Elite Dangerous Railguns vs Imperial Hammers

G’day everyone.
Today I am going to talk about Railguns and Imperial hammers and discuss the pros and cons of each system.
I have wanted to do more Engineers Beta videos, but I am having constant update problems, so I havent been able to spend enough time in game to collect footage. So, please bear with me..
Link to Kornelius Briedis video on Railgun and Imperial Hammer damage
• Elite: Dangerous. Rail...
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[@Quicksilver_Cookie]

For those of you watching at this time - railguns and imperial hammers had their ammo reserves bumped to 80 and 240 rounds respectively. Making both of them much more viable choice for PVE players. Other points in a video pretty much still hold up.

[@K1lostream]

It's amazing to see you getting annoyed with yourself for the occasional miss - I'm still feeling pleased with myself for the occasional hit!

[@turih]

That first NPC in RES site lol. Ctvrtka masla ("čtvrtka másla" in proper spelling)=quarter of a butter.

[@TheCzechmate007]

😂 toho jsem si nevšiml...

[@psyantologist]

Your logo bar is blocking the targets hull indicator from view a lot ^^ looks pretty though!

[@ramadansteve1715]

I actually kinda like the heat build of the rails, it makes the perfect compliment to overcharged thermal conduit beams Just bring an AFMU lol

[@BugInJim]

"Tom Baker was my Doctor Who".... +1, mine as well.

[@MrTimjm009]

So what i take from that is , 1 big shot vs 3 smaller ones. The hammer seems better choice if you tend to miss more. This was why I gave up on rail guns and single fire cannons. Slow reload and carefull aim is needed. Also better for bigger targets. since they do the damage. If you get in close you should be ok. Plus there is the heat issue . You need to use a heat sink before you use the weapon .

[@enguehard]

This was an excellent video! Very informative and unbiased with excellent production value! I really found this helpful, so thank you!

[@ToCoSo]

dude top quality vid, glad you are enjoying yourself again mate, love the visuals

[@VindicatorJones]

+tomcooksound Thanks mate ;)

[@Moozart]

Always great videos from you, Jonesy!

[@ugowar]

LOL, 5:25 Noam Chomsky.

[@ryanstreeval4935]

Then 4 years later Netflix makes an animated series and names one of the characters gnome chompsky xD

[@eva2602]

did you know that deploying a heatsink adds an extra "invisible" pip to your systems that boosts your recharge rate slightly for half a second?

[@PatrickHenry0]

5:11 Bob Ross wants to know what treats you carry

[@xavierh.5102]

thanks for this! i was wondering which one i should get if i wanted rail guns currently. it looks like if your doing an all imperial hammer/railgun loadout you want your hardpoints to be mostly heat sinks.

[@VindicatorJones]

+Xavier H. Imperial hammers will run you slightly hotter, Railguns are a little bit cooler, I should have put it in the video, but I really didnt notice until after everything was done.

[@CrashHarper]

Toms My Dr!! Your Awesome!

[@Rehopez]

The production of this was great! Explained very well too. Good job mate.

[@HotaruZoku]

Did you do all the graphic design for this? This video is beautiful. If you did this alone, I'd pay good money for a whole graphic design class, let alone one in editing. And hang on...I had no IDEA that's how heat sinks work. Probably...because that's utterly counter intuitive. You slap the button and you end up with a small window of constant heat dissipation? There is NO part of the devices description that suggests that's how they work. And that changes quite a lot, in my eyes.

[@VindicatorJones]

lol, thanks for that. Yes, I did everything in the video, except the graphic of the python. I grabbed that from reddit I think. The thing is, my real life job is a motion graphics designer, so I kinda do this thing for a living, just with boring corporate stuff instead.

[@HotaruZoku]

WEll it shows. You ever want to retire and start taking video commissions, let the world know such that we may benefit from your artistry.

[@combustiblefire5510]

Great tips, this will help me choose

[@CONTINGENCY_sys]

Looks like Rails are easier to maintain thermal dynamics over Hammers, Hammers fire like flak cannons in sequence / timing. A bit of upgrades you could dial those hammers in for thermal on the ship paired for some 3 shot, thermal clip release, repeat sequencing with easy maintain by repetition. Have fun o7 looks cool. I'll have to see what I need to get the hammers to try them out and see how it fits my flight parameters.

[@kaseymathew1893]

New info from 2021: the current Community Goal offers a reward in the form of a "standard" railgun pre-engineered to grade 5 with Long Range, High Capacity, AND Feedback Cascade.

[@NeoAemaeth]

And we actually got two of those because of a bug. They are absolutely amazing if your build can overcome the incredibly high power draw.

[@randomuser2461]

Does the imperial hammer penetrate and hit multiple targets without superpenetrator or do you need the mod for that? I'm confused on how it works. Can I hit multiples without superpenetrator?

