Star Citizen Ship Weapons Master Modes 3.23 Guide - Best Ship Weapons 2024

With the release of Star Citizen 3.23, there have been rumors of “Laser Cannon Meta”. While it may be true for the new Star Citizen patch updates, no one is mentioning why it is so. Here in this Star Citizen Ship Weapons Master Modes 3.23 Guide, we will be sharing with you all the categories of weapons that are added in the new 3.23 patch. Furthermore, we will also be dipping a bit into Best Ship Weapons 2024 in Star Citizen 3.23 Update.

Keep in mind that we are not here to rank these weapons and tell you which one is better than the other. Rather, we are here to guide you through the best ship weapon categories, and different w.r.t one another.

This will help you pick the right weapons according to your character and the journey you are taking in Star Citizen. So, without any further delay, let’s hop onto the details here.

Ship Weapons Changes in Star Citizen 3.23

It is important to point out the differences in ship weapons recently. With the release of Star Citizen 3.23, the balance of ship weapons has shifted towards some new weapons and old ones as well.

There are new stats, increased ammo count on ballistics, flight changes, aim, and master modes. So, it isn’t a simple argument of using laser repeaters now, as many factors are in play here after Star Citizen 3.23.

To check the ship weapons, you have to use an external app or software, and our stats are based on “erkul.games” as well as “spviewer.eu”.

Star Citizen Ship Weapons Categorized by Size and Product Line

While it would not be fair to just start pointing our weapons, the best policy would be to categorize them. There are many factors of course, but the main ones are the Size and Product Line of the Ship's Weapons that make the most difference.

Ship Weapon Range and Size in Star Citizen 3.23

It tells us where we can fit the weapons and also how far we can shoot with that specific weapon. Following are the Sizes and Range of Ship Weapons in Star Citizen after patch 3.23.

1. Size 1 has a 2000m range

2. Size 2 has a 2300m range

3. Size 3 has a 2600m range

4. Size 4 has a 3000m range

5. Size 5 has a 3300m range

Afterwards, you have to look at the weapon projectile speed. Ranging from 1998 to 3294 range, the projectile speed will always be 1800. But, it depends on the Product Line.

Product Line and Projectile Speed of Ship Weapons in Star Citizen 3.23

The projectile speed is important to understand and take into consideration because it changes how your ship plays in combat by selecting weapons that have the same or close projectile speed. 

This way, you will only have to aim at a single ship rather than shifting between two or more. 

The speed of the projectile coming out from the Ship Weapon in Star Citizen is based on the Product Line, which is as follows.

1. ADxB/C-788, Deadbolt has a projectile speed of 900m/s

2. MxA, Attrition/Dominance, Predator has a projectile speed of 1000m/s

3. Revenant, SW16BRx, Tigerstrike has a projectile speed of 1200m/s

4. DR Model-XJx, Suckerpunch has a projectile speed of 1300m/s

5. NDB/NN, Omnisky, Quarreler has a projectile speed of 1400m/s

6. GT Series, Sword has a projectile speed of 1600m/s

7. CF Series, FL Series, Lightstrike has a projectile speed of 1800m/s

Moving further, the projectile speed isn’t the only thing to look at, there are different animations, spreads, shots over distance when holding the trigger, and so on. These depend on the Product Line as well. You can check them on the aforementioned sites in our Star Citizen Ship Weapons Master Modes 3.23 Guide - Best Ship Weapons 2024.

The highest weapon projectile speed and fire rate of any Laser Cannon is Esperia’s Lightstrikes but it does have the lowest damage per shot. 

On the other hand, the M series have the lowest projectile speed and fire rate, but they do have the highest damage per shot.

Manufacturer Personality - Differences in Manufacturer Ship Weapons

More or less, the manufacturers now have a personality of their own that is seen in the Ship Weapons that they make, which is one of the features of the Star Citizen 3.23 patch update. These personality traits include:

1. Projectile Speed

2. Projectile Spread

3. Damage Per Shot

4. Fire Rate

5. Regen Cost Per Bullet (For Energy Weapons)

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Selecting Energy Weapons in Star Citizen 3.23

When we compare the energy capacity used in contrast to the damage, we come across a comparison that some weapons do make better use of the available energy.

It is not available on the websites that we mentioned at the start of our Star Citizen Ship Weapons Master Modes 3.23 Guide - Best Ship Weapons 2024.

So, we will just calculate it and call it the “damage to energy cost ratio”. You can look at the Regen Pool Size to learn how much capacitor energy your ship has.

On the erkul’s list, you will find it under the Capacity Crew Load tab. This would be your ammo for each energy-based ship gun in Star Citizen.

Note: The more energy weapons you have on your ship, the lower the number of shops each will have. The capacitor energy is shared among all the energy-based weapons on the ship.

Picking the Best Energy Ship Weapon in Star Citizen 3.23

Now that everything is clear, you don’t have to look at only the damage or energy of the weapon, rather you have to pick only one and look at how much energy it costs per shot and in return, how much is the damage.

