Im kind of disapointed at the railgun, to be frank it sucks.

"A railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor. Railguns use two sliding or rolling contacts[1] that permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile. This current interacts with the strong magnetic fields generated by the rails and this accelerates the projectile.
The U.S. Navy has tested a railgun that accelerates a 3.2 kg projectile to 2.4 kilometers per second (seven times the speed of sound)."
(Source: Wikipedia)

And lets look at those numbers.
2.4 Km/s is the same as 8640 Km/h and that is 2400 m/s.
Now the current railgun in VO has a projectile speed of only 480 m/s.

Secondly the power usage of a railgun is pretty big, so in game i would say i could drain a heavy powercell. Aka making it low ROF gun.

SO in short if the is to be made useful again i think the following things should be implemented:

1. Lower ROF (Rate Of Fire)
2. Higher projectile velocity (preferably 2400m/s)
3. Higher energy consuption
4. Higher impact damage (dont you think a metal slug traveling at 2400m/s would wreck some havok on a ship?)

To sum it up i think the railgun should be made into the sniper of VO.

(puts on protective clothing)

I am also dissappointed in the railguns. One point you missed is the low ammo load and the excessive weight of the weapons. Outside of the quad advanced rail hornet (which has no maneuverability and is basically a one or two shot win or die gamble), there aren't any decent platforms for the railguns as currently implemented. I don't know of any 'top-gun' player who uses them on a regular basis.

The railguns are in the same category as the Raptor, cool in concept and visually appealing but pretty useless outside of very limited circumstances unless you want to handicap yourself. The only reason I use them is to help me improve my aiming and timing.

I'm not sure I fully agree with the exact changes you suggest but they could definately stand some improvement. Perhaps increasing their powergrid requirement would prevent improved railguns from being too overpowered.

Personally I'd like to see Mk1 through Mk3 railguns carry twice the current ammo loads, and weigh 75% of current values. I wouldn't mind an increase in projectile speed but would really hate to see the ROF reduced, nor would I want to see the energy use go up. If they are improved substantially I think energy grid requirement should be increased to 8. This would allow for dual rail plus auxiliary weapon configurations on mid sized ships such as revenants, valkyries, hornets, prometheus, and axia gaurdian wraiths. I'm not sure the Advanced Railguns really need changed, since the quad adv rail hornet might be useful in the right hands as is.

Well my general idea isthat its more of a niperish weapon, one powerful shot, and a long reload time after that so it wont be abused. and ROF would really need to change, if it sucks the power out of a heavy powercell you cant fire too fast anyway.

Also just lowering its weight and making it have more ammo would basically just make it into an overpowered neut/positron with ammo, which could just as well be replaced bya megapositron that has unlimited ammo.

I know at least ten people who use the rail gun with deadly accuracy and they all seem to love it as is. What I'd like to see is variable ammunition for the rail guns with damage dependent on ammo type.

Speaking as a player who uses the Rail Gun in the capacity of a sniper when it suits my purpose, I would have to say it's fine as is. However, I don't see your ideas destroying the balance. So I'm not against it.

I have to ask, have you used railguns in pvp combat? If so, your perception of them differs greatly from mine.

In no way would a lighter mk1 or mk2 railgun with a greater ammo capacity be comparable to megaposi. In fact, if two railguns (or more) are mounted the ROF is reduced by the energy regeneration of the battery after the first shot assuming fast charge battery. Megaposi has basically half the 'projectile' speed, but has roughly four times the energy efficiency and five times the dps of the mk1/2 railgun.

Railgun usage in pvp combat is completely different than energy weapon usage. Each shot must be aimed, there's no spray and pray. Effective ROF, considering battery recharge, target evasion, and (even at double the amount) limited ammo supply means you fire once every two seconds at most. With current ammo loadouts you can't afford to take any 'might hit' shots at ranges beyond effective energy weapon range. It becomes a dance where once every couple of seconds you try to get 'the shot' and the rest of the time you're trying to keep your opponent from climbing all over you.

Currently, the mass of the weapon is too high to allow you to control the range except with the aid of flares, and then only if you're lucky. Additionally, at least half the battles I've fought using railguns ends with me out of ammo. Granted, my aim could be improved, but most of my opponents tell me I'm a fair shot with railguns.

Try for example, a Rev C with one rail and one starflare, or an OCG Hornet with dual rails and one sunflare, in combat against similar ships but with energy weapons. I think you'll see what I'm talking about. Also try dual rails on a fighter - vult or rev c, I think you will agree that currently they're just too heavy to be employed in dogfight regardless of your aim.

