Railguns require the trigger to be held to charge the weapon before firing. The weapon will fire automatically when the charge is complete, but fail to fire if the trigger is released early. Rail slugs are effective at ship hull penetration.
— In-Game Description
A Railgun is a powerful electromagnetic projectile weapon that inflicts both thermal and kinetic damage. Railguns consume a large amount of power and generate significant heat with each shot, but can severely damage a target.
Usage[]
The Railgun's exceptional penetration allows it to hit ship subsystems even when striking through the opposite side of a hull in most cases. The effective damage of this weapon varies considerably based on shot placement. The Railgun has an armour piercing value of 100, meaning it always does full damage to hull regardless of Armour Hardness, but it is still affected by kinetic and thermal resistances. It is also an impulse attack, causing the target to be physically pushed out of its previous trajectory. The dual kinetic and thermal damage inflicted by a Railgun slug is split, and a successful strike will deal 66.6% of its damage as thermal and 33.3% as kinetic.[1]
Notably, this weapon is relatively ineffective at dealing armor damage, because of its high breach damage and deep armor piercing capabilities. It will almost always hit a module, instead, which will absorb any damage and prevent it from being applied to the hull. While this can be a good thing if hitting a critical module like the Power Plant, this can become a hindrance if instead hitting a relatively unimportant module like Life Support. Also, much of the damage it deals will often be absorbed by any Module Reinforcements, resulting in little apparent damage being dealt until they can be neutralized. However, if the target is effectively using an AFMU, this may take a significant amount of time.
In the right hands, the Railgun is a potent weapon, especially on small ships. The Diamondback Scout and Diamondback Explorer are ideal vehicles for the Railgun due to their excellent heat efficiency and agility, allowing them to easily keep a target in sight. The Railgun projectile moves fast enough that it effectively acts like a laser, with no measurable travel time; this makes it easier to use than many other fixed hardpoint weapons which would require leading the target and estimating its movement.
This weapon is only available in fixed mounts, and in class 1 and 2 hardpoints. It has a range of 3000m, but damage begins to fall off after 1000m. Railgun ammunition, ranging from basic slugs to high velocity munitions, can be Synthesized.
Commanders who support Arissa Lavigny-Duval in Powerplay gain access to a unique burst-fire variant of the Railgun named the Imperial Hammer.
Specifications[]
Class | Rating | Mass (T) |
Integrity | Power Draw (MW) |
Weapon Mode |
Damage Type |
Damage | Armor Piercing | ROF | DPS | Distributor Draw (MW) | Thermal Load per shot |
Value (CR) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D | 2.00 | 40 | 1.150 | Fixed | Thermic Kinetic | 23.34 | 100 | 1.59 | 14.3 | 2.69 | 12 | 51,600 |
2 | B | 4.00 | 51 | 1.630 | Fixed | Thermic Kinetic | 41.53 | 100 | 1.20 | 20.46 | 5.11 | 20 | 412,800 |
Engineering[]
This weapon can be modified by Engineers to enhance its abilities.
Modifications[]
The following modifications can be applied to this module:
Experimental Effects[]
The following Experimental Effects can be applied to this module:
- Double Braced
- Feedback Cascade
- Flow Control
- Multi-Servos
- Oversized
- Plasma Slug
- Stripped Down
- Super Penetrator
Purchase Locations[]
Class | Rating | System | Station |
---|---|---|---|
All | All | Shinrarta Dezhra | Jameson Memorial |
All | All | Brestla | i Sola Prospect |
All | All | Barnard's Star | Boston Base |
All | All | Duamta | Polyakov Station |
All | All | Altair | Solo Orbiter |
All | All | Colonia | Jaques Station |
All | All | Delphi | The Oracle |
All | All | Cemiess | Titius Station |
All | All | Atlantis | Kimura Terminal |
All | All | Mizar | Judson Station |
All | All | Olgrea | H. G. Wells Terminal |
All | All | Exioce | Miller Terminal |