I am spending most of my time in stasis... I have acquired a Mag Cannon 4 and notice that my shots mostly go saaaiiiaiiilllliinnnngggg over the heads of my opponent AI ships... Regardless of the range. (I can be right on top of them.) Note - their shots rarely miss - while mine - in the same range, rarely make contact.

The Pulse guns are a COMPLETE waste of space. They don't lock on at all.
Is the "lock" function simply a joke? I have observed that weapons on my tech level (9) [and below] are mostly a waste of time. Is that by design? If I don't keep a ship fast enough to run, I am cooked. Even with AI's 1/3 my level.

Is there some kind of formula with which I can calculate the relative strength of an opponent? Sometimes (rarely) I take out an opponent who is twice my level. More likely, however, AI's much lower than I take me out with a few shots.

Thanks so much for your input. I appreciate the time you take to read this and share your thoughts.

you might want to try beam type weapons.

particle weps like the magcannons, and especially at your lvl, are tough without a ton of tracking or range or a good strategy.

hard to say more without knowing your setup and particular challenges with how you spent your skill points.

That's odd; i've found magcannons to be one of the easiest weapons to use. perhaps you're firing from too close? The further away your target is, the more time the bullet has to get on the correct course(as long as it's in range, of course!)

Lasers also might work, but they tend to drain energy at a faster rate than pulse weapons.

At low levels pulses(not mags) are quite difficult to use due to their low range and tracking. Regardless, some weapons(pulsification for example) can work quite well in the correct hands.


Another thing you might try is switching to top-down view. With a slight angle on your screen, it can be quite difficult to aim properly. Page up and Page Down adjust your screen angle, if you didn't know!

think his issue is more he's a lvl 66 zerker than that he's using magcannons.

Yeah, that cant help anything.

If you're having trouble powering your weapons, consider going to Shadow and picking up a weapon called a Bronze Thorax. It's very hard to do damage with, but if you can do it, it has a much higher damage to energy ratio than anything else at that point in the game. Its damage/second is quite nice, as well.

you need to learn to kite

The 'lock' function you are probably talking about doesn't relate to weapons' homing/tracking ability. It's the safety lock that prevents you from shooting neutral players.

Thanks for all for the suggestions... I too have found the MagCannon great, up unti MagIV when it seems to have become less reliable. Close up or far away - I am not having the same luck with it that I had before. Accuracy seems to vary from one gal to the next. (Against the very same opponent!) As in: when the AI chases me through a wormhole.

I have tried each of the weapons, including the Golden Thorax. What I don't like about the "beam" type weapons is the short range. I have to get so close that the opponents' laser gets me in two shots.

Don't be fooled by my join date. I actually have been playing SS since 2008. For some reason I could not sign into my old SS account. I played this account for the beta and decided to keep it once SS2 went live.

Re: lock. Thanks for the clarification re: safety lock feature. I was asking if there is a true "lock on" feature. It seemed like the MagCannon was pretty good at homing in on an opponent prior to MagCannon IV. Now, depending on the circumstances, it often sails over the opponents' heads, while their ammo hits right on target. Doesn't matter that I am within range. But it DOES (seem to) matter which gal I am in.

I agree 100% that one's firing angle can make ALL the difference...

These were just some observations of mine. Musings, maybe. Perhaps it is just my unfamiliarity with the new version of SS. Although IMHO it is a vast improvement over SS1. (Call me crazy. It is just my opinion).

Hai crazy.

Hmm, that sounds like an actual bug. If the shots are going where the AI is but failing to hit, then it's a gameplay issue and not just you playing badly. You should submit a ticket.

that bug is already fixed for next patch, its especially visible when trying to fire with a quick moving projectile on a very small target.