CATEGORY gm_cat_combat|manual_combat|Combat|game_mechanics

CURRENT_CATEGORY gm_cat_combat

BEGIN gm_damage_types|Damage types
All damage types deal {{100%}} damage against hull, subject to the residual armor value. In addition:
IMAGE ui|icon_high_explosive
{{High Explosive}} damage deals {{200%}} vs armor, and {{50%}} vs shields. The shots tend to be yellow.
IMAGE ui|icon_kinetic
{{Kinetic}} damage deals {{200%}} vs shields, and {{50%}} vs armor. The shots tend to be white.
IMAGE ui|icon_energy
{{Energy}} damage deals {{100%}} vs both shields and armor. Weapons with a higher hit strength tend to be flux-inefficient.
IMAGE ui|icon_fragmentation
{{Fragmentation}} damage deals {{25%}} vs shields and armor. Weapons dealing this type of damage often have high DPS and flux efficiency. The shots tend to be red.
END

BEGIN gm_armor|Armor
ICON manual_armor
#==Damage reduction==
Armor reduces the damage taken from all hits and beam attacks, based on the armor remaining in the cell that is hit and in the nearby armor cells, and on the {{hit strength}} of the attack. The maximum damage reduction from armor is {{85%}}.

A ship can have its armor destroyed in one location, but still have full armor in another. Rotating the ship to take damage on intact armor is often effective.
==Hit strength==
Weapons with a higher per-shot damage deal more damage vs armor. The {{rel:gm_damage_types|high explosive}} damage type is particularly helpful, but high-damage energy weapons can easily destroy armor as well. The hit strength of beam weapons is based on their DPS.
==Residual armor==
Even after armor is completely stripped away, {{5%}} of it still applies to the damage taken by the hull for the purpose of damage reduction. This makes ships with high base armor less vulnerable to low-damage, rapid fire weapons, even after their armor is breached.
END

BEGIN gm_shields|Shields
ICON manual_shields
RELATED gm_damage_types|gm_flux
Damage taken by shields raises the ship's {{rel:gm_flux|hard flux}} level, and will cause the ship to {{rel:gm_venting|overload}} if the flux level maxes out. The hard flux level is indicated by a small notch on the ship's flux bar. Hard flux does not dissipate while the shields are up.

Just keeping shields on has a flux cost equal to a fraction of the ship's base flux dissipation rate. The flux level won't actually increase from it alone, but it reduces the ship's ability to dissipate the {{rel:gm_flux|soft flux}} generated by firing weapons. Lowering shields {{increases the ship's firepower}} in the long term.
END


BEGIN gm_flux|Flux
ICON manual_flux
RELATED codex_weapon_harpoon
Firing weapons or taking damage on shields raises the ship's flux level. If flux maxes out, the ship will be unable to fire its weapons, and taking more damage on the shields will {{rel:gm_venting|overload}} the ship. Flux dissipates continually at the ship's flux dissipation rate, and a ship can actively {{rel:gm_venting|vent}} flux to speed up the process.

==Hard flux==
Damage taken by {{rel:gm_shields|shields}} raises the ship's {{rel:gm_flux|hard flux}} level. The hard flux level is indicated by a small notch on the ship's flux bar. Hard flux does not dissipate while the shields are up.

Regular flux is sometimes called {{soft flux}}, to differentiate it from hard flux.
END

BEGIN gm_venting|Venting and overloading
ICON manual_venting
==Venting==
A venting ship dissipates {{rel:gm_flux|flux}} at twice the normal rate. The ship is unable to fire weapons or use its shields or other defenses, but can still move normally.

Venting makes a ship vulnerable, and ships will usually only vent while they are relatively safe, unless the situation is desperate. Heavily armored ships are often willing to take some armor damage while venting.

==Overloading==
An overloaded ship is unable to fire weapons or use its shields or other defenses, but can still move normally. Flux dissipates at half the normal rate while the ship is overloaded.

The duration of an overload depends on the amount of damage taken by shields that made the ship exceed its maximum flux capacity.

Overloaded ships usually try to back off to safety, and are a common target for salvoes of finisher missiles such as Harpoons.

END

BEGIN gm_ballistics|Ballistic weapons
ICON manual_ballistic_weapons
Ballistic weapons tend to be longer ranged than their energy counterparts, and generally do {{rel:gm_damage_types|Kinetic}} or {{rel:gm_damage_types|High Explosive}} damage, allowing for specialization against {{rel:gm_shields|shields}} and {{rel:gm_armor|armor}}.
END

BEGIN gm_energies|Energy weapons
ICON manual_energy_weapons
{{color:text|Energy}} weapons tend to be shorter ranged than their ballistic counterparts, and generally do {{rel:gm_damage_types|Energy}} damage, which is equally effective against all defenses but does not counter any of them very well. There is some variety in damage types, however, and higher hit strength energy weapons are still highly effective against {{rel:gm_armor|armor}}.

==Beam weapons==
Beam weapons are often very long-ranged - exceeding even the typical ranges of {{rel:gm_ballistics|ballistic}} weapons - but only deal {{rel:gm_flux|soft flux}} damage to {{rel:gm_shields|shields}}.

Despite this, they are still very useful; they're just not going to defeat shields on their own unless employed in overwhelming numbers.
END

BEGIN gm_missiles|Missile weapons
ICON manual_missiles
Missiles tend to have limited ammo, but there are many options that fill different roles. A ship with more missile slots offers more versatility in its loadouts and has more freedom to specialize or shore up its weaknesses.

Some missiles, such as {{rel:codex_weapon_reaper|Reaper}} torpedo, allow small ships to be a major threat to larger ships - until their ammo runs out!
END








