there are 4 explosive damage guns, and since im not really counting the harpoon, that's only three piercing weapons. my point isnt to quibble, its to point out that where you have a long range version, short range version, a mid-long range version and a rapid fire version. there are some peircing weapon parity options, the artemis and the merc for example, or the gatling and the mortar. the flak and the banshee are effective at similar ranges to the hades, to a more and less degree of course. my suggestion would be for a weapon more like the echidna, fast reload speed and rate of fire but arming time and relatively small clip. the huge number of shots you can put out in a huge cascade out of the hades reminds me most of the banshee's brief but effective stream of projectiles with a long reload time.
i want a long range pressure weapon, at range it would allow a ship to put consistent and reliable damage on the hull that would be more than could be repaired by a diligent crew, as all piercing weapons do, and must do, but its accuracy and fast reload speed would mean it could wear down your hull unless you take cover or break the gun.
the hades almost fills this role, except it has a couple of features that undermine its capability and make it a functionally different niche. first of all because of the fire damage, it does a passable job of doing hull damage, as anyone who has been caught in the open with a double hades pyra or even triple hades mobula can attest. it also allows for decent damage to any part of the ship you hit, if you miss the hull and hit the baloon, no worries that's decent too. the same is not true for the mercury or the whirlwind. second of all, the hades in the hands of a skilled gunner can reduce a ships hull in a clip or two for most ships even with lesmok, making it either a very dangerous weapon in the hands of an expert or a fireworks gun that lights up your ship as the projectiles all miss in the hands of a novice. thirdly, when loaded with greased rounds, the effective range becomes very intimate, and the damage becomes immense, as hitting at the range where greased is most appropriate is a comparatively easy shot even for a gunner of middling experience.
because of these reasons its a very fun gun, and carves out its territory and value very clearly, but it is not as close to the merc or the gatling gun in terms of use as you are suggesting, in my experience
