Choosing a M7

handy388 · Post by **handy388** » Fri, 31. Oct 08, 22:54

I would like to skip the M6 and go on to M7

I am leaning toward the Split Tiger right now due to the beauty of it, but I am open to suggestions.

I would like a M7 that have

- good frontal anti cap weapons
- good side anti-fighter ability
- not terran

any suggestions? also, what kind of anti fighter weapon should I get? I want something long ranged (> 2km)

Tanall · Post by **Tanall** » Fri, 31. Oct 08, 23:29

I'll throw in a suggestion for my personal favourite: The Boron Thresher.

On your first count, is has a ten-gun forward battery that can house PPC's and Ion Cannons. My current flagship, Serendipity, has 4 ion cannons and 6 PPCs. M6's die in two full un-charged salvo's, and your average wild Q has a life expectancy measured in seconds. M2's can also be taken on in a one-on-one situation with a little strafing to avoid return fire.

On your second count, it has a decent turret coverage and can equip flak. Most M3+ and smaller dont cause me any trouble, so long as I am not firing the main battery at anything. The ship, unfortunately, cannot handle a fighter swarm AND a capital aggressor at the same time.

And, on your third point, it's a Boron design. And a damned slick one at that! Takes a little while to get used to the wingspan, though, so expect to clip a decent number of rocks, spaceflies, and TS's before you adjust.

KRM398 · Post by **KRM398** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 00:05

I've pretty much chosen my M7...now I need to learn how to get it, I want sw new Q xenon ship. I have always capped almost every ship I flew in all the games, so now I'm learning the new boarding to get ready, and its tough to learn the details, but I'm getting there, so my favorite so far, xenon Q...back to capping for practice,lol.

Praetorias · Post by **Praetorias** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 00:08

Hi...

Well I have the OTAS Skiron M6 and wanted an upgrade. After realising that missile m7s are too difficult to keep armed with missiles I found myself looking at standard M7s. As my choices are heavily based on looks and ability I went for the Tiger. After buying this I suddenly understand what peole say about fitting caps out. It took blimmin ages. I went all over the flippin universe looking for guns and finally managed to fit it out but have some concerns.

I have 6 HEPTS and 2 Ion Shards at front with the other areas having mix of flak arrays and HEPTS and other small guns. I found it REALLY hard to find anything large to fit to this ship and am therefore looking at a Tiger that is possibly more designed to fight small craft. When I did try it against an M6 it seemed slower to take down than when I used the Skiron.

Am I doing something wrong?? What should the setup be. Finally my initial checks found that most of the XL guns would work on other ships including m7s but not on the tiger so.... Is the Tiger just a large tougher M6? or is it a proper Capital ship?

Oh and by the way... What is the point of having Flaks and other guns automated to fire at enemies when they ALWAYS hit the station you are protecting and cause them to go red. It makes having left/right/top and bottom guns pointless!

Tanall · Post by **Tanall** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 00:28

Praetorias wrote: Am I doing something wrong?? What should the setup be. Finally my initial checks found that most of the XL guns would work on other ships including m7s but not on the tiger so.... Is the Tiger just a large tougher M6? or is it a proper Capital ship?

M7's are 'frigates', though a better description would be 'sub-capital ships'. Mostly they fit M6-type weapons in larger number, with some notable exceptions (IBL's and Flak on most, PPC's and Ion Cannons on Threshers).

For the Tiger, if you want capital-grade firepower try to track down IBL's (incendiary bomb launchers), supposedly they are 'close enough for government work' when it comes to capability compared to PPC's. Otherwise, fit with flacks, railguns, and other heavy M6-grade goodies and slaughter things your size and smaller.

Praetorias wrote: Oh and by the way... What is the point of having Flaks and other guns automated to fire at enemies when they ALWAYS hit the station you are protecting and cause them to go red. It makes having left/right/top and bottom guns pointless!

Using an M7 or larger for close support of a station is like using a B-52 for close air support of ground troops: Collateral damage waiting to happen. Most of the time, in station defense, the best plan is to find which way the enemy is coming from, put yourself between there and the station, and force them to have to go -through- you and your defensive fire to reach their target. If they get through, either manually pick at them with one of your turret batteries, your main batteries, or send in your own fighters to mop up.

GCU Grey Area · Post by **GCU Grey Area** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 00:49

KRM398 wrote:I've pretty much chosen my M7...now I need to learn how to get it, I want sw new Q xenon ship. I have always capped almost every ship I flew in all the games, so now I'm learning the new boarding to get ready, and its tough to learn the details, but I'm getting there, so my favorite so far, xenon Q...back to capping for practice,lol.

Know what you mean - lusted after that ship from the moment I first saw one. Be aware though it's a tough one to obtain by boarding. Last time I tried it the entire squad were slaughtered as soon as they breached the hull - think a high fighting skill (along with all the trainable ones) is essential to take that particular ship.

KRM398 · Post by **KRM398** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 01:16

Yes, an M7 will take some serious skills, so the team needs both trained skill and combat experience, so they need to train and get used on smaller ships first, all very realistic, actually, well done ego..lol.

