Feedback; IMN Assault Gun, Volley Gun, Shard Cannon & Gun
(Yea I know I'm super late to the party)
IMN Assault Gun.
Pros: The three shot burst of the weapon delivers a certain level of control that can be effective when firing at specific locations on a ship. Its also very cheap to buy and doesn't require a large amount of op to mount.
Cons: This damage seems a little weak. It generates huge amounts of flux, its very ineffective vs shields (I understand its intended to be) and for its flux generation its damage seems anemic. I found it hard hitting base hounds and cerbs in a simulator environment and in the actual game many other weapons seem to be more effective in its role as a non-shielded target strike weapon.
Conclusion: I won't use these guns when almost anything else is available. I might be using them incorrectly but overall other weapons seem to do it better and with less management.
Volley Gun
Pros: High burst vs shields, low flux generation, easy to use and just overall really satisfying. When uses in large numbers (3-5) they are extremely effective at overloading shields of frigates and destroyers and even much large variants of ships given enough time.
Cons: Cool-down time, Weak against armor and lowish range but honestly if these factors didn't exists they wouldn't be very balanced.
Conclusion: This thing acts exactly like a space shotgun should, its short ranged, highly effective at overwhelming static target shields and they have a slow firerate to compensate. I like these a lot and when it comes to strike frigates or small swarming ships they are hard to ignore in both the refit screen and when used against a medium sized target with large numbers. Personally I love setting locust swarms up armed with these. Give me five locusts and with two volley guns and sunjet each and there isn't a destroyer in the system that shouldn't be worried (unless maybe your a Templar but those guys are just op). I would be really excited to see a medium mount variant of this weapon but I also understand it would probably be pretty problematic to balance.
Shard Cannons/Guns
Pros: Great vs shields, easy to control, decent projectile speed, primary a kinetic weapon but has a nice effect vs armor. Moderate Op cost.
Cons: Moderate Flux generation, Burst weapon (Cannon), Low range (Gun). Again these cons are what balance this weapon.
Conclusion: This is a great all around and flexible weapon, these are my go to ballistic anti shield weapons in a lot of situations. They can be uses on frigates quite effectively as a primary dps weapon and in a pinch is can be a very decent PD weapon even if you aren't the one behind the controls. Overall I think one of the biggest strong points of this weapon is that it really doesn't have very many weak-points and its a pretty decent jack of all trades. If anything it might be to strong at times.
(Shard) Guns to Cannon comparison. The gun is a automatic short range weapon, like a submachine gun minus any sort of inaccuracy or ammo limit. This thing was made for DPS. The Cannon has the range and more burst and is better fitted on your slower more heavy small ships. Basically if your small and fast like a Mantis or a Locust you probably want the shard gun but if your slower and not quite as nimble (like a Weevil) you probably want a shard cannon. Overall I find myself very attached to the gun more than the cannon but that just me.
Poll
757 (23.6%)