In any hostile area, weapons are a necessity, be they used to attack or simply to defend the ship they are mounted on. For warships with have to take the fight to the enemy, this is especially true, and generally the heavier the weapons mounted, the more damage that can be inflicted on enemy capital ships.
However, do not neglect the smaller weapons either. Large weapons are of no use against fighters, and in the BSG universe, fighters are the real ship killers.
The following table gives an indication of how many weapons can be mounted on a ship. The values listed are percentages of the total SSD boxes that may be used to mount weapons of a particular type. Round to the nearest value.
So, for example, a medium Colonial warship with 130 SSD boxes may carry a maximum of 19 phaser 3's and 9 heavy weapons.
| Colonial Weapons | Cylon Weapons | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship Size | Ph.3 | Heavy | Ph.3 | Heavy |
| Tiny | 25% | 1* | 25% | 1* |
| Small | 16.7% | 5.6% | 16.7% | 5.6% |
| Moderate | 14.3% | 6.7% | 15.3% | 6.7% |
| Medium | 14.3% | 6.7% | 14.3% | 6.7% |
| Large | 15.8% | 6.7% | 16.7% | 6.7% |
| Massive | 11.7% | 6.25% | 14.3% | 6.25% |
| Huge | 10% | 6.25% | 12% | 6.25% |
* denotes a fixed value of 1, not a percentage value.
Round to the nearest value.
Note that heavy weapons may never take the space of phaser 3's and neither may a ship sacrifice heavy weapons to carry additional phaser 3's. A heavy weapon is any weapon that is not a Phaser 3.
The only exception to this, is the phaser 2. Ships may sacrifice up to 50% of their alloted phaser 3's, and convert them to phaser 2's at a 2:1 ratio. So, a ship which is able to carry eight phaser 3's may convert four of them into two phaser 2's. That ship is them only allowed to mount four phaser 3's. This is the Only time that this may be done.
Civilian ships use the Colonial portion of the chart, but may only carry half as many weapons, and legally, no heavy weapons.
The following is a list of all weapons that exist in the 'official' BSG universe. Weapons not listed on the following list (i.e., phaser gatlings) do not exist and therefore may not be used unless you are using additional alien races, cross-overs or the like.
| Phaser 1: |
The large pulsar laser, and generally the main anti-capital ship weapon of choice. On early ships, the phaser 1 may only be carried on size class 2 or larger ships. It is generally considered rare. |
| Phaser 2: | Secondary pulsar lasers, or the main assault weapon of early years or smaller ships. |
| Phaser 3: | The main turbo laser battery on ships. Unlike the other weapons, this actually represents a small battery of weapons rather than a single one. Found on every ship! |
| Phaser 4: | A large assault laser. Only two ships (three if you include the unofficial conjectural Gunstar Variant) mount these weapons, and no more ever will. Bases only. It is not available at all in early years ships. |
| Colonial Missiles: | A much more powerful anti-capital ship weapon that lasers, but can be targeted and shot down. Also requires ammunition. Useful as a finishing touch weapon. |
| Cylon Missiles: | Much like Colonial missiles, but slower and easier to shoot down. Best used against slow targets and in swarms. |
| Mini-Missile Launcher: | A light weapon, found on fighters and attack shuttles and used against other small targets. |
| Rocket Launcher: | A light weapon found on smaller ships. Very slow, but packing a powerful punch. |
| Small Mine Rack: | These are the only types of mine available in the early years. |
| Mine Rack: | |
| Boa Bombs | These are specific Viper Variant weapons only. |
| Cobra Missiles | These are specific Viper Variant weapons only. |
For more details of weapons, see here.