HQ Plot Boarding the Orca - Resolved.

[smitj]

I have tried boarding the Orca dozens of times using 4 boarding pods each containing 5 well trained marines. 9 times out of ten all four boarding pods are destroyed before reaching the target, occasionally one will get through. Any tips or ideas as to what I am doing wrong.

[AleksMain]

I have tried boarding the Orca dozens of times using 4 boarding pods each containing 5 well trained marines. 9 times out of ten all four boarding pods are destroyed before reaching the target, occasionally one will get through. Any tips or ideas as to what I am doing wrong.

1. I think, that your M7M is too close to Orca (must be at least 6 km far from boarding target or even more).
2. You must use something like Flail Barrage Missiles as cover for boarding pods (then enemy turrets will attack those missiles instead of boarding pods) .

See quotes below for details.

Once the target shields are at <5% order the boarding M7M to use the Launch Marines command or

select and launch your boarding pods like a regular missiles

and keep launching a Flail/Ghoul Missile every second until the Boarding Pods make contact with the target.

...
So, about advises, which I can give (for X3:TC and X3:AP) :

use Boarding Hints
and
data about boarded Ships.

...
P.P.S. I prefer to use Flail Barrage Missiles only during boarding operations, since these missiles are universal for attack of any ships and even if some of them are shot down by target, it is not critical during boarding mission. These missiles are useful as cover for boarding pods and can be used to suppress enemy shield regeneration.

Minimal distance for beginning of boarding operation is about 6Km from the target (sometimes can be less for TM, TL, M6 and M7 class enemy ships).

[jlehtone]

I have a different approach to boarding. I don't sit in the M7M.
I sit in Dragon and fly just around the target, trying to draw the attention of the turrets.
I might launch Wasps to further distract the turrets, but use main guns to keep the shield low.

If the target has Hull Plating / Internal Sentry Lasers / Advanced Firewall / too tough turrets,
then I tend to shoot it with Ion Disruptors until all that equipment has fried and gone.


I have no recollection what challenges were in that story mission.

[smitj]

Thanks for the advice, I now have a shiny new HQ in my sector!