Weapon

Weapons are a type of module used to damage enemies. Most of them achieve this by firing some sort of projectile, though rams are also counted as weapons.

For a full interactive spreadsheet of weapons and their damage go to:

THE SPRITESHEET

Blast Damage Weapons
Blast damage is one of the three types of damage. Blast weapons are regarded very highly in the current (2021) Airships meta. What makes Blast damage different from Piercing damage is the fact that weapons using it can have Area of Effect damage, which can prove insanely powerful on full hits.

Blast weapons benefit extremely from the Mullet charge in conquest!

Grenade


"Grenades can do a massive amount of damage at close range, especially to wooden hulls."

Grenades are your DPS for tier 0 and your mainline siege secondary weapon. The importance of having a grenade bomber to open the game with cannot be understated, and so they are the powerhouse of the early game conquests. They are a very powerful and versatile blast weapon, however, their power quickly falls of in favour of higher tech weapons from the blast weapons tech path.

''"Grenades, in my opinion, are an A tier conquest weapon, and a C tier skirmish weapon." ~Orang''

Required Research: None (Tier 0)

Bomb Bay


"Bombs dropped from above are an effective way to destroy anything that does not move away in time."

Bombs are a powerful explosive weapon which suffers from low accuracy. However, the damage of the bomb makes it justifiable to use more so against airships than structures, though structures can also become a target if the bomber ship is positioned closer to the ground (typically for taking out structures it is recommend to use: Grenades, Flamethrowers, Giant Flamethrowers, Aerial Torpedoes). This weapon definitely makes a case for itself and is an amazing support weapon in a fleet. Keep in mind that medium steel only soft counters bombs! Bombs can be dodged by going down with a ship once they are fired at said ship.

''"The Bomb is a weapon I myself really like. I would rate it B for conquest, but A for skirmish if used as a support weapon." ~Orang''

Required Research: Explosives (Tier 1)

Aerial charge


"A Tank of Charged Suspendium Dust Carrying aloft a bomb fuzed to explode on contact. Often deployed en masse for area denial. In practice, these are fairly slow & imprecise projectiles with extremely limited fire arc.  You're better off installing rockets, or, ideally, a flak cannon or two."

The aerial charge is a DPS powerhouse, especially in the early game where there are no medium or heavy steel vessels on the map. This weapon after some balance changes is really effective. If you don't watch out for aerial charges, you will suffer a horrible death. Keep in mind that medium steel only soft counters aerial charges! For a hard counter you will have to use heavy steel. This weapon is best used on a small and fast vessel with good ramming protection setup on top so that no debris or ramming action can rid you of your main weaponry. Aerial charges can be dodged if the targeted ship flies upwards or downwards once they are fired.

"I love aerial charges, I love their damage and their micro intensive playstyle, which is exciting and rewarding, however, they are more situational than other blast weapons and so they earn B tier in both conquest and skirmish" ~Orang

Required Research: Explosives (Tier 1)

Rocket


"Not accurate, or safe, but pretty devastating when they hit."

Contrary to what the description says, rockets are the safest option in terms of what you get, both, from the tech & the module itself. Rocket are the most powerful weapon of early game conquest, and one of the most versatile weapons in the game. They have really powerful DPS, good AoE and most importantly, they have the second best arc of fire in the game. This blend of statistics makes the rocket an immensely powerful weapon, which is the mainstay of any respecting fleet. This is the golden standard of blast weaponry, and the golden standard of conquest weaponry.

Medium steel does not hard counter the rocket, which is easy to forget, but it is a very important fact, which makes the rocket such a potent weapon! You can only hard counter the rocket by using heavy armour or shaped hulls.

Additionally it is not that inaccurate, even at long range.

''"The rocket is both fun and powerful. Currently (march 2021) it is borderline an OP weapon. Everything about it screams power: S tier for both conquest and skirmish." ~Orang''

Required Research: Rockets (Tier 2)

External


"A single, externally mounted rocket."

