Ship weapons



Weapons are the "teeth" of any ship seeking to attack others or defend themselves in the galaxy. A wide variety of weapons are available to pilots, each serving a different purpose. From traditional ballistic cannons, to hull-busting Torpedoes, starship pilots can wield an impressive array of firepower.

Types
There are three primary types of weapons in Star Citizen: Ballistic, Energy, and Missile.

Ballistics
Ballistic weapons fire a solid projectile at a high speed, using the ship's store of ammunition. Ballistic weapons penetrate some percentage of enemy shields, somewhere between 20% to 60% depending on the shield, and deal the remaining damage directly to the hull. These projectile weapons do not use any energy and generate minimal to zero heat and signature on firing, but require ammunition to fire. The projectiles are generally slower than energy projectiles

Within ballistic weapons, there are:
 * Ballistic repeaters/Gatlings: High fire rate, low projectile damage
 * Ballistic guns: Medium fire rate, Medium projectile damage
 * Mass drivers: Low fire rate, High projectile damage

Energy
Energy weapons fire lasers, plasma, or other energy types at high speeds to damage enemy ships. These attacks are fully absorbed by target shield, protecting the ship but draining rapidly. They generate high heat and signature and drain a lot of power on use, but do not require ammunition to fire.

Within energy weapons, there are:
 * Laser repeaters: High fire rate, low projectile damage
 * Laser cannons: Medium fire rate, Medium projectile damage
 * Neutron guns Low fire rate, High projectile damage
 * Tachyon cannons Extremely high velocity, long range

Missiles
Missiles are self-propelled, guided munitions systems that can deliver a variety of payloads to a target. Missiles are stored and fired on a variety of missile racks, which are characterized by the size of the rack, and the number and size of the missiles. For example, a Behring MSD-423 is a size 4 missile rack which can fire 2 size 3 missiles.

The two primary characteristics of a missile are its guidance system, and its payload



Guidance Systems

 * Infrared (IR): Tracks locked-on ships by their heat and infrared emissions. An easier lock can be acquired on ships that are running "hot" by using more energy weapons or less heat-efficient components. Infrared guidance can be fooled by flares and can potentially lock on to an incorrect target with a similar heat signature
 * Electromagnetic (EM): Tracks locked-on ships by their electromagnetic emissions which are released by electronic weapons and components. Careful energy management and efficient components can reduce a ship's EM signature to make locks more difficult. EM Missiles can be defeated with Chaff countermeasures
 * Cross-Section (CS): Locks onto a ship's cross-section and appearance. Lock-on time is long compared to IR and EM locking, but more difficult to fool and unlikely to track the wrong target.

Payloads

 * High Explosive (HE): An HE-equipped missile detonates directly on the targeted ship, causing severe damage to the ship's shields, hull, and impacted components.
 * Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP): An EMP missile detonates on or near the targeted ship, causing significant damage to shields and potentially disabling major components on the ship.

Sizing
Weapons come in different sizes which are standardized in the galaxy to allow pilots to pick and place weapons into specific sized ship hardpoints. These sizes are determined by the physical size of the weapon, as well as its relative power, resource usage, signature. Weapons operate on a similar system to other ship components; allowing for a certain level customizability and design.

Current weapons and weapon hardpoints are in the range of Size 1 (9-Series Longsword) to Size 5 (M7A Laser Cannon). The basic premise of a weapon's sizing system is: [Base Weapon Size] + [Modifiers] = [New Weapon Size]. For example, a Size 1 CF-007 Bulldog Repeater with a Gimbal (Size +1 modifier) would require a size 2 hardpoint to function. Three modifiers currently exist, all giving a +1 hardpoint size increase:


 * Gimbal: Allows for aiming of the weapon independent of the ship's facing within a certain arc.
 * Manned Turret: Seat and aiming system for a gunner to operate the weapon
 * Twin-Link: Pairs the weapon with an identical one for a greater volume of fire