Guns Of Icarus Online
Main => The Classroom => Guides => Topic started by: Echoez on June 16, 2013, 01:14:17 pm
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***This guide is outdated as of version 1.3. A new version will be posted.***
I decided I should jump in and provide something of my own, something as simple as weapon mechanics and ammo selection since this is probably the first guide I have ever written.
Do keep in mind, dear reader, that I myself ain't a proffessional, but what am I trying to do here is give you a general idea of how to use your guns and what ammo to bring or use for various circumstances.
So let's begin!
LIGHT WEAPONRY
We will begin with light weapons, a weapon type found on all ships.
The Whirlwind, Light Gatling.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104122324/gunsoficarusonline/images/e/e0/Whirlwind.png)
The Whirlwind is a very simple weapon, people that are familiar with FPS games will probably have very little problem aiming and shooting it. It basically works like your standard machine gun, firing a stream of bullets in cone towards your crosshair. It deals Piercing damage, meaning it is very effective against enemy ship Armor, so aim for the hull with it. It also deals Shatter damage, very effective against ship components like engines, weapons, etc..
Note that burst firing this gun won't increase your accuracy, so keep the trigger down. Your ship's momentum and turning will affect where your bullets end up landing, so you will want to compensate for that if your pilot is turning while you are firing.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103034032/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/f/f0/Heavyclip.png/64px-Heavyclip.png)Heavy clip is what you will want on this gun most of the time, it makes its cone of fire very tight and effectively increases its DPS over range.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103032546/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/2/28/Greasedrounds.png/64px-Greasedrounds.png)Greased rounds will make this into a close range DPS machine, even greater than it already is, only use it if you are a gunner though and can afford to bring a second ammo type and only when you are close to the enemy ship.
The Mercury Field Gun.
(http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104145442/gunsoficarusonline/images/f/f8/Mercuryfg.png)
Again, just like the Whirlwind, the Mercury is a simple weapon on how it works and many FPS players will already be familiar with how it works. It's just like your average sniper rifle with bullet drop. It fires a large round that deals a heavy amount of both Piercing and Shatter damage and it can snipe out the enemy's ship components from a spectacular range if you can aim it well enough. It is also very effective at taking out enemy hull armor from range. Close range, it loses out DPS to the Whirlwind.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103032012/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/9/9f/Chargedrounds.png/64px-Chargedrounds.png)Charged rounds will add to this monster's burst damage by a lot, so use that most of the time, don't worry, the decreased clip size downside won't affect its magazine.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103035659/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/0/0d/Lesmok.png/64px-Lesmok.png)Lesmok rounds will give your projectile more speed and lift, so you have to compensate for less at range, take this if you don't feel confident with your aiming.
The Barking Dog, Light Carronade.
(http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104123412/gunsoficarusonline/images/c/c7/Barkingd.png)
The Barking Dog and carronades in general are the shotguns of Guns of Icarus, they fire sharp shards in a large cone in front of them in close range. It deals a large amount of Flechette damage, very effective against balloons and if kept onto an enemy, will also take out their hull armor if they do not manage to escape your crosshairs eventually. Always keep firing on the balloon unless you really need to disable their guns, since the Barking dog also deals a fair amount of Shatter damage! Aim for the enemy's gun and take it out in one or two shots, also works on engines.
Taking out an enemy's balloon, will, very naturally, lead the enemy ship to submit to gravity and slowly fall towards the ground. Hitting the ground will cause ships to take damage continuously, take advantage of that.
Preffered ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103034032/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/f/f0/Heavyclip.png/64px-Heavyclip.png)Heavy clip will reduce the massive cone of spread of the Barking dog, making focusing fire on a component even from its max range very easy.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103032546/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/2/28/Greasedrounds.png/64px-Greasedrounds.png)Greased rounds can turn this into a DPS machine from close range with the increased attack speed, the enemy is bound not to keep up with the continuous stream of damage as easily.
The Echidna, Light Flak cannon.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104121917/gunsoficarusonline/images/1/18/Echidna.png)
The Echidna is a medium to short range explosive weapon, it delivers small explosive rounds that go mostly in a straight line with a slight drop and can bring the pain on the enemy ship's main hull, causing massive irrepearable damage. Make sure the enemy's armor is down before firing this gun as it is very ineffective against hull armor, so keep an eye on the damage report at the top left of your screen. The weapon has a very random firing pattern with a large spread, so be mindful of that. 4 shots of this weapon will bring most light ships down, heavier ships might require 5 or more.
