Projectile ammunition is used with projectile turrets. Unlike hybrid or energy ammunition, different kinds of projectile ammunition not only have different optimal range modifiers, but also different tracking bonuses, rather than simply presenting a gradual exchange of damage for range. In addition, like drones and missiles, projectile ammunition can be tailored to produce every damage type. All of this makes the selection of optimal projectile ammunition a more complicated topic than choosing the appropriate charges for other types of weaponry.
Tech Ⅰ
Tech Ⅰ projectile ammunition can be used with dozens of appropriately-sized Tech Ⅰ projectile turrets, as well as various Faction, Storyline, and Tech Ⅱ turrets.
Standard
There are eight kinds of standard projectile ammunition, which can be split into three main tiers: short-range, medium-range, and long-range. All variations within each tier have identical range and tracking modifiers, but the different types offer various damage profiles. In addition, the medium-range tier has a significant tracking speed bonus. For these reasons, it is important to match Tech Ⅰ projectile ammo not only to the resist profile of the intended target, but also to the type of projectile turrets (autocannons or artillery) and the range and speed at which the fighting is planned to occur.
 Ammunition Type |
Range Category |
 Range Multiplier |
 Tracking Bonus |
Total Damage | Damage Profile |  Tech Ⅱ Variant |
Most Effective Against | |||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
 EM |
 Thermal |
 Kinetic |
 Explosive |
Pirate Factions |
Empire Factions | |||||
| EMP | Short | -50% | 12 | 24 | 48 | 96 | 75% | 8% | 17% |   
|
 
| |||
| Phased Plasma | 83% | 17% | Mercenaries | |||||||||||
| Fusion | 17% | 83% | 
|
| ||||||||||
| Titanium Sabot | Medium | +20% | 8 | 16 | 32 | 64 | 75% | 25% | Quake | EoM   
|
 
| |||
| Depleted Uranium | 38% | 25% | 38% | Hail | Sleepers | |||||||||
| Proton | Long | +60% | +5% | 5 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 60% | 40% |
|
| |||
| Nuclear | 20% | 80% | Barrage |
|
| |||||||||
| Carbonized Lead | 80% | 20% | Tremor | EoM
|
| |||||||||
Note that the range modifiers associated with these ammo types only apply to optimal range. When using autocannons—which have tiny optimal ranges but large falloff zones—the ammo's range modifier doesn't matter very much. (It is, however, very important when using artillery.) This means that autocannons should always be loaded with the most damaging ammo possible (taking into account the intended target's resist profile), without regard to optimal range bonuses or penalties. Furthermore, if a particular hull has a falloff bonus, it was probably designed to use autocannons rather than artillery.
Faction
Each of the eight Tech Ⅰ projectile ammunition types has three available faction variants. These faction charges have all the same characteristics as their Tech Ⅰ counterparts, but inflict slightly more damage, as detailed in the table below:
 Faction
|
Damage Bonus | |
|
|
Arch Angel | +10% |
|
|
Republic Fleet | +15% |
|
|
Domination | +20% |
If you can afford to, it's good to carry some faction ammo for PvP. However, for PvE, faction ammo is usually not cost-effective.
Tech Ⅱ
Autocannon
The two Tech 2 ammunition types for autocannon are Barrage and Hail. Barrage has a tracking penalty but a 40% falloff increase, and is popular with ships like the Vagabond which like to skirmish in falloff range. Hail has a penalty to falloff range and a large penalty to optimal range, and to tracking, but it deals very high damage. In practice the range and tracking speed drawbacks mean that Hail rarely offers more DPS, although it can be effective against big, stationary ships or POSs. Barrage does roughly equal amounts of explosive and kinetic damage, while Hail does a lot of explosive damage and a little kinetic on the side.
| Name |  Optimal
|
 Falloff
|
 Tracking
|
Total damage | 
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrage | 0% | +40% | -25% | 11 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Hail | -50% | -25% | -30% | 15.4 | 3.30 | 12.10 |
Artillery
The two Tech 2 ammunition types for artillery are Quake and Tremor. Quake, much like Javelin for hybrids, lets artillery pretend to be autocannons, with high damage but much-reduced range. Tremor has a dramatic 80% range bonus, but a very significant penalty to tracking. Both do a mixture of explosive and kinetic damage.
| Name | Optimal
|
Tracking
|
Total damage |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quake | -75% | +25% | 14 | 5 | 9 | ||
| Tremor | +80% | -75% | 8 | 3 | 5 |