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The creative Descent Multiplayer Tactics Site |
The Weapons - what they do and how you can use them |
The different weapons have different abilities and are best suited to
different situations. For special tactics you will need a special weapon.
Learn to use the "toggle primary weapon" key to be able to always
shoot with the right weapon.
The
Laser is the basic weapon of your Pyro-GX. It's shots are quite slow but
they don't need too much energy. The laser upgrades and the quad device
increase the damage the laser creates but do not influence the energy consumption.
The laser is an all round weapon. The shots are small enough to keep your
enemy in sight and it is perfect to shoot "fire-walls". The damage
of the laser is divided into 2 beams (4 beams quad). A laser hit does not
need to be a "full hit" making full damage. It can happen that
just two of the four beams a quad laser provides hit the other ones ship.
The super laser is one of the most powerful weapons. The energy costs
are still as low as laser 1 and the damage is awesome. It has the same
positive features as the normal laser and is even more powerful (It is
my favorite weapon). If someone opens fire on you with a superlaser dodge as good as you can.
The Vulcan is a very useful weapon for long distance battles. While you
shoot at someone from far away he probably won't be able to tell where
the shots are coming from since there are no "trails" like with
other energy based weapons. The fire rate is extremely high while the damage
per second is low. Use this weapon while you are far away from your opponent.
Its good for "hit and run" and great to open doors from a distance
to make someone think that you are somewhere else. Avoid this weapon in
close battles. You do not need to lead your shots very far because the
bullets are very fast. For net games the vulcan and the Gauss are very
favorite weapons for that reason. You can essentially lay down a stream
of vulcan fire in the path someone is flying and they will just run into
it. But remember that ammo is limited. Well aimed shots can determine your
chance of winning the game.
If someone attacks you with a Vulcan try to get closer to him. Most of the other weapons are more dangorous than the vulcan in close battles.
The fire rate of the Gauss is not as high as the vulcans's. The damage
per shot is higher and it has a BLAST RADIUS (If the bullet impacts on
a wall close to the ship it makes a small amount of damage. Test it in
single player mode). The gauss disturbs the flight path of the hit vehicle.
As long as you are the first one to hit in a gauss-gauss battle your chances
to win are high. Use it to nail someone on a wall. You won't need direct
hits, it is just enough to be close. When someone attaches the difficulty slider during gaes setup the weapon balance will change slightly. Vulcan and Gauss will be more powerfull on hotshot, ace or insane level.
If you are under the fire of a Gauss cannon figure out where it comes from. If you donīt get where the other one is: get away! Otherwise try to get closer and open fire with other weapons.
The
Spreadfire cannon uses a little more energy than the laser but creates
less damage. While the shots spread away from each other it is a great
weapon to shoot without aiming. But normally not more than one of the "energy
balls" will hit your opponent which means: low damage. Newbies really
like this weapon, but experienced dogtfighters do not even think about
using it.
Everything that's true about the Spreadfire is also true for the Helix.
But the Helix uses huge amounts of energy. Do not use it if there isn't
an energy center nearby. The damage per second from the helix is the highest
of all the primary weapons. In a close distance battle it can be a very
good weapon. It is also nice to use it to fill a room with its fire when
you play against four or more pilots - but thats not the elegant way ;-)
If someone tries to get you with the helix you should try to keep him far away. A single hit from a Helix bubble doesnīt hurt that much and the other one will run low on energy. It will be hard for him to see you behind his fire and you will be able to hit him with Vulcan or Gauss.
The
Plasma is a good all round weapon like the laser. But it needs more energy
and you will have problems keeping your enemy in sight because of these
huge green bubbles. It is dangarous in middle and close distances, creating
high damage. Use it for "Fire-Rows" and to nail someone in a
corner.
The Phoenix Cannon is a very interesting weapon. Its shots are reflectect
by walls and floors (except water and lava). In curved rooms you can shoot
around corners. In "Doom-like-Levels" like Minerva its hard not
to shoot oneself. Never try to open a door with it from head on or lookout.
Whenever you use this weapon: BE CAREFULL!! Due to a "Bug" in the D2 code your shots can damage your own ship without reflecting anywhere. This happens while flying forwards (without) afterburner with FPS below 8,5 or using afterburners below FPS of 20-25.
If someone plays around with the Phoenix search for rooms that are "Minerva" or "Doom" like. You will be able to determine where the reflected shots go to and hopefully your opponent kills himself.
