How do weapons work in Dominion Earth?

Ships in Dominion Earth carry directional gun mounts — front, left, right and rear — and each gun fires in the direction it is mounted. You cycle to the gun facing your target rather than always turning to face it. Bolts travel at a finite speed, so you must lead a moving target, and sustained fire builds heat until the weapon locks out to cool.

Why can't I fire my weapon in Dominion Earth?

The most likely reason is heat. Weapons in Dominion Earth build heat while firing and lock out until they cool, so holding the trigger down costs you the next few seconds. The other common reason is that a special such as a torpedo or missile is out of ammunition, which is restored by rearming at a friendly base.

How far do missiles reach?

Specials such as torpedoes and missiles only launch at a target within 2500 units in Dominion Earth. Outside that range nothing fires. The weapons panel shows the current lock and the range, so a target listed as too far cannot be engaged with a special until you close.

Dominion Earth weapons: guns, heat and specials

4 August 2026 · Dominion Earth guides

Shooting in Dominion Earth rewards positioning over reflexes, and it is built on three rules that catch most new pilots out: guns fire in the direction they are mounted, bolts take time to arrive, and holding the trigger locks you out.

Guns fire where they point

Every ship carries directional mounts — front, left, right, and on most hulls a rear gun. A gun fires along its own facing. That means a target off your left wing is engaged by cycling to the left gun, not by hauling the nose round to face it. Learning to shoot sideways while still moving where you want to go is the single biggest jump in skill in this game.

The light hulls carry only a front and rear gun, so they must point at things. From the second hull upward you get sides, and the whole geometry of a fight changes.

Bolts travel

Shots are not instant. Against anything that is moving across you, firing at where a ship is means missing behind it. Lead the target. This is why the light hulls are dangerous out of proportion to their guns — at 880 speed and 180 degrees per second they are genuinely hard to hit.

Heat

Sustained fire builds heat. Push it far enough and the weapon locks out until it cools, which in a close fight is the difference between winning and dying with a full magazine. Fire in bursts. The heat bar sits under the weapons rack and is worth watching more than the ammunition count.

Specials: torpedoes, missiles, mines and the warhead

On top of the guns, most hulls carry a limited loadout of specials. They share a three-second launch timer, so you cannot chain them, and they are restored by rearming at a friendly base.

Torpedoes — heavy, and effective against structures. The strike ship's answer to a starbase.
Missiles — homing, and the reason a lock matters. They only launch at something within 2500 units.
Mines — dropped astern, live for about thirty seconds, and harmless to your own side.
Avenger Nuke — a bombardment warhead carried only by the carrier, and usable only against a planet. It kills warriors on the ground sectors it lands near.

The mistake almost everyone makes first

Selecting a target with the closest-target key and then wondering why nothing launches. Specials refuse beyond 2500 units, and in a sector this size most contacts are further away than they look. The weapons panel tells you: it shows the lock, or the target and its distance marked too far, or that there is no target at all.

A beginner's first ten minutes →

← Dominion Earth ships: stats, loadouts and roles

All ten hulls, the real numbers, and the job each one is actually built for.

How to capture a planet in Dominion Earth →

Nine sectors, one carrier, and a lot of people trying to stop you. The ground game explained.

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