Mercury Beam

"The Mercury Beam is an extremely powerful Energy weapon that relies on the massive power reserves of a carrier class ship."

General
The Mercury Beam is a conventional Energy weapon for and only for the Dominion Carrier. Unlike other ship weapons, it is equipped on the hangar slot and cannot be improved by weapon boosts.

It charges up for a brief moment before firing a thin golden beam at its target.

Advantages
Mercury Beams have very high DPS relative to other Energy weapons. They cannot be diminished by enemy fire unlike squadrons, making them very reliable against enemies that get close and have adequate protection against squadrons.

Mercury Beams, however ineffective, can assist in destroying enemy squadrons, this can make a difference when both fleets are down to their carriers.

Mercury Beams do not display any firing arc, this can be used to trick the enemy into thinking that the carrier is undefended.

Disadvantages
Mercury Beams have low range and damage compared to squadrons and thus not useful in a full-fledged carrier battle. They are also readily outranged by battleships and destroyers.

Mercury Beams are weak against squadrons as they require a few seconds to charge up before being able to deal damage.

Trivia

 * The Mercury Beam is the first conventional weapon for carriers.
 * The Mercury Beam is the longest-range Energy ship weapon obtainable by players.
 * The Mercury Beam originally was supposed to be a ship squadron according to game files, hence its design.