The external rocket is just what is advertised. It can be used, but for the most part it is quite the disappointment compared to its reloadable sister.

Required Research: Rockets (Tier 2)

Massive Rocket


"A rocket painted like a demon that explodes in a great ball of fire."

The massive rocket is quite a powerful, yet huge and volatile module. It is susceptible to ramming and exploding, but it packs a solid punch. It is an incredibly fun weapon, which can be used to great effect, and if left unattended, it can wreck absolute havoc upon the enemy with its huge AoE. Though, it is a bit sluggish and eats up ammo like a hungry worm! It may be less powerful than its smaller sister, but it is a fun and incredibly rewarding weapon to use. This rocket is very inaccurate compared to the smaller variant.

''"To me the massive rocket is a toy. However it has its pluses. I'd rate it C tier conquest and skirmish weapon, though it would get A tier in the fun factor!" ~Orang''

Required Research: Rockets (Tier 2)

External


"A single, externally mounted, massive rocket."

An externally mounted massive rocket, which compared to the regular variant can do quite a lot of harm if massed, since it has better damage and AoE. It can be an interesting intercept or siege weapon, for a good first burst of damage, that may even leave the enemy dead, biting the ground.

Required Research: Rockets (Tier 2)

Flamethrower


"Shooting an arc of fire, this is a powerful close-range weapon against lightly armoured targets"

This is a very powerful weapon that can destroy small units and even highly armored targets (though, only with the direct damage tech): not so much by big damage but by constant fire (it's a stream, not fireballs). This weapon is a fun and versatile close quarters DPS machine, however, it is hard countered by even medium steel armour. Flamethrowers can effectively hold off gargoyles, dragoons and bees, but it's good practice to escort the flame ship with other ships. They can also deal amazing amounts of damage, but their potential is cut short by the ease of countering them.

''"A fun and exciting weapon, great for clearing some of the more annoying monsters. S tier in fun, but sadly C tier in conquest, and D tier in skirmish, in my humble opinion." ~Orang''

Required Research: Combustibles (Tier 3)

Giant Flamethrower


"An ornate flamethrower shaped like the head of a dragon."

This baby can annihilate anything that's not heavy steel (granted you have the direct damage tech researched). It wreaks havoc upon the enemy unleashing the fury of dragons! However, despite how fun it is, it is mostly a mediocre weapon, it has its uses in conquest: for example in sieges, since it melts through stone, but its insane cost makes it a very premium toy. It is a very rewarding weapon which is great against all the same stuff as the small flamethrower, but this time, it doesn't get completely hard countered by medium steel.

''"My rating for this weapon is the same as the smaller flamethrower. Sadly it is simply too expensive for its own good." ~Orang'' Required Research: Combustibles (Tier 3)

Aerial Torpedo


"Aerial torpedoes move slowly but devastate anything they hit. They cannot be fired at close range."

The aerial torpedo is a force to be reckoned with. It is your ultimate siege and anti-landship weapon. There is no counter to the torpedo other than speed and reaction time. There is not much more to be said about it, it is one of the most solid weapons in the game for the role it fills, simply amazing.

Keep in mind the torpedo is also a great tool to force movement out of the enemy in skirmishes, since if they don't move, they will be eliminated in a fiery blaze.

''"I honestly cannot hide my love for the torpedo, it is an extremely powerful module, which is fun to play and very rewarding to use. Simply excellent. This earns the torpedo an A tier in conquest and B tier in skirmish, due to the lack of buildings in the latter mode." ~Orang''

Required Research: Cybernetics (Tier 4)

External


"A single, externally mounted, aerial torpedo."

This is a very versatile and powerful module for its cost. It is extremely powerful for sieges if spammed on ships, and very good area denial and movement forcer against ships. A great investment which is as solid as its reloadable counterpart.

