Munitions Technician
| Munitions Technician | |
|---|---|
 MAKE TORP. | |
| Information | |
| Access | Hangar Bay, Flight Deck, Munitions Bay |
| Additional Access | Maintenance |
| Difficulty | Medium |
| Supervisors | Master at Arms |
| Rank | Specialist (SPC) |
| Duties | Arm, man, and service the various weapons on the ship. "Encourage" Cargo to provide you with more ammo. |
| Guides | Guide to Munitions |
Are you ready to explode? No? Then you're in the wrong job. Welcome to Munitions! Your job is to make sure the big guns are fully loaded and ready to blast those Syndicate scum right out of space. This will mostly entail running from gun to gun making sure they have ammo and are functioning properly, but will also see you manning some of those guns and putting a few rounds into the syndicate ships. You will also be in constant communication with supply to make sure your magazines are full, to prevent your ammunition racks from running dry mid-engagement.
Bare minimum requirements: Enter the Munitions Bay and put the ammo into the gun, also discover that the Master At Arms is your boss, wow.
Basic Skills: Know what kind of ammo goes into each gun, and where to get it from. Understand the loading procedures for common weapons, and how to operate the torp factory. Oil your ammo stackers.
Advanced Skills: Actively monitor your ordinance levels, know when to refill your ammo racks. Rearrange the weapons to maximize efficiency and minimize loading times. Learn how to make resupplying faster and more convenient. Be able to repair destroyed turrets and weaponry.
One Department, Two Sections[edit | edit source]
You're a munitions technician, in the munitions bay. But you're not all of the munitions department! Your aerial counterparts have their own portion of the department for which they are responsible. This implies that you have a part which YOU are responsible for! Even if you don't interact with them, it's good to know about the two sides of your department.
Weapons/Munitions Bay[edit | edit source]
This is your new home. Welcome! Each ship type will have a different layout and weapon configuration to them. Some ships have no torpedoes, some have no Naval Artillery cannons, while others will have nearly every weapon type. All ships are equipped with PDCs, however, so you should always look out for the slots to load those, as they look similar.
The storage room(s) will vary depending on the types of weapons the ship is equipped with. When torpedo tubes or AMS are present, you'll likely have a section of the weapons bay dedicated to the construction of these doom rockets. All torpedo types need to be constructed before they can be used. Other ammunition types may also be stored here, including missiles for fighters. It's generally a good idea to take this ammo out of storage and stash it nearby their respective weapon for faster reload time. In addition, make sure you have enough ammo to last you through any upcoming battles. You can call cargo through the supply channel by using :u in chat if you need more ammo.
The Master at Arms will probably hang out here. You're their subordinate, but there's very little they can order you to do other than "your job, thanks", so feel free to float around and help out in the Munitions Bay where it's needed.
Hangar/Flight Deck[edit | edit source]
Home of the flyboys, the flight deck is always full of coffins fighters and lacking in atmosphere: don't enter without some sort of space suit! In fact, as a busy MT, you really have almost no reason to enter at all. After the removal of Deck Technicians, pilots have now been put in charge of their own fighters. It's up to them to do their own maintenance and preparation, so you might see them buzzing around the department lathe, or swiping a few tools from the lockers; it's best to stay out of their way unless they ask for some help.
You should let them do their own thing, but that doesn't mean you can't be nice. If the munitions bay is staffed to capacity, or you find yourself with a bit of downtime, you can always drag their cargo orders to the hangar's airlock, or set aside a few missiles/torpedoes from the factory just for them. But just remember: do your job first! The pilots are capable people (usually), and should be more than able to haul their own fighter parts. It's good to be a nice person, but your primary duty here is to keep the guns loaded; you can drift the tug around the hangar later!
Now THIS is a Gun![edit | edit source]
Ever show up to a gun fight, with no bullets? It doesn't end well! As an MT, you need to know what weapons you will be loading, how to load them, and how to keep them battle ready - lest you and your fellow crewmates return to Risa in a firmly closed casket.
Bigger Weapons![edit | edit source]
For a detailed walkthrough of reloading ship weapons, consult the Guide to Munitions.
There's several possible options for the armament aboard your ship. Some ships will have a full array of weapons, while others specialize in one type while lacking another. Take note of what you have, as it'll determine what ammunition you'll need and what weapons will need the most attention.
Standard Armaments[edit | edit source]
As standard issue weaponry for NT vessels, at least two of these are present on every ship (except the Aetherwhisp).
- Point Defense Cannons: The small gun. Shoots small and fast-moving rounds which do light damage, but have a high rate of fire. Best used to swat down fighters or incoming torpedoes. Most commonly called PDC, or PD if you're feeling spicy.
- Gauss Gun: The medium guns, operated with crew-served, manned turrets which fire medium sized tungsten slugs at high velocities. A decent anti-ship weapon that becomes very effective with multiple in operation, but needs to be reloaded with a rack controlled by the gunner.
- Broadside Cannons: A pair of big guns, facing opposite directions of the ship (port and starboard). Each one holds 5 rounds, and fires all 5 at once, in a shotgun-like burst. Loading the broadsides requires you to prepare the shells using a packing bench prior to loading. After firing, it ejects casings which can be reused in the packing bench when preparing more shells.
