Well. I'm rank 90 now, and I am starting to try and blitz my weapons tree, but just how far should I go? I'm getting anti protons, but should I keep going after that? It would be fun to hit the damage cap again...

Here are my stats:
Size Class: Heavy Battleship
Space: 467 / 474
Hull: 1310
Shield: 50
Energy: 450
Attack: 776
Defense: 516
Scan: 85
Cloak: 5
Cargo: 101 / 175
Upkeep: 4.5M
Sillixx: Shipsize +10%
Explorer: Scan +20%

Weapons Heavy Quantum Devastator x3, Psionic Amplifier, Dominion Cannon x4, Prototype Mech XV
Energy Antimatter Reactor - Mark IV x3, Drannik Power Core, F.A.T.H.E.R., Omicron Injector
Sensors Exo-Temporal Translator, Stryll Transponder x2, AI Supercomputer
Hull Merged Nanosphere Plating x4
Shields Q-Phase Battery Array, Harmonic Resonator
Cloaking none
Defenses Microwarp Nacelle - Mark III x2, Thrust Stabilizer

Yeah, I got a bit of a jump to go for anti-protons, but I'm 1/3 of the way through sing launchers (gunna upgrade when I get heavy anti-protons).

Also, any changes to my config?

You shouldnt even go to AntiProtons.Im on Singularity Launchers at rank 119. Advance your other tech

Na. I'm trying to get back into PVP and most people my rank already have sing launchers. My BT also has a nasty habit of only pulling up enemies higher ranks than me.

ok, heres what you need to do. get 5 more cannons. if you upgrade your 3 cannons to antuprotons, thats like an extra 300 attack. if you get 5 more singularity launchers then you get an extra 1000 attack. or so. more guns is always the way to go in this game. feel free to go for antiprotons, but be warned that the research requirement curves VERY quickly after that. unless your up to 4000+ research per hour (and you may well be if you have a dyson) then stop at antiprotons. when i had 8 antiproton cannons i had over 2500 attack. i kept those until rank 215. then i began my research to thetacron cannons. and it was definitly worth it.

Also: 5 sings is much more space than 3 anti protons...
I'm actually running with 2 cannons now, because I want all my special modules installed to save cargo space.
608-908 attack makes a huge difference.

Based on stats off of wiki:
Heavy Antiproton Cannon 43 +250 x3= 129 space, 750 attack.
Heavy Singularity Launcher 39 +207 x4= 156 space, 828 attack.
Extra 27 space for 128 attack.
Heavy Graviton Shearer 27 +102.

Yeah, okay that works. But I honestly don't have a spare 27 decks. Why do you think I have 3 cannons not 8?
My ship build tends to stay the same, just upgrade over time.

3 cannons,
4 dominions,
Psionic Amp
2 defenses,
4 hulls,
3 reactors,

Any other space is designated to special modules. (3 exo temporal translators, 2 stryll transponders, stryll hunt sensor (All sensors... wierd.)

I agree with Vekno, let me share with you my draw out when I was rank 85 as a slow builder for PvPer

Rank target & goals...
by Rank 95 (20% completion)
by Rank 115 (40% completion)
by Rank 135 (60% completion)
by Rank 155 (80% completion)
by Rank 175 (100% completion)

8X WEAPON: Light Antiproton Cannon (41) +228
5X SHIELD: Heavy Stasis Shield (40) +233
4X DEFENSE Thrusters: Phase Shift Engine - Mark III (62) +266
4X DEFENSE Dampeners: Quantum Overlay Engine - Mark III (70) +336
5X HULL: Merged Nexus Armor (31) +540
3X ENERGY: Zero-Point Reactor - Mark IV (33) +175
4X ENERGY RELAYS: X Conduit (5) +15
*SCANNER: UNLIMITED (WHEN ALL ABOVE IS DONE)
*CLOAK: NONE (SKIP for now)

Need about 1500-1600 total deck space

I m now rank 179, and my goals is overdue I got....

8X Light Antiproton Cannon
2X Heavy Stasis Shield
3X Thrusters: Phase Shift Engine Mark III
4X Dampeners: Quantum Overlay Engine Mark III
4X Merged Nexus Armor
3X Zero-Point Reactor - Mark IV
4X X Conduit

*All gears are just below the priceline approaching crazy amount of credits & upkeeps (This will allow me to save up to prevent most common major issue as a high ranker player) But with all those nice weekly missions thrown me off tracks... I should be getting everything done by Rank 200. Hope this help!

P.S. I think most players don't have good planning for their build or under estimating the cost for mining credits, so they drive towards bigger gears which they often end up borrowing credits from players. I hope I won't run into that issue

I also agree with Vekno. You are much better off having more guns instead of stronger ones. Your other tech seems to be lagging. I have a similar weapon load to you and destroy almost anyone within 50 ranks higher. What you really need is more decks. Take some time to collect ship bots and rescued prisoners.

My weapons at rank 112
Heavy Quantum Devestator x4 (plus 4 more in storage for when I need some extra punch)
Dominion Cannon x4
Crimson auto phaser x3
Vortul blast phaser
Psionic amplifier

Attack 1120 (around 2000 w/ other 4 cannons)
defense 595
scan 495
cloak 185
decks 656

Oh, and unless you have space to burn forget about the exo-temps. Just keep them in storage until you need them for an invasion. The decryption quads are much more valuable as a permanent addition.

Get the weapons you want. 8 like they said. Meanwhile you research the other tech, scan/defense/energy, put some points in tactical at level that way you can get attack without having to upgrade. Might not be a lot but you will have your attack going up. Then when everything you want lvls out. I got almost every tech in my lines to requiring Kurinite before I got Heavy Nulls. I got to light then worked the rest of the tech tree.

+1

Totally agree! definitely need to slow down to collect more extra deck space from artis. I m a believer in building width

I already forsee a huge problem with the weapons you have. Antiproton cannons are not cheap with their upkeep. After that is Null Rays and anyone who has them will tell you that they will eat away at your credits faster than a termite in a lumbermill. You need to focus on expanding your cargo hold and also follow Vekno's advice. Stop at the tier you have and, if you have the deck space, max out the amount of weapons you can have.

Okay, it's pretty clear that I shouldn't go for Null rays.
As for sitting back and getting ship bots/rescued prisoners, my artifact is still my weakest resource... Around half my mining or 1/3 my research... I neglected it early on and I'm only just starting to get it up.

I have my plan:
Sing Launchers
Q Phased Platings
Sub Dimensional Sensors
Possibly the tier after Sub Dimensional Sensors - Wait and see how much effect they have.
Quantum Assembly
Anti-Protons
Singularity Reactors
Phase Shift Arrays

All of that will take me ages to complete, so that will do.