More comments after more playing:
The Laser Torpedo is overpowered. The main reasons are the torpedo tracks well enough and it does not need a direct hit to inflict as much damage as a Reaper. By the time the torpedo is in PD range, it explodes and irradiates the nearby target, and the total damage is extremely high.
Suggestions to weaken the Laser Torpedoes:
- All torpedoes use the same stats as found in small mounts - less damage, less splash range. Those in small mounts are a bit overpowered but not too outrageous. Medium and Large torpedoes are overpowered enough to make the Templars proud.
- Raise OP cost to match stock Needlers. Their total damage rivals Reapers, and their homing is superior to Atropos.
- (Maybe) Change damage type to high-explosive. Energy damage in the thousands will crush shields easily then obliterate the ship. Combined with reliable homing and early detonation, the torpedo is generally unblockable.
Re: Large Kacc: It is similar to the Mark IX autocannon in terms of (sub-par) DPS and OP cost, but the Kacc is much more accurate, and high damage per shot makes it more likely to overload AI ships. Because of its slow fire-rate, it is very vent-spam friendly. The stats are balanced on paper, but in practice, the kacc is very friendly to tricks that exploit various game mechanics. I am not sure what can be done to tweak the kacc that does not utterly change the weapon (or make it too weak). For instance, firing weaker shots at a faster rate would probably fix it, but it probably will not feel the same weapon anymore.
Re: Heavy EMB: Unless you fight enemies with armor regeneration, armor penetration (or lack of) is not a big deal. The armor will be gone, eventually. The OP is cheap enough and the DPS high enough that I consider mounting this instead of Heavy Blaster. The only thing keeping the Heavy EMB from being overpowered (or rather, grossed underpriced) is awful accuracy. Even then, I still think it is worth more than 20 OP (but no more than 25 OP as long as Mjolnir remains as-is). I posted elsewhere that stock heavy weapons are weak enough (in 0.65) that Heavy Blaster is usually my weapon of choice in a heavy energy mount.
Other weapon comments:Small minigun: With IPDAI, this is fun long-range PD that is effective, though a bit wasteful of flux use and OP cost. Stops missiles quickly and chews up fighters effectively.
<medium frag spray-gun>: Not as reliable PD as flak, but has more range and it mauls unarmored targets. Decent gun.
<HE versions of Kacc>: Fires a bit too slow, and high damage is not as helpful (because punching a hole through armor does not paralyze a ship like overloading shields).
Ricochet gun: Novel gun, but it really needs to be used within a narrow and precise range to make the most of it. This may be a good reason not to install ITU. I think I will stick with stock Hellbores or HAGs instead of this.
ORION: This gun is a pain to use, and probably a bit underpowered compared to other weapons of similar cost (such as Mjolnir). The range stat and aiming sights are deceptive; due to variable speed, the shots disappear before they reach the edge of my sights. Overall, I would not use this if I have better. Also, limited ammo kills it prolonged battles.
Played some of the Scy ships a bit, mostly the capitals...* The Lion capital is very flexible, thanks to mostly universal mounts. It may not necessarily be the most heavily-armed ship, but it can hyper-specialize in roles that are very effective against the AI. All of its mounts can be mounted with Laser Torpedoes and it will demolish any fleet that does not have lots of fighters. Funnily enough, with an all-missile configuration, Paragon will not raise shields until torpedoes are launched, which is sometimes too late for the Paragon. I tried all Reapers too, and while they worked, they were not as efficient as Laser Torpedoes. If I want unlimited ammo instead, one option is an extreme range configuration with three Gauss Cannons for kinetics, two or four Pilums for HE, and miniguns (and possible flak) for PD. Give the Lion lightweight armor hullmod, and when stacked with max Helmsmanship, the Lion can kite from absurdly long range.
* The other capital, the siege carrier seems kind of fun; feels a bit like the Titan from IFed. The main gun is the classic very slow yet very powerful BFG.