Merc vs Gat

[mecra]

hey guys. I'm relatively new to the forums and the game, but I've managed to pick up Captain skill quite quickly.

My question is this, on a Spire, is a Merc or Gat more effective in the upper left slot? My logic is that usually that gunner is an Engie that's repairing things like the balloon and such. Thus, I want that person to do fast DPS and then either buff or repair. The Gat requires continuous usage to get the most out of it. Like others, I'm thinking about going either Hwacha or Heavy Flak to do health damage after taking down the armor.

Thoughts?

We did try a Carronade build and oddly it was rather effective. Just kept popping the balloon and the continuous damage on the balloon hitbox and hull destroyed most ships.

[N-Sunderland]

The upper deck engi shouldn't be repairing unless the pilot is kerosening or the balloon is getting murdered, so how long they stay on the gun doesn't make much of a difference really. In the end it just boils down to whether you want a long range Spire or a short range Spire. The merc is best paired with a heavy flak or lumberjack so that you can nail enemy ships from across the map, and the gat is best paired with a hwacha for close range.

[HamsterIV]

The survival of a long range spire depends greatly on the skill of your gunner and the ability of your team mate to run midfield interference. If you don't feel your gunner is up to snuff or that your team mate can't be trusted to help out when things get dicey go with the gat and manticore. Better yet don't go spire. It is a very situational ship. If you are not in a situation that can best utilize it, you will end up feeding kills to the other team.

[Lord Dick Tim]

But when that merc/heavy flak combo hits, my god it's a doozy.
If you can get yourself a fairly consistent second pilot who can run another ship, and a competent gunner on the flak I'd try for the long range spire just to you can get a chance to see just how evil it can be. 

[Kyren]

Aye, in the beginning or with a random crew, I'd also recommend the gatling. With heavy clip, and you can usually get a random crew to use heavy clip on it, it's also viable on mid range.

[Machiavelliest]

Range of the Typhon is about 1km, and around 800m you can hit reliably with heavy gat, so there's little reason for a merc/flak, unless you need to snipe out enemy components.

[zitruskiller]

merc is good with a flak, gatt is good with hwacha. The top right weapon choice is artemis or banshee.

[Captain Smollett]

Range of the Typhon is about 1km, and around 800m you can hit reliably with heavy gat, so there's little reason for a merc/flak, unless you need to snipe out enemy components.

Though the gat heavy flak makes a powerful mid range ship, it is worth noting that the Typhoon's heavy flak range can be increased to about 1.5km with lesmok. Since the gat's range maxes out at 700m, the mercury is the better choice for the long range flak spire.

[Machiavelliest]

Smollett, while I agree with your math, I would say that mid-range (1.5km) build with a merc is a dangerous build.  1.5km is very easy to close (2v2 Dunes before latest spawn release), and without the gat, your close-range effectiveness is greatly diminished.

I would say that build relies upon lots of open air behind you for back peddling or a teammate who is capable of surviving 2v1.  I would also say against an opponent who is indecisive with their engagement strategy it can quite immediately lay waste to their ships. Against a more cohesive and thought out offense, however, it loses potency. I personally only bring it on a Galleon for this reason--I have another heavy emplacement to bridge that close combat gap.