Shock Damage

Shock Damage is a type of internal damage that can occur as a result of weapon impact with the ship's hull armor. As a result it is possible for a ship to lose a key system even when its armor has not been penetrated. This is more likely to occur with larger energy weapons and missile warheads hit.

Overview

When a large amount of damage is taken from a single missile or energy weapon impact, extra "shock damage" may be applied directly to ship internal components. The amount of shock damage inflicted is roughly proportional to the damage from the main blast. Note that shock damage does not get applied if the main hit is absorbed by Shields, regardless of the strength of the hit.

• Chance to inflict shock damage: Damage^1.3 %
• Amount of Shock Damage inflicted: (Damage/3)*Random Percentage

Graphic: The effect of warhead/beam size on damage
This graph shows the average shock damage inflicted depending on warhead/beam size respectively: This shows the relative increase in damage, which caps below 17% at about 36 warhead size:

Strategy

Offensive Considerations

Shock Damage can be be decisive, able to potentially cripple key systems early in an engagement. To use it, large missiles and beam weapons are necessary. Spinal Laser Weapons are especially suited to deliver a large punch.

Defensive Considerations

Against large missiles, active defenses are best used to prevent Shock Damage. Shields are a valuable defense for blunting Shock Damage, as large beam weapons have a slower RoF, allowing for recharge. Damage Controls can fix critical systems and bring them back online. Redundancy in Sensors and Fire Control, Fuel Tanks and Engines can prevent a ship becoming useless by a single lucky hit.

Notes

• This feature was added in Version 6.30.