GTW Avenger

The GTW-15 Avenger Cannon is a primary weapon which was used during the Great War. The main advantage of this weapon was that it was the only weapon that could inflict damage to Shivan shields during the onset of the Great War. Its predecessor, the ML-16 was ineffective against shields and had to be replaced. After the development of the Prometheus, the Avenger was no longer the preferred weapon of GTA pilots.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

The GTW-15 Avenger Cannon

Tech Room Data

A rapid-fire, computer-controlled radar and gun system - capable of firing at a rate of more than 4500 rounds per minute - used primarily for close-defense situations - uses closed-loop radar technology to locate, identify, and direct a stream of highly destructive 45mm projectiles to the target.

With the advent of shield technology, the GTW-15 is preferred over the ML-16 in any ship that can carry it. It's extra damage against hulls make it one of the best anti cruiser weapons. It has also proven very effective against Vasudan fighters. However, it's substandard anti-shield capabilities make it a poor choice for dogfighting Shivans, although far better than the ML-16.

Performance

Statistics

Range	1000 m
Rate of Fire	4 shots per second
Velocity	525 ms-1
Base Damage	20
Armor Damage	Full	20
Shield Damage	Good	13.6
Subsystem Damage	Poor	5.6

Notes

The heist of the prototype

Main article: Heist of the Avenger Prototype

Veteran Comments

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The Avenger is a fine weapon due to the lower energy demand; it is sometimes even more ideal than the Prometheus. Why? Because therefore you don't have to divert so much power on your lasers and you are able to have more energy on shields and energy.

The Avenger's speed, and therefore its accuracy, is greater than that of the GTW Prometheus as well. If you don't have excellent aim or intend to engage at fair distances, the Avenger serves well.

This is hands-down the BEST gun in the game, even better than the Prometheus! Here's why. The damage per second on hulls is marginally lower than that of the Prometheus...the Prometheus does 86.67 per second, and the Avenger does 80 per second. Yet the surprise comes when you look at the shield damage per second. The Avenger does 54.4 and the Prometheus does 46.67! Since shields can recharge and heal, shield damage should be given higher priority over hull damage. Also, many fighters, if not most, have more shield hitpoints than hull hit-points.

The Avenger also has other benefits over the Prometheus, including 100 more meters range, a higher velocity (improves accuracy on evading targets), and a faster rate of fire (becomes harder to dodge 100% due to the higher volume, even if it's not necessarily a higher damage rate as a result; great for the finishing blow).

As usual, the lab data isn't to be trusted in FS1, which lists the Avenger as "medium" shield damage, and the Prometheus as "very high" shield damage.