Pair this with a Whirlwind or a Mercury to take down armor and it will be an excellent finisher.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103034032/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/f/f0/Heavyclip.png/64px-Heavyclip.png)Heavy clip will really help you with this gun's weird spread, making it greatly more accurate, but keep in mind, this time the downside of these rounds apply, so you are doing this at the cost of some of your projectile's speed and lift, so make sure you compensate for that and lead your targets a bit more.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103031507/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/3/3d/Burstrounds.png/63px-Burstrounds.png)Burst rounds are very good if you want to spread some of this gun's damage around the ship as they make its explosions bigger, at the cost of a slightly lower firing rate. Only take this as a secondary type of ammo as a gunner.
The Scylla, Double barreled mortar.
(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104145520/gunsoficarusonline/images/6/60/Scylla.png)
The Scylla is weapon that delivers explosive damage just like the Echidna, with the difference that it bears a much larger magazine size. Where the Echidna would need to reload, giving your enemy enough time to repair their armor, this baby can keep firing for a longer period, possibly bringing the enemy ship down before their armor can go up. Though, aiming the mortar can be very difficult for inexperienced gunners as its projectiles have a massive downward arc, you will have to lead and aim above your enemy in order to score hits with it from longer ranges, but if you are close in, it becomes a bit easier. The rounds are fired in a tight pattern with no random spread. Keep in mind that with their arc, mortar projectiles are far easier to hit with if you are lower than your enemy. Due to its larger clip, the Scylla can be used as a harassment weapon as well.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103035659/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/0/0d/Lesmok.png/64px-Lesmok.png)Lesmok rounds will make the projectiles faster and reduce their downward arc by a bit, making it the ideal choice if you are looking to hit anything from longer ranges.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103031507/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/3/3d/Burstrounds.png/63px-Burstrounds.png)Burst rounds are very good if you intend to harass the enemy ship with your Scylla, spreading its damage around the ship's various components.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103032546/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/2/28/Greasedrounds.png/64px-Greasedrounds.png)Greased rounds are very good if you are up in their face, helping you unload your clip much faster causing severe mayhem. Keep in mind that they will make your projectiles slower, so only use it as a secondary ammo type as a gunner.
The Artemis, Light rocket launcher.
(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104121046/gunsoficarusonline/images/d/d2/Artemis.png)
The Artemis is a disabling weapon for the most part, dealing direct explosive damage, but an AoE explosion of shatter damage, it can be very effective at taking out enemy components from afar. It fires fast rockets that travel straight in a slight downward arc with no random spread. It also has a very wide turning radius so take advantage of that. Despite its disabling nature, it still deals a fair amount of explosive damage, making it a very effective supportive finisher from range.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103035659/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/0/0d/Lesmok.png/64px-Lesmok.png)Lesmok rounds can work well with this, making it easier to aim since it makes the projectile travel faster and reduces its arc by a bit.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103031507/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/3/3d/Burstrounds.png/63px-Burstrounds.png)Burst rounds can be very effective on the Artemis, since they increase its shatter damage explosion radius, enabling it to damage multiple components at once!
The Banshee, Light rocket carousel.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104145604/gunsoficarusonline/images/d/d3/Banshee.png)
The sound the Banshee's rockets make should make the enemy fear, as its small, fast-travelling rockets can quickly light multiple ship components on fire.
The rockets themselves only deal a very small amount of explosive damage, keeping it from being a primary damage dealer, this weapon's true use is the fire ignition chances that its rockets have on hit, so don't be afraid to aim for the balloon with these because of their explosive damage, you still get to light things on fire. Spread fires on an enemy ship with this and you'll have their engineers running around with their extinguishers trying to put them out or running the risk of losing components to fire.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103035659/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/0/0d/Lesmok.png/64px-Lesmok.png)Lesmok rounds, as explained before, will help your aiming by making the rockets faster and reducing their drop. Use them if you don't feel confident.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103034638/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/5/58/Firebullets.png/64px-Firebullets.png)Incendiary rounds will add to your ignition chances, enabling you to put multiple stacks of fire on a single component much faster, make sure you compensate for the reduced projectiles speed though and they will also reduce from you magazine's total ammo.
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103031507/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/3/3d/Burstrounds.png/63px-Burstrounds.png)Burst rounds will make your explosions wider, giving you more chances to light multiple components on fire and increasing your magazine size at the cost of some firing rate.
The Beacon Flare gun.
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130104143254/gunsoficarusonline/images/b/b3/Beacon.png)
The Beacon fires flares straight forward with a very slight arc and random spread comparable to that of the light flak. The flares themselves only deal a miniscule amount of fire damage, but if fired in a cloud/sandstorm, they will light them up with a bright green light, revealing any ships inside. There is also an other trick, if you manage to hit an enemy component directly with a flare, it will instantly put 15 stacks of fire on it, causing some severe damage of over time if not tended to quickly. Also note that the projectile is fairly slow and will still go through the enemy ship even if it hits.
