Weapons

The name Galaxy on Fire refers to a lot of things players will encounter throughout the games. Aside from the dangers of terrestrial species traveling through outer space, conflict is everywhere. Above the skies of inhabitable planets, opposing factions battle every day, whether it be Nivelian versus Midorian, Terran versus Vossk, or pirates against everyone. No one is safe in space, yet seasoned pilots such as Keith T. Maxwell are able to remain level-headed and carry out affairs as if they were traversing their home planets.

Weapons bring protection, power, and profit. Every shot fired and every ship downed from them brings in a little more of each. Weapons also help out the intergalactic economy. As warfare is the norm, manufacturers such as Berger prosper, though the rival Nirai was not too lucky. There are a variety of weapons out there in the galaxy, for every combat style and economic status, so pilots must take care in choosing the best for both.

Galaxy on Fire 3D presented five weapon categories:

• Laser
• Plasma
• Photon
• Missile
• Thermo

The ships in the game are only allowed a few of these, lending to a variety of ship configurations based on weapon combinations alone. Smaller ships like the Vol Noor are made for as little combat as possible, and are armed as such with only thermo and plasma capabilities, while the likes of the Gryphon anticipate heavier fights, and are armed with photon and missile capabilities along with the thermo and plasm.

Galaxy on Fire 2 expanded greatly upon its predecessor's five categories to create three general categories of weapons:

• Primary weapons -- These included lasers and thermos, and are used first and often
• Secondary weapons -- These included missiles and nukes, complementing a pilot's fighting style
• Turrets -- Able to cover more angles than the front, but only if a ship is able to mount one

Instead of ships allowing a specific combination of weapon types, they can equip every weapon type under a general category. For example, the refurbished Vol Noor is able to mount two primary weapons and two secondary weapons, and the primary weapons are not limited to just thermo and blaster (or whatever equivalent of plasma). Because of this system, the potential raw power of a ship can be measured easily by knowing how many primary and secondary weapons a ship is able to mount.

Choose carefully, as your survival in the galaxy depends on it.