The Gauss Cannon is a short-ranged rapid-fire weapon well suited to point defense. It can be mounted in turrets and does not require power from a power plant. Gauss Cannon shots inflict one point of damage each over their entire range. At higher technology levels the Gauss Cannon can fire several shots every 5-second time increment. All shots must be aimed at the same target, but a missile salvo counts as a single "target", so a single Gauss Cannon can destroy several missiles at once.
Note that a missile salvo refers to the missiles fired by a single fire control system at one time; if several enemy ships fire simultaneous missile salvos, a Gauss Cannon can only fire at one ship's salvo at a time. If the cannon kills an entire salvo with only some of its shots, the rest of its shots in that time increment are wasted.
Usage
Gauss Cannons have very low range and low damage output. Thus they are only suited as PD weapon or for fighter vs fighter beam combat.
Gauss Cannon ranges are so short (and missiles are so fast) that a cannon will rarely get more than a single, point-blank volley at an incoming missile salvo unless the missiles are of vastly inferior technology. For example, a Level 6 (60,000 km range) Gauss Cannon may have time to fire multiple volleys at a primitive, slow missile, but such a cannon is a late-game technology. Equivalent-tech missiles are usually fast enough to move from beyond the Gauss Cannon's range to impact in a single 5-second time increment. The Gauss Cannon will still get a final, point-blank shot at the volley, but range is irrelevant for this.
Damage Profile
Example RoF 2 hit
- |
- |
- |
x |
- |
x |
- |
- |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
Components
Gauss Cannon Launch Velocity
Gauss Cannon Launch Velocity
Launch Velocity |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6
|
RP cost
|
1,000 |
3,000 |
8,000 |
25,000 |
75,000 |
250,000
|
Gauss Cannon Rate of Fire
Gauss Cannon Rate of Fire
Rate of Fire |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
8
|
RP cost
|
1,000 |
3,000 |
8,000 |
25,000 |
75,000 |
250,000 |
750,000
|
Gauss Cannon Size vs Accuracy
Gauss Cannon Size vs Accuracy
Size (HS) |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1.5 |
1 |
0.75 |
0.6 |
0.5
|
Accuracy
|
100% |
85% |
67% |
50% |
33% |
25% |
17% |
12.5% |
10% |
8%
|
Notes
- Gauss Cannons were first introduced in v2.6[1]