Preferred ammo types:
(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130103033449/gunsoficarusonline/images/thumb/6/6e/Heatsink.png/63px-Heatsink.png)Heatsink clip will give you one more flare in your magazine while decreasing the projectile's speed by a bit. Only bring this specifically for the flare gun if you know you won't be firing anything else, so mostly just use normal ammo.
That will wrap up the light weapons guide. I decided to not to include the Flamethrower or Harpoon as they aren't used much and if they are, the captains probably have a certain strategy in their head that they will be explaining so the person will know what to do. This guide only covers the general light weapons that a beginner might see and it's written in a simple enough way for them to understand what each thing pretty much does.
Thank you for reading, I will be adding Heavy weaponry next Sunday.
Cheers to all and fly safe sailors!
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Correction on the flare gun, it has about as much random spread as the flak, probably more. I actually prefer Heavy Clip with it so I can snipe components. Even with Heavy Clip, it doesn't have much dropoff, but the projectile travels quite slowly. Some folks also use Lesmok since it cuts down on the spread and can increase its max range.
That 15 stack of fire prevents anyone from shooting a gun hit by the flare. Useful against Goldfish, Spires, and Galleons.
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Correction on the flare gun, it has about as much random spread as the flak, probably more. I actually prefer Heavy Clip with it so I can snipe components. Even with Heavy Clip, it doesn't have much dropoff, but the projectile travels quite slowly. Some folks also use Lesmok since it cuts down on the spread and can increase its max range.
That 15 stack of fire prevents anyone from shooting a gun hit by the flare. Useful against Goldfish, Spires, and Galleons.
It has random spread?.. Well, you might be right, since I have never fired one from a stationary ship, but all the time it went where my crosshair was, so I assumed it it didn't have any, even it has it's definately not as much as the flak, that thing is completely crazy, while the flare always ends up near the crosshair.
Anyway, corrections are welcome, since it has random spread Heavy would be a nice choice indeed, Lesmok is a bit extreme to bring just for a flare gun, which is why I decided to keep it out, sniping components with a flare isn't something a begginer will be able to do most of the time anyway, but with time they will know and if they feel the need, they can change to Lesmok if they are gonna be firing only a flare.
Also I should have noted that the flare will put 15 stacks of fire on anything it hits, not just the balloon, guess I am a first timer with guides after all ^^'
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Want to add this as well: The Banshee does well with greased rounds; dumping the magazine in less than half the time. It keeps pressure up and gets 10 shots. I've overheated goldfish main guns with greased before they could fire it with greased banshee shots, and it's not that difficult to do either.
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Ah, even nicely done with screenshots and recommendations for the single weapons - Good job! I won't get technical here, as I'm a horrible and inexperienced gunner, I'd just like to applaud you for your effort and note that I'll add this to the Guides index :)
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Great guide! While every ammo type does have its place for all guns in different situations, it was a good choice to avoid bogging down the reader with too much information, and opted out for including a max of 3 ammo types at a time.
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Want to add this as well: The Banshee does well with greased rounds; dumping the magazine in less than half the time. It keeps pressure up and gets 10 shots. I've overheated goldfish main guns with greased before they could fire it with greased banshee shots, and it's not that difficult to do either.
Ah yes, this is a good suggestion, I shall think of adding that. Though, I'd like to know if someone can give me rights to be able to edit the OP in this thread so I can add more to it, as well as the Heavy weapons later on. Is this possible?
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Want to add this as well: The Banshee does well with greased rounds; dumping the magazine in less than half the time. It keeps pressure up and gets 10 shots. I've overheated goldfish main guns with greased before they could fire it with greased banshee shots, and it's not that difficult to do either.
Ah yes, this is a good suggestion, I shall think of adding that. Though, I'd like to know if someone can give me rights to be able to edit the OP in this thread so I can add more to it, as well as the Heavy weapons later on. Is this possible?
I don't really think that can be done, but you can PM me any modifications you need to make, and I'll make them for you.
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A very good and simple guide I was looking for. Personally I would also add incendiary rounds for Gatling or other guns that have big clips.
Oh and of course.
R.I.P.
Lochangar shot
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A very good and simple guide I was looking for. Personally I would also add incendiary rounds for Gatling or other guns that have big clips.
Oh and of course.
R.I.P.
Lochangar shot
I haven't personaly tried it, I usually know that most people want their gatling to be firing as much as and accurately as possible, Incidiery lowers damage, firing rate and clip size, something you don't want on a gatling mostly, but it might work on some ships with specific loadouts, but since this is just a begginer guide, I keep it simple to the safer choices, people will experiment as they learn about the game c:
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It's spelled "incendiary," just fyi.
