Foreword:
I’ve decided to attempt to create a guide to using this weapon after receiving multiple requests. By no means will this be a cheat sheet as can be written for the lumberjack by referencing the physical properties to the iron-sight and their relative correlation to distance. When piloting an asymmetric galleon occasionally my gunner would ask which notch to aim the lumberjack with to hit at this distance, and I’d tell them. This would be then followed by the gun-deck engineer asking how they should adjust their aim to hit with the typhon, to which my only helpful remark can be: “Use the force, Luke.” Due to the apparent extremely slow projectile speed, you really do have to predict the future in order to land your shots at distance; unfortunately this ability can only be gained from experience.
Situations:
Being exempt from use on the goldfish except for the purpose of cross-ship co-ordination exercises rather than valid tactical use, the typhon will only be encountered on the broadside of a galleon or as the main gun of a spire. Due to the typhon exclusively causing explosive damage it can only be effective when used in synergy with other weaponry, I will first pose some suggested builds based around the heavy flak. The spire build presents the use of the weapon as a gunner, the galleon build presents the use of the weapon as an engineer.
Builds:
Spire: Typhon Heavy Flak main gun. Artemis Light Rocket-Launcher lower deck port, Mercury Light Field-Gun top deck port, Beacon Flare-Gun/Artemis Light Rocket-Launcher top deck starboard.
This build relies heavily on the Mercury providing the piercing damage required to destroy the hull armour of enemy ships at range, therefore it should be considered the upmost of importance to do this as effectively as possible. I would suggest that the crew member that mans the mercury take: A Dyna-Buff Industries Kit, to increase the damage of the weapon, Chemical Spray to prevent hull fires that require immediate attention allowing for more time spent shooting the weapon, and a Pipewrench to reach a compromise between rebuild and repair efficiency. As a gunner your recommended ammunition should be lesmok rounds, lochnagar shot, and charged rounds.
Galleon: lumberjack fore gun-deck port, Typhon aft gun-deck port, Manticore fore gun-deck starboard, Hellhound aft gun-deck starboard, Artemis main-deck port, Flare aft-castle aft.
This build depends on the Lumberjack to provide enough damage to destroy opponent’s hull armour through either direct damage or by driving the enemies into the ground by denying their balloon. The choice of ammunition for the crew member manning the flak should be chosen with regard to the skill of the gunner on the lumberjack, and the amount of clear space on the map. For open maps with a good gunner bring lesmok rounds to hit at range, on closer maps or when flying with a less experienced lumberjack gunner bring charged rounds. The same logic applies to the main engineer who should bring either lesmok rounds or burst rounds depending on the situation.
Gunning on a spire:
Perhaps the trickier of the two builds to shoot the flak from, as in order for the mercury to remain in arc the pilot may have to frequently adjust the height of the ship which can have an unexpectedly large impact on your aim. The lighter weight of the ship also affects the amount of latent ship movement in wind and makes it harder for the pilot to bring the ship absolutely stationary after movement. At very long ranges (1500m and above) the gunner should be aware of how the ship rocks back and forth of its own accord, and rather than adjusting their aim, constantly hold a point above the target and allow the ship to naturally rock you in and out of the correct firing angle, timing your shots accordingly. (This is an extremely subtle effect but is nevertheless one important to be aware of) USE THE MAP learn the distances each square represents on each map to better inform your shots.
During ship movement:
Firing when your ship is ascending without helm tools causes shots fired with lesmok to hit targets at c.1000m if aimed with the crosshair directly on them, and at c.500m witch charged rounds or lochnagar shot, not taking into account the lateral and vertical movement of the target. (You will always need to give more lead and more height than you first think, aim it, think, and then re-aim it with greater lead and greater height before you fire.)When descending slightly more than double your height lead to hit the target. If your ship is turning it is likely that your opponent is at a relatively close range, due to the flimsy nature of the spire and relative arming times if the enemy is a ramming metamidion it is extremely important that you land that ever so special lochnagar-shot-one-hit-kill.
Lochnagar and the one hit kill:
In the best situation you are already hitting consistently with charged rounds and are aware that the opponents hull is about to drop, simply load up the loch shot and blast them out of the sky. When it matters though your enemy is probably extremely close and your pilot is ducking and diving everywhere, timing is extremely important. If your enemy drops out of sight behind, above, or below you, use the map to know where to expect them. Load in neutral rounds to allow adjustment of aim, once lochnagar is loaded you’re committed and that crosshair will be extremely hard to move. Time your reload into lochnagar to coincide with when you will be back in arc. If you lose arc reload and use the time to adjust your aim. Patience and remain calm, wait for the enemies armour to drop or else your shot will be in vain. (the one exception is if your enemy is a slightly damaged squid where if you’re lucky the lochnagar will knock out the hull armour and also deal core hull damage.
Piloting and engineering the spire build:
Act like a boss, the metamidion is coming in to ram, your hull drops. Pilot goes into full reverse, engineer should KEEP SHOOTING. If you have 2 Artemis the pilot should KEEP SHOOTING, if not the pilot may choose to go and rebuild your hull. If you go to repair rather than shoot nothing will happen except you will die more slowly, if you keep shooting there’s a reasonably likely chance your gunner will load up lochnagar and obliterate the pyramidion moments before impact. (this never gets old) Only if all of your guns are down should the pilot attempt to dodge.
Gunning on a Galleon:
Easier than the spire, but by no means an easy post. You’re firing from a more stable platform less prone to ship bobbing or movement by the wind. Once the gunner has destroyed the enemy balloon if they have no drogue chute you should aim the crosshair directly on the target where the projectile drop will likely match that of the enemy ship. (Not taking into account lateral movement of the enemy)
Managing the projectile arc:
[SCREENSHOTS AND MORE EXAMPLES FOR THE FOLLOWING SECTION COMING SOON]
Here it is, the goodies – One thing most people don’t understand about the Typhon is how strange its arc appears to be, this is most noticeable on enemies that are changing their course on the fly. The solution to landing the shot is to draw a circle with the crosshair around the enemy.
Example 1: Target is approaching toward you at an angle from your port to your starboard, a trajectory of -45` to 135` you are leading ahead and above of them gradually lowering height as they approach. Target suddenly turns 45` to their starboard. Trace an ‘n’ shape counter clockwise to your target while simultaneously increasing height. Gradually increase your lead as the target accelerates.
Example 2: Target is engaging to ram an allied ship trajectory of -90` to 90`. Aim with the lead of the target at your ally as if you’re leading a dead stop of where your ally is, the impact will happen and the target will bounce back into your projectile arc.
