Rapid Fire
From Per Regna
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Rapid Fire
Rapid Fire (RF) is a ship-vs-ship combat modifier. Catalog RF values say how effectively one hull type can cut down another in the same battle (for example, capital ships shredding swarms of light craft).
RF is capped at 20 in combat calculations.
What players feel
- High RF against a target type means those shooters can remove many of that hull per round — soft screens and light craft die fast under strong RF.
- Low RF (including logistics with RF 1) does not donate “free kill slots” to capitals. Soft ships only contribute kills according to the damage they actually deal.
- RF tables are defined per ship type in the fleet catalog (see individual ship pages and rapid-fire lists on those pages).
Carrier screen
Carriers (and similar escorts with RF-cancel) soften enemy rapid fire against your fleet:
- Each Carrier contributes cancel/cover points (Carrier: 2 cancel points covering 20 friendly hulls each in catalog terms).
- Screen points are capped (about 3 cancel points max in the combat model).
- Screens cancel at most half of the attacker’s RF advantage — you always keep at least half of a strong RF edge.
- Screens are recomputed each round — lost Carriers mean thinner protection later in the fight.
- Guardian class improves RF cancel effectiveness (about +50% to cancel points).
Screens reduce RF pressure; they do not erase it.
Practical tips
- Bring Carriers when you expect RF-heavy enemy fleets (Battlecruisers, Destroyers, etc. into your light lines).
- Don’t rely on cargo/probes to “soak” RF kill budgets for your capitals — soft hulls no longer donate unused kill ceilings.
- Check each ship page’s rapid-fire list when theorycrafting counters.