Armor Piercer

Armor Piercer is a munition type in .

Background
Effective against armor plating. Low hull damage.

Overview
Armor-piercing munition is a misnomer; it would be more accurate to call this armor-stripping ammunition, as this will greatly reduce an enemy's armor, but do very limited impact to the hull points. This is a guided munition, and salvos will track enemy targets identified on radar (Dradis).

Because capital ships rely on both armor and hull points to maintain integrity, Armor-piercing ammunition can greatly increase the effectiveness of hull-based and hull/armor-damaging munitions, such as the Guided Missile, Torpedo, and ship ballistics (bullets, artillery, and flak). In areas fully stripped of armor, all damage depletes hull points directly.

Strategy
While this is a very useful munition, its severe limitation on hull damage means that players need to use it in tandem with a hull-depleting follow up.

The Ranger and Janus-class capital ships benefit the most from using this in a munitions slot, as they can immediately fire a follow-up of munitions to damaged areas of enemy ships. As such, they can use a one-two punch of sorts, using the armor-piercer to strip the outer defense and fire a second salvo of Guided Missiles or Torpedoes to further cripple or destroy the enemy vessel.

Use with Battlestars will depend on the player's preference in using escort screens or a direct-fire approach. For a screen, place Armor-piercing ammunition in one of the escort ships to advance the forward attack, then load the Battlestar with to focus fire on the follow-up. Conversely, the Minerva-class battlestar can use this in a direct capacity, using one munition slot for the Armor-piercing munition and the second slot for a forceful follow-up. Very aggressive players may use the Nuke as the follow-up shot (160 armor/hull damage) as a finishing move for larger, more powerful enemy units; however, it is important to remember that this is a high-risk, high-reward tactic.