Talk:Ion Projector/@comment-162.250.174.58-20161029044409/@comment-454133-20161029063320

Depends on what you're fighting and what you need to do to your foe. Lasers are a 50% chance for flat damage with no defense roll, which makes some ships very nervous about risking a crash (high-agility fighters that rely on evading shots), but others won't care so much (they can afford the hit, if it even rolls one). The free damage on top of position and action denial can be a serious problem for some ships.

This card gives a 50% chance to ion the target, which for small ships could be very disabling, especially if they're stressed. If you cause a k-turning interceptor to ram you and roll a hit with this card, the enemy loses all control over its position next turn. It fails to k-turn, it cannot choose a good maneuver next round and/or de-stress with a green, so it also cannot boost/barrel roll, or even focus/evade for its defense. It's extremely vulnerable. Line it up for a volley with your team and end it. (in general this is a great way to use ion weapons, and this card threatens to deliver an ion any time you block their movement, even if they would easily evade an ion cannon/turret)

But they're both only 50% chances, so they often don't pan out as well as you'd hope due to dice betrayal. Though if the opponent gets cocky about the odds and ignores them, he could be in for some trouble. Perhaps their best purpose is to make the foe just nervous enough about running into you, and use that threat to try to guide them to maneuvering more safely, which you can predict a little better and then exploit.

Or for a low-PS ship that loves to viciously position itself to interrupt enemy maneuvers (e.g. Manaroo loves to barrel roll into the worst positions), then it adds additional perks to being a fat jerk. :D  The jumpmaster in particular (with its huge barrel roll) is excellent at causing an ioned ship to repeatedly ram it. You won't deliver an ion or damage every time, but when you do, it's terrible.