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[Megas]

You can use it to supplement flak, or if you have devastator but not enough flak.  Dual flak is surprisingly rare (unless you get blueprint).  Sometimes, you use devastator because you have nothing better.  Also, devastator is flux efficient (or was in 0.8 ).

[Baxter]

Someone on another forum has had good results with a safety overriden dominator with Devastator cannons. The range reduction means that the shells burst at a consistent range and AI ships don't realize how threatening it is because they see it as just another PD weapon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLZgbHjUd9U

[StarGibbon]

Interesting vid, thanks! Why SO though? Like Megas mentioned above Devastator is flux efficient. The long downtime between shots means you're rarely taxing your flux.

[edit] Oh the range thing. NM.

[Megas]

Yes, Safety Override is good for choking range on Devastator.  Good option when Safety Override is still relevant.

[Deshara]

holy crap SS has shotgun chokes, that's cool

[Goumindong]

Dead frigates launch no torpedos. Flack in the rear is foolish because you will just get torn up by normal shots.

Frigates are not the only thing that can launch torpedoes from behind.  I had torpedoes from fighters and harpoons from the whole enemy fleet.  Flak will stop them.  HMGs do not.  I fear missile strikes from behind more than frigates from behind, and flak defends against missiles better than HMG.

Also, flak will chew up unshielded frigates like Hounds well enough.  It is the rare Omen or other high-tech frigate (but some of them will hover beyond HMG range and kill Onslaught anyway unless it uses longer-ranged weapon, but then no PD, and insufficient anti-missile.)

Dead fighters launch no torpedos either. DTU HMG/AC has 675 range.

There are no threatening weapons for frigates that can exceed that range.

[TaLaR]

Dead fighters launch no torpedos either. DTU HMG/AC has 675 range.

There are no threatening weapons for frigates that can exceed that range.

Ion beam Tempest/Wolf could be a major butt-pain in theory, even if it won't kill you alone. But I don't remember seeing any ion beam frigates in enemy fleets. Plus they aren't likely to pull it off in fleet setting anyway.

[goduranus]

How about Gladius fighter? How to use them properly? I have never used them, always hunting down some [redacted] and getting sparks.

[Megas]

@ Goumindong:  You keep assuming small battles where Onslaught can chew up few ships from one or maybe two directions.  That is not always an option against an entire fleet.  Also, "dead fighters" and "dead frigates" does not help in case most of the enemy fleet decide to launch Harpoons from multiple directions when Onslaught reaches high flux.

Different weapons have different trade-offs, and flak in back offers best protection against incoming missiles from behind in case other weapons fail to kill enemy ships.  Surviving ships launch missiles, and other weapons may not necessarily kill them all quickly enough.

[oorek]

A lot of people don't realize this, but the mining blaster is actually superior to the heavy blaster vs armor (because it does more damage per shot). It also consumes a little less flux.
Mining blasters + ion cannons on a safety-override Aurora will chew up any hegemony fleet.

[Grievous69]

Well yea, its better burst is a plus but everything else is worse. Less range than Heavy Blaster, worse efficiency when you look at sustained damage so it's not really that great at brawling. Of course when you don't have access to Heavy Blaster it's a decent substitute but even then it might be better on some ships (Hyperion, phase ships and possibly something else), so it's definitely not unused.

[Techhead]

A lot of people don't realize this, but the mining blaster is actually superior to the heavy blaster vs armor (because it does more damage per shot). It also consumes a little less flux.
Mining blasters + ion cannons on a safety-override Aurora will chew up any hegemony fleet.

Even with the higher-per shot damage, it still has worse DPS than the Heavy Blaster against armor at any armor level. The less flux makes it only marginally more flux efficient against armor, but on a high-tech SO cruiser you don't really care much about marginal flux-efficiency, you have soft flux to spare.

Hyperion might be the one ship I might prefer the MB on given a choice between the two, since it can pop in and blast, pop out and vent, repeat.

[Megas]

Better armor cracking alone is not enough to save Mining Blaster.  Worse shot range (500 instead of 600) and worst flux efficiency in the game makes it a sub-optimal choice for everything except Hyperion.  Hyperion can only get enough flux stats to fire a pair of blasters, either Heavy or Mining, so might as well take Mining.  I suppose Mining Blasters would work on Harbinger, but if I want to go that way (instead of Reaper abuse), then dual AM Blaster Afflictor or Shade seems more useful against targets vulnerable to it.  Then again, AM Blasters are rare, and Mining Blasters are not.

The only thing good about Mining Blaster is you already know it from the start (i.e., no need to find blueprint for it).  It is also the starter Apogee's main weapon.

[Techhead]

Better armor cracking alone is not enough to save Mining Blaster.

The point of my post was that... 700 damage actually cracks less armor than 500 + 500. On a sustained basis, its worse. (Firing rate is 0.5/sec vs 1/sec) On a "flux spent to chew through 2k armor", it's worse. It's only actual advantage is in engagement windows shorter than a second. Which basically means... Hyperion and Harbinger.

[Goumindong]

@ Goumindong:  You keep assuming small battles where Onslaught can chew up few ships from one or maybe two directions.  That is not always an option against an entire fleet.  Also, "dead fighters" and "dead frigates" does not help in case most of the enemy fleet decide to launch Harpoons from multiple directions when Onslaught reaches high flux.

Different weapons have different trade-offs, and flak in back offers best protection against incoming missiles from behind in case other weapons fail to kill enemy ships.  Surviving ships launch missiles, and other weapons may not necessarily kill them all quickly enough.

If the enemy can shoot harpoons at you from all directions because you’re outnumbered 10+ to - then maybe you’re gonna lose... because flack in the rear ain’t gonna save you either.