SCE: Weapon lay out briefing one: Broadside

[xivim]

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Incoming Priority Two Message from Starfleet Corps of Engineers
To: All Starfleet Personnel
From: Starfleet Corps of Engineers, Lieutenant Commander Marcus Tory Greenhaven.
Subject: Weapon lay out briefing one: Broadside Weapons.
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Hello everyone, this is Lt. Cmd. Marcus Greenhaven, With the first in a series of briefings designed to help everyone in the fleet with the great task of deciding how to arm your starship. Though the use of these weapons does not rely on us, the Engineers, the Theory and Maintenance do. With that in mind, this briefing should help in choosing the right lay out for whichever task your starship may be facing. So without further a due, let’s dive right into this!

Weapon Load out Briefing One: Broadsides

-What is a Broadside Load out?
A Broadside Load out is a setting of weapon types, Usually Beam Arrays, that allow you to position your target to your port or starboard, and fire fore and aft Arrays at the same time. A standard 4x4 (Number of Fore Weapon Slots X Number of Aft Weapon Slots) on an Admiral level cruiser would be 3 Fore Beam Arrays, 1 Fore Torpedo, 3 Aft Beam Arrays, 1 Aft Torpedo. This would be considered a 3A-1T x 3A-1T Broadside Load out. Some Starship Captains have been known to employ a 3A-1T x 4A load out. This sacrifices one Torpedo for extra Beam damage.

I personally use a 2A-2T x 4A load out on the Mackinaw, and I find it works very well. The only downside comes when a fast ship gets on your 6. A 3A-1T x 4A can be a drain on your warp core, so make sure to watch your power levels, or compensate with Consoles if you can.

-What good is a Broadside load out?
A Broadside Load out is great for ripping down shields, while someone else launches Torpedoes to damage the hull. Your 1-2 Torpedo Launchers are mainly for burst damage, when shields are down, and you can face a target. Having both Torps in the Fore of your ship allows you to bring them to bear, firing once every 3 seconds. 1 Fore and 1 Aft allows you to fire whenever you have an open shot, without having to move much to get a firing solution.

-Who should use a Broadside?
Any engineer, or officer of any class, that may be doing any task other then focusing on damage may wish to take this load out, as you can place yourself 4-5 klicks (remember, damage drops off the farther away you are now) and circle the target, only changing direction to bring damaged shields out of enemy fire. This allows you to focus on Shield healing, or any other task you may be attempting. Broadsides are effective for Larger, slower ships, such as cruisers and Deep Space Science Vessels, or anyone wishing to do higher Shield damage.

To summarize: Broadsides are great for Engineers and Science Vessels, work very well with 1-2 torps in the mix, and are great for taking shields down. They allow you to maintain some range, without sacrificing too much damage, and keep firing while helping other fleet members out. A note of Caution; 8 Beam Arrays may seem like a good idea, but you will quickly run out of energy.

Please be aware of the different effects your weapons may have. These effects will be explained in a later briefing.

This is Lt. Cmd. Marcus Tory Greenhaven signing off, with the first of our Corps of Engineers Weapon Load out Briefings. Next on our list: Torpedo Missile Boats!

<>EDIT: i wanted to post this in the School of Engineering, but i noticed because it is a Subtree of the SATC, it wont show as a new post to people browsing the forums. i want as many people so see these Briefings as possible, so i posted it here in the STO Forum area. EDIT<>

[ShadowFX]

Good stuff, can't wait for the DPS loud out :D.

[xivim]

StratCom Testing for Gun Boat Lay out is currently underway. Expect Brief Two: Torpedo Gun Boats soon.

[One of None]

Good work Sir!