Required Research: Cybernetics (Tier 4)

Ballista


"A torsion ballista - simple but effective against lightly armored targets."

Like the Grenades, ballistae have a limited vertical range, as well as being the only projectile in-game to suffer ballistic drop. This weapon is the 2nd pillar of t0 conquest. It is very powerful and effective, but relies on the ship's ability to fly as high as feasible, best service celling for a ballista ship is 300 meters or more.

''"The ballista is a very interesting weapon, however it suffers from low power and depends on a well built ship. Overall I'd rate it B for conquest and S tier for skirmish due to being an essential part of a certain ship design." ~Orang''

Required Research: None (Tier 0)

Cannon


"A single shot can tear through most armour. The mainstay of airship armament."

Due to their piercing damage, cannons are very useful for punching holes in everything. Their effective rate of fire is highly dependent on the distance to ammo storage. Their comparatively restricted fire arc makes them better suited to support rather than front-of-battle use. The cannon costs a lot for what they bring but they are stable and like the tooltip says: "The mainstay of airship armament". You cannot go wrong with a cannon, though there are weapons that execute this role better than the standard ol' cannon.

It is important to note that:


 * The cannon is very weak in early conquest,
 * The cannon technically has no counter - the best you can do is use heavy steel or heavy wood to limit the damage, this works very well especially on tier two in conquest when heavy wood is available and cannons are still weak.

Required Research: Cannon (Tier 1)

Grapeshot cannon


“This Cannon fires a spray of smaller cannonballs to tear through Light armor and crew alike”

The grapeshot cannon is the earliest large weapon able to specifically target aircraft & similarly small targets. However, its restricted range and slow fire rate make it impractical against most small-craft attacks. In practice, you're better off using rifles until flak becomes available. Though, the grapeshot excels in close quarters combat and shredding light armours and hussars alike. They are, however, not an amazing frontliner, they don't do enough damage to destroy heavy wood, medium armour or heavy steel.

Required Research: Cannon (Tier 1)

Imperial Cannon


"A preposterously large weapon. A single hit will destroy most smaller modules."

The imperial cannon is the queen of excess. The damage, the cost, the weight, all of it is the highest out of any other weapon (except for rams). This weapon is incredibly dangerous, but it has difficulty getting shots on target. This makes the imperial cannon, not just a gamble, but the whole casino, though the payout is very worth the investment (contrary to real life).

''"I view the imperial cannon as an incredible danger on the battlefield, since even one shot from it can destroy an entire ship, but it is too unpredictable to be reliable, unless you use the eagle charge. S tier for fun, but C tier in conquest and B tier in skirmish." ~Orang''

Required Research: Metallurgy (Tier 2)

Sponson


"Cannon mounted in a side projection of the ship's hull."

The sponson is a worse cannon, in every possible way. It has less damage, needs more cost to armour, weighs more, has a worse fire arc, and costs more. This makes the standard sponson basically useless, since the cannon is already not an outstanding weapon. The fact that it is able to be placed inside the ship's hull makes it unable to be rammed, but that is not much of an advantage considering the existing cons.

"The normal sponson is terrible. D tier in skirmish, F in conquest, due to the tech requirements."

Required Research: Sponsons (Tier 2)

Dorsal
"Medium-sized armoured front-facing turret."

This is a very versatile weapon which packs a good punch for the price. It has excellent damage and a compact size, the restriction zones are lenient for a turret so you are typically able to easily fit quite a few of these turrets per ship to get optimal DPS. This is a very powerful and convincing weapon which is the true standard for cannons.

Requires Research: Gyroscopes (Tier 3)

Ventral
"Medium-sized front-facing turret, mounted to the underside of the ship. Slightly slower and bulkier than its dorsal counterpart due to a more complex loading mechanism."

Beware, this is not the same gun as the dorsal variant. It is slower and less powerful, but it is still a very solid and convincing weapon, due to its nature it is very powerful on ships which fly very high and in numbers higher than one. This weapon is even more versatile than its dorsal counterpart.

