Gauss Cannon

The following information has not been confirmed by Volition and is therefore not canon for the FreeSpace universe.

Description

Blue Planet Tech Room Description

The long-range Gauss Cannon variant of the Varunastra gun is one of the few tactical advantages Federation warships have in the current conflict. Excellent range and precision compensate for laughably small damage from a depleted uranium penetrator, allowing Federation captains to disable enemy beam weapons, turrets, and subsystems from a safe distance before closing to attack. This tactical flexibility is a major deterrent to simple assault by the GTVA. Hecate destroyers in particular are critically vulnerable to this form of long-range salvo attack. Karuna frigates routinely use their Gauss Cannons to harass targets, forcing GTVA ships to break their formations and charge or be rendered ineffective. Stormrider Systems fabricated the electromagnetic and electronic components of the weapon, while Consolidated Material Dynamics worked on the materials science elements of the design.

Performance

Gauss Cannon#Sanctus

Range	4800 m
Rate of Fire	0.1 shots per second
Velocity	3000 ms-1
Base Damage	600
Armor Damage	0.25x	150
Shield Damage	0.25x	150
Subsystem Damage	1.00x	600#

Gauss Cannon#Karuna

Range	7200 m
Rate of Fire	0.1 shots per second
Velocity	3000 ms-1
Base Damage	1200
Armor Damage	0.25x	300
Shield Damage	0.25x	300
Subsystem Damage	1.00x	1200

Gauss Cannon#Narayana

Range	14400 m
Rate of Fire	0.1 shots per second
Velocity	3000 ms-1
Base Damage	2400
Armor Damage	0.25x	600
Shield Damage	0.25x	600
Subsystem Damage	1.00x	2400

• Weapon does the final 75% damage to a ship with the supercap flag.
• Weapon alternates firing points (Cycle)

Notes

• Weapon is capable of easily damaging large vessels (Huge)
• Weapon cannot be mounted on small ships (Big Ship)
• Weapon projectile generates particles (Particle Spew)
• Weapon fires on the designated rate of fire on all difficulty levels and all AI levels (Same Turret Cooldown)

Veteran Comments

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Identical to the Mass Driver in terms of speed, refire rate and base damage, there is a crucial difference: they do subsystem damage instead of hull damage. In Blue Planet, this is a tactical advantage for the UEF, as a Narayana can disable the armament of virtually any GTVA warship before it enters beam range of 4 kilometers for older and 6 kilometers for newer designs. The Gauss Cannon is also the same as the Mass Driver in terms of range; but for the Karuna varient. The subsystem damaging Gauss Cannon has a three kilometer reach advantage for that frigate.