3s.

For a personal fighter, I really like the visual effect of the flamethrower like Plasma Burst Generator.

Good Hunting!

[Rive]

HEPTs for most purposes. The effective range of the PRG is shorter than the theoretical, and the difference makes the PRG an energy-sinkhole if used careless.

However it's a bit difficult (but possible and fun!) to hunt down small ships or drones with HEPT, so something with high bullet speed will be needed - I suggest some PBEs. The range is much shorter, but it's ~ in match with the effective range and even just two or three PBEs are able to skin any small ship within no time. Of course the PBE is not really effective against the ship hull but it's still OK for small ships.

[Mazz]

My ideal personal fighter would be a Pirate Kestrel with 8 PRGs on main and no turrets. With that much speed and acceleration you can dodge anything, and literally run rings around M4 and up.

Sadly you cant fit PRG on pirate kestrels not alone 8 of them. You can fit 2 on the advanced kestrel but With 1400 laser energy at 39 recharge on that adv kestrel, you ain't gona be firing those 2 PRGs very long either. Especially since its not available in vanilla IIRC