Which weapons should I arm my ships?

[TheCh0senOne-]

I started a new game and the first thing I did was find the Advanced Perseus cause I never really did any fighting so might as well start with that. Can you guys rank the best to worst weapons a ship can have? It doesn't have to be the weapons of the Perseus but all ships

[ancienthighway]

I tend to go mostly with PACs on personal M3s and M4s. 8+1 PACs on the Adv. Perseus can do some damage. Rate of fire is higher than HEPTs, energy consumption lower, but individually a PAC does less damage. For OOS combat though you want the biggest damage gun you can get. M5s are frequently unarmed, but when armed they have IREs.

I leave TSs without guns more often than not, but if I do arm them, IREs and sometimes PACs for missile defense. TMs get PACs, TLs heavy on flak, then PACs or HEPTs filling up it's guns.

[Bill Huntington]

The Chosen One, ancient highway has it right. You will get perhaps 20 more posts about this one or that one. And you got the smart one already. You really should explore all of them. Then you'll know yourself.
The PAC will still be firing when the others have run of of E. And it's the cheapest and most available. For capping the small ships, I carry 3 IREs, because it is the weakest weapon with the most shots. But for my effective weapons, I usually use the PAC.

[TheCh0senOne-]

Thanks guys, one other question...I put 4 PACs on my Iguana Vanguard and I ran out of energy in 3 seconds...why? How can I fix this or can I?

[Wheem]

Thanks guys, one other question...I put 4 PACs on my Iguana Vanguard and I ran out of energy in 3 seconds...why? How can I fix this or can I?

The Iguana is a personnel transport, and none of the ships in that class posses a very powerful weapon generator or recharge rate (the Iguana's generator is somewhere around 1/2 that of the average M4, while the recharge rate is more like 1/5). Personally, I think that a TP's weapons are better viewed as something for missile defense and some light skirmishing, and I'd probably stick with mostly Impulse Ray Emitters.

[TheCh0senOne-]

Thanks guys, one other question...I put 4 PACs on my Iguana Vanguard and I ran out of energy in 3 seconds...why? How can I fix this or can I?

The Iguana is a personnel transport, and none of the ships in that class posses a very powerful weapon generator or recharge rate (the Iguana's generator is somewhere around 1/2 that of the average M4, while the recharge rate is more like 1/5). Personally, I think that a TP's weapons are better viewed as something for missile defense and some light skirmishing, and I'd probably stick with mostly Impulse Ray Emitters.

Thanks

[Martinez90]

for personal fighters PAC's are epic, PRG's offer point-blank accuracy with insane dps, hept's are good for m6 ships and eventually as turrets
although you may consider energy bolt chainguns too (when you can dock your personal fighter in a bigger ship or tm). shredding opponents to pieces is great.

as for missiles i've found best for generic use are:

tempest - for m3,m4,m5 fighters
typhoon - swarm missile, hard to shoot down for bigger targets
firestorms - against buildings, good anti cap-ship if escorted by typhoons
mosquito - good for transport ships and personal capital ship as MDM

[Honved]

Each weapon type has its strong and weak points. What you use on your ship depends on the ship and what you intend to do with it, as well as your own style of combat. Here are the four most common basic guns, plus the "ultimate fighter weapon".

IRE - basic weapon, short range, low damage, but even lower power draw. It allows you to spam weapons fire for longer, without running out of power, than just about anything else (besides ammo-based weapons). The projectile is relatively fast, which makes it good for hitting nimble targets, but don't expect anything bigger to even notice. I find it very useful on a small, fast M5 fighter for taking out other small, fast fighters or drones, or in a rear turret strictly for anti-missile duty.

PAC - medium firepower, medium range, medium speed projectile, and medium power draw. This makes a good general-purpose weapon for most M3-M4 fighters and the occasional M5 that can equip them, especially when engaging other medium-sized targets.

PRG - Argon weapon. Fairly low damage per shot, but the high rate of fire makes up for it. A tiny but FAST projectile, ideal for knocking down agile small fighters, but too small to reliably hit drones. Power draw is high enough that there are more effective weapons to use against larger targets, although it's "adequate" in that role. Makes a great turret anti-fighter weapon on some smaller capital ships (M6, TM, TL). A very controllable weapon, good for "teasing" ships to bail without killing them, once you've knocked the shields down.

HEPT - Heavy damage per shot, low rate of fire, SLOW projectile, high power draw. This is the preferred weapon for killing bigger ships (M3+, M6, M8) with a fighter, or for OOS combat (where power draw isn't tracked). Make a quick pass with the HEPTS, then break off and evade while your guns recharge.

PBG - Flamethrower of death. If you can get close enough to use them, this will vaporize even smaller capital ships in a surprisingly short amount of time. Good for taking out entire clusters of Kha'ak before they disperse. Collateral damage is a problem, missing isn't.

