Fire-linked?

[pwcroft]

What's the advantage of unlinking fire-linked weapons? If the weapon doesn't have a fire rate, I don't see an advantage of unlinking them. It's going to be able to get multiple attacks in a round if the gunner chooses, regardless. Except that by keeping them linked, the weapon deals more damage. Is there any rationale to unlinking them?

[Hellcat]

I'm not finding any rules on the advantage to unlinking. But in the X-wing and TIE Fighter video games the advantage is recycle time and energy used. Having the cannons linked allows for a single burst of all cannons that deals more damage but drains energy to them faster which can cause a longer recharge time to full power. Unliked does less damage and uses less energy, a quick burst of fire can recharge faster to full or you can hold fire on target a lot longer before energy is drained and you have to wait for it to recharge. Plus the mode of fire needs a certain amount of energy before it can be used. For an X-wing in single fire more it requires less energy to fire the lasers than it does in twin fire and quad fire modes. If you can get of eight shots in quad mode before you completely run out of energy to the lasers and have to wait for them to recharge, you can get of sixteen in twin fire mode and thirty-two in single fire mode.

It would probably have to be a house rule. You can get off X number of shots in a round but it takes X number of rounds to recharge with the recharge rate being higher on fire-linked than on unlinked. Or it's just X number of shots.
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[pwcroft]

Maybe the simplest advantage being that if one laser gets destroyed, there are others remaining -- reduced damage per the combined action rules.

[Lostboy]

I always assume that unlinking weapons increases fire rate, so a fire linked x-wing has a fire rate of 1. 2 for twin fire and 4 for unlinked or chain fire.

[pwcroft]

But there's no fire rate on them to start with.

[atgxtg]

What I've done, based on the old X-Wing PC game, was to assume that unlinking weapons would allow one to switch the bonus from damage to fire control.

Fo example and X-Wing has 4 laser cannons (4D damage with +2D bonus from linking, according to how linking works).

If fired in sequence raqther than all at once, it would only do 4D damage, but get a 2D bonus to fire controil. If fired in pairs it would do 5D damage, but get a +1D to fire control.

THe increased FC tranlates into a hire rate of fire in game terms, and imporved chanced to hit. Especially if the pilot opts to make mutliple attacks, as the FC bonus helps to offset multiaction penalties.

[Gry Sarth]

That's a very good system!
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[pwcroft]

Wouldn't the damage bonus for 4 linked lasers only be 1D+1, per the R&E rules? I full die for each 3 combined elements, and a pip per extra.

[Lostboy]

I think it's 4d+1

[garhkal]

Depends on which system you use. 2nd ed base iir had it where 4 people made 2d bonus.. so 4 lasers would give 2d dam. R&E has it each person adds 1 pip period.
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[pwcroft]

So, according to R&E -- 4 combined lasers would do an additional 1D+1 damage, correct?

[Raven Redstar]

No, it would be +1D. 1 pip for each beyond the first.

[pwcroft]

Ahhh...

So, in the alternative rules above -- if fire-link were disengaged, then each laser cannon would have an added fire control rating of +1D, but reduced damage of -1D. Yeah?

[atgxtg]