In the 4.5 PTU patch of Star Citizen, Point Defense Cannons (PDCs) now engage falling bombs regardless of ship hostility, but their tracking and accuracy remain poor, often allowing bombs to hit and damage ships. While the feature works in principle, server issues and ineffective targeting currently limit the PDCs’ ability to reliably destroy incoming bombs.
In this video, the creator tests a new feature in the latest 4.5 PTU patch of Star Citizen, where the Point Defense Cannons (PDCs) are supposed to shoot at falling bombs regardless of whether the ship is hostile or friendly. The test involves the creator flying an A1 Spirit and attacking Luke Skywalker’s Perseus without being in a party to see if the Perseus’ PDC will engage the bombs. Initially, the PDC does not react to the bombs, even when the Perseus has full shields and weapons on. However, when a missile is fired first to generate aggro, the PDC starts shooting at the missile but still does not effectively target the bombs.
The creator then drops bombs near the Perseus to see if the PDC will engage them within its two-kilometer range. Although the PDC does start shooting when bombs are dropped close, it struggles to hit or destroy them. Some bombs explode near the Perseus, causing damage and even setting the ship on fire. Despite the PDC firing at the bombs, the tracking and accuracy appear poor, and the bombs often evade destruction, sometimes even damaging the Perseus itself.
Next, the test is repeated on Luke’s Polaris, with bombs dropped from above while the ship is airborne. The PDC does shoot at the bombs even when the ship is not aggressive towards the creator, confirming the patch note that PDCs will shoot at bombs regardless of hostility. However, similar to the Perseus test, the PDC’s shots rarely hit the bombs. Multiple bombs are dropped, and although the PDC fires at them, the tracking remains ineffective, and the bombs mostly pass through or explode near the ship, causing significant damage.
The creator notes that the PDC is trying to shoot at the bombs but consistently misses, possibly due to server issues or desynchronization. Despite the PDC’s attempts, the bombs frequently hit the ships, causing heavy damage or destruction, as seen when the Polaris is critically damaged and its engines shut down. This suggests that while the feature is working in principle, the effectiveness of PDCs against falling bombs is currently limited and needs improvement.
In conclusion, the video demonstrates that the new 4.5 PTU patch feature where PDCs shoot at bombs is partially functional—the PDCs do engage bombs regardless of hostility. However, the poor tracking, accuracy, and possible server lag mean that PDCs are not reliably destroying bombs yet. The creator suggests that with better tuning and server stability, the PDCs might become more effective in countering bomb attacks in future updates.