What the hell is a 'Turrent' and how to you build one?

T-U-R-R-E-T : OK?

By: George Argyropoulos

a/k/a Dragon_Bane   

So, yes, it is a pet peeve of mine. I'm no Roger Bell Grammar Nazi (Hi Roger!!), but c'mon people. C'mon. Please? OK, thanks (For fun, see 'The Brian Corner' below). Now then...

We have had a few additions since the last article When you're not sure what to stick where..., namely, the advent of Level 8 turrets and a whole lot of new specials and weapons. Much like that article, this is going to be a brief overview of a few builds and the thought process behind them rather than an in depth technical look at all your options. This is merely meant to give a little insight as to why certain specials are chosen for use with certain weapons.

Some of the new specials add a deeper dimension to your ability to tweak old turrets and, of course, match nicely with the turrets which they were developed to pair with. As with ship builds, there are a myriad ways to build turrets. Let's look at some examples.

Executioner:

Once this was the 'baby' cousin of DEE, the Dead Eye Executioner, however, with the smaller salvo and some specials, this weapon has grown into a very useful turret. Here we have added Thermobaric Casing III for the increase to damage, Fire Support Platform M for both damage and range increase and then we have SSKP Enhancement allowing for retargeting (and presumably ability to hit underwater), reload and accuracy. This turret also has the A-T Transformer I to further increase the damage output.

Draconian Coaxial:

With so many Liberators floating around these days, this is a turret that has climbed into a favored spot with me. The secondary weapon on this is an Anti-missile weapon and unlike other anti-missile weapons, it does not rely upon accuracy, which makes Flak evade a bit of a moot point.

Of note: the secondary weapon is listed as having a multi-shot, however, a multi-shot special will not work on the secondary weapon. What will work though, is splash. Since the weapon is splash based, the bigger the splash, the more missiles it can take out. To that end, we have added the Sulfide Deployer and the Fuel Tank 01-X specials to boost the splash to a whopping 160%. We then added the Countermeasure Targeting special and the A-T:R Transformer to increase the range of the secondary weapon for better coverage. Do not discount the ability of this weapon.

Blunderbuss:

An interesting addition to your frontline or to sneak in somewhere to surprise a fleet or hull that is weak to ballistics. This particular build can be placed in the front to annoy Liberator fleets, yet is utterly useless against Prides. Remember - do not rely on one weapon or type only.

For the Blunderbuss we chose Supercharged EM Rails for its damage output through Critical Hit chance increase and the tripling of the critical hit when successful. The Depleted Uranium Shells III is only there for its damage increase as this weapon is a dumb-fire weapon. The Hydroxide Coated Barrels increases damage output through an increase of 'pellets' in the multi-shot. We also added the A-T:R Transformer so this turret cannot be out ranged by Liberators.

Venom Spitter:

A new kid on the block, the Venom Spitter offers some interesting options. One drawback that I currently see to this weapon is the poor projectile speed. If not placed precisely this weapon (another dumb-fire weapon) will 'miss' fast moving ships.

For this turret we went with Hydroxide Coated Barrels for the same reason as the Blunderbuss build above, the Sulfide Deployer for the reload and splash and the Eruption Pyre for both projectile speed as well as the splash boost. The A-T:R was used for the range boost to avoid sniping of the turret.

Hyena:

Another new kid on the block, this one packs a wallop. On this particular build we went with Thermobaric Casing III for the increase to damage, SSKP Enhancement allowing for retargeting (and presumably ability to hit underwater), reload and accuracy and the Scramjet Engine III for increased range. Added as well is the A-T:R Transformer for additional range.

I hope this quick overview helps some to understand the interactions of various specials and weapons and perhaps gives some people some new ideas for turret builds. As I mentioned before, much like ship builds, there are a LOT of combinations that work and placement is also a key element in base design when trying to tailor a build for a turret.

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The Brian Corner: 

My curiosity got the best of me and I found this in doing some mindless research:

In the English dictionary, allegedly, there are 1186 words that end with "ENT" and only 662 that end with "ET". 

More substantially, 1935 words end in "NT".

Another common typo you may see people make is "ration" instead of "ratio"

That's because only 54 words end in "io". 2776 words can end in "ion".

Typing on a keyboard develops muscle memory. From wiki: "When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. "

So it's not surprising that more frequently typed patterns will be observed in typos.

The environment where people are in-game and have to type fast without making a conscious effort will result in these typos... even if they make your eye twitch.