Editing Beam Overview (section)

==Overview==
Beam weapons are very short-ranged compared to missile weapons but they can do a lot of damage in a short space of time and they don't need ammunition. Beam-armed ships can be deadly when waiting in ambush at a [[jump point]]. Every ship suffers [[jump shock]] after a jump and a beam ship can do a lot of damage in that time, if it is experienced enough to respond to orders quickly. 

All beam weapons work in a vacuum.  Only Mesons will work through any thickness of atmosphere.  All other beam weapons lose power as the atmosphere gets denser on a linear scale with 1 atmosphere pressure being the point where beam weapons lose 100% power. Similarly, Beam weapon effective range will be reduced in [[Nebulae]] systems.

Beam Weapons are designed [[component]]s. Each component has several background technologies that can be set independently to configure a weapon for the desired cost-benefit balance. The balance between different weapons will vary as they all advance. In any event, Aurora is very situational and often you need the right weapon for the situation. There isn't a 'best' weapon for all circumstances.