You build block weapons on your stations, rovers, mechs, and ships to provide grids with defensive and offensive capabilities. They are the stations' and ships' equivalents of handheld Character Weapons.
Certain weapon blocks exist only for small grid (like the Autocannon), or only for large grids (like the Artillery), while most of them exist in both sizes. Some Block Weapons pull ammunition through conveyor ports while others have to be reloaded manually, so consider port accessibility before placing them.
A weapon block is either automatic or static:
- Automatic turrets use AI to turn and shoot at chosen targets. Secondarily, players can take manual control of them.
- Static Block Weapons are controlled by players; they are fixed and turn with the player-controlled ship they are on. Secondarily, they can be put onto articulated Custom Turret Controllers and be aimed manually or automatically.
All Small Grid Weapons 2022
All Large Grid Weapons 2022
Available Weapon Blocks[]
Legend: SG = for small grid, LG = for large grid
| Name | Size | Control | Ammo | Reload | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interior Turret | LG | automatic | MR-50A magazine | manual | 0600m |
| Gatling Turret | LG/SG | automatic | Gatling Ammo Box | conveyor | 0800m |
| Gatling Gun | SG | static | Gatling Ammo Box | conveyor | 0800m |
| Rocket Turret | LG/SG | automatic | Rocket | conveyor | 0800m |
| Rocket Launcher | LG | static | Rocket | conveyor | 0800m |
| Rocket Launcher | SG | static | Rocket | manual | 0800m |
| Reloadable Rocket Launcher | SG | static | Rocket | conveyor | 0800m |
| Autocannon | SG | static | Autocannon Magazine | conveyor | 0800m |
| Autocannon Turret | SG | automatic | Autocannon Magazine | conveyor | 0800m |
| Assault Cannon | SG | static | Assault Cannon Shell | conveyor | 1400m |
| Assault Cannon Turret | LG/SG | automatic | Assault Cannon Shell | conveyor | 1400m |
| Artillery | LG | static | Artillery Shell | conveyor | 2000m |
| Artillery Turret | LG | automatic | Artillery Shell | conveyor | 2000m |
| Railgun | LG/SG | static | Small/Large Railgun Sabot | conveyor | 2000m |
How to configure the toolbar for manual shooting[]
When configuring Block Weapons in the G-menu toolbar, it makes a difference whether you use the entry from the Block Weapons filter or from the All Blocks filter!
| Filter | Selected Action | How to shoot |
|---|---|---|
| All Blocks | Select the block's Shoot Once or the Shoot On/Off action. | Press the slot number to shoot once, or to shoot continuously, respectively. |
| All Blocks | Select a turret's Control action. | To take manual aim control, press the toolbar slot number where you assigned the turret's Control action. You "see" through the turret's eyes and shoot with RMB click. Press (F key) to exit Turret Control. |
| Block Weapons | (Default) | This adds a weapon toggle to the toolbar slot.
|
You will also be interested in Target Locking.
Weapon Damage[]
For a detailed damage comparisons, see Damage Mechanics.
Weapons with the lowest damage are the compact and lightweight gatlings and interior turrets. The medium sized Rocket Launchers, Rocket Turrets, and Autocannons do medium damage. In the top damage range we see heavy and unwieldy weapons such as Assault Cannons, with the slow Artilleries and Railguns taking the top ranks. Choose high damage when you have time and opportunity to aim (possibly even manually), for example, because the enemy ships are large or slow.
If you consider damage per second (dps), interior turrets, Rocket Turrets, and small Railguns rank lowest. Small Assault Cannons, Rocket Launchers, and Gatling Turrets are in the middle dps ranges. Autocannons, Large Railguns, and large Assault Cannon Turrets have high dps, only topped by the sluggish Artilleries having the highest dps. Choose high dps turrets when you have lots of ammo to spend on chasing small or fast moving targets.
How to configure automatic aiming (AI)[]
When configuring the toolbar, also assign slots to the following auto-targetting controls so you can change them smartly on the fly. For example, if a turret wastes ammo because it's shooting at wreck debris, you'll want to be able to quickly disable its auto-targetting.
Relevant controls include:
- Set an AI Aiming Radius in metres. Next to the primary maximum range defences, hidden secondary turrets with a lower aiming radius can ambush boarders.
- Choose one or several targets from this list:
- meteors, rockets, characters, stations,
- large ships, small ships,
- neutrals, friends, enemies
- Select one of the following automatic Subsystem Target Options:
- Default -- Makes the AI destroy the first visible subsystem block, either Power, Weapons, or Propulsion.
- Weapons -- Makes the AI destroy static Weapons, Turrets, Warheads, first. Good to detooth armed ships and bases.
- Propulsion -- Makes the AI destroy Thrusters, Gyroscopes, Jump Drives, first. Good against PBW/missiles or fleeing vessels. Mobile targets may drift off or crash. Useless against stations.
- Power Systems -- Makes the AI destroy Batteries, Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, H2 Engines, and Reactors first. Good to shut down bases and ships, but only if their power subsystems are exposed. Mobile targets may drift off/crash.
Turrets additionally benefit from manual Target Locking. Regarding the targetting priority of automated turrets, you should also know about Decoys.
Automatic Turret Tips[]
Assume manual turret control from any seat (!) by opening the turret's Control Panel and clicking the Control button:
- See through the "eyes" of the turret and use the mouse scroll wheel to aim down sights (zoom in).
- Aim and shoot using the mouse.
- Continue to drive/fly using the WASD keys.
- Press F to release turret control.
If you unload the ammo from one turret, and set the turret to aim at "neutrals" and "allies", the turret silently indicates their presence on your HUD with a white signal.
Turrets display conspicuous seeking behavior when idle, but you can configure them to remain still.
Put Subsystem Target Options switching actions on your toolbar to react tactically. The best choice depends on the location of the battle and whether your priority is to detooth or to capture a vessel. For example:
- Targetting enemy propulsion above your planetary base comes with the risk of the ships crashing down on you, but may be the safest option in zero gravity to make missiles or cargo ships drift off course.
- Accidentally targeting propulsion against a base, or targeting weapons against a kinetic missile, may cost you your victory.
Manual Weapons Tips[]
If you are using weapons with very slow reload times, don't group them to shoot at the same time. Switch from one to the other, and shoot one while the other reloads.