[@fire_ant_187x7]

Not sure how the hammers were back then but I can hold the trigger down and it will continue to fire in three burst shots

[@guardian1128]

How do they fire so fast, i had 4 imperial hammers on my FDL and they took several seconds after pressing the fire button before actually firing and usually missing by then.... :o

[@benniebees]

Have they also changed the module damage mechanics for the rail besides the ammo? Why would there be a "super penetrator" experimental effect if they already work like suggested in the video?

[@nerodelacroix9281]

Hey man nice vid. How did you change the ai voice tho?

[@VindicatorJones]

You can get voice attack plugins from here www.hcsvoicepacks.com/

[@Kamza_]

Hey, great videos. Im trying to lean to stay on target like u do but I am having a bit hard time even with eagle. Espeecialy when we go stright at each other. Do u mind setting up a keypress overlay for your videos? I think that would help more ppl to understand how u fly so well.

[@VindicatorJones]

I would love to. I have tried to set this up, but I cant find anything that will work with my joystick the x-52 Pro

[@Kamza_]

I did some quick research on it myself unforutnately couldnt find anything either... pitty. Anyway keep those great videos up!

[@joshm3484]

Why not take one of each? I've never understood why so many commanders believe they need symmetrical weapons loadouts.

[@EpicWinNoob]

Ah ye, back when bringing pp to 0 either outright killed an npc ship or powered it down enough it was a sitting duck. What we have now are NPCs that run on magic fairy dust and a PP at 0% means nothing to them.

[@Antifaith29]

Hey thats something Ive always been curious about. If youre targeting modules with fixed weapons.. I mean is there any point to that? Does it still kinda target the module? I was thinking since it's fixed you're basically the one aiming it so is there any point? Apologies if you discussed it, I'm watching this video while working so only getting bits and pieces.

[@VindicatorJones]

You still get some convergence when using fixed weapons and selecting internal modules. So yes, it can still be effective if your able to hold your aim on that point. Sure gimballed will be able to track it, but with the gimballed wabble, also makes it just as hard to hit the module anyway. It all depends on your playstyle, and how good you are at holding your target.

[@linearj2951]

THE Doctor Who! (Also a long time fan of Tom Baker)

[@sabatheus]

Four for the win.

[@TheGamerTim]

Pretty sparks * . *

[@Spideryote]

You question the might of the Imperium?

[@neb1006]

What ship are you using in this?

[@fire_ant_187x7]

It's in the diagram where it shows his Shield. It's the fer-de-lance

[@RagnarCzerwony]

Seems not worth waiting and digging reputation for the hammers. Only slight difference in dps and still the same weapon model.

[@TheLampMan-JaE]

If you put full "Ammo capacity" on the hammers it will shoot more times! At least it used too...

[@fire_ant_187x7]

My hammers continuously fire in 3 burst shots when I hold the trigger and I don't have what you said🤔 Unless you mean the burst go up to 4, 5 or 6 shots per burst

[@andrewmarshall2075]

Love the Tom Baker

[@anthrazite]

When I strap 4 railguns to my FDL, one shot brings my heat to over 100%. What kinda heat management did you use apart from the heat sinks?

[@VindicatorJones]

Since 2.2 railguns now generate more heat and are now not viable when firing more than 2 of them. Sorry!

[@anthrazite]

Vindicator Jones That's a completely unneccessary debuff. No one has only 1 railgun on their ship... they could just nerf damage and power draw a bit instead. I'll ask Frontier about that

[@VindicatorJones]

Problem is, Railguns were completely OP in PVP, and people were creating silent running builds with ridiculous amounts of Railguns. The idea is to only really have up to 2 railguns with a mix of other weapons. I wouldnt bother, it was a very hot topic on the forums for quite a while, but the nerf is here to stay.

[@anthrazite]

Vindicator Jones I wouldn't exactly call railguns + silent running OP, you have to aim, 31 shots and you can't stay in silent running forever. Well, sad to see that they completely ruined railguns, such an awesome weapon.

[@KurtAustin2448]

I use a pair of rail guns on my FDL. As long as I don't get greedy with my shots, they work great. I use them only when my target's shields are down for maximum effect.

[@earningattorney9887]

Hey guys I've got to find a way to get vind to respond. wait, I know! The Ferd-A-Lance sucks.

[@VindicatorJones]

+Earning Attorney `sound of crickets`

[@earningattorney9887]

Vindicator Jones you replieds so success.

[@hadinossanosam4459]

It is spelled Fer-de-lance afaik...

[@earningattorney9887]

Hadinos Sanosam its spelled Fee Das Scrublant

[@Sir-Complains-a-Lot]

pretty sure Noam Chomsky doesnt play elite ;-/

[@Ueberdoziz]

i clicked the like button... awww that felt guud :3

[@VindicatorJones]

+Ueberdoziz Just make sure you clean up the mess before you leave :P

[@Just_som_Ottur]

+Vindicator Jones 0_0 That didn't teach THAT in my flight class.. What school did you attend?

