Dang, was hoping someone had posted the Infernal Machine upgrade paths.
I'll go ahead and do that then.
Spoiler
First one is Terminator Drones (2 per wing, unmanned, 20 second replacement time with 500 hull 100 armor 300 top speed, 1x IR pulse laser 1x PD laser) or 2 Fighter Bays & +20 OP (mining pods cost 4 each, wasps 5 (closest equivalent to the stock Borers))
Second is a built-in Advanced Targeting Core (+100% ballistic/energy range, +60% PD range)(Integrated Targeting Computer is +60% to ballistic/energy, including PD), or replacing the Burn Drive system with Maneuvering Jets (with burn drive I had 67 0-flux top speed, 195 with burn activated ;;;; maneuvering I had 80 0-flux top speed, 123 with jets activated (but you can keep your shield on, and turn)) PLUS built-in Auxiliary Thrusters (+50% maneuverability) *and* Unstable Injector (+15 top speed, -15% max range, +25% fighter replacement time (bad))
Third is replacing the Hellfire (TPC) Cannon with a Diablo Cannon (60 max ammo, 3 ammo regenerated per second, fires at 15/second...250 energy damage/shot, 200 flux/shot, 3750 damage a second for 5 full seconds...this thing SLAPS)) OR 2 medium slots become 2 large slots (11oclock missile & 10oclock ballistic), ALL the ballistic slots become hybrid/composite/universal(12oc mediumx2 -> hybrids, 11oc & 1oc smallx2 -> hybrids, 3oc & 9oc smallx2 -> universals, 4oc mediumx2 -> hybrids, 5oc & 7oc smallx2 -> hybrids, 6oc large x1 & med x1 -> composites), +20 OP, and the TPC main cannon firing arc is increased from 180 to 360 degrees.
Fourth is adding an Infernal Shield built-in system (360 omni, doubles turn/extension rate, -20% shield damage taken, 50% hard flux dissipation(!!), *and* it makes it a pretty RED color), OR an Infernal Minefield which spawns a mine or two every couple seconds which slowly drift towards enemies to deal moderate HE damage. They can spawn automatically at a range of up to 4000, drift for ~30 seconds before detonating, and several can be deployed at the same time, but they're easy work for enemy PD and CAN friendly-fire if they're within range when they time out and detonate. They may be most valuable for their effects on enemy AI and PD saturation.
Personally, I think I like:
THE FIGHTER BAYS- terminators are very good escorts, performing slightly better than my personal favorite escort, Pikes (jam some of those in a makeshift P Falcon hangar for a good time), for the same OP cost. *However*, keeping them as fighter bays instead of committing to the terminators grants significantly more flexibility & it even lets you ignore/downgrade them for the bonus OP points as needed.
THE ADVANCED TARGETING CORE- this one was close, because the extra maneuverability helps you bring your BIG GUN to bear and while I personally *love* the stock ram-drive, the speed differential is basically equal. The manuevering jet package would have been a very respectable sidegrade/possibly a flat-out upgrade, *but* what killed it for me was the built-in -15% range on the unstable injector. Compared to the targeting core's extra +40%? You can bring your gun to bear on those pesky frigates hiding in your shadow faster, sure, but the ATC's 2500 effective range main cannon is downright *oppressive*.
THE DIABLO CANNON- the alternative is pretty strong, nice to have, almost certainly *broken* if you build it right, but that's what the Diablo is right out of the box: broken. (hyperbole pls no nerf) The only thing I saw soak a fully charged Diablo barrage in my testing was a Paragon fortress shield, and those soak *everything*.
THE INFERNAL SHIELD- in a vacuum the mines are kinda underpowered. They can make frigates scream and cry, but as soon as you get a medium PD in the mix the mines might as well not exist- with how far away from ships they spawn, the enemy's PD lights up every couple seconds and that's that. Up against the shield? It's a no-brainer. Even if you were set on armor-tanking, you might want to take another look at this.