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The whole thing could do with a trip through a spellchecker, which is odd as the forum highlights bad spellings already...
But other than that, nice guide.
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The whole thing could do with a trip through a spellchecker, which is odd as the forum highlights bad spellings already...
But other than that, nice guide.
I don't know about you, but it definately didn't highlight anything for me while I was writing and do excuse my mistakes, english isn't realy my native, I make mistakes here and there. c:
Also I would do spellchecking, I was writing all of this together, it's natural to make some mistakes, but I don't have modification rights anymore, which is kinda annoying to say the least, but it's the rules. If anyone with mod powers can spell check it and correct any bad spelling, I'd be glad, else I can't realy do anything about it :c
@naufrago
Incendiary, got it c:
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Whoops. Yes, of course, it's my browser rather than the forum.
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I went through and spellchecked it for you. There are still some bits with slightly odd sentence structure, but I didn't want to edit the original text too much.
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Incidiery lowers damage,
Huh? Really? According to GoI wiki it's just "+20% increased fire ignition chance on hit, -25% projectile speed, -30% clip size, -30% rate of fire." There is nothing about decreased damage.
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Incidiery lowers damage,
Huh? Really? According to GoI wiki it's just "+20% increased fire ignition chance on hit, -25% projectile speed, -30% clip size, -30% rate of fire." There is nothing about decreased damage.
Technically speaking, lower fire rate means lower damage output.
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Incidiery lowers damage,
Huh? Really? According to GoI wiki it's just "+20% increased fire ignition chance on hit, -25% projectile speed, -30% clip size, -30% rate of fire." There is nothing about decreased damage.
Technically speaking, lower fire rate means lower damage output.
By reducing the clip size and fire rate, the overall DPS is lowered. However, with the addition of fire, its hard to really say how much damage it can do.
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Not that hard to say. The answer is a heck of a lot less.
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I see you followed the steps of writing a guide I posted a while go. Props.
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Alright, some corrections that I'd like,
At the Banshee ammo loadouts, I type 'Incidiery' it should be 'Incendiary' as someone corrected, also if someone can edit it, take out the part of the flare gun having no random spread and do write that the flaregun has a massive random spread.
Also, at the Barking Dog's description, the very last sentese just before the ammo a loadouts, I write 'continuously', should be corrected to 'continiously'.
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Alright, some corrections that I'd like,
At the Banshee ammo loadouts, I type 'Incidiery' it should be 'Incendiary' as someone corrected
Done.
I write 'continuously', should be corrected to 'continiously'.
Actually, "continuously" is the correct spelling.
the flaregun has a massive random spread.
No it doesn't...
It spreads a bit... It's hardly massive.
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the flaregun has a massive random spread.
No it doesn't...
It spreads a bit... It's hardly massive.
Its the same as the light flak, isn't it?
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the flaregun has a massive random spread.
No it doesn't...
It spreads a bit... It's hardly massive.
Its the same as the light flak, isn't it?
You're the dev, you tell me!
But I guess "massive" can be very relative. Even if it's larger than most guns, though, I'd hardly call it massive. The hwacha has massive spread, for example.
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the spread is comparative to the light flak.
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Honestly, I find it easier to get a direct hit at close range on a heavy gun using the flare than with the flak.
EDIT: Updated to say that it has roughly the same spread as the flak. Sorry for that tangent, Echo, I just didn't want the guide to paint what wouldn't necessarily have been a proper picture of the gun.
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All is fine as long as it is correct, I don't mind if I make any mistakes and get called out on them, I just wanna be sure the readers will get the most out of this ^^
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Just a nit picky thing, Burst is my preferred ammo type for and Artemis primary gun since it increases the chance one or more components will be in the AOE of the weapon. Since the patch, the Artemis turns too slowly to be useful as a 2ndary weapon (inspite of its wide field of fire) however if you load Heatsink clip the turning rate becomes acceptable again. I can see how lesmok rounds would be desirable for people learning how to lead targets or fighting at extreme range, but it does not complement the gun as well as other ammo types.
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I said the flare gun had about as much spread as the light flak, but you didn't believe me =p
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You were indeed right naufrago, I tested from a standing still ship and it does have a random spread equivalent to that of the flak, if not more.
And yes Burst is my preferred ammo type for the Artemis as well, though this is a beginner guide after all, and people that aren't too experienced with how the gun works, might want to at least hit something c:
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I often use lesmok on artemis for the increased range. Especially when pairing it with a merc and lumberjack on a Spire.
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This is an excellent guide, I've been using it to train the gunner on my Junker.
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Locked at request of creator. He's got a 1.3 version coming soon.