***This guide is outdated as of version 1.3.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 WEAPONRYWe will begin with light weapons, a weapon type found on all ships.
The
Whirlwind, Light Gatling.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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!