1. Klaus and Werner CF-337 has 1800m/s projectile speed with 41 damage (Alpha Max) and 41 energy (Regen cost per bullet). So, the ratio here is 41:41, which is 1:1 and the total capacitor damage on the Gladius ship would be 9963.

2. Amon and Reese Co Omnisky-IX have 1400m/s projectile speed with 270 damage (Alpha Max) and 202 energy (Regen cost per bullet). So, the ratio here is 270:202, which is 0.75 and the total capacitor damage on the Gladius ship would be 13,230.

3. Behring M5A has a 1000m/s projectile speed with 506 damage (Alpha Max) and 253 energy (Regen cost per bullet). So, the ratio here is 506:253, which is 0.5 and the total capacitor damage on the Gladius ship would be 19,700.

The CF337 has the highest speed but the least damage, while the Behring M5A has the lowest speed but the highest damage. So, it is only natural that when you hit with an M5A, you have to be careful, but if you do get a clear hit, the damage is unmatched. 

In the end, there is a difference between risk and reward. If you take a risk with a slower and more damage output weapon, you might get a big reward. On the other hand, if you don’t want to take a risk, you can go with a faster one that has lower damage.

Ballistics Ship Weapons in Star Citizen 3.23

Similar to energy weapons, Ballistics come with their own varieties, having fire rate, alpha damage, accuracy, and categorical differences.

You specifically use Ballistics in Star Citizen, when you are targeting components of a ship like the turrets, engine parts, cells, wings, shields, and so on. They can pass through shields as well.

In Star Citizen 3.23, all the ships have 0-30% physical absorption. The hull's physical resistance also comes into consideration here which is somewhat around 50% flat on all the ships.

In short, when you shoot with Ballistics, you will deal less than half the damage.

Furthermore, the good point about Ballistics is that they are quick, much quicker than energy weapons. But, they also generate heat. But, in contrast to the regeneration process of ship capacitors, the cooling process from Ballistics use is much faster.

One more thing to take into account is that the ammo counts are increased for Star Citizen 3.23, but you can still run out of it quickly, and afterward, you can’t do anything.

The damage from Ballistics is also permanent till the enemy ship goes to the base and recovers, which is unlike the Laser Cannons that the enemy ships can regenerate from.

All in all, the best bet would be to pick Laser Cannons with Ballistics on your ship.

Special Ship Weapons in Star Citizen 3.23

Now that we are done with Ballistics and Laser Cannons, the final ones are the Special Weapons that are either removable or not.

1. Behring SF7B - It is a better variant of the ballistic gatlings and doubles the damage in contrast to AD5B. Better heat management and great accuracy spread. 

2. Behring SF7E - Isn’t quite up there but if you are going for a slow and massive ship enemy, then it is quite useful. In 3.23, it has a charge-to-fire mechanic that maximizes the damage and makes it a clear choice for massive ships.

3. Firestorm Rocker Pods (AII) - They are not that great either because of their lower projectile speed and also low 150 damage. 

4. Klaus and Werner Sledge Mass Driver - A ballistic weapon with higher alpha damage, and higher projectile speed. But, they drop down when talking about the range. You have to hold charge and keep hold of the target at the same time, which requires skill and precision. Great for single hit and run.

5. Banu Singe - Quite like the Sledge Mass Drivers, having charge skill and a good projectile speed. The difference here is that these are energy weapons, won’t run out of ammo, and won’t suffer from shield/ballistic damage reduction. 

6. Behring Vanguard Nose (CVSA) - These are size 2, so you can put multiple of them on a Vanguard model. The range is medium, but the speed for ballistics, lasers, and distortions types are 1200, 1000, and 1300 respectively. 

7. Vanduu Plasma/Laser Cannons - These are energy weapons with exceptional energy efficiency and good alpha damage. Also, the speed of the projectile is quite reasonable, around 1400m/s. Size 2 Whip is like M4A, while the Size 1 Weak and Size 2 Wasp are exceptionally well. They have 1800m/s speed, higher damage and higher refire. Fascinatingly, their energy efficiency is around 2 to 1. The only drawback is that they are fixed.

8. ASAD Joker Engineering Distortion - They do shut down the ship engines, but they have zero damage against shields. Projectile of 1300m/s, and cannons with 1:1 energy efficiency, while repeaters from energy 2 to 1 damage.

9. A and R Apocalypse HD Scatterguns - Massive spreads and everything low-descent make it not quite the right weapon. 

Conclusion

Star Citizen 3.23 update has shaken the Ship Weapons in the game for the time being, as the game starts progressing slowly. There is a whole new weapon set, with their own properties. While some of them are great, the others remain relatively bad. Here in our Star Citizen Ship Weapons Master Modes 3.23 Guide, we discussed all the factors to look for, the new ship weapons in Star Citizen 3.23 update, and the best ship weapons in 3.23.