Question for experienced Asp drivers

[Sayne]

So I just broke down and upgraded from a Cobra to an Asp. I'm really enjoying it so far. It's not as fast as a Cobra, but I actually like how it handles better. Cobras slide around too much, too powerful main thrusters coupled with weak laterals means it does a lot of sliding around and generally turns like a boat. The Asp seems to respond more evenly.

I was sitting on 33million credits, so I upgraded everything to A except Life Support (who cares) and Shields (got 5C, not enough scratch for 5A). However with a 0A Shield Booster, the shield is rated at just about the same strength as an 5A Shield.

My primary question is about weapon load outs: do you prefer 4 small lasers and 2 medium multicannons or 2 medium lasers and 4 small multicannons?

I've tried both and the main difference I noticed is the C2 beam lasers + 4x C1 multicannons is more power and power distro efficient, and the 2 beams are very effective against shields but the C1 Multicannons take a damage penalty to bigger ships.

While 2x C2 Multicannons + 4 C1 Burst Lasers utterly destroy shields on most things, and the C2 Multicannons perform as expected since I used them on my Cobra. However firing all 4 of those lasers really burns through the Weapon capacitor much faster than I'd like.

What do yall think? Any recommendations? I'm going for a combat-tilted all-rounder.

Thanks!

Edit: Even moar important question: which paint scheme do you use? I find myself torn between the Red and White Pharoh, but usually settle on the Red.

[clivewil]

i preferred 2x C2 gimballed beams and 4x C1 gimballed multicannons, but i think almost any config is going to chew up the weapons cap quite quickly. 4x MCs is probably the lowest power usage for the most bang on the C1 hardpoints, but of course you pay for ammo

fire group 1 was just the beams, and either ADS or KWS on altfire - fire group 2 was 1 beam + MCs, and chaff on altfire

i used to occasionally swap between red/white pharoah but usually i stayed with the grungy pirate skin the longest

[Kal]

I had 2x C2 gimballed beams with 2x C1 rail guns and 2x C1 gimballed multicannons to mess around with but then replaced all the C1 slots with bursts to not worry about ammo. The latter setup is fun for me because the game likes to interdict me with sidewinders and eagles. Was funny last night when a wing of 2 sidewinders interdicted and I locked on to the first one and opened up with the beams and then added the 4 bursts. Neither ship had shields so the first sidewinder exploded before it got to me and the second turned and ran as his partner went up in flames.

I usually do RES and conflict zones with my son (and we would be more than happy to do them in a wing with others in the group) . He has a vulture with 2 C3 bursts. That makes for a good combo with my Asp and we target power plants and take down big ships fairly fast. I'm used to having to cycle weapon power from other games I have played over the years so for me it is not a big deal to fire, pause, fire etc. and I worked that into my combat style many years ago.

All that said, best thing would be to try out different setups and go with whatever you like the best and works the best for your style of combat. If the setup feels awkward then you will be forced to compensate and combat will take longer than it should reducing your kill revenue.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

You may want to see this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=992

I like 2 fixed small beams in the chin mounts and gimbaled multicannons for the rest. The beams are for taking down the shields at distance and the cannons are for maximum damage in the shortest time up close. You need to reload, but you don't have to mess with your power settings as much as if you had more or stronger lasers.

[Sayne]

Derp.

Sorry, didn't see that thread.