Best Weapons Loadout Guide for Bounty Hunting - ERT VHRT Star Citizen 3.23 Lasers vs. Ballistics

Hi all, after dozens of Bounty Hunting Missions and testing various ships and weapons combinations, this is my kick-off for the Bounty Hunting Series. Do we have a Laser Cannon Meta? According to Calculation and Erkul data we should have. However after hours of testing, every Weapon seems to have its use. Well done CIG !!
As I got asked this many times, yes I am working on a new Tier List video, but this requires some additional ingame footage and more ships tested. So stay tuned :)

0:00 Intro
0:19 Ballistics vs Lasers
1:13 Depending on ship used
1:33 Conclusion of best loadouts
1:42 C1 Laser Cannons MRT
2:23 Cutlass Black Mixed Loadout MRT
3:20 C1 Laser Cannons HRT
4:04 F7A Hornet MK2 Laser Scatterguns HRT
4:35 F7A Hornet MK2 Laser Scatterguns VHRT
5:48 F7A Hornet MK2 Laser Scatterguns ERT fail
6:22 Origin 600i Laser Cannons VHRT
7:11 Constellation Deadbolt Ballistic Cannons ERT
8:09 Constellation AD5B Ballistic Gatlings ERT
9:23 Always use your Missiles
10:22 Ares Inferno ERT
11:13 Discussing more ships
12:00 Conclusion

[ferone]

I was using 4× size 5 omnisky and 2x size 4 revenant on my Corsair for hrt. You still have 2 lead pips due to velocity differences but they are usually close enough to split the difference and hit with both.
I just unlocked the vhrt missions and changed to all ballistic cannons so i can go full shields. Still new to the game and trying to better use the power triangle during fights though. I can chain 2-4 vhrt with all ballistics before needing to reload depending on if I only hit the primary target or also hit the escorts.
I open with missiles if I can with the forward shield slightly increased then begin back strafing when they start to come at me.
Apparently, cig considers back strafing a problem so they will nerf that. Then side strafing will be a problem so they will nerf that and eventually you'll only be able to attack at speed going forward which brings us back to jousting 😂 full circle circus 🎪.

[ricardofigueroa]

Thank you very much for the breakdown. This is great!

[swegfesh]

In ERT i use the buccaneer with all MX cannons. Snipe turrets on hammerhead and just destroy everything else outright.

Scatterguns are trash at ranges over 400m vs big targets and 200m vs small. And if you're doing ERT most targets are big, BUT the servers are shit and the ships can teleport backwards sometime so you don't want to stay that close to them incase they teleport into you.

Also, try not to yaw. Roll and use pitch with up and down lateral movement instead. If you yaw you get less turn rate and add instability on various ships.

[kirawynteal]

Great video! Very informative. Ballistics are so much fun to use, but the ammo efficiency on them is horrendous. Having to use half your ammo to take out one target makes them a pain!

[LA_]

Unfortunately, the Corsair is one of the strongest ships, even in solo play. Otherwise, I also like to use the Scorp with 4x S3 Laser Canons solo, it doesn't do much damage and I like the option of being able to do something with two people. Unfortunately, the Ion currently feels totally rubbish with the new mechanics (I love the charged shot, but you should just be able to hold it for a few seconds) and the Inferno is still ok but unfortunately not nearly as good as it was before I then play it with 2x S5 torps to get straight ships of the 400, Cutty Steel (a real measurement because of the large ship hp) and the like

[MrEngenz]

I switched to Typhoons. They seem to ignore them

[VoltKraken]

How about mixed loadouts? Laser cannons + ballistic cannons. More capacitor for the lasers than running full laser cannons. For the vanguards maybe 4 MVSA and a deadbolt V.

[reltius]

I’m having 100% success rate with Typhoon torpedos on ERTs. Always one shots them.

[valderhide]

I'm surprised you didn't test out the F8C, assuming that you have it

[Bombastic]

I tested the Eclipse with Invictus and it misses 1 time by 3. But maybe it is because of the torpedo type.
It could work better with other torpedo choice.
And some repeaters are bad. For example, i tried Gladius with 3 panther repeaters on HRT and i had hard time with them.
Maybe Attrition works better.

[igamewhenimbored]

I can't find any information on the size 9 torpedoes in 3.23. how are you supposed to use them against hammerheads, every torpedo ive fired has been shot down

[eziiii]

i agree with all but the Ion. that poor ship so ripped into so hard. and the mechanic of the gun feels like dogshit. they nerfed her again for no reason. Camural made a perfect video of how bad she is now.

[yamahamadness]

I have a Taurus was thinking attrition 5 laser repeaters and rattler 2 rockets ? What would u recommend if not for most dps

[Merlin-]

yea not gonna take advice from a guy who plays with default vjoy...
and u shoot a 400i with gimbaled guns like seriously loosing 1/3 of your dps, maybe that is why you are recommending ballistics for ERTs???
If you play anything else besides m7a or m6a for ERT you are doing it wrong.

[JetSeer]

CIG really needs to change the sound effects for the large guns to make them more impactful. The gatling gun sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

[Broomtwo]

I am having huge success using all deadbolt ballistic cannons for solo ERT's using my Buccaneer. Deadbolts are definitely the way to go for big targets, they have the most possible damage before having to re-stock.

[lokthalas]

I do ERTs on a full M7A Taurus, Just stay behind/bellow ships and beware for the Corsair (don't stay on its nose or it will shred you in less than 10 secs)

EDIT: 2 days after this post and after reaching Bounty hunter guild steward rank and Master hunter rank, I think i will stick to VHRTs for now (17k aUEC)

2 main reasons:

- I dont wanna deal with redeemers and corsairs anymore. (if there are both in the same ERT, just leave! no matter what you fly)
- Ranking system doesnt give extra money or extra bounties (you can have bounties without certifications as we used to)

PS: i'm sticking with The M7A for now, though I admit they kind of boring when facing a 890 or a Hammerhead.

[ehdyhdfgh]

Tried deadbolts on my connie, which was pretty cool and good, but I simply can't take the QoL hit going from laser cannons. I really want to see a way to buy ammo and store it as SCU on your ship. Needing a crew, or time between fights to reload.

But for now, M7A taurus is my choice.

[reltius]

Tried F8C with laser cannons, scatter guns, mass drivers, and finally the deadbolt ballistic cannons which was miles better than anything else

[PlayerSlotAvailable]

I seriously ask this ridiculous question. How possible do you think it is to use a Drake Dragonfly or Nox for bounties? Before master modes I used the Nox for LRTs, but gave up progressing due to frequent bugs (not related to combat though, but not finding the ship I transported the nox in).
How high of a bounty do you think you could go? Especially with the circling technique, which should be very possible in a snub like the hoverbikes.