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[Radio Edit]

Or does it only increase "beam weapon" (AKA Tachyon lance etc.)?

Sorry, i couldn't find any info on it online

[TaLaR]

Only beams.

[Radio Edit]

Ah, alright, because i'm considering my Apogee build right now and wondering what would be best:

Would it be best to build it as a energy cannon (Plasma cannon which i recently got, heavy blasters, anti-mattter blasters/ion cannons on front + dedicated targeting  core)
Or would it be better to build it as a beam ship (Tachyon Lance + Ion beams and some Tactical lasers on front)?

[Radio Edit]

Only beams.

Also does Dedicated Targeting Core increase beam weapon range?

[TaLaR]

Plasma, especially if you are going to pilot it. Beam Apogee produces too little soft flux damage and will struggle to kill anything but weakest DEs.

Yes AdvOpt stacks with DTC/ITC. Though it is additive: 1000 + (35%*1000=350) + 200 = 1550.

[Radio Edit]

Yeah. i autofited my Apogee with Ion/Antimatter Cannons + dedicatecd targeting core
Outfited one of my auroras with full on heavy blaster + antimatter blasters + ion cannons too. They can rip enemy vessels of the same tier to shreds now, but still have trouble punching above their weight vs an elite battlecruiser. Kinda dissapointed, since the elite battlecruiser costs about 10 points more than the Aurora

The apogee with the blaster setup tho... 18 points and i can kill a 40 point Elite battlecruiser no problem. Damn

Is it just me, or are beam weapons generally just eh? I have one Aurora equipped with Tachyon Lance + 4 tactical lasers and 2 Ion beams, and it's quite underwhelming... maybe i should switch out the tactical lasers? But i kinda wanna take advantage of the Advanced optics mod.

And nah - i usually pilot my death barge that i have setup to be an absolute indestructible monster. + i have a hegemony onslaught that literally rips a paragon to shreds 1V1 without taking any damage, but i usually jus play it as a strategy game, rarely taking command of the ships, so yeah...

[TaLaR]

Beams are generally weak in 1v1 and meant more as long range support. Though a Paragon can make all-beams loadout work anyway. Soft flux is only an issue when you don't output enough of it.

[Maeleth]

Ah, alright, because i'm considering my Apogee build right now and wondering what would be best:

Would it be best to build it as a energy cannon (Plasma cannon which i recently got, heavy blasters, anti-mattter blasters/ion cannons on front + dedicated targeting  core)
Or would it be better to build it as a beam ship (Tachyon Lance + Ion beams and some Tactical lasers on front)?

Apogee is not really a ship that can kill. Unless we're talking some meme SO build with autopulse+AM blasters+hurric, of course. Plasma is kinda bad here because it will miss 90% shots on anything smaller/faster than Hammerhead. Tachyon cannot deal any hard flux, and you have no missiles or ballistics to help out.

It is slow ship, with awkward side mounts you cannot use, anemic firepower and useless special ability. I usually build it as a pure tank/support, with maxed out vents/caps, hardened shields, lots of IPDAId PD, empty forward small slots and no missiles. That way it can basically keep half the enemy fleet busy, which I consider to be much more helpful than one more subpar damage dealer for 18 DP.

[intrinsic_parity]

Apogee is not really a ship that can kill. Unless we're talking some meme SO build with autopulse+AM blasters+hurric, of course. Plasma is kinda bad here because it will miss 90% shots on anything smaller/faster than Hammerhead. Tachyon cannot deal any hard flux, and you have no missiles or ballistics to help out.

Why do you say it has no missiles to help when you mention its large missile in your loadout (it has a small missile as well)...?

Plasma cannon is the only good build IMO, but it is certainly a good build. Hitting frigates is not important, it will deal good damage to destroyers/cruisers/capitals which is way more valuable. Using locust in the large missile slot and giving it an escort is more than enough to fend off harassing frigates. It will absolutely win duels against cruisers that cost 50% more DP. I consider plasma apogee to be the some of the best value/DP in the game. Other loadouts are considerably weaker, but it still has amazing campaign stats that are worthwhile in any case.

My build:
Plasma cannon, burst PD (small) in the medium slots, small energy slots empty (I might have a third busrt PD somewhere), locust and small sabot in the missile slots, hardened shields, max dissipation, ITU, stabilized shields, and probably some caps or maybe another hullmod or two, I don't remember exactly.