The
Fusion has lost its awesome power from Descent 1. First you have to load
it, second you fire a low speed shot. Well, for really good Pilots this
can be a good weapon but IMHO it became a fun weapon for experienced pilots.
You can pick people off with this one. In a modem game it rules. But you
better be really good at leading and aiming.
The Omega is an unfair weapon. The damage it provides is counted completely
different compared to all the other weapons. It sends and counts the damage
per frame (the frame of the shooting Computer). This makes the Omega Cannon
stronger on fast Computers and weaker on slow Computers.
Yes, it aims automatically in close battles and Yep, the damage is very
high. Of course it is the best weapon to kill someone from the behind but
DO NOT USE IT UNLESS YOU KNOW THAT YOUR COMPUTER IS SLOWER THAN THE ONE
OF YOUR OPPOPNENT! (Who tells the other ones on KALI how fast his CPU works?)
Just don´t use it.
Someone keeps shooting on you with the Omega? Keep enough distance and the beams of the Omega wonīt reach you. Finish him with Gauss or Vulcan.
***note: For those who do not believe this: Whenever someone shoots with
Omega on me I can see up to 5 Beams making an instant kill. Whenever I
use the Omega the Pentium guys have a lot of time to turn around and start
firing (I´m still using my 486-100).
****note: for those who are interessted in my computer: itīs heart beats with 200Mhz, using MMX instructions provided by AMD.
The Standard Missile
providing medium damage with a small blast radius. Use it to add to the
damage of your primary weapons. Use it to make your opponent think that
your are chasing him with Guided Missiles. Do not forget this one.
This missile creates
very low damage on your opponent. But it can blind him when you hit one
of his windows with it with a single shot or with multiple hits anywhere
on his ship. Use this one to create an surprise. This missile is a psychological
and tactical weapon. Best use is to strenghten your primary attack. Do
not think that there is no need for this one.
If you are under Flashfire stay away from any wall. Remember where you are and always try to fly into open space. Do not stop playing when you are blinded. The Pyro GX can still manuever although you canīt see anything.
This one homes on
your opponent. Best use is in tunnels or from behind. The better the Computer
of your opponent is, the better it will home on him. The damage is medium.
This is a nice weapon.
In Multiplayer
Games with more than one opponent it is very dangerous to fly around with
the Guided but in one on one Dogfights you will find a lot of situations
where you can use it. Do not forget to mark the "show guided missile
view in main window" box and this one will be a good friend of yours.
It's damage is better than the damage of the homing missile. { After you
get near the target you can hit the fire secondary trigger again and it
will turn into a homing missle} It can fly tighter turns when released
to home on your opponent (hit the secondary fire key (button) a second
time). So you can steer it until you are close to your opponent and let
it do the rest. You can also use the Guided as an advanced Homing missile. It homes better and provides more damage.
Use it while you are low on shields, to surprise while attacking around
a corner or to attack from two sides. Keep in mind that an enemy who flies
with multiple axis is faster than a guided missile and can evade the attack.
If you are chased by someone with a Guided figure out where he is and smash his ship. If you dodge a guided missile try to slide up or down. In these angles the guided missile has a slow rolling rate.
Dumb mine that
explodes when anyone gets too near. Use it while you are being chased or
to stop missilies that lock on you (needs some luck). You can also try
to drop it into the flight-path of someone, hoping that he crashes into
it.
Oooh I could write
a book about it. You love it or you hate it. This one is a tactical weapon.
There are many possible ways to use it:
The Smart Missiles
are like mobile Smart Mine (except that their damage is smaller /lower).
You can use them in defensive positions to lock on your opponent in close
battles or for an instant kill with a direct hit. This missile is a very
effective all round weapon. Use it to attack your enemy from two sides.
Use it if your opponent is hiding behind a corner and has better weapons
than you. When you ´re being chased you can fire it directly in front
of you on a wall (remember: there is a small blast radius). The bomblet
will go THROUGH your ship and appear as if you shoot with a rear locking
plasma cannon. Think about it ;-)
The Mercury Missile
is a dumb fire missile like the Concussion Missile. But it is way faster
making it a good weapon for hit and run tactics. It is hard to aim but
worth the damage.
High damage locking
missile with blast radius. Very dangerous and very useful. Stay away while
using it.
I do not like
this missile. This is a low skill extreme damage weapon. Find out for yourself.
To dodge them get as far away from the point of impact (blast radius). Turn around and dodge the blue bomblet like those of the Smart mine. This is very hard to do and there is never a 100 % chance unless you donīt get around a corner.