LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

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Last updated: 1.002.003
Current patch: 1.003.000


Stratagems
Engineering Bay
Supply
Support Weapon
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

Weapons
Support Weapons
Heavy Energy-Based
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon

“

Charges up to fire a powerful, explosive energy burst. Has a long cooldown period after firing.

— Ship Management Terminal

The Quasar Cannon is an energy-based anti-tank Support Weapon Stratagem.

Procurement

The Quasar Cannon is unlocked at the Patriotic Administration Center (in the Engineering Bay subsection) for Requisition Slip.svg 7500 Requisition Slips at Level 18.

Stratagem Statistics

General
Call-in Time Standard 7.75 seconds
Upgraded 4.75 seconds
Uses Unlimited
Cooldown Standard 480 seconds
With Morale Augmentation 456 seconds
With Streamlined Request Process 432 seconds
With All Upgrades 410.4 seconds

Detailed Weapon Statistics

LAS-99 Quasar Cannon
Fire Rate 10 rpm
Cooldown 480 sec
Call-in Time 3 s
Mags from Supply 0
Mags from Ammo Box 1
Attacks
Laser Pulse Projectile
Laser Pulse Explosion
Laser Pulse
Projectile
Caliber 10 mm
Mass 12 g
Initial Velocity 1300 m/s
Drag Factor 0%
Gravity Factor 0%
Lifetime 6 sec
Penetration Slowdown 25%
Damage
Standard 2000
vs. Durable 2000
Penetration
Direct Armor AP6 Icon.png Anti-Tank II
Slight Angle Armor AP6 Icon.png Anti-Tank II
Large Angle Armor AP6 Icon.png Anti-Tank II
Extreme Angle Armor AP3 Icon.png Medium
Special Effects
Demolition Force 30
Stagger Force 50
Push Force 40
Laser Pulse
Area of Effect
Inner Radius 1.5 m
Outer Radius 3 m
Shockwave Radius 6 m
Damage
Inner Radius 150
Outer Radius 149 - 0
Penetration
Inner Radius Armor AP3 Icon.png Medium
Outer Radius Armor AP2 Icon.png Light
Shockwave Armor AP3 Icon.png Medium
AoE Effect
Demolition Force 30
Stagger Force 50
Push Force 40

Functionality

An Energy-Based Support Weapon, the Quasar Cannon fires a burst of energy that can penetrate heavy armor and inflict significant damage.

Rather than immediately firing the weapon when the trigger is pressed, holding it down begins a charging cycle that requires 3.0 seconds to complete. While aiming and/or charging the weapon, the wielder's movement speed is significantly reduced. If the trigger is released before charging is complete, all built-up charge is immediately dissipated and the weapon must start the process over. However, if the weapon is allowed to complete charging, it will launch a high-velocity energy projectile which is not affected by gravity. After firing, the weapon immediately overheats and cannot be fired again for 15.0 seconds, this is affected by weather modifiers. The weapon will cool down regardless of its wielding status, whether it is being actively held, it is being carried on the player's back or on the ground.

