GTW Prometheus

The GTW-5 Prometheus was a primary weapon which was developed and used during the Great War. Its combination of heavy hull damage and wide compatibility made it the weapon of choice of GTA pilots during the latter parts of the Great War.

Because of the assault on the SD Lucifer in the subspace tunnel leading from Delta Serpentis to Sol, all communication from the Terran homeworld was cut off. The substances needed to produce the Prometheus cannon ceased to be available and new, retrofitted variants were made. These two cannons were the Prometheus R (Prometheus Retrofit) and the Prometheus S (Prometheus Standard).

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

Tech Room Data

Named after the Titan who gave fire to humanity, the Prometheus is a laser-based weapon - an advanced radar and X-ray tracking system lock on the target and determine the target's material structure - argon laser focused via transparent ceramic optics - the laser is generated at the destructive frequency (full out-of-phase) for the target's material structure - emitted no more than .02 ms after targeting and activation by the pilot, the Prometheus stands as one of the GTA's most effective deterrents to enemy attack, an effective form of defense for GTA pilots, and as a durable, portable, and highly destructive offensive tool.

The Prometheus works best against target hulls. Against shields, it only achieves mediocre performance. It's slow speed and high energy consumption work against it as well. However, the primary advantage of the Prometheus is that it can be equipped on almost any fighter in the GTA.

Performance

Statistics

Name	GTW Prometheus
Range	900 m
Rate of fire	3.33 s-1
Velocity	450 ms-1
Damage	26
Armor damage	26
Shield damage	14
Subsystem damage	7

Additional properties

• Weapon is a primary cannon (Primary weapon)

Notes

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

The Prometheus is the best all-around weapon you will be issued in FS1. A good gun to have, though the power requirements can be somewhat daunting on higher difficulties.

It should be noted that there are considerable differences between the original Prometheus (known in some circles as the Prometheus O) and the FreeSpace 2 GTW Prometheus S. There is debate as to which "is better", but they are definitely not the same weapon.

Never liked it myself, it's been a while since I played the original but it was either the rate of fire or its power drain to damage that never worked for me. I much preferred the Banshee, though if not available on the ship I was using then the Prometheus was a workable alternative.

The GTW Avenger is likely better in most respects, but the Prometheus does have a superior hull volley damage. Against evading targets, you may find yourself able to score a single guaranteed hit, during a very brief instant, with a several second gap between each. In this case, the superior volley damage may help finish off targets stripped of their shields more quickly. The slower rate of fire doesn't matter in such a situation, and the rate of shield damage is basically identical there as well.

Name origin

Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the mortals. Prometheus's name is honored in modern culture numerous times. Most notably, and asteroid is named 1809 Prometheus and the 61st element is called Prometheum.