Most overhyped Weapon...

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What in your opinion was the most over-hyped weapon on Trek, my vote goes to the acient Vulcan Weapon in TNG episode "Gambit" pts 1 and 2.
It was a total joke IMHO, it was slow, not to accurate and it needed the person to be killed to be upset and angry. Heck, any good Ferengi Disruptor would be a much better weapon then this piece of ancient Vulcan Technology, Yet Pickard goes through all the trouble to prevent the bad guys/gals from getting their hands on it, any thoughts...

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

The Anti-Borg majigger in Best of Both Worlds. *Pew pew pew* *Fizzle*

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

 

[2 of 10]

^^
Love your caption, too funny...

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Corbomite. It's destructive power was given that awesome build-up, and Kirk never bothered to use it.

 

[Kryton]

He used it quite effectively in TWO, count 'em TWO episodes of TOS!

It's not his fault no one ever took the time to actually INVENT the thing.

 

[Gotham Central]

Quantum Torpedoes

They were supposed to be the new thing in weapons. In practice they seemed no more effective than regular phototorps. Thus the need to invent ever more powerful glowing balls of light.

 

[kv1at3485]

Multi-vector assault mode. Or does that count more as a technique?

 

[Evil_Kirkneivel]

The Photonic Cannon in the Voyager episode Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy. Like Corbomite, it was all hype.

 

[Forbin]

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

 

[omnirad]

The Varon-T disruptor from TNG's "The Most Toys'. Sure it took an agonizingly slow 3 seconds to disintergrate someone. But you were just as non-existant and dead in the end, so quit yer bitchin' already!

 

[LLAP]

The Photonic Cannon in the Voyager episode Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy. Like Corbomite, it was all hype.

Damn you!!! I was going to say that

 

[Deks]

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

But the problem is that we are talking about torpedoes vs shields and futuristic hull that were designed to withstand such weapons up to a certain limit.
So there is a high possibility that most of the explosion is confined to the shields which absorb all that energy instead of it being released everywhere in a flash.
It's a possibility that the torpedoes were designed to focus the explosion in a singular direction ... so the shields will simply 'absorb' it from a certain perspective ... while at the same time producing large amount of damage.

But of course, real life explanation as to why these torpedoes never made a 'big-bang' effect when fired on a much weaker target or a planetary surface is: bad writing which reduced the level of technology on a whim because the writers are incapable of merging a highly advanced tech with drama ...
and most notably ... the SFX department messed up (which they did on a regular basis with phasers coming out of torpedo tubes and airlocks instead of actual phaser arrays).

What in your opinion was the most over-hyped weapon on Trek, my vote goes to the acient Vulcan Weapon in TNG episode "Gambit" pts 1 and 2.
It was a total joke IMHO, it was slow, not to accurate and it needed the person to be killed to be upset and angry. Heck, any good Ferengi Disruptor would be a much better weapon then this piece of ancient Vulcan Technology, Yet Pickard goes through all the trouble to prevent the bad guys/gals from getting their hands on it, any thoughts...

See the only problem I saw with that weapon was the fact it was slow ...
At the same time though, when you think about it, it can be used a very effective weapon because a lot of individuals/species (unlike the Vulcans) don't keep their emotions in check (of course specific individuals of various races not withstanding as we ARE talking about the masses/ergo sheep).

 

[FordSVT]

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

Well, for one thing you're comparing explosions in space with explosions in an atmosphere. An exploding nuke is space is just a glowing ball of plasma for a few seconds, there is no miles-wide visible cloud and firestorm and shock wave.

There is also mention in the Tech Manual that the yield of a photon torpedo is both adjustable and focused instead of widely dispersed like a traditional explosive.

 

[Rÿcher]

Yeah, I've got to go with the deflector anti-borg beam as well. What a let down. Used twice and got crap. At least give us something!

 

[Kryton]

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

Well, for one thing you're comparing explosions in space with explosions in an atmosphere. An exploding nuke is space is just a glowing ball of plasma for a few seconds, there is no miles-wide visible cloud and firestorm and shock wave.

Those bombs Jango Fett set off in the meteor field were probably fairly accurate (short of the whole "sound in space" thing, delayed or not).

 

[Herkimer Jitty]

Photon torpedoes. "A photon torpedo can blast the stuffing out of a planet's ecosystem!" *Photon torpedo hits a ship, has the yield of a cannonball*

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

Well, for one thing you're comparing explosions in space with explosions in an atmosphere. An exploding nuke is space is just a glowing ball of plasma for a few seconds, there is no miles-wide visible cloud and firestorm and shock wave.

There is also mention in the Tech Manual that the yield of a photon torpedo is both adjustable and focused instead of widely dispersed like a traditional explosive.

However, those explosions would still be a massive release of energy. More along the lines of a bright flash than anything fiery or whatever. Plus the yield as described in the tech manual would destroy or severely maim a ship in one hit, no doubt about it.

Yeah, the yield is adjustable and Starfleet doesn't shoot to kill, but that still doesn't account for the Klingons and about a million other races.

 

[FordSVT]

Si. Regular ol' WWII torpedos made bigger explosions than any photorp used post-TOS.

Well, for one thing you're comparing explosions in space with explosions in an atmosphere. An exploding nuke is space is just a glowing ball of plasma for a few seconds, there is no miles-wide visible cloud and firestorm and shock wave.

There is also mention in the Tech Manual that the yield of a photon torpedo is both adjustable and focused instead of widely dispersed like a traditional explosive.

However, those explosions would still be a massive release of energy. More along the lines of a bright flash than anything fiery or whatever. Plus the yield as described in the tech manual would destroy or severely maim a ship in one hit, no doubt about it.

I disagree. Shields seems to be able to absorb/redirect a massive amount of energy. In Tomorrow is Yesterday, the only reason they were worried about a potential nuclear strike damaging the Enterprise was because her shields were not functioning.

We've seen a single torpedo completely tear an unshielded ship apart however, there is no denying they are a powerful weapon. The yields of M/AM torpedoes can be calculated quite easily, they are much more powerful than modern fusion or fission weapons of the same mass.

And I'm certainly not going to argue on the merits of sfx shots. I don't believe Starships stand nose to nose a km away from one another and fire without maneuvering, and I don't think they changed the position of the phaser emitters on a regular basis either. Take it all with a bit of a grain of salt.

 

[QuasarVM]

The Veron T disruptor used in The Most Toys...

 

[apenpaap]

The Incredible Evil Death Ray Of Doom (or whatever it was called) from Bride of Chaotica!

 

[miraclefan]

The valeron, vorlon, veaterron, or the whateverthehelleron MEGADEATH beam weapon the scimatar had from NEMESIS!