Asgard Beam weapon vs Drones. which is the all around better weapon

[FN-P90]

To me it seems that the beam weapons have a clear advantage to the drones being that they travel at the speed of light (i think, im not sure if they are actully directed lazer beams that they made where you can see just because it is more pleasing to the eye) and unlike the drones cannot be shot down. but clearly the drones have several advantages as well, such as their ability to be aimed at a very certian target and being able to go threw shields.

What are your thoughts on this?

[apollo22]

for one, the drones have the advantage that you mentioned, very accurate and able to bypass shields. the asgard beams on the other hand are also very powerful. for one they are not lasers, so they don't go at the speed of light. they are made of plasma. the thing that makes them more powerful than the asgard predecessor, is instead of a blob of plasma, it is more like a stream and that puts more pressure on a small area that overwhelms the shield, this is why they were so effective against the ori ships because with the blob kind which most races have, the energy gets dispersed when it hits.

[Ouroboros]

Asgard beams don't travel anywhere near the speed of light, I wouldn't be surprised if drones would actually come out faster in some situations, like in the ground to orbit attacks.

[FN-P90]

for one, the drones have the advantage that you mentioned, very accurate and able to bypass shields. the asgard beams on the other hand are also very powerful. for one they are not lasers, so they don't go at the speed of light. they are made of plasma. the thing that makes them more powerful than the asgard predecessor, is instead of a blob of plasma, it is more like a stream and that puts more pressure on a small area that overwhelms the shield, this is why they were so effective against the ori ships because with the blob kind which most races have, the energy gets dispersed when it hits.

Should have figured they were made of plasma

[Buba uognarf]

They both have significant advantages so I'll try and break it down into + and - as I see it;

Asgard Beams:

+ Unlimited ammo (as long as you have power)
+ More powerful per single shot

- Requires line of sight
- Cannot be fitted on small ships


Drones:

+ Pinpoint accuracy
+ Able to target multiple enemies at once
+ No need for line of sight
+ Can be fitted on ships as small as puddle jumpers
+ Only a few are needed to equal the damage of the beams.

- Chance of interception (only this has only been seen with other drones)
- Limitied ammunition


For me if you've got the capability to build more I'd take the drones.

[thekillman]

well see it this way:

Aurora :can take out fleets of ships but runs out of ammo
304: can take on ships rapidly and has formidable weapons which kill rapidly, with infinite ammo.


the million dollar question is: what is the target? drones can be used en masse and can take out fleets of ships, but beams are somewhat stronger and can take out ships rather fast.

the difference is numbers. a drone carrier can take out fleets and runs out, but a warship with beams can take out infinite amounts of ships but not take them on all at once

[Buba uognarf]

well see it this way:

Aurora :can take out fleets of ships but runs out of ammo
304: can take on ships rapidly and has formidable weapons which kill rapidly, with infinite ammo.


the million dollar question is: what is the target? drones can be used en masse and can take out fleets of ships, but beams are somewhat stronger and can take out ships rather fast.

the difference is numbers. a drone carrier can take out fleets and runs out, but a warship with beams can take out infinite amounts of ships but not take them on all at once

I think it depends on the situation. Although in general I would take drones if I can build more.

Drones also have the plus of launching a huge swarm of drones at once to obliterate a target when if you were using the beams you'd be restricted by the rate of fire.

[Mclean]

They are both extremely powerful weapons and have their own advantages.

The drones can be more accurate and when fired in a swarm can easily overwhelm most enemies They can also be fitted on PJ's and can be made even smaller into anti-infintary drones (as seen in the episode "Harmony"). Also an individual drone can cause multiple hits before it's destroyed. The downside is that they are limited in numbers and can be destroyed by darts making suicide runs at them. Also they require a launch time which can delay the time of attack (if you are attacked without warning then you have a delay before the drones are launched).

