Build:Ballistic Weapons

9.2 Ballistic Weapons

To construct a ballistic weapon, a ship must buy four things: the type of weapon itself, which determines its projectile and launching mechanism; the weapon’s targeting system; its arc of fire; and the firing modes it can use. Ammunition storage must be purchased separately.

Each ballistic weapon type has its own range, specified in its weapon entry. Ballistic projectiles follow a direct unguided trajectory after firing unless the weapon’s description states otherwise. For every 100 kilometers beyond the weapon’s Long range, increase the Difficulty to hit the target by +10%. A ship may purchase improved ballistic fire control to negate this penalty at a cost of 3 SUs per +10% penalty negated, to a maximum of +30% negated for 9 SUs. This improvement extends effective targeting range; it does not increase the projectile’s maximum physical range.

9.2.1 Railguns

Cost: Varies (see table)
Power Requirement: Varies (see table)

Buy each barrel as a separate emplacement. Its listed SU includes the accelerator, feed mechanism, and local fire-control hardware; it does not include ammunition or a shipwide targeting system.

Mount	Launcher SU	Power per shot	Damage per hit	Shots per round	Nominal firing arc
Light rail gun	4	2	4	2	60°
Medium rail gun	8	4	8	1	45°
Heavy rail gun	14	8	12	1 every 2 rounds	30°

Construction Rules Index

• Back to the Table of Contents
• Back to Chapter 9.0: Tactical Systems
• On to Beam Weapons