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