¶ AX Weapons
There are a multitude of different Anti-Xeno weapons in the game, and they come in two main variants, with two subclasses:
- Human AX Weapons (AX Multi-Cannon, AX Missile Rack, Advanced Multi-Cannon, Advanced Missile Rack, Remote Release Flak Launcher)
- Enhanced Variant (Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon and AX Missile Rack)
- Pre-engineered Variant (Azimuth Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon and Sirius AX Missile Rack)
- Guardian Weapons (Guardian Gauss Cannon, Guardian Plasma Charger, Guardian Shard Cannon)
- Modified Variant (Pre-engineered variants of all three)
With the events of Salvation and the Thargoid Maelstroms, modified (pre-engineered) variants of many AX weapons have become available. They must be purchased per-module, making them far more expensive than traditional guardian weaponry.
For unlock costs on these new weapons, see Inara’s Tech Broker Page
Guardian weapons are the most effective AX weapons in the game (specifically the Guardian Gauss Cannon) with human AX weapons being mostly unusable against Interceptors (with the exception of the Remote Release Flak Launcher).
Some builds will also include Thermal Vent Beam Lasers which allow pilots to easily reduce ship heat and avoid significant amounts of Thargoid fire. For more information, see Cold Orbiting and Lasers.
Guardian weapons are affected by the Thargoid Anti-Guardian Field, which can be found in Maelstrom systems, and can also be locally triggered by certain Thargoid ship types. Some guardian weapons, but importantly NOT the pre-engineered variants, can be rendered immune to this with Anti-Guardian Field engineering. For more detail see Our Maelstrom guide
¶ Weapon Options
The currently best available weapons are the Remote Release Flak Launcher, Guardian Gauss Cannon, Modified Guardian Shard Cannon, and Modified Guardian Plasma Charger.
For those who do not have guardian tech unlocked, the Gimballed Enhanced AX Multicannons are the best option, but these are only viable for Cyclops and Scouts.
All ships have a default limit of 4 AX Weapons. Azimuth’s weapons stabilizer can increase this limit, however, for most weapons the distributor draw is too much to make this viable.
¶ Remote Release Flak Launcher
Currently the only effective weapon to deal with Thargon Swarms.
Recommendation: Must have! (Required to take out swarms)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
¶ Guardian Gauss Cannon
Current undisputed AX meta. Guardian Gauss Cannons function like a Railgun with a short delay before firing. Heavy Armour Penetration means it is effective against even the toughest Thargoids. Coming in only small and medium classes, these allow a surprisingly even playing field between all ship classes. They have a maximum range of 3km and a damage falloff start of 1.5km, allowing for precision heart sniping at range. Its only downside is high heat generation which necessitates constant heatsink use.
Recommendation: Best AX weapon (Great armour penetration, High damage, Accurate)
Note: When using Gauss Cannons, it is important to ensure your hardpoints have good Convergence
¶ Modified Guardian Gauss Cannon
While the guardian gauss is similar to a railgun, the modified gauss are much like an imperial hammer, giving them their nickname “hammer gauss”. These fire in a 4-round burst, with each shot dealing 25% of the normal damage. Overall, they are considered harder to use than stock gauss.
Recommendation: Do not use (Harder to aim, each gun costs materials)
¶ Guardian Shard Cannon
Similar to a Frag Cannon, very wide spread with only around a 700m effective range which means to be used effectively the pilot must fly within lightning range. While a potent weapon for speedrunning, the requirement of firing from within lightning range means that they are ineffective otherwise.
Recommendation: Do not use (Low effective range, Poor armour penetration)
¶ Modified Guardian Shard Cannon
These shard cannons come in medium and small variants. They have long range engineering and a higher armor penetration. They are a great alternative to gauss, offering a lot of the benefits of shard cannons but with lesser downsides. Due to their comparatively low distributor draw, they are the only Guardian weapon which ships can make use of 6 mounted at once. Class 2 are recommended.
Recommendation: Very good AX weapon (Very high DPS)
¶ Guardian Plasma Charger
Similar to a Plasma Accelerator, but poor armour penetration value makes it less effective against tougher Interceptors and difficulty to aim makes it bad for using on hearts. Damage dealt is also unpredictable.
Recommendation: Do not use (Poor armour penetration, Difficult to aim, Terrible capacitor draw)
¶ Modified Guardian Plasma Charger
These plasma chargers come in medium and small variants. They have greatly improved stats over stock chargers, with higher armor penetration, shot speed, and damage. It can be a struggle to deal damage to hearts with them as the splash damage on a miss can trigger a re-shield or cause the heart to be withdrawn, but they are unrivaled in their exert capability. Class 2 are recommended.
Recommendation: Good AX weapon (Massive damage, can be difficult to snipe hearts)
¶ AX Multi-Cannon
AXMCs come in two types - Turreted and Fixed, and in two sizes - Medium and Large. The Large Turreted ones are the most effective Scout hunting weapon in the game, but the Large Fixed ones are only passable against the weakest Interceptor variant, the Cyclops, and the others are very ineffective.
Recommendation: Outclassed by Enhanced AXMCs
¶ Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon
These improved AXMCs currently only come in fixed, gimballed, and turreted forms. They come with a marginal increase to damage, as well as a large increase in shot speed. Overall, they are only a small upgrade from regular AXMCs, but still better in all regards.
The gimballed variants are the best, dealing nearly as much damage as fixed and coming with a great tracking arc. With a xeno scan, these can even be effective at killing cyclops.
Recommendation: Great for scouts, viable for cyclops
¶ Azimuth Enhanced AX Multi-Cannon
the Azimuth pre-engineered multi-cannons have a slightly higher damage output but critically have an autoloader equipped, sustaining fire time. This comes with the consequence of signficantly higher heat generation. Combined with a xeno-scanner, these are viable for soloing up to a Basilisk and can also be very useful for heart-sniping on Medusa and even Hydra.
Recommendation: Excellent for scouts, great for cyclops, viable for basilisk, have their uses above basilisk
¶ AX Missile Rack
Okay, but very difficult to aim as they are slow moving and dumbfire only. Minimal ammo.
Recommendation: Do Not Use (Poor damage)
¶ Enhanced AX Missile Rack
Coming with only a marginal increase in damage and shot speed over standard AXMRs, these still deal no damage to hearts.
Recommendation: Useful for shield and hull damage to slow moving targets only (no heart damage)
¶ Pre-Engineered AX Missile Rack
With double the normal capacity of an Enhanced AX Missile Rack, albeit slower projectiles, the Sirius AX Missile Racks are the best choice of all the Missile Rack options. They are a significant cost in materials, and are pay-per-purchase.
Recommendation: Useful for shield and hull damage to slow moving targets only (no heart damage)
¶ Advanced Multi-Cannon
Same as a normal Multi-Cannon and can be engineered, however it will not do AX damage unless ammo is synthesized. Not to be confused with any variant of AXMCs.
Recommendation: Do not use (Poor damage, Cannot use without synth)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
¶ Advanced Missile Racks
Similar to the Advanced Multi-Cannon, these are an engineerable clone of the normal Missile Rack which requires synth to deal AX damage. Due to their extreme splash damage, synth requirement, and lack of weapon number limit, they are banned from use in AXI ranks. Not to be confused with any variant of AXMRs.
Recommendation: Use at own discretion (Cannot use without synth, Banned from progression kills)
Note: Does not count against the 4 experimental weapon limit.
¶ Guardian Weapon Stat Comparison
For more detailed stats on AX weapons, see the AX Balance Research Spreadsheet