Vorton Projectors

Vorton Projectors are a weapon type introduced with the Lightning Strikes update in June 2020, only equipped by EDENCOM ships Skybreaker, Stormbringer and Thunderchild. These are ship-based miniaturized versions of the Standup Arcing Vorton Projector, previously seen as the 'Doomsday Weapon' of Keepstar Citadels.

Mechanics

Vorton Projectors use Missile damage mechanics to determine their damage application, rather than Tracking or Falloff range.

Vorton Projectors are unlike any other weapon system, in that they fire chain lightning which strikes the ship which is targeted, and arcs across up to nine additional random ships (or drones) within 10km of the first. Despite the animation shows the chain lightning bounce off one by one, the fact that bounced entities are determined by the range to ship directly hit by the weapon and the 10km bounce itself does not bounce to chain further entities. The Vorton Projectors will never hit the ship that fires them.

Vorton Projectors consume Condenser Packs as ammunition, and deal EM and Kinetic damage. They deal very low single target DPS compared to other turrets, owing to a low rate of fire (in between beam lasers and artillery) and low turret damage multiplier (without the damage spooling bonus that disintegrators get). However, the projectors have excellent optimal range, exceeding that of beam lasers, and can deal high total damage spread across the ten ships which are hit.

Following the trend started by Entropic Disintegrators, Vorton Projectors are further detached from traditional weapon mechanics. Much like disintegrators, the projectors have no falloff, are only fittable to specific ships (EDENCOM ships), and said ships only have one turret slot.

In areas of space where crimewatch is in effect, the projectors will respect safety settings, and with full safeties enabled will only bounce to legal targets. As a consequence, however, bounces from this weapon can initiate Limited Engagements with suspects and outlaws, even if they were not targeted.

Vorton Projectors are uniquely use its own attribute sets, only affected by Vorton Projectors themselves, Condenser Packs, Vorton Tuning Systems and related skills. That said, Vorton Tuning Systems are not affected by anything else:

• Core gunnery skills and missile skills do not affect Vorton Projectors, with this set of weapons instead having its own equivalents for Gunnery and Rapid Launch (-cycle time), Sharpshooter (+optimal range), Surgical Strike and Warhead Upgrades (+damage), and a skill combining Target Navigation Prediction (+explosion velocity) with Guided Missile Precision (-explosion radius).
• All modules that affects turrets or missiles do not affect Vorton Projectors.
  • Tracking Enhancer, Tracking Computer, Remote Tracking Computer and Tracking Disruptors do not affect weapons' optimal range.
  • Missile Guidance Enhancer, Missile Guidance Computer and Guidance Disruptors do not affect weapons' explosion radius or explosion velocity.
• There are no forms of weapon disruptions can harm Vorton Projectors.
• There are no tracking upgrades modules that available to other weapon systems.
• There are no rigs to improve Vorton Projectors, just like Entropic Disintegrators.
• No medical boosters benefits or penalize Vorton Projectors, expect those specifically for Vorton Projectors (which are all expired).
• All system effects, notably Magnetar and Wolf Rayet in Wormhole space, Dark effect in Abyssal Deadspace, Plasma Metaliminal Storms, do not apply to these weapons' damage, application, optimal range or any other stats.

A long, long time ago...

Vorton Projectors had a group of boosters that applied only to them: EDENCOM Vorton Booster DA improves damage. EDENCOM Vorton Booster GU improves explosion radius and explosion velocity. EDENCOM Vorton Booster RA improves optimal range. These booster were available from Vorton Projector Booster Gift Boxes, given in Gathering Storm login rewards. All three EDENCOM Vorton boosters have expired as off 8 September 2020.

Skills

With the exception of engineering skills Weapon Upgrades and Advanced Weapon Upgrades, Vorton Projectors do not benefit from any of the traditional gunnery and missiles skills. Instead, it has its own set of skills. Most are analogues to normal gunnery and missiles skills.

• Vorton Projector Operation: Reduces cycle time by 2% per level. Required to train all other skills.
• Vorton Arc Guidance: Reduces explosion radius by 5% per level, and increases explosion velocity by 10% per level. This skill is the only way to improve the application of Vorton Projectors.
• Vorton Arc Extension: 5% to optimal range per level.
• Vorton Power Amplification: 3% to damage per level.

In addition to the general skills, there is a specific skill for each class of Vorton Projectors, and each will let you load and fire that one class. In addition, each level of the skill will improve your damage by 5% when using that particular class.

