- Rift Cascade Emitter: Murderous doom in a gun. Pairs well with a Tachyon Lance - they've got the same firing rate. The AI has issues aiming the thing, though; if it's under AI control, and the host ship is turning (and outside of simulator duels, the host ship is basically always turning), and the target is anything smaller than a cruiser... it's going to miss. (And then sometimes it misses the cruisers, too.) Also, if you have two of these in a linked group, they usually pick either the same or almost-the-same locations for their rifts, which just doesn't look as good as if the rifts arced in opposite directions.
Overall Grade: A+. Only held back from S-grade by its mediocre performance on AI-controlled ships.
I was disappointed by this weapon. Compared to Tachyon Lance, the emitter costs more OP and consumes more flux. And what do I get from this? A little more damage if the beam explodes gloriously. Oh, and the explosion chance varies by distance, less at longer range, so its damage is not so great if you snipe with it, and sniping is the point of this Tachyon Lance knock-off. Also, unlike Tachyon Lance, it lacks EMP and shield piercing. I think Tachyon Lance is the better weapon, and it is better to get more Tachyon Lances than mix this weapon in. It is very flashy, and fun to use, but a letdown overall.
I placed this on my Ziggurat, for one emitter and one lance. After a few fights, I took the emitter off and placed the second lance back on Ziggurat.
I thought the burst damage from explosions would be good for overloading, and tried the beam hard-flux hullmod, but AI lowered shield in time most of the time before getting overloaded. I was better off getting plasma cannon instead if I wanted a hard flux weapon.
With that said, it is very flashy, and it works much like a Tachyon Lance. If I wanted a Tachyon Lance, but found this first, I would use it until I found Tachyon Lance, then replace the emitter with Tachyon Lance. As for grade, I would rate it either the same or one less than Tachyon Lance. I probably would give emitter a B at best.
I would not call Rift Cascade Emitter a General weapon. It is a Tachyon Lance that does a bit more damage at the cost of no EMP, no shield pierce, and greater flux and OP costs. In other words, it is probably a Suppression weapon.
If I was willing to pay the costs for Rift Cascade Emitter, I should get plasma cannon instead.