Requires Research: Gyroscopes (Tier 3)

Dorsal Turret


"A turreted medium cannon with a wide field of fire. The turret mechanism adds a lot of weight and bulk, though."

The dorsal turret has almost double the power of a common cannon but is more fragile to ramming. Due to the building restrictions it's impossible to mount more than one per ship or building, to install catch-struts against ships crashing into the turret, or to have a Crow's Nest to help it aim. Further, the Dorsal Turret shares the cannon's weakness of being a non-clip weapon, meaning reload time is highly sensitive to ammo distance.

In practice, though, dorsal turrets are very powerful and extremely versatile on ships hovering close to the ground. It has very high damage and a very wide arc of fire.

Required Research: Gyroscopes (Tier 3)

Ventral Turret


"A ventrally turreted cannon. The gun mount is kind of tricky, but the result is a wide field of fire"

A downwards-facing dorsal turret. Like its counterpart, it's vulnerable, but due to its location a Crow's Nest remains a viable option. As one might expect, these won't work on landships (except for walkers) and buildings.

However, it is even more powerful than the dorsal turret due to the fact it can be placed on high flying airships.

''"This weapon is an amazing fire support weapon which proves very dangerous. An amazing weapon which adds even more to the already amazing Gyroscopes tech. Solid and powerful - A tier in conquest, S tier in skirmish." ~Orang''

Required Research: Gyroscopes (Tier 3)

Heavy Cannon


"Slow-firing but devastating. Not even the strongest armour stands a chance"

A bigger cannon, it can blast through anything and also pulverize most things with few shots. It has a more restricted fire arc, but it's slightly more accurate at long range. It has a slow reload time and it costs quite a lot, but this is not that big of a deal, since this weapon is one of the best armour piercing weapons available in the game. A fleet without a heavy cannon bearing vessel is not complete.

''"This is simply an excellent weapon, great long range support, and great mainline damage. I would place it in the A tier in conquest (due to the tech requirements) and A tier in skirmish." ~Orang''

Required Research: Heavy Cannons (Tier 3)

Heavy Turret


''“A Heavy cannon on a turreted mount. Powerful and accurate.”''

This provides substantial armour-piercing punch with reasonable vertical traversal. Despite being mounted in a Turret, the cannon cannot rotate or flip independently of its parent construction, so getting behind it remains a viable tactic.

This weapon is basically a supercharged heavy cannon, making it the most potent armour piercing weapon in the game.

''"To me, there is no discussion that this is an S tier weapon in both conquest and skirmish. it has insane DPS for a cannon and an excellent fire arc and HP." ~Orang''

Required Research: Automated Loading Systems (Tier 4)

Suspendium Cannon


"A precise arrangement of suspendium crystals fires small suspendium bolts with extreme speed and accuracy"

A coal driven, steampunk variant of a railgun. It shoots very far very accurately. It also packs a good punch, sometimes piercing the first module hit and continuing to damage further modules behind the target. That said, the extremely limited fire arc limits its effective use to rear-line support fire.

This weapon is a very viable alternative to the heavy cannon, and while it may not have the best fire arc, it is still worthwhile and quite powerful. The DPS of this weapon is good but especially powerful when used with rapid fire mode.

Note: Also uses 1 unit of coal every 10 seconds.

''"In my opinion the suspendium cannon is the second most fun cannon in the game. I suggest everyone puts it to rapid fire and watch the enemy get massacred by the hail of supercharged suspendium, I rate it a B tier in conquest and skirmish, but A tier in fun!" ~Orang''

Required Research: Suspendium Cannons (Tier 4)

Musket


"Muskets are simple firearms that can be quite effective en masse."

These starting weapons have far less range and have a slower rate of fire than rifles. However, they do have an easier time piercing armor. They are essential to early game survival and defence, excellent on buildings.