• Small Vorton Projector
• Medium Vorton Projector
• Large Vorton Projector

All the Vorton Projector types also have a "Specialization" skill. This gives you access to Tech 2 Vorton Projectors and Condenser Packs, and it provides a 2% bonus per level to the damage of modules that require the specialization (mostly the T2 modules). All of these require that you have trained the Primary Skill to Level V, so they are usually pursued after your other training is complete.

• Small Vorton Specialization
• Medium Vorton Specialization
• Large Vorton Specialization

Equipment

There are a total of three size classes for Vorton Projectors, being Small, Medium and Large.

Vorton Projectors

The primary weapon equipped by ships. Vorton Projector is considered as a long-range weapon system with extremely long optimal range even with most short ranged ammo, probably intended to avoid it chain your own entities near your ship.

Inconsistently, Meta Level of all Vorton Projectors are 0 in Compare Tool. Compact and Scoped variants are Meta 0 too despite other variants of other weapon systems use Meta 1 to 4.

Application stats, by size

Size	Explosion Radius	Explosion Velocity	Optimal Range
			Normal	+11.11%	+22.22%
Small	43 m	190 m/sec	22.46 km	24.96 km	27.46 km
Medium	143 m	105 m/sec	34.56 km	38.40 km	42.24 km
Large	333 m	79 m/sec	57.60 km	64.00 km	70.40 km

Weapon stats, by type

Type	Meta Level	Damage	Optimal range	Fitting Cost
Tech 1	0	(Normal)	(Normal)	(Normal)
Compact	0	+10%	(Normal)	-10% PWG / -10% CPU
Scoped	0	+10%	+22.22%	(Normal)
Tech 2	5	+20%	+11.11%	+10% PWG / +10% CPU
Consortium	8	+30%	+22.22%	-10% PWG / -10% CPU

Condenser Packs

Condenser Packs, similar to exotic plasma, deal more damage per charge, since each ship only has one turret and with projectors having a low damage multiplier. For the same reason, damage scaling with increasing size is not smooth, due to number of turrets the projector effectively substitutes for.

There are four types of Tech 1 condenser packs, offering two range options and an EM or Kinetic slanted ammo type for each.

Name	Optimal	Total damage
BlastShot	-25%	133	17	116
GalvaSurge	-25%	133	116	17
SlamBolt	+50%	66	13	53
MesmerFlux	+50%	66	53	13
Click on the column headers to sort the table; mouse over them for a more detailed explanation. Damage is the raw figures for the 'Small' ammo size; Medium is 4.89-4.95x greater, and Large is 7.42-7.48x greater, depending on ammo type. Damage type ratio varies, with a more balanced ratio for larger sizes.

Tech 2 condenser packs

Marketed under the Ultra brand, T2 condenser packs can only be used with Tech 2 and Faction Vorton Projectors. ElectroPunch Ultra is a higher damage, shorter range ammo compared to BlastShot & GalvaSurge, while SnipeStrike exceeds MesmerFlux and SlamBolt in range and damage. Both types of ultra condenser packs increase capacitor need by 25% and reduce explosion velocity by 25%.

Name	Optimal	Explosion Velocity	Cap. need	Total damage
ElectroPunch Ultra	-50%	-25%	+25%	160	80	80
SnipeStrike Ultra	+80%	-25%	+25%	90	49	41
Damage is the raw figures for the 'Small' ammo size; Medium is 4.78-4.88x greater, and Large is 7.18-7.41x greater, depending on ammo type. Damage type ratio varies, with a generally more balanced ratio for larger sizes.

Vorton Tuning Systems

The only item that affects Vorton Projectors, other than Vorton Projectors themselves and their loaded Condenser Packs, are Vorton Tuning Systems.

Vorton Tuning Systems are passive low slot modules. They increase damage per volley and rate of fire.

Availability

EDENCOM ships, Vorton Projectors, Condenser Packs, Vorton Tuning Systems and related skill books are solely available from LP store of DED as BPC. Tech 2 BPC of them (if any) are only available from invention. Their production involves abyssal materials, and they are generally expensive.

Vorton Projectors, Condenser Packs, and Vorton Tuning Systems are known for their odds in item cost that their Tech 1 items are incredibly expensive compared to their Tech 2 variant. All Tech 1 Condenser Packs are 4 times more expensive than their Tech 2 variants. Due to the low price to use Tech 2 items, Tech 2 items are mostly the most cost effective option to use. Tech 1 variants are somehow ridiculously expensive to buy due very few capsuleers manufacture them, since Tech 2 items are way better than them.

The odds are largely caused by the invention, and for Condenser Packs, their invention increase BPC runs and do not consume corresponding T1 items, and use a different set of ingredients.

External links

• EVE Online: Gathering Storm and Lightning Strikes