[Aven Valkyr]

I have personally never played the vanilla version of this game. Only ever played with XRM installed so take this with a grain of salt but:

I personally think the terran ships are the best. After 230 some hours of gameplay on the one character I'm still trying to build, and long hours of researching the in-game item catalogue, I have come to one conclusion. Terran ships have the highest shielding, the best maneuverability and the best weapons in the game. Sure there are some brutal damaging weapons like IBL's or other pirate based weapons, but for readily available weapons, let's just say I sold me entire fleet and bought a pure terran fleet and haven't looked back.

EMR: Electro magnetic repeater. This is probably the smallest of terran weapons, very high refire rate, uses hardly any energy and does a decent amount of damage. Great for m5's but even most terran M5's can run EMPC's. I would often put these on turrets that are set for missile defense.

EMPC: Electro magnetic pulse cannon. This is the bread-and-butter workhorse of the terran fleet. There is nay a shield that can withstand the bombardment these weapons can deliver, even when pitted against M6's and if you have friends at the ready can take down most M7's as well. Most terran M5's can run at least 4 of these on the frontal mounts. The ship I started out with as the ATF veteran had 8 frontals and 4 in the rear turret which actually ended up getting swapped out for EMR's set to missile defense.

FPD: Fusion pulse disrupter. These are typically found on M6 class vessels but are often run as a turret mount for M7 and up. The Vidar can mount 10 of these in the frontals and has side turrets that can also run them. A small fleet of 5 corvettes (m6) running these can SHRED any m7 and even take down an M2 if careful. The damage output is extreme given the power drain vs damage output vs refire rate. Like I said, a handful of ships running these for frontals will literally annihilate almost anything they are pointed at. Watching hundreds of shots rain down on an enemy vessel is truly something to behold.

SSC: Starburst Shockwave Cannon. These are like the shotguns of the terran fleet. They are EXTREMELY damaging when you get up close and personal. Most M7 and up can run these in the turret sections. They take the place of artillery flak arrays that you find on argon and teladi ships. However, they literally tear thru shielding and armour.

FBC: Fusion beam cannon. This is a capital version of the fusion pulse disrupter. A few ships with these mounted can rain the death down on any opponent. I haven't had a chance to play with these yet

PSP: Point Singularity Projector. This is the "I win" button. Basically a GOD cannon. And most terran capital ships can mount 2 dozen of these or more. In the game lore it says that terran capital ships were the king of combat until the xenon came along. There is a reason for this.

If you decide to go with terran I promise you will have the gaming experience of your life. The game was built more towards being terran. I've played with argon and teladi technology and quickly realized I was making a mistake. Like I said I sold my entire fleet and went with a pure terran fleet. I also use XRM, which has allowed the purchase of any and all terran and ATF vessels. Very fun indeed. Right now I'm rollin with an Aegir and 4 Vali's for a fleet. The Aegir is an ATF M7 and the vali is kinda like the vidar but much more powerful, yet still an M6 Hope this helps. You asked what the best weapons were, and I'm saying it's terran weapons Feel free to disagree, don't forget I run XRM and not vanilla. Things might be different for you in vanilla but it's all still worth having a look at.

[Honved]

A few of those Terran weapons mentioned by Aven Valkyr are added by XRM, and are not available in vanilla X3. Besides, XRM changes the whole balance of combat in several ways, and I personally don't care for it. If you use XRM, his advice is probably sound; if not, it's useless. Terran fighter weapons in vanilla X3:TC have some significant drawbacks, including accuracy, although the capital ship guns can be devastating.

[Earth Ultimatum IV.]

Terran weapons are extremly good in vanilla (except for M7s)

[Honved]

Speaking of M7s, if you've got a Paranid Diemos, you can do an amazing amount of damage without weapons. With the shielding that it mounts, ramming other M7s and smaller targets is a very viable option. "We're Paranids, we don't need no steeenking weapons on our ships!"

[ancienthighway]

Terran weapons are extremly good in vanilla (except for M7s)

I won't say yea or nay to this statement, but I can say that in a non-extended game, it's difficult to get any Terran ship equipped with desired weapons and missiles without cloning.

[jlehtone]

Terran fighter weapons in vanilla X3:TC have some significant drawbacks, including accuracy, although the capital ship guns can be devastating.

Yes, fully charged shot hurts; X3TC Q dies from first volley. However, there is a difference between a player and gerbils in turret. The latter don't charge.

(That is one reason why I like X3TC Panther; uncharged IBL is better than charged IBL and gerbils in front turret shoot uncharged while I might sit on the trigger too long. The other M7's require pilot to fire the frontal battery.)