[@bushyfromoz8834]

+Vindicator Jones Dude, get on TS and teach FatYak how to play this game again mate =D

[@MFCGAMING-st5gj]

all beautiful, but always and only in RES but in CZ ??? in RES always 1 vs 1 is ok in CZ also happens 3 vs 1 then ??? make a video please in CZ and not in RES cmdr MFC1969

[@HeyGuy4321]

I like how in the moddule area and sub targets it says 😄 🔨"THE HAMMER"🔨

[@BigZiggy1629]

Lol like button makes a wedding barge explode :-D

[@CmdrAnti]

Such a shame they nerfed Rails and hammer more so this patch. I can barely fire 2 hammers at a time on my FDL now without overheating to dangerous levels. And that's without boosting or firing any other weapon types. I'll sure miss my quad hammer FDL PS: apparently nerfing the heat was not enough , they made the weapon visual effect duller too :(

[@blantickal3269]

13:39 thank you so much for explaining this. Over penetration isn't a thing lots of people know about and is a very real thing that happens in real life. Explaining that will def help ppl understand rails better Also i saw you were running a single cannon on the fdl have you thought about changing that to a heat seeker missle rack? Could do major damage to hull and sheilds that way

[@FluxOrbit]

Wow! How do you have what I assume is an HCS pack reacting to regular button inputs? That is awesome.

[@PSC4.1]

VJ: Are imperial hammers effective? Also VJ: It’s complicated..... Also: I did not like fixed weapons very much then I tried the rail guns and plasma accelerators and I just cannot stop using them it’s just so much fun, especially when you have the ability to just annihilate your enemy at your finger tips.

[@paulmclaine6413]

Good education Video Mate , but as I'm S**t at Combat regardless of the weapon I'll take Hammers and Rails. Dr Who , Tom Baker was wonderful , but why not add , even though he's deceased , Jon Pertwee . He wore purple velvet , had no lips and a lisp. He would have been Shuper , shimply Shuper . : )

[@seraph8672]

Liked for exploding space boats.

[@neilsed5680]

Good vid & A+ for the effort put into presentation/visual etc :)

[@alexanderfederowicz]

I add a Fixed Mount Beam Laser to the Mix... Be careful with the trigger... if the Beam is not on target let of on the trigger and re-Aim the shot... Only when the Beam is Square on the Target do I hold the trigger until Firing Engages ! This Tends to do two things... Some Beam Damage is always done while aiming, and Target Alignment is Confirmed before Loss of Gauss Ammo...

[@rocket2739]

Gatling railgun firing would be crazy on hammers

[@judeeisenhandlek7131]

I think a good smash from a Cutter will be better.

[@GManWrites]

I have just started using 2 Rail Guns on a Sidewinder and had no problem taking down Federal Gunships and a Python. You really do need heat sinks using them.

[@DGneoseeker1]

Do Hammers have the stupid delay like the railguns have? Also, can you get either or both of these weapons on a gimball?

[@fire_ant_187x7]

Yes they have the delay

[@ryanstreeval4935]

You pretty much explained the difference... Hammers run the risk of reduced damage for each projectile missed where as standard rails run the risk of a miss resulting in 0 damage Big target either are good especially with engineering Smaller targets id say hammers because you get 3 chances at 33.3 % damage per projectile Just a logical observation though take it with a grain 😊

[@KurtAustin2448]

Hey, vindicator jones, I realize that I have no idea what you play with. I use mouse and keyboard. I have my mouse wheel set to cycle through subtargets. That way I can pick a subtarget and not have to take my eyes off the target. Just a thought.

[@Charlouf_]

got around 20x imperial hammer on live on some viper, and look like u can't modify them in 2.1 so ... infinite ammo for standard rail passive + damage mod look like far more superior than imperial hammer :/

[@sirlurksalot4454]

Why not use both?

[@554466551]

Looks like fun. Might have to give this a whirl next time I take a break from Bureaucrat bitch-slapping.

[@terencehines5925]

had my first encounter with these weapons the other day. I went straight back to mobius after. They really do screw you over especially if you a complete noob to pvp.

[@MacVerick]

Great videooooo

[@seb2750]

Interesting, right now, I'm working on my rep for the Imp Hammer. Quad hammers baby!

[@inveterateforeigner2780]

like how your ID at the bottom covered the % damage you were inflicting.

[@sirlurksalot4454]

it actually looked like you were way more effective with the hammer

[@omega7311]

Are these basic rails or modes thanks

[@VindicatorJones]

This was before engineering.

[@dragonwithamonocle]

Tom Baker was my Doctor Who too! Love that I'm not alone.

[@TerryBollea1]

It seems like Accelrators are more effective.

[@lolpl0000]

that kinda looks op as hell :p

[@muffincatgames]

Yes, I have killed another one.

[@Shadecraft360]

Just a happy little pirate at 5:12

[@ToriYamazaki]

Killed a wedding barge! lol

[@ea168]

can you engineer imperial hammers?

[@sadskytristeciel1439]

Yes, like all other powerplay modules. ; )