Qianlong Archcannon not a viable endgame weapon?

[Atarlost]

The Qianlong Archannon (QAC) is one of the two quest items designed for use against the Iocrym. My first attempt to take on the Iocrym with the QAC failed dismally. There are several reasons for this.

First off it does half the damage of the other quest uberweapon.
Second it uses charges. The other quest uberweapon is ammoless. Since each recharge adds only 60 charges and the maximum charge level of 120 is inadequate to defeat the Iocrym and neither the use menu nor the Longzhu Sphere dockscreen pause the game, it has a lower effective firerate than the other quest uberweapon.
Third the cumbersome reloading process leaves you unable to either dodge or shoot down the normally easy to counter shots from the Iocrym Disintigrator for long enough for the Iocrym to land at least one and sometimes two hits.
fourth it has 20% less range: 48 ls instead of 60 ls.

Because of the poor range and cumbersome reloading process the QAC can't be used for a quick win using a gem of despair. Winning with a low level shield requires sustained fire to shoot down disintigrator shots, which the QAC cannot provide. Using the QAC with a superconducting shield, which looks viable on paper, requires you to manage reqharging two devices one of which requires as much as a second to navigate the menus to recharge and the other of which will frequently kill you if stop monitoring it for the time required to recharge the other. This means the QAC must be dragged for many systems. Even though Blackmarket Shipyards will install it it isn't a viable weapon until much later because of the need to either conserve Longzhu Spheres either to enhance equipment or to reload the QAC in the final boss fight. This means it wastes either a device slot or cargo space for half the game.

So what purpose does it serve?

[Aury]

Hmm... now that I think about it, the QAC seems to be more of a legacy weapon, like an appendix in the large intestine, or the controller for those 16/32-bit ISA slots on a motherboard- both are left in the designs as something from a previous age when they were needed.

Way back in 0.7 (there is a link on the wiki for that version), the QAC was the only way to kill the iocrym. However, as the game evolved, and things like the IM90, lamplighter, domina powers, etc, came into being, the QAC got stuck with its old stats and was never upgraded, thus trailing further and further behind into obsolescence.

Of course, that doesn't change the fact its useless, and is in dire need of an update/upgrade.

[Wurmish]

So if the QAC was the only way back in 0.7, was the method of obtaining it different? Because obviously if you pissed the Huari off, then you couldn't win the game, am I correct?

[Bobby]

befriending the huari is a very recent development, those missions weren't there in .7, the method had to be different, though I don't know exactly how, but perhaps the citadels had a higher chance of having one.

[digdug]

So if the QAC was the only way back in 0.7, was the method of obtaining it different?

yep Bobby is right
the sung citadels were the only place where to find, randomly, a QAC in the loot.
Bad luck could results in no QAC in a game.

[Aury]

So if the QAC was the only way back in 0.7, was the method of obtaining it different?

yep Bobby is right
the sung citadels were the only place where to find, randomly, a QAC in the loot.
Bad luck could results in no QAC in a game.

yes, that's true, though it was relatively rare (as the citadels usually had a QAC

[OddBob]

It's worth noting that the Iocrym used to be bit of a pushover. It didn't have the QD or the repeller, and had much weaker shields. This was back when the Ares archcannon was a pretty decent endgame weapon.

[Aury]

That unfortunately doesn't help the fact that the iocrym was over-buffed IN RELATION to the QAC: the iocrym is fine now, for the weapons avaliable, but the QAC has fallen into disuse

[schilcote]

Hmm... now that I think about it, the QAC seems to be more of a legacy weapon, like an appendix in the large intestine

Actually, doctors are now starting to belive that the appendix has a hand in the immune system. I think it's supposed to be a sort of testing facility for new antibodies, if I understand what I read right.

[Periculi]

appendix has a hand in the immune system. I think it's supposed to be a sort of testing facility for new antibodies

ooo.. I still have mine.. Yay!

I have rarely gotten the QAC, I generally go for the IM-90 modified with everything I can find along the way.

Maybe 1.0 will include some new fun toys for Heretic, seeing as George mentioned making some changes to the system.

But what would make the QAC better? Easier to charge up? More powerful?

[Fossaman]

The appendix is also supposed to function as a harbor for helpful gut bacteria during dysentery, I hear. The more you know...

[Aury]

It still has purpose (the appendix), but you can easily live w/o it - just like the ISA controllers, or floppy drive controllers.

The QAC can blow stuff up, just not very well, and it's really only worth cashing it in for rin.