GTW Prometheus S

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

The GTW-5 Prometheus (standard) Cannon is a primary weapon developed by the Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance. It is a minor variant of the GTW Prometheus, which saw widespread use during the Great War and Hades Rebellion, and has similar performance statistics to the original weapon.

The Prometheus S's power-generation module required, among other essential components, argon, which was obtained in large quantities from Earth and, by extension, Sol. Thus, when the Delta Serpentis-Sol jump node collapsed from the destruction of the SD Lucifer, the GTVA was unable to obtain sufficient quantities of argon to continue the manufacture of the Prometheus S and was forced to temporarily remove it from service. Following the GTVA's deployment of gas miners, production of the Prometheus S was resumed.

The Prometheus S is an excellent weapon, boasting high hull damage, high shield damage, and very good range. Almost every Allied fighter and bomber can be equipped with the Prometheus S. Disadvantages include a moderate-to-high energy usage and a relatively slow rate of fire that requires patience and marksmanship to line up shots.

Tech Room Data

The GTW-5 Prometheus (standard) Cannon

The original GTW-5 Prometheus S was removed from service when the link to Earth was lost and the GTVA was unable to obtain sufficient quantities of argon (a required element in the Prometheus's power-generation module). Recent deployment of Anuket and Zephyrus gas miners has enabled us to resume production of the GTW-5 Prometheus S. The S-type is a minor variant of the original Prometheus laser cannon. The S-type's faster recharge cycle and lower energy drain cause many pilots to prefer it over the R variant.

Performance

Prometheus S

Name	Prometheus S
Range	1500 m
Rate of fire	2.857 s-1
Velocity	750 ms-1
Damage	30
Armor damage	27
Shield damage	30
Subsystem damage	10.5

Additional properties

• Weapon is a primary cannon (Primary weapon)

Prometheus D

Name	Prometheus D
Range	900 m
Rate of fire	3.333 s-1
Velocity	450 ms-1
Damage	20
Armor damage	16
Shield damage	20
Subsystem damage	7

Additional properties

• Weapon is a primary cannon (Primary weapon)

Compatibility

The following table refers to weapons compatibility in singleplayer, and does not reflect the compatibility of dogfight variants in multiplayer. A ✓ mark indicates that a ship can mount the weapon, whereas an ✗ mark indicates that it cannot.

Terran Compatibility		Vasudan Compatibility
Ship Class	Compatible	Ship Class	Compatible
GTF Ulysses	✓	GVF Thoth	✓
GTF Loki	✓	GVF Serapis	✓
GTF Hercules	✓	GVF Horus	✓
GTF Hercules Mark II	✓	GVF Seth	✓
GTF Myrmidon	✓	GVF Tauret	✓
GTF Perseus	✓	GVF Ptah	✓
GTF Pegasus	✓	GVB Osiris	✓
GTF Erinyes	✓	GVB Bakha	✓
GTF Ares	✓	GVB Sekhmet	✓
SF Mara (Terrans)	✗
GTB Zeus	✓
GTB Medusa	✓
GTB Artemis (Inc. D.H.)	✓
GTB Ursa	✓
GTB Boanerges	✓

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

There is much debate on which GTW-5 is better the Prometheus S or the GTW Prometheus, it is up to the user to decide. The Prometheus S has lower energy requirements, longer range, and more single hit damage than the GTW UD-8 Kayser, but consumes much more energy, has a slower firing rate, and is less efficient than the other standard FreeSpace 2 weapon, the GTW Subach HL-7. If you like firing very accurately, and don't care about fire rate as much, this is the perfect gun for you.

Ideal targets for the Prometheus are larger vessels, such as bombers, cruisers and corvettes. It does a great deal of hull damage. But because of its full shield damage value, it is extremely effective against bombers. As another note, the Prometheus of FS2 acts more like the Banshee of FS1, though with considerably better damage against hulls and lesser damage against shields.

Fires farther and faster, hits harder and penetrates shields better than the FS1 version, but pays with a slightly lower fire rate and greater energy consumption; in fact about all this and the GTW Prometheus have in common is superiority to the GTW Prometheus R.

Its projectile speed is the fastest and longest lasting (thus extending its range) after the Maxim and the Morning Star. The higher speed increases accuracy for the same shooting distance (obviously!) against maneuvering targets. This weapon is in fact perfect for taking down Shivan bombers.

It's worth noting that, if you outfit both primary banks of an Erinyes with this thing, it is entirely possible to one-salvo-kill some of the lighter fighters in the game.

After spending a long time trying to determine what the best primary to give your wingmen in the FreeSpace 2 campaign was, I've noticed that they seem to do best with this weapon. The high volley damage and relatively long range can be exploited to great effect by the AI's aiming abilities. If you want to boost your wingmates' effectiveness, and you have this weapon available, it's a great choice.

The energy usage of this weapon, although significant, is not as severe as one may assume. For example, the GTF Perseus, with all energy diverted away from weapons, can fire both banks simultaneously on Normal difficulty for about 40 times before running out of energy. These volleys are capable of destroying a Manticore in 2 hits and an Aeshma in 3.