Your suggestions may well have merit for the advanced railgun though, it's a different kettle of fish already. I personally don't use the mk3 or advanced railguns, but have seen the 'quad advanced railgun hornet' setup in action and it is the current in-game approximation of your idea. However it's not very useful as it stands because of the projectile speed combined with the mothlike handling characteristics.

+1 to the OP in regards to the Advanced Railgun (or a replacement or variant thereof).

I think a cool effect to add in is to make the target go reeling from the impact, like a flare detonation. Might change the way they are used significantly..

I see the railgun mk2 used in combat alot, and like Ryan said a lot of people are proficient enough to hit consistently with adv railguns. Sadly, I have not seen many of these people ingame in the past month or so..

I think your implementation, a single-port high damage low ROF crazy fast shot deal would be pretty sweet as another version. I'd like to at least keep the current versions, though (even the mk3, being the lightest, has it's uses as well..)

When I actually bother with pvp, I actually get decent with the rail guns. I rather suspect that the speed is low in order to keep it in line with energy weapons.

To be honest, I'd like to see rails and energy weapons get about a 200 m/s boost. I exclude flares because that would make vo more of a game for flare jockies.

I use advanced rails on a hornet and a ragnarok all the time, and alot of the time I am successfull... 4 advanced rails on a hornet can allready insta-kill most light fighters... while the mk2 with 30 ammo is ideal for equipping on a light fighter. They really aren't THAT heavy (flares are in the same category). I like your idea, but its like Spedy said, perhaps it could be brought in as a different version. However, at 200-250m with the rails current speed, if someone has good aim it is damn hard to dodge. 2400m/s?! Thats a little overboard considering some asshole could just backroll and take crack shots at you and you not standing a chance with your short range flares and energy weapons...

As for ammo capacity, adv.rails have 10 shots at 2500 damage, thats 25,000 damage... The most I would accept the ammo upgraded to is 12. As for the mk3, it needs a boost because it does suck. The mk2 maybe 35 ammo, but no more than that. The mk1 should stay as is.

-Niut

I'd say... the only buff railguns really need is concussive force.

I belive i have been missinformed about the general usage of the railgun then, my whole idea was acually to try and get a sniper like weapon, though it may not be a pvp weapon a sniper can be implemented at many other fronts.

Though since abuse is such a favored sport it would be necicary for it to have a few anti abuse precautions, aka one shot drains a powercell, (eventually gives a powerful kickback effect too). Acually it wouldnt need more than that...i think.

Raven, the only times I use the rail guns are exactly what you are describing. Though it is PvP, it's not the traditional sense of B-8 PvP. It usually falls under a guerrilla combat aspect utilizing surprise/ambush tactics.

I also know people who do use them (with deadly results), in the more standard B-8 style of PvP.

ADV or get the fuck out, noobs.

Give me a rail gun and I will fucking PWN YOUR ASS.

Raven101, I use railgun effective very often. And not only in PvP, but in PvE too. For example, I love to destroy voys in no time with railguns.

I think the problem is you're not very familiar with A/A off. Equip TPG blasters with A/A off, take raptor and when you start hitting pilots in PvP with 172 velocity blaster, it'll be pretty easy for you to hit with 400 m/s railgun.

3. Higher energy consuption

No, it's already nearly impossible to use tri-railgun with fast charge.

The U.S. Navy has tested a railgun that accelerates a 3.2 kg projectile to 2.4 kilometers per second (seven times the speed of sound)." (Source: Wikipedia)

Heh, my pistol bullet flies much more faster than every Vendetta's blaster and so? Don't compare VO's weapons with RL weapons, because otherwise it'll be another game with another blalance, etc.

To sum it up i think the railgun should be made into the sniper of VO.

If you mentioned, railgun bullets fly longer and two times faster, than all other player-acquirable weapons. So that's already a sniper rifle.

"Heh, my pistol bullet flies much more faster than every Vendetta's blaster"

Pfft... thats nothing, my red ryder bb gun I got when I was 10 years old has a higher velocity than most of VOs weapons.

"Pfft... thats nothing, my red ryder bb gun I got when I was 10 years old has a higher velocity than most of VOs weapons."

Proof positive that Vendetta Online is nothing other than Duck Duck Goose in Space.

red rover red rover i pick death fluffy to come over