Gatling Ray

"The Gatling Ray is a relentless Energy weapon that fires a rapid series of shots which can punch through a single target."

General
"The Gatling Ray has the piercing power to slice through even the most well-armored enemy hulls."

- Sybil

The Gatling Ray is a rapid-firing Energy weapon with the piercing ability, named after the real-life Gatling Gun.

It fires a stream of yellow bolts with a brief reload. These bolts can travel through one target and hit another behind it, damaging both of them.

Advantages
"Tear your enemies apart with the Gatling Ray."

- Event Store

Gatling Rays can potentially double their DPS by hitting targets that are lined up. This allows them to have incredible power, shredding through compact fleets with ease.

Gatling Rays also prevent shield-switching because blocking does not work against this weapon. Fleets equipped with this weapon can focus-fire and take out one ship at a time without issue.

Due to the continuous firing pattern, ships that get attacked by Gatling Rays are unable to recharge their shields effectively. It also minimizes overkill as the weapon quickly switches to the next target.

Disadvantages
Gatling Rays have relatively poor mass efficiency compared to other Energy weapons, so they underperform against enemies that are spread out when they can only hit one target.

They do not home in like most Energy weapons and are therefore not as accurate, especially at long ranges. Even if the enemy does not dodge, the spread is wide enough that some DPS is lost.

Trivia

 * Gatling Rays previously suffered from a bug in which some bullets fired did not connect with their targets, resulting in significantly diminished firepower.