There’s something I’m not getting, or something I’m doing wrong.
I am simulating a missile ship, and I equipped one ‘arbalest’ rapid heavy missile launcher I and one ‘arbalest’ heavy assault missile launcher I. I equipped the same grade of missile for both - generic infernos.
The ship is not bonused for one launcher over the other. I don’t have any implants interfering, nor drugs or boosters. Furthermore, I even have one more level of training of heavy assault missiles than i do heavy missiles. But despite that, I’m getting significantly more damage out of the rapid heavy than I am the heavy assault launcher, and significantly more range.
I thought heavy assault missiles were supposed to be the “high dps, short range” types, and the heavy missiles the “lower dps, longer range” types. Yet I’m getting more dps out of the heavies despite having less training with them. Upon further investigation it does seem that the heavy assault missiles have a little better application (I thought it would be opposite, with heavy assaults being like torpedos and having worse application), but I’m not sure it makes up for less DPS in general.
There are several reasons why you might be getting these numbers:
contrary to what you stated you do have vastly different skills for both launcher types
you’re looking at volley damage rather than dps. HML does more damage per hit than HAM, which gets its dps from vastly higher rate of fire (this is why if HML can one shot some things HAMS need 2 volleys)
your ship gets a damage type bonus and you’re not loading equivalent ammo types
you have implants that bonus HML
And yes HAM apply better than HML, contrary to popular belief. You’d need T2 precision ammo to make HML apply similarly.
The difference comes from the fact you comparing launchers of different size: heavy assault missile launchers are medium sized launchers and should be installed into cruisers-BCs, rapid heavy missile launchers are large sized launchers and must be installed on battleships. In order to get fair comparing you should compare only launchers only inside one size-class. In case of mediums: rapid light missile launchers(long reload affects dps), heavy assault missile launchers, heavy missile launchers. In case of larges: rapid heavy missile launchers(long reload affects dps), cruise launchers, torpedo launchers.
This is interesting, because the simulator fitted the rapid heavies onto the cruiser just fine, with plenty of grid and cpu. Having said that, if this is the explanation, it does explain things. But if true I’m guessing I should be able to fit torpedo launchers also? I’ll play around with it more.
Okay, TR09N explained it. For the sim, since I was simply trying to compare what I thought were two same-sized launcher types, I equipped one rapid heavy launcher, and one heavy assault launcher, so that I could simply turn one off, look at the DPS numbers on the “on” one, then turn it off and the other one on, and look at the numbers. What I never realized was, the one rapid heavy launcher took up most of my grid, so that I couldn’t fit more launchers (besides those two) if I wanted to.
to be fair, you may replace a light launcher with a rapid light launcher on some fits but this is at the cost of a lot of fitting.
And basically it adds ONE launcher in terms of DPS
do not click
[Jackdaw, stupid fit with missing mids]
Micro Auxiliary Power Core II
Ballistic Control System II
Ballistic Control System II
5MN Quad LiF Restrained Microwarpdrive
Missile Guidance Computer II
Missile Guidance Computer II
Dread Guristas Rapid Light Missile Launcher
Light Missile Launcher II
Light Missile Launcher II
Light Missile Launcher II
Light Missile Launcher II
Small Warhead Rigor Catalyst II
Small Ancillary Current Router I
Small Ancillary Current Router II
Missile Range Script x1
Inferno Fury Light Missile x233
Missile Precision Script x1
it was interesting before because you could have two rapid lights in the highs and they had a bigger range so you could snipe with jackdaws and their good agility.