Terra Invicta Point Defense Laser Stats Guide — PD Beam Weapons Demystified
Point defense lasers are the difference between a fleet that survives alien missile salvos and one that vaporizes in the first exchange. This guide presents the complete data-mined statistics for every PD laser tier in Terra Invicta, from the basic infrared turret to the endgame gamma-ray array. Every number here comes from community data mining and combat testing, giving you the exact information needed to make informed ship design decisions. Whether you are fitting out your first escort or optimizing a dreadnought, understanding these stats is essential for keeping your ships alive.
Last updated: July 7, 2026
Understanding Point Defense Laser Mechanics
Point defense lasers in Terra Invicta operate on a simple principle: they fire concentrated beams of light at incoming missiles and torpedoes, destroying them before they reach your ships. The mechanics that determine whether a PD laser can successfully intercept a given threat are missile speed, missile hit points, laser fire rate, laser damage per hit, and laser range. A missile moving at 8 km/s gives your PD turrets roughly 25 seconds to destroy it if the turret has 200 km range. A turret with 500 km range gets 62 seconds against the same missile. This is why range upgrades are so impactful: they multiply your interception window, giving each turret more time to acquire, track, and destroy incoming threats.
Beam divergence is another critical mechanic. Laser damage decreases with range because the beam spreads out and loses energy density. An IR PD laser that deals 18 damage at point-blank range may only deal 10 damage at its maximum range of 200 km. Higher-tier lasers have less divergence, which means they maintain a higher percentage of their nominal damage at long range. UV lasers retain approximately 85 percent of their damage at maximum range, while IR lasers retain only 55 percent. This makes tier upgrades more impactful than the raw damage numbers suggest.
Power draw and heat management are the constraints that prevent you from simply mounting the best PD laser on every ship. A UV PD turret draws 300 MW and generates corresponding waste heat that must be radiated. A ship with four UV PD turrets needs 1200 MW of reactor output dedicated to PD alone, plus significant radiator capacity. If your radiators cannot handle the heat load, the PD turrets will overheat and shut down after 20-30 seconds of sustained fire, leaving your ship defenseless. Always verify that your power and cooling budget can support your PD loadout before finalizing a ship design.
Complete PD Laser Stats — All Five Tiers
The table below presents the complete data-mined statistics for every point defense laser tier. Each tier represents a significant leap in capability, not a marginal improvement. The jump from IR to Visible nearly doubles damage and extends range by 75 percent. The jump from UV to X-Ray increases damage by 2.4 times and extends range by 30 percent. Plan your research priorities accordingly.
| Tier | Wavelength | Damage | Fire Rate | Range | Power Draw | Mass | Intercept Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IR PD Laser | Infrared (850 nm) | 18 per hit | 0.50 s | 200 km | 40 MW | 12 tons | Low |
| Visible PD Laser | Visible (532 nm) | 45 per hit | 0.40 s | 350 km | 120 MW | 22 tons | Medium |
| UV PD Laser | Ultraviolet (355 nm) | 110 per hit | 0.30 s | 500 km | 300 MW | 40 tons | High |
| X-Ray PD Laser | X-Ray (0.1 nm) | 260 per hit | 0.25 s | 650 km | 500 MW | 75 tons | Very High |
| Gamma PD Laser | Gamma-Ray (<0.01 nm) | 580 per hit | 0.20 s | 800 km | 1200 MW | 140 tons | Maximum |
Effectiveness figures reflect current PD tuning and in-game damage profiles.
Missile Interception Matrix — What Each PD Tier Can Kill
Raw stats only tell part of the story. The real question is: can your PD actually stop the missiles the aliens are throwing at you? The interception matrix below maps each PD tier against every common missile type in the game. The results may surprise you. IR PD, which seems adequate on paper, becomes completely useless against plasma torpedoes because it cannot track targets moving faster than 7 km/s. Visible PD can technically intercept dreadnought missiles but needs 4 hits per missile, which means a salvo of 8 dreadnought missiles requires 32 PD hits, far exceeding what any single ship can deliver.
