X3AP FBLs not a total washout.

[Alan Phipps]

Just for a change I decided to arm my Hyperion V with nothing but FBLs that are often ridiculed and/or ignored as a fighter/corvette weapon of choice. Over 2 weeks of occasional play, I have found them almost as effective as the more optimised conventional weapon mixes when it comes to killing and capturing although less effective in self-defence.

Good points:
Very effective bullet against shields and not bad versus hull.
Very good for killing heavy missiles and torpedoes in flight.
Fairly energy-efficient when hitting.
Equally effective and speedy damage against medium-large targets in comparison with say HEPT, PAC, PRG and EBC.
Work effectively on OOS ships.

Average points:
Reasonably effective in causing ships to bail but difficult to avoid further unnecessary hull damage from bullets already in flight.
Nice fireworks display from missed bullets but lots of distracting noise too.

Less-Good Points:
Can be hard to hit close-crossing fast, agile and/or small targets due to low bullet speed.
You really have to hit with the main bullet to do the damage.
You can waste a lot of bullets and energy to little advantage using them in turrets against fighters and drones.

Summary:
Better than their reputation makes out if used IS as Player front battery guns or if used OOS.
Not so good used as IS turret/AI weapons.

[Sinxar]

I find them quite effective in TC as well. But convincing others to give them a try is a futile effort. I think it comes from people accepting others advice as gospel and not trying anything different/new.

I find they work decently in AI controlled fighter turrets, in TC at least since enemies don't strafe to avoid it. The damage is outstanding for the energy usage and it goes well in the main bank of M6s.

So yea, I agree its a decent overlooked weapon. The best part is that they are usually free from bailed fighters and abandoned ships.

[Triaxx2]

I always found them a niche weapon, rather than a plain bad one. The fixed detonation was useful for destroying mines for example. Get to just the right distance fire a shot and be backing away, and it blows the mine without you getting caught.

I never really armed up with them, but it sounds like an interesting idea.

[DrBullwinkle]

Good post, Alan.

Yeah, most of the weapons in the game are fairly well balanced.

The thing that is most lackluster about FBL is the slow bullet. Otherwise, it is approximately the same efficiency as PAC, with almost double the damage per second. In Hull-to-Shield balance: FBL does slightly more hull damage than PAC. It is hard to calculate "Damage per Shot Fired", but that is probably lower than PAC.

PAC is another "underdog" weapon -- often overlooked, but better than most people think. Its high bullet speed and energy efficiency are excellent for most ships smaller than M6 (In-Sector, of course).

Stats from AP (In-Sector):

PAC Dmg per energy = 6.2 / 50
DPS = 45k / 367k
Spd = 703
Bullet size = 3
PAC probably does most damage per unit of energy consumed (estimated) -- due to high efficiency and high speed.
---
PRG Dmg per energy = 5.5 / 52
DPS = 46k / 434k
Spd = 1560
Bullet size = 4
---
FBL Dmg per energy = 7.7 / 46
DPS = 89k / 528k
Spd = 359
Bullet size = 4
---
HEPT Dmg per energy = 8.3 / 50
DPS = 94k / 565k
Spd = 431
Bullet size = 4
---
EBCG Dmg per energy = 54 / 339 (Ammunition-based)
DPS = 86k / 563k
Spd = 604
Bullet size = 4

(DPS = Damage per Second)

[JoeVN09]

I typically put PACs in fighters over HEPT. Sacrificing a little range for shot volume and speed makes them much better suited for dogfighting than the more powerful weapons, plus they last a lot longer.

I must admit I've never had much patience for poor old FBL. I found it inefficient on fighters that mount it due to the nature of its projectiles. Makes sense though that it would do better on a corvette where you can continuously fire lots of them and fill the place with exploding rounds.

[Alan Phipps]

Forget the exploding at 2 km bit from the FBL, if anything that is just a distraction rather like CFA fireworks. Just get the FBL main bullets to hit at any range on their way out. Treat it a bit like an EMPC - a slow bullet that does a lot of damage when you can get it to hit.

[Manks]

If the numbers from DrB are correct and I'm reading them right, then it would seem the FBL is strictly inferior to the HEPT. Less DPWhatever and a slower projectile. So I guess the story is "not as craptastic as everyone says, but still largely pointless"?

[Alan Phipps]

That is pretty true. They are not as completely useless/pointless as rumoured, especially say when you are just starting out with a your first few fighters or first corvette, cannot afford to buy many weapons, and you can get them along with PACs from bailed light fighters and freighters.

Or of course you can just sell them and buy something else. That is a valid Player choice too.