Typically, this kind of variant would not be all that relevant, but in this case I feel it has a role for the Technocracy.

Historically, the Broad Worb sub-caste eschew APBs and SSRs; their ships (like the CE), fighters (the Broad-2 etc), and ground bases (such as the GPC-B) all rely on phasers as their direct-fire weapons of choice. However, at the moment, the Broad Worb have no combat boats they would be willing to fly themselves.

So, I'd ask for phaser PFs and PFLs to, um, broaden their options.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Tuesday, February 13, 2018 - 04:18 pm: Edit

While writing up a "volatile warp" proposal for the Hivers, I noticed that while the year-in-service date for the "standard" (APB-armed) Worb PF (OR16.PF2) is Y204, the Worb PFT (OR16.13) had been around since Y202.

The Omega timeline notes that the Worb first got samples of both PF and X-technology in Y199; though given the parlous state of the Technocracy at that time, it's only reasonable for there to be a considerable delay before they could get to adopting either technology in earnest.

So, while the Worb might have deployed Interceptors for use with the earliest PFTs, perhaps another option could be to have the Broad Worb field phaser PFs starting in Y202 (and phaser PFLs in Y203), and only gradually for the other Worb castes to adopt "volatile warp" for use in fielding their own PFs?

Also, I should note that, according to (OG14.332), PFs can use subspace energy fields, though Interceptors cannot; however, PF-equipped SEFs are limited to two points of power. If one were to adjust the current Worb PF flotilla SSD to create a Broad Worb phaser PF flotilla, perhaps the place of the subspace rocket variant could be taken by a variant equipped with a single SEF in place of the two SSRs? (According to Annex #8B in the 2011 Omega Master Rulebook, an SEF requires two centerline adjacent option mounts, so even a miniaturized version for use on a PF would probably need to take up both FA weapon mounts.)