I'd like to propose a ship part "tier list" ranking the general effectiveness of each part in 0.14.4. Since this patch has been out for a while and we have run multiple tournaments with varying rulesets on it, we have a uniquely large amount of collective experience and evidence about which parts are good and which are underperforming.
Experimentally (or maybe hilariously), I'll be mixing weapons with defensive parts (including thrusters) in this list. The ranking is not only based on "on paper" efficiency, but "tried and true" effectiveness at winning battles given tournament rules. Since ships are a combination of parts, obviously there will be situations where ships can win while combining bad parts with good or excluding some high tier parts for others. I use my own intuition to judge parts individually, and by no means should ship builders try to cram all of the top tier parts into a ship.
This list changes at different price points, but I'll try to describe battles in the 1-1.5mil range with ships starting empty of energy and ammo. Generally, the higher the budget, the better missiles and railguns get.
God Tier (S rank)
This part is a must-have for a competitive ship. Not only does it give +75% thrust to adjacent thrusters, it also cuts their ramp-up time by 75%. Since huge thrusters are the most efficient and their ramp-up time would otherwise deter their use, the combination is obvious. When combined with boosters the passive power drain of the booster is not increased, practically giving you a net boost in thrust:energy ratio.
Shields are a premium defensive choice due to their unique property of regenerating damage. These are seen on all ships, fast or slow. To date I don't believe a ship without any shields at all has made it to the tournament finals.
Top Tier (A rank)
The long range and high burst damage of railguns makes them a premium choice of weapon for slow, defensive ships (spinners) which would otherwise potentially be outranged and kited. Railgun-based ships can still be kited by auto-firing missiles, with low damage density.
When building a slow, defensive ship, armor is a must-have. It is out of favor for fast ships due to its high mass contribution compared to shield defense.
These cannons have a combination of good shot velocity, good accuracy, good damage, and good range, making them a solid turreted weapon choice in many situations. When combined with high omni-directional thrust, ships with these weapons have great ability to either kite or ram ships with inferior speed and/or weapons. I consider standard cannons in this patch to be the "baseline" turret weapon against which other turret weapons are compared.
EBs are top tier because they counter the awesomely useful shields. Anybody interested in winning a shootout is bringing some EBs to the fight.
These are the most efficient thrusters and one of the best parts to combine with engine rooms, making them a top thruster choice.
Mid Tier (B rank)
These are still the primo primary turret weapon for diagonal designs, which would otherwise be greatly limited by the firing arcs of cannons. Fast omni walls may also have success with these in duels.
Boosters are an interesting but more micro-intensive alternative to huge thrusters for omni walls. High value when paired with an engine room. The ramp-up buff given to huge thrusters by engine rooms somewhat depletes the booster's instant ramp-up advantage.
Explosive charges have some unique properties and deserve mention. They are the only way to instantly give a ship "negative mass" by removing other unwanted parts (such as armor or crew quarters) or to split one ship into multiple ships. This can give a ship flexibility to fight effectively in different match-ups. Splitting one cannon wall into two is a hard counter to some ship types. Using weapons to split your own ships is a slower and more micro-intensive alternative.
Energy storage is a great way to extend shield life against sustained damage or expedite PD energy supply.
Low Tier (C rank)
While not as generally useful as standard cannons due to their low shot velocity, large cannons are still worthy of fear when attached to a fast-forward ramming ship. Large cannons are the most effective ramming weapon in the game due to their high damage, high penetration, high hit points, and long barrels.
Ions are out of favor, despite being able to relatively safely melt spinner armor or the front of an orbiting omni wall. Because brawling ions demand armor for protection, ships using them are limited to medium speed at best. Innovative design and play in this patch may be able to save ions from this tier, probably with new (or old) kiting designs.
- Large Thrusters
- Standard Thrusters
Since engine rooms make huge thrusters extremely good, these medium thrusters are only useful for filling in gaps.
These turreted weapons underperform due to their relatively low shot velocity and short range.
Garbage Tier (F rank)
- Small Thrusters (all variations)
A very inefficient way to get thrust. Only viable on the smallest ships where larger thrusters just won't fit. Consider building a larger ship to take advantage of engine rooms.
- Ammo Storage
- Missile Storage
Ammo and missiles cost so little to produce and the storage capacity is so low that these are just not useful.
Funky Tier (conspicuously unranked)
These are in a weird spot. They are both either God Tier or Garbage Tier depending on the ratio of one to the other across teams, and missile barges (the most viable application of missiles) are generally hard countered by multiple ships. Missiles are hilariously broken when starting with full energy. I decline to put them in a regular tier this patch.
