[Slick]

The most common I've seen is damage/(turn * kt).

In unmodded SE4, there are only a few weapons that have bonuses so that isn't normally used.

Throwing range in there would kinda work too but there is lots of variability in how damage changes with range so this somewhat muddies the waters.

There is no real "best" weapon. Favorites are:

Phased Poloron Beams - skips normal shields, relatively cheap to research, relatively good range.

Anti Proton Beam - longer range advantage reaches out and touches enemy earlier, usually.

Depleted Uranium Cannon - can't beat them for early firepower.

Shield Depleter - add to later designs, add them before other weapons so they fire first. Extends the life and effectiveness of other weapons.

Ionic Dispersers - leave your enemy immobile. No longer skips shields, but one of these on a ship will usually imobilize an enemy once shields are down.

A favorite research path for non-racials is to go with DUC in early game, PPB in mid game and SD/PPB or SD/APB in late game. At worst, you'd be average with this plan.



There are some good racial weapons and combos too:

Talisman with anything.

Crystal: Shield Depleters then Shard Cannon - removes shields quickly then skips armor. Deadly to organic enemies.

You get the idea; mix and match to get the best you can out of your racial weapons.

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However if you get fixated on any combo, your opponents can design ships that specifically attack your weaknesses and are resistant to your strengths. Best bet is to stay flexible and adapt to your enemies. Taking Religious is a sure way to get ganged up on by everyone before you can research the talisman, which many consider greatly unbalancing.