Tactical Information

  • The Quasar Cannon is an energy-based anti-tank weapon that is designed to defeat heavily armored elite enemies.
  • In terms of damage, the Quasar Cannon occupies the middle tier compared to other anti-tank weapons.
    • The Spear inflicts twice as much damage as a single Quasar Cannon shot (4,000 vs 2,000), while the Recoilless Rifle inflicts 62.5% more damage(3,200 vs 2,000). Both are able to defeat armored threats in only one or two shots.
    • The Expendable Anti-Tank deals the same damage per shot as the Quasar Cannon (2,000). The EAT is disposable, being called down each time it is needed, and thus can only provide two anti-tank systems every minute. Both weapons can inflict severe damage against all armored enemies for each attack, and have the potential to defeat them in a single shot if they a weak spot.
    • The Commando and the Patriot Exosuit's mounted rocket pod both deal slightly more than half the damage of the Quasar Cannon tier. As such, both weapons require multiple shots to defeat armored enemies, even when targeting weak spots.
  • As an Energy-Based weapon, the Quasar Cannon has several quirks that differentiate it from its ammo-based counterparts.
    • The weapon's Energy-Based firing system gives it some unique advantages.
      • As it does not use physical ammunition, the Quasar Cannon does not need to be reloaded, nor does it require an ammunition backpack,. This means that the weapon theoretically has unlimited ammunition.
      • The projectile behaves entirely differently as well, as it travels more than five times faster than the Recoilless Rifle's shell and is not affected by gravity. This allows it to aim directly at targets without having to account for projectile drop or leading a moving target.
      • Due to having effectively infinite ammo, the Quasar Cannon can be more readily expended where the other anti-armor Support Weapons would hesitate. For instance, it can be used to destroy the cargo container doors at a Minor Place of Interest without having to expend a Grenade.
      • As the weapon cools down regardless of how it is being held, players can immediately switch to their Primary Weapon or Secondary Weapon after firing it, and it will continue to cool down while on their back. This improves the survivability of the player as they do not have to stop in place to reload the weapon, and thus promotes a more mobile playstyle where the player can be actively fighting for a greater period of time.
    • The weapon's charge-based projectile and cooling system also present some unique challenges that the other anti-tank weapons are not vulnerable to.
      • As it relies on a static heat sink, the weapon can only fire once every 15 seconds, giving it a significantly lower firing rate in the short term (the EAT can fire two warheads in quick succession). If multiple armored targets need to be dealt with immediately, the Quasar Cannon tends to fare poorly.
      • Another major disadvantage is that the wielder must charge the weapon for 3 seconds before firing each projectile.
        • The 3-second lead time can make aiming the weapon more difficult, as the target must be placed under the reticle at the end of the firing cycle rather than simply aiming at a target and then firing.
        • As the wielder's movement is significantly slowed during the charging process, they can become more vulnerable to incoming damage as they cannot as easily dodge enemy fire. Equipping the Jump Pack enables the wielder to quickly reposition while continuing to charge, so long as they are able to reacquire their target in time.
        • If the trigger is released at any point during charging, the weapon will immediately reset and the full 3-second charging process must be started all over. While cancelling the charge can allow the wielder to evade danger, it also forces them to start the charging process from scratch, wasting additional time.
        • The most dangerous aspect of charging the weapon is that if the wielder is staggered, their aim can be disrupted, so if they are hit at the moment before firing it can cause the projectile to miss its target completely. This makes it extremely important for teammates to cover the Quasar Cannon user by dispatching all nearby enemies and to draw their attention so that they fire at the wrong target. Equipping the Shield Generator Pack can also provide a measure of protection from flinching while the shield is active.
  • The efficiency of the Quasar Cannon's cooldown is affected by the environmental conditions of the planet. Intense Heat increases cooldown by 2.5 seconds, while Extreme Cold reduces cooldown by 2.5 seconds.
    • Be mindful that desert planets have Extreme Heat during the day, but the modifier disappears at night and may even be replaced by Extreme Cold. Therefore, the time of day for a mission can greatly impact the weapon's effectiveness.
    • Arid planets with the Fire Tornados modifier also only inflict Extreme Heat when the tornados are active. Try to steer clear of them to keep the weapon's cooldown time low.
  • Because it does not rely on ammunition, the Quasar Cannon rarely needs to be called down beyond the first instance. However, it can still be beneficial to call down an additional weapon depending on the situation.
    • When having to defend an area against incoming enemies for a long period of time such as an Evacuate High-Value Assets or Conduct Geological Survey mission, calling down a second Quasar Cannon can effectively halve the cooldown time. Fire one Quasar Cannon at a target, and then pick up the second one to use against any other targets that may present themselves; the first Quasar Cannon will still cool down while on the ground, and can be picked up for another shot once it is ready.
    • As with the EAT, if a teammate has recently been Reinforced and is far away from their Support Weapon, dropping a Quasar Cannon for them can give them a weapon to use against heavy targets.

Applicable Ship Modules

The following Ship Modules affect the LAS-99 Quasar Cannon:

Department Ship Module Effect
Patriotic
Administration
Center 		Streamlined Request Process Decreases Support Weapon stratagems cooldown by 10%.
Bridge Morale Augmentation Reduces cooldown time for all Stratagems by 5%.
Engineering
Bay 		Streamlined Launch Process All Support Weapons launch immediately once called in, reducing overall deployment time.

Media

  • Stratagem Delivery Alert Poster
    Stratagem Delivery Alert Poster


Media

Trivia

“

In order to support the destruction of the Automatons, the Ministry of Defense has fast-tracked new support weapons for immediate distribution. The LAS-99 Quasar Cannon and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun are now available for requisition.

— Arsenal Expansion Notice

Change History

Patch
Description

1.001.201
2024-10-29

Undocumented Changes

  • Changed impact sound of the Quasar Cannon's projectile.

1.001.100
2024-09-17

Changes

  • Dedicated anti-tank weapons have all received significant damage boosts to enhance their effectiveness.
    • Projectile standard damage increased from 650 to 2000.
    • Projectile durable damage increased from 650 to 2000.

1.000.403
2024-06-25

Fixes

  • Fixed the Quasar Cannon to have the correct change to its heat when on hot and cold planets.

1.000.400
2024-06-13

Fixes

  • Intense Heat and Extreme Cold environmental modifiers will now affect the Quasar Cannon’s reload speed and will show correctly in the HUD.
    • Reload speed on Cold planets -2.5 seconds.
    • Reload speed on Hot planets +2.5 seconds.

1.000.300
2024-04-29

Changes

  • Increased recharge time by 5 seconds.

Fixes

  • Fixed issue where the Quasar Cannon could not shoot through foliage.
  • Explosive weapons no longer pull players inward from the blast.

1.000.200
2024-04-02

Changes

  • Undocumented: Charging meter visual added to weapon model.

1.000.104
2024-03-28
(Mid-Patch)

Added to the game.


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