The beam weapon (as long as you have power) cannot depleted. The power of the shot can also be adjusted, so you can fire at full power and cause a lot of damage or you can power the weapon down and try and disable your target. The downside is the beams have a recharge rate that causes a time delay between shots. Also as the beam weapon is connected to the main power of a 304, when shields are failing, they are often sacrificed and taken off-line to allow the ship a chance to escape.

[thekillman]

drones when in their superaccurate mode require chairs, which suck up immense amounts of power. beam cannons just require sensors, power and a fire button

[Buba uognarf]

drones when in their superaccurate mode require chairs, which suck up immense amounts of power. beam cannons just require sensors, power and a fire button

But does the chair require more power than multiple beam shots? PJ can fire drones accurately without loads of power.

They are both extremely powerful weapons and have their own advantages.

The drones can be more accurate and when fired in a swarm can easily overwhelm most enemies They can also be fitted on PJ's and can be made even smaller into anti-infintary drones (as seen in the episode "Harmony"). Also an individual drone can cause multiple hits before it's destroyed. The downside is that they are limited in numbers and can be destroyed by darts making suicide runs at them. Also they require a launch time which can delay the time of attack (if you are attacked without warning then you have a delay before the drones are launched).

The beam weapon (as long as you have power) cannot depleted. The power of the shot can also be adjusted, so you can fire at full power and cause a lot of damage or you can power the weapon down and try and disable your target. The downside is the beams have a recharge rate that causes a time delay between shots. Also as the beam weapon is connected to the main power of a 304, when shields are failing, they are often sacrificed and taken off-line to allow the ship a chance to escape.

We've never seen Drones being intercepted by Darts, beam weapons aren't instant fire either.

[thekillman]

1 beam shot=5-10 drones. roughly, deriving this from the attacks on hives. ( the orion fired an overkill shot, half the drones wouldve done the same. which suggests much more powerfull hives during the Lantean era)

so if 3 drones= dead ha'tak, then 1 beam= uberdead ha'tak. if 7-8 shots kill an ori mothership, then an orion volley would kill an ori mothership. that volley was somewhere between a low 40 and a high 100.

[Buba uognarf]

1 beam shot=5-10 drones. roughly, deriving this from the attacks on hives. ( the orion fired an overkill shot, half the drones wouldve done the same. which suggests much more powerfull hives during the Lantean era)

I think 10 drones would be more damaging then a beam but thats just my opinion. The Orion fired a serious overkill shot, its possible Hives back in the war era were tougher. It would be foolish of the Wraith to have farming ships when they're fighting the Ancients.

[thekillman]

I think 10 drones would be more damaging then a beam but thats just my opinion. The Orion fired a serious overkill shot, its possible Hives back in the war era were tougher. It would be foolish of the Wraith to have farming ships when they're fighting the Ancients.

well yea. seeing what the superhive could do, its probably much closer to the Lantean Era hives than current day ones.

10 drones as a maximum. but whatever, an asgard ship with asgard version of such drones would do terrifying damage, just as an ancient ship with an ancient version of the APBW's would do terrible damage.

[Buba uognarf]

well yea. seeing what the superhive could do, its probably much closer to the Lantean Era hives than current day ones.

10 drones as a maximum. but whatever, an asgard ship with asgard version of such drones would do terrifying damage, just as an ancient ship with an ancient version of the APBW's would do terrible damage.

Well we've seen Ancient beam weapons able to be powered by a measely mark I naquadah generator why they're not on ships is a mystery.

[Ouroboros]

I wonder why nobody's hit on the idea yet of using the Asgard "make anything wonder machine" to create infinite drone reloads for a 304. The fact they run out is the biggest weakness of drones, so why not scan one into the wondermachine and you end up with an unlimited supply for the ship right?

I'd probably rather do it with Mk9s though. Drones are nice but I'm oldschool in the sense that I'd rather fire a wave of ridicuously over the top nukes at something. Afterall you can't use drones to destroy an unwanted planetary biosphere in a matter of minutes.