GTW Maxim

The GTW-66 Maxim Cannon is a brand new design; a long-range, high velocity particle accelerator cannon that functions more or less like a mass driver. The weapon has the best range of any primary gun, at 3.5km, and also inflicts the highest degree of hull damage.

A tactically invaluable weapon since it out-ranges any existing anti-fighter defenses, the Maxim's primary disadvantages are first that it draws an amazing amount of power to operate; and second that it causes a substantial amount of recoil per shot, strong enough to affect the pilots visual aim.

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

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File:Maxim 320x240.jpg
The GTW-66 Maxim Cannon

Tech Room Data

Reconstruction efforts after the Great War inspired advancements in metallurgy and efficient conventional explosives. The two are elegantly combined in the GTW-66 Maxim. The Maxim is by definition an energy weapon, though it behaves like a high-velocity mass-driver cannon, accelerating uranium slugs along its smoothbore barrel. The Maxim has a difficult time penetrating energy-based shields, but it has a devastating effect on hull plating and subsystem armor.

Performance

Statistics - Maxim

Range	3600 m
Rate of Fire	6.67 shots per second
Velocity	1800 ms-1
Base Damage	26
Armor Damage	Full	26
Shield Damage	Poor	4
Subsystem Damage	Good	20

Statistics - Maxim D

Range	2700 m
Rate of Fire	6.67 shots per second
Velocity	1800 ms-1
Base Damage	20
Armor Damage	Good	16
Shield Damage	Poor	4
Subsystem Damage	Full	20

Notes

Shudder, weapon has high recoil

Veteran Comments

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The Maxim is a rapid-fire, extra-long-range (three kilometers!) anti-hull cannon. It is clearly designed for the purpose of making capital ships' lives miserable, allowing the player to destroy subsystems and even whole smaller capships with ease from beyond the range of return fire. It does produce some "shake" effect as it fires, degrading its accuracy somewhat. Because of its high rate of fire, despite its low shield damage it is also still mildly effective against shielded targets. Be aware though that this weapon is perhaps the biggest energy hog of them all, and will run you dry with mere seconds of sustained fire.

However, the Maxim is still considered by some to be "unfair" and "un-balanced" because of its ability to destroy turrets and destroy cruisers beyond the range of their Flak guns. For example, with this gun a Ulysses can take out all of the subsystems of a Deimos. The argument is that in "real life" a warship wouldn't just sit on its behind and take the damage, instead jumping out or sending interceptors.

Despite its range and high rate of fire, the Maxim is a mediocre bomb interception weapon. It has high recoil and uses a massive amount of power. The best bomb interception weapon is the Morningstar, with this or the Mekhu in second place.

The Maxim is a very convenient weapon if you know when and where to use them. By default, the Maxim is a good weapon to take down subsystems—especially larger turrets—and weaker cruisers from a safe distance. Remember it devours a lot of energy, so I suggest you keep your recharge rate maximum while firing, unless you are in a hurry to approach your target. The "shake" effect does not affect your accuracy if you do not steer your ship; however, it will be distracting during a dogfight. If you are expecting a hard dogfight, either take "Dogfight Primary" + Trebuchets or Maxim + lots of "Dogfight Missiles."

This weapon is of little use against Shivan fighters, as they have strong shields and hulls so weak, that you can destroy them witch few hits from anything. Larger ships, or even heavy bombers, are different thing, however.

If you're expecting to see some warships jump into your operations area, and you have access to this weapon, it's definitely worth a look. Using a Maxim cannon, you may be able to disable at least some of a warship's armaments before it gets anywhere close.

Name origin

The Maxim gun was one of the first machine guns, operated around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The gun was developed by an American inventor, Sir Hiram Maxim in 1884.