The Gatling Cannon is really not much better than the Flechette. I'd wager that it's the least used gun in all the universe, but maybe it's licenses could be lowered to reflect its... less than vicious reputation.

There's not really a decent way for newbies to level up heavy weapons, so lowering the Gatling Cannon to less than the Devestator is an idea. Somethin' like 2/-/1-/- or even 3/-/2/-/- I'm sure would be a welcome change for those attempting to the grind to decent heavy weapons.

/me agrees agreeably

yup it sucks anyways let newbs handle the wont shoot themselves. :P

lowering the requirements of the gatling cannon would be an incredible disservice to newbs everywhere. Don't do it! newbs are far better off without it. let the gatling cannon rest in peace. forget it exist. if you accidentally buy one, type /explode and pretend it never happened. don't tell anyone. please never mention this weapon again.

Ah, Roda's right. Since we're at it, might as well get rid of Plasma, Ion, Phase, Firefly MIssles, Yellow Jacket Missles, and any gun that isn't the highest Mk available. (With certain exceptions where a lower Mk is potentially useful, such as the Neut II.)

By the way, I was being satirical.

hmmm what roda said was not only informative,funny and surprisingly not insulting

did he blow a fuse or something sounds like we need a new roda
:p

He is right to an extent. Like some other things, the gatling cannon *can* be more of a crutch than a teaching tool.

Might as well name the weapon "Don't Buy Me".

I agree the levels should be lowered. We need a weak heavy energy weapon sooner than the plasma dev. I think the requirements should be 2/1/1/-/-.

Gatling Cannon a crutch? It has less auto aim than any other large port weapon, save maybe rocket launchers... The Gatling Turret is a crutch. I'd say the Cannon is more of a training weight.

umm, gat cannon would not make a good newbie weapon. It's sloppy, inaccurate, and completely lacking in any kind of autoaim. The goal should be to introduce weapons for newbies that teach them skills such as aiming, so they're better prepared to move up the ladder when their levels rise... the gat does not do that.

I know we've discussed this topic at least twice before, and I'm going to say the same thig in this thread as I did in the other two:

give the newbies an L-port plasma cannon weapon that allows them to make use of the L-port for something other than missiles. Make it lvl 1/0/1/0/0, and make it about the same as the plasma III, but with a slightly bigger bolt and slightly more damage per shot for slightly more energy. This has also been discussed before in another thread....

With the gat cannon, just beef the damn thing... the biggest fallback of the gat is that it draws far more energy than it's worth. Reduce the energy draw and maybe turn up the rate of fire a bit, and the gat can become useful in some situations.

Whoa whoa whoa... how on earth will fighting with a Gatling Cannon teach you to aim less?

Because you can't aim a gatling cannon. The only workable method for using it is to get in close and shoot mindlessly hoping for it to hit out of pure luck. It has NO ACCURACY, therefore, trying to aim it is useless, and using it will not help you practice your aim.

Okay, if flying such that your ship is a certain distance away from your target, and that your nose is pointed straight where the target's going to be to score a hit isn't what you consider aiming, then what is? Gatling Turret Prom?

Cunjo only falls back on the AGT prom when he's feeling like a purist. Otherwise, the chaos swarms constitute his idea of "aiming."

Idiot, the gat turret has something like 10 degrees of eccentricity in its firing pattern. The accuracy is terrible. You could point at a cent, sitting perfectly still only 200m away, unleash a stream of gat fire, and miss every shot, because the gat sprays them every which direction rather than in a predictable straight line.

10 degrees of eccentricity? Hum, I thought you were saying that the Gatling Cannon had *no* accuracy whatsoever, and therefor aiming wasn't possible, but since aiming apparently is possible, then I suppose, using your logic, learning to use the Gatling Cannon would indeed force one to learn the habits of aiming.

Besides, if the AGT fired in a straight line, it would be easier to aim, and therefor easier to dodge, idiot.

Without mentioning any names, I agree with Mynt... whoops!

Please refrain from name-calling or I will be forced to report you to the crazy police.

I think a spray 'n pray weapon like the gat is perfect for the newbs. Heck, why not nerf it slightly and let it fill that level 0 L-port gun void? Many new players seem to find combat discouraging because of the high degree of accuracy required, and a cone of fire weapon might be a little more forgiving. Getting familiarized with one's environment comes before sharpshooting, after all. Those that pick up the skill of aiming quickly will be that much better off, but why deny the less adept a crutch? Are we trying to include or alienate people from the game?

Variety of balanced weaponry > single weapon type

Well-spoken, PhaserLight

Do you even know what the word eccentricity means, mynt?

"Those that pick up the skill of aiming quickly will be that much better off, but why deny the less adept a crutch? Are we trying to include or alienate people from the game?"

But why force everyone to use the crutch when some people would rather just walk? The only way to learn better aiming skills is to use something that demands them.

The newbs alrady have a crutch; it's the stingray missile. Since it's entirely fire and forget, all they have to do is target and pull the trigger.

The whole reason I wanted something better than the stingray as a newb was that I wanted something with some semblance of accuracy, and the gat does NOT deliver that. Even as an experienced player you're forced to take a lot of damage to use the gat effectively... I wouldn't want to subject our newbs to that, especially if they have no other alternative.

Giving newbs a gat to fight dentek collectors is only going to frustrate them more. If given a choice between a plasma cannon and a gat, I garuntee they'll go to the cannon. If it's an aiming crutch they need, then better AutoAim is the answer, NOT spray and pray.