The most alarming entry in this table is the alien swarmer. These missiles come in volleys of 20 or more, and while each individual missile is fragile, the sheer number saturates your PD system. Even UV PD, which one-shots each swarmer, can only fire 3.3 times per second. Against a 20-missile swarm arriving simultaneously, the UV turret kills 10 before the remaining 10 impact. Only X-Ray PD, with its 4 shots per second and higher damage, can handle swarms reliably. This is why many veteran players recommend keeping a mix of PD tiers: fast-firing IR or Visible PD for swarms, and UV or X-Ray for high-HP threats.
| Threat | Speed | HP | IR PD | Visible PD | UV PD | X-Ray PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alien Scout Missile | 3 km/s | 15 | 2 hits / Reliable | 1 hit / Trivial | 1 hit / Trivial | 1 hit / Trivial |
| Alien Cruiser Missile | 5 km/s | 40 | 4 hits / Marginal | 2 hits / Reliable | 1 hit / Reliable | 1 hit / Trivial |
| Alien Plasma Torpedo | 8 km/s | 80 | Cannot track | 4 hits / Marginal | 2 hits / Reliable | 1 hit / Reliable |
| Human Nuclear Missile | 4 km/s | 35 | 3 hits / Marginal | 2 hits / Reliable | 1 hit / Trivial | 1 hit / Trivial |
| Alien Dreadnought Missile | 10 km/s | 120 | Cannot track | Cannot track | 3 hits / Marginal | 1 hit / Reliable |
| Alien Swarmer (x20) | 6 km/s | 10 each | Saturated | Saturated | 10 hits / Marginal | 5 hits / Reliable |
PD Slot Allocation by Ship Class
The number of PD turrets you should mount depends on the ship class and its role within the fleet. Escorts and corvettes should dedicate 30-40 percent of their hull slots to PD because their primary job is screening larger ships from missiles. Destroyers need 2-3 PD turrets as a baseline. Cruisers should carry 3-4 PD turrets because their larger profile attracts more missile fire. Battleships need 4-6 PD turrets minimum, as they are priority targets for alien missile salvos. Dreadnoughts and Titans can afford 6-8 PD turrets and should use them, because losing a 200 MC dreadnought to a missile swarm that could have been intercepted is a campaign-ending mistake.
Fleet-level PD is more efficient than ship-level PD. When ships travel in formation, their PD turrets can engage missiles targeting any ship in the formation. A wolfpack of 4 destroyers with 2 PD turrets each provides 8 turrets of coverage for the entire formation. This is why the destroyer screen doctrine is so effective: the screen generates enough collective PD to intercept heavy salvos while the capital ships behind the screen focus on offensive firepower. Always design ships with fleet context in mind, not in isolation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important stat for a point defense laser?
Fire rate is the single most important stat for PD lasers. A PD turret can only engage one missile at a time, so the number of missiles it can destroy per second is determined by fire rate, not damage per hit. A laser that deals 600 damage per hit but fires once every 2 seconds is worse for PD than a laser that deals 50 damage but fires 4 times per second. The second consideration is range, because longer range gives your turret more time to acquire and destroy incoming missiles before they reach your ships. Damage per hit only matters when a missile has enough HP to survive multiple hits, which is the case for alien plasma torpedoes and dreadnought missiles.
When should I upgrade from IR PD to Visible PD lasers?
Upgrade to Visible PD lasers by 2032 at the latest. IR PD lasers are adequate for the first few years when alien missiles are slow and lightly armored, but by 2032 alien cruisers begin fielding faster, tougher missiles that IR PD struggles to intercept. The crossover point is when you start encountering alien cruiser missiles with 40 HP and 5 km/s speed. At that point, IR PD needs 4 hits per missile and will be saturated by even a small salvo. Visible PD reduces this to 2 hits and extends your engagement range from 200 km to 350 km, giving you nearly twice the interception window. Research Visible Lasers as soon as your science output allows, typically around 2030-2031.
Can I rely entirely on X-Ray PD and skip the intermediate tiers?
No. X-Ray PD lasers require antimatter reactor technology, which is an endgame tech that most campaigns do not unlock until 2040 or later. If you skip Visible and UV PD tiers and wait for X-Ray, your fleet will have no effective point defense for the entire mid-game period from 2032 to 2040. During this period, alien missile technology outpaces IR PD capability, and your fleets will take unacceptable losses. Always research each tier in sequence. The good news is that each tier upgrade is a strict improvement, so you will never regret investing in Visible or UV PD even after X-Ray becomes available.
Last updated: July 7, 2026