Cannons better than Torpedoes?
 

What makes Cannons better than Torpedoes?

In a word: nothing.

Some folks swear by guns only, some prefer a different loadout that gives them different tactical options.

Shields have a high innate resistance to kinetic damage. If a torpedo hits shields, the damage that doesn't bleed through might as well not have happened. Transphasics sort of get around that by having higher bleedthrough, but the 60% that hits the shields still gets reduced to pretty much nothing. Cannons, on the other hand, do full damage to shields and hull.

They're not worse than cannons, but they are a weapon you have to manage every shot.

Alright...I didn't realize that cannons hit straight through shields.

Not straight through, 90% of them still hit the shield and 10% bleeds through, but the 90% that hits shields does their damage to the shields. Torpedoes split the same way, but the 90% that hits shields is greatly reduced, so the shields take very little damage.

Ok...I see what you're saying.

I can see why people prefer cannons...but I still prefer torpedoes.

Shields up, Cannons do lots of damage lots of damage lots of damage, torpedoes do jack all.
Shields down, cannons do lots of damage lots of damage lots of damage, torpedoes do sporadic HUGE damage.

If you can count on shields being down a lot, great. In a lot of situations (particularly but not only pvp), you can't.

My tac/escort with all guns can just ... vaporize targets faster than folks with mines and torps and whatnot, unless the torp folks get lucky. Cannons don't rely on luck. They MOW THINGS DOWN.

Torps are fun, mind you, but they can be very frustrating: 'ha ha, shields down, I'll shoot my torp! ... OMFG, he got 1% shields back and now my torp did nearly nothing??? DANG IT'

I see your point...and it definitely makes Cannons seem worth it.

I just can't get over the 45 degrees...but maybe I should try them out and see how it plays.

Just my personal preference, but I really don't like having to line up my ship just right to use cannons. I use beams and torpedoes on everything. I'm thinking of throwing turrets into the mix to see what happens.

I'm the same way...and that is one of the reasons why I asked this question.

I always have two turrets in the aft.