- Naval Artillery Cannon: A bigger gun, that shoots bigger stuff, with bigger shells. It can only hold one shot, and must be loaded with gunpowder (more gunpowder makes the round go faster), but deals heavy damage with that shot. Will likely require frequent reloading due to it's low ammo capacity. Also referred to as NACs.
- Vertical Launch System: An array of missile tubes, with anywhere from 6 to 12 tubes in each system. Each tube can hold 2 missiles or torpedoes, and tubes must be chambered individually using a linked console. Tubes can be automatically filled using conveyor belts, but only to half capacity (loading 2 projectiles requires manual loading). Commonly referred to as VLS.
- Automatic Missile System: A weapons control system that fires the contents of the VLS at whatever the bridge bunnies pointed their magical laser at, or at oncoming projectiles automatically. You can control what the system can target (enemy ships or enemy munitions), so be sure to tell CIC what it's set to!
Special Armaments[edit | edit source]
Rarer to see, each of the following weapons can only be found on certain ships.
- Hybrid Railgun: A big gun, which uses the power of electricity to either fire a high-damage burst of 4 tungsten slugs, or fire off one massive naval artillery shell. It's most effective against capital ships that it can hit easily, and is very hungry for ammo and energy. Needs to be maintained with oil occasionally. Only available on the Shrike.
- Phase Cannons/Burst Phasers: Energy weapons that, instead of firing kinetic projectiles, emit deadly lasers to slice through enemies! The cannon fires a single hitscan blast which deals major damage, while burst phasers cause less damage but can be fired repeatedly. Only available on SolGov ships, like the Aetherwhisp, which means you won't be working on these anytime soon (there are no munition tech job slots on the Aetherwhisp).
- Magnetic Phoron Acceleration Caster: A special weapon, firing balls of
plasmaphoron, which move slowly and have a small amount of tracking. Works best against capital ships. Requires good communication with the gunner, because unlike every other weapon, the MPAC cannot be left alone after safeties are turned off (field integrity will degrade). Only available on Dominion of Light ships, like the Serendipity. - Superliminal Bluespace Artillery: It's a BSA, but instead of firing on coordinates, it fires straight out from the ship. Releases massive blasts of ultra-hot
phoronplasma to turn large ships into large piles of dust. Your only interaction with the BSA will be setting the power consumption, opening the blast doors, and repairing the crater that appears when you forget to open the blast doors. For the love of god, open the blast doors. Only available on the Galactica.
Percussive Maintenance[edit | edit source]
For a more in-depth explanation of weapon repair and construction, take a look at the Guide to Munitions.
Now that you know the types of weapons you can encounter, you should also know how to keep them in top shape. Keeping your ammunition stores high is one part of being combat-ready, but you must also maintain the various machines around the department to avoid a critical malfunction in the heat of battle.
A long time ago, when ships were armed with MACs and torpedoes were fired from horizontal tubes, maintenance was a lot more frequent. However, even though weaponry upkeep has become much more sporadic, that doesn't mean it has become any less important! A well-oiled ammo rack is the difference between smooth operation and a jammed mess, so don't be afraid to grab some oil and get greasy.
Currently, the only machines requiring regular upkeep are the torpedo tubes, ammo racks, hybrid railguns, and MPAC. Always keep a few bottles of oil on hand, and be sure to keep an eye on the machine's condition.
If you neglect your ammo racks hard enough, they WILL jam, and the only way to clear it is through shoving a crowbar in. This takes valuable time which you don't have in combat; keep it maintained!
I need more bullets![edit | edit source]
For more information on acquiring ammunition, visit the Guide to Munitions.
If you've been doing your job (putting the munitions into the weapons), and the bridge staff has been doing theirs (firing at anything vaguely enemy-shaped), then your ammo racks may be looking pretty dry. It's time to restock your magazines! Cargo will be your only source of ordinance early on, and only later in the patrol will you transition to printing your own explosives. At the start of the round, check if there's anybody in the cargo bay, and get acquainted. Munition Techs are given the supply channel for a reason: to hit on the QM make communication between you and the powder suppliers direct. Keeping your requests in the right channel helps to stop them from getting drowned out in common.
If the cargo bay is empty, you'll have to get cargo access from command to keep the guns loaded.
Battle Stations![edit | edit source]
Things get crazy once the ship is in battle. Once the guns start firing and the fighters take off, your job becomes a chaotic race to reload the guns as fast as possible. You should have next to no downtime while this is all going on, so if you find yourself standing around, you're probably neglecting something important. The important things needing to be done include;
- Make sure the ship's main weapons are loaded. The bridge crew will likely be firing the guns as soon as they're loaded, so keep loading them so they can keep on shooting.
- Man/Load the Gauss guns. This weapon is very ammo hungry while being used, so keeping them loaded is important. If you have enough manpower to keep the main ship weapons loaded, hop in one of the Gauss guns and put a few rounds into the syndicate ship. Make sure you have your munitions helmet on, as you need the ear protection it offers to not go deaf from the gunfire.
- Keep an eye on your ammo reserves. You should hopefully have enough ammo to last for the entire fight. If not, call up cargo and get them to order additional ammunition. If your guns run dry, you can't fight.
- Make sure the fighters are supplied. The pilots should be able to handle this for the most part, but if you're finding yourself with nothing else to do, or munitions is staffed well enough without you, go ahead and help them out.