Required Research: None (Tier 0)

Rifle


"Riflemen are accurate and cheap, but their weapons cannot penetrate heavy armour."

Rifles are cheap and flexible, but do a limited amount of damage. Still, persistent rifle fire has brought down even massive air-battleships. Though it is not recommended that this be a larger airship's main armament, they can be a useful addition to kill enemy sailors through armor gaps made by other weapons, or as a point-defense to kill troops attempting to invade your ship and destroy aircraft, though it is only okay at destroying hussars. They are particularly good at breaching Suspendium tanks. It's a good idea to have about 2-3 or more on each side of a defensive building.

Required Research: Rifling (Tier 1)

Light sponson.PNG
"Light cannon mounted in a side projection of the ship's hull."

The light sponson, contrary to it's larger brother, is actually usable and only becomes worse than the other at dealing with the heaviest armours in the game. It's clip makes the light sponson way more ammo efficient, and actually more damaging. The cost is also a big factor, which makes the light sponson quite good - it's quite inexpensive. It is the better one of the two most of the time.

Required Research: Sponsons (Tier 2)

Deck gun.PNG
"A favourite of commerce raiders, this deck-mounted gun does plenty of damage but lacks protection."

The deck gun is amongst the best light weapons, but it has one major drawback, it cannot be armoured. However, it has in-built steel wall armour. It has a good DPS and for its price it can serve well on ships large or small. It can even shoot down aircraft to a reasonable degree.

Required Research: Machining (Tier 3)

Gatling Gun


"With its rapid fire rate, a gatling gun can tear apart lightly armoured targets. It's not very accurate, however."

The Gatling gun will chew through anything made of wood or brick, for most uses a single Gatling gun can easily replace a broadside of rifles. However, its significantly more restricted fire arc can be a liability: Gatling emplacements in ships & buildings cannot shoot vertically, while rifles can. As such, it's a good idea to retain some rifles to minimize gaps in fire arcs. A few Gatling guns can penetrate even medium steel armour, which cannot withstand the sheer volume of hits.

The gatling gun is very reliable and solid, however it is very crew intensive.

Required Research: Machining (Tier 3)

Flak Cannon


"An upward-facing light cannon designed to shoot down enemy airships"

The flak cannon may seem week at first, but when used properly it can shred through entire fleets of ships. It annihilates suspendium dust tanks and wood armour.

However, flak cannons can be vulnerable to their victims crashing on top of the cannon (ram damage ensues!), so consider building struts or similar around the cannon to catch crashing ships. Similarly, it's better to have multiple buildings with 1-2 flak cannons, rather than one building with 4 or 5, so one crashing ship can't smash all the flak at once.

Conversely, remember that flak cannons can be installed on airships as well. Where they shine bright, but flak shines brightest on landships, which have all they need to utilise it, and do it for less money than airships. Though landships are less versatile and agile.

''"I simply love flak, and how easily it shreds enemies not prepared to face it. Though, the research path is not amazing. It is a B tier in skirmish, and C in conquest to me." ~Orang''

Required Research: Anti-Air Tactics (Tier 4)

Suspendium Ray


"A high-accuracy beam of charged Suspendium dust."

This weapon is quite threatening because of its incredible arc of fire and decent damage. It also almost never misses a shot, or even if it does, it just deals slightly less damage. Notably it is hard countered by heavy wood and heavy steel. That still makes the suspendium ray really powerful, like an overcharged gatling gun.

Note: Requires a unit of coal every 6 seconds.

Ram


"A bronze ramming bow built to tear holes into enemy ships while leaving your own unharmed."

Rams don't have any special damage-dealing properties. They simply have very high HP and can hence be used to more safely ram opponents.

Cow-Catcher Ram


"A lightweight ram"

Spike Ram


"A sharp but relatively fragile ram"

Grand Ram


"A huge bronze ram's head to smash your enemies."

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