[Maeleth]

Why do you say it has no missiles to help when you mention its large missile in your loadout (it has a small missile as well)...?

Because of the strange angle of large slot. Apogee can't reliably hit anything but capitals with Squall (and even then it sometimes struggles without ECCM/skills), while Sabots will last for about one minute of actual combat. It's just a waste of OP in my opinion.

Also the thing about plasma is not that it cannot score a hit on smaller ships. It's about Apogee happily chasing random frigates to the edge of combat map. That means you need to pay attention and command this ship not to do stupid things, which is not the lazy way most of us prefer to play.

[Serenitis]

Locusts are a very strong pick for Apogee's large missile.
But it's a dedicated missile slot, so you can downsize & use medium missiles if you like. A Harpoon or Sabot pod is a p. solid choice.

Apogee is one of the few ships I will trust to the AI when fitted with a plasma cannon.
Although I do prefer it in a more support focused role with a tachyon lance.

[Arcagnello]

Locusts are a very strong pick for Apogee's large missile.
But it's a dedicated missile slot, so you can downsize & use medium missiles if you like. A Harpoon or Sabot pod is a p. solid choice.

Apogee is one of the few ships I will trust to the AI when fitted with a plasma cannon.
Although I do prefer it in a more support focused role with a tachyon lance.

I don't actually pilot ships much in the late stage of the game I'm at, I've found that one of the best ways to avoid your ships chasing enemy frigades is to give "Engage" orders on the enemy's bigger threats. Your ships will automatically engage the designated enemy ships in a distributed manner and will try to stick close to them, meaning they won't chase non-Engage targets at all!

[Megas]

Apogee is not really a ship that can kill. Unless we're talking some meme SO build with autopulse+AM blasters+hurric, of course. Plasma is kinda bad here because it will miss 90% shots on anything smaller/faster than Hammerhead. Tachyon cannot deal any hard flux, and you have no missiles or ballistics to help out.

Why do you say it has no missiles to help when you mention its large missile in your loadout (it has a small missile as well)...?

Plasma cannon is the only good build IMO, but it is certainly a good build. Hitting frigates is not important, it will deal good damage to destroyers/cruisers/capitals which is way more valuable. Using locust in the large missile slot and giving it an escort is more than enough to fend off harassing frigates. It will absolutely win duels against cruisers that cost 50% more DP. I consider plasma apogee to be the some of the best value/DP in the game. Other loadouts are considerably weaker, but it still has amazing campaign stats that are worthwhile in any case.

My build:
Plasma cannon, burst PD (small) in the medium slots, small energy slots empty (I might have a third busrt PD somewhere), locust and small sabot in the missile slots, hardened shields, max dissipation, ITU, stabilized shields, and probably some caps or maybe another hullmod or two, I don't remember exactly.

For Apogee starter, I prioritize getting Locusts and Expanded Missile Racks first to sweep the small fry that is fought early.  Locusts that last nearly the whole fight against small pirate fleets is almost unfair - no need to aim.  Mining Blaster at the front will be fine for killing big things like pirate battlestations.  (Mining Blaster is more effective than autopulse at cracking battlestations.)  Eventually, I will get plasma cannon and remove EMR.  Since Apogee has active flares and a good shield, it does not need PD beams, and it can mount some form of pulse lasers at the sides to deal with flanking frigates and light fighter attacks.

[Daynen]

Personally I wouldn't use heavy weapons like plasma on an Apogee; it has fantastic flux stats but the AI's flux management is notoriously bad when it has high flux weapons.  An apogee with good point defense and anti-fighter weapons with an officer who can vent hard flux will hold the line for days but give it a plasma and it WILL flux itself out...

[intrinsic_parity]

Personally I wouldn't use heavy weapons like plasma on an Apogee; it has fantastic flux stats but the AI's flux management is notoriously bad when it has high flux weapons.  An apogee with good point defense and anti-fighter weapons with an officer who can vent hard flux will hold the line for days but give it a plasma and it WILL flux itself out...

You can set it up to be able to fire continuously without fluxing out (max dissipation plus the dissipation hullmod) so that it can't make any mistakes. Then it will just grind things to dust. That is why I don't use pulse lasers in the medium slots.