I have been learning about boarding for days now capping was always my favorite part of the X games, and I found out that....even though you might have big time specialists trained, they ALL need some small skills in EACH thing, the best hacker in the world cant get into a ship if he cant or doesnt know how to cut through the hull, so even some small training in mechanics or engineering is needed. THE BOOK..(angels singing in background)..says, each marine that flys over has to cut the hull seperately, so a hacker with level 5 skills and not a single lesson in mechanics isnt getting in, so some of your attempts were really, just one or two guys that made it in..lol.

A5PECT · Post by **A5PECT** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 01:31

Huh, I always thought it would make more sense if the boarding party sent onto a Xenon ship would require almost no fighting ability, but insanely high mechanical and hacking skills.

But that wouldn't be fair from a gameplay perspective, because then the Xenon ships be the easiest to capture.

FrankNstein · Post by **FrankNstein** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 04:23

Can't use the transporter? ... that would be slick.

Darth Harry · Post by **Darth Harry** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 10:25

The transporter is a Goner device. i bet it would look like this:

You: Have the marines report in the cargo bay. We will transport them directly on to that M2s bridge!
Lieutenent: But sir........
You: NOW!
Lieutenat: umm.......yes sir.

*marines transport onto the Split ship*

Marine: SUPRISE! *click* what the.... *click* *click* *click*........Oh crap.....
Split: Split now show you! *Blam*

*back on the ship*

You: what the hell hapened?!
Lieutenat: I tried to tell you sir. The Goners have installed safeguards in the Transporters that deactivate all forms of personal weapons.
You:

Tiedyeguy · Post by **Tiedyeguy** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 10:39

Hahaha Darth, that is so awesomely true

:EDIT: Also, in theory, you could then use your transporter device to transport the defenders into space before your marines arrive

KRM398 · Post by **KRM398** » Sat, 1. Nov 08, 11:19

Ok, transporting defenders away will never be allowed, but troops in, I see that happening soon enough. I also think now that ego has had their way with the game we'll take over, I personally want to spend some quality time with the ship creator and the new bombers and M7M ships they are nice looking and ok, but defenceless as is, I want a Hades or something similar that can be flown all the time, in defence missions, and on patrol, but that means they need better turrets and more choices of missiles..especially missiles that drop from missions often, same thing with the M7M, almost defenceless as is.

Praetorias · Post by **Praetorias** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 01:01

Ummm, ok, I just had my first proper test of the Tiger with what I thought was a poor setup ( 6 hepts and 2 ion shard at front, with 1 flak array at every other position and each flak teamed with a hept or some small gun.)

Did a patrol mission in Tkr and had a shock as never before seen a K. But there were 3 of them. I managed to get about 15 mil before mission ended for some strange reason and I just took out the 3 Ks but was not lucky enough to get one to eject. Now a far as my setup... It seems to easily rip through m6s and the K with no problems although all three ks did not really do anything to me. Gun fire was minimal. I am now VERY happy with the Tiger with the only problem being steering.... I seem to have severe problems determining the end of it and ramming quite a few Ps by accident.

Anyway the Tiger will do v nicely until I can get the Python in a LONG LONG TIME hehe. Have I got a thing for Split ships or have I got a thing for Split ships lol.

PS: At beginning of game I had several capps but now I NEVER get any even though I am spewing out more damage now than ever. Why ?????

Thanks

KRM398 · Post by **KRM398** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 11:52

More damage, faster damage, less time for the pilots to think about ejecting, had the same problem when I went to heavier weapons on my M6, they die too quick, theres a balance there between sitting back, doing slow ddamage and hoping for a cap, and taking damage yourself, ps I doubt you'll ever get a J-K to eject they just never alowed it before, thats what the new 'Boarding" system is for, but be aware its more complicated than it seems.

Tiedyeguy · Post by **Tiedyeguy** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 12:51

Xenon K's were actually capable in X2/X3 but ONLY on Xenon Taxi missions which dont seem to exist in X3:TC

We do have Boarding Parties though \o/

Baleur · Post by **Baleur** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 13:19

I luv my Panther, exact same stats as the Tiger, in every single way, even laser energy.
But it can only fit missiles at front (though it has 6 weapon slots for the front turret, so its not really a problem, and alotta slots for the other turrets).

The 36-ship-hangar is just mad..

i can only imagine the damage by sending out 36 m4+s and letting them do their thing.
What are the split uber-m4's called? The Asp right?
But obviously itll cost insanely more than to just fit a Tiger, so yeah. It was more of a future-proof choice for me, i wanna keep building up the ship contents as i gain wealth.

lol i used to hate the Split, they speak so stupid. "You want Split?!" "What Split do for you!?". Always with an exclamation mark after every sentence, they are sooo hostile even at their friends

But i love their capital ships.. Looks so awesome. And i LOVE their attitude, speed and firepower, screw shields, who needs shields?
Its not like we are in space or anything

And an Elephant (TL) for only 17mil!!

Split, cheap, fast, firepower.
Split, angry, weak, armor built from garbage.
Gotta love them.

Praetorias · Post by **Praetorias** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 18:57

I know... The elephant for 17+ mil... Such a good price, not bothered that I have to sometimes do two trips instead of the one the mammoth would do... It makes up for it in looks and hangar bay. I bought it before I boughta m7 as thought I would get more use of it. The other races don't really appeal so much, especially the terrans. Why oh why are their ships so damn ugly. The ATF division are highly desirable but apparently you cannot buy them so

mrwonderful239 · Post by **mrwonderful239** » Sun, 2. Nov 08, 23:35

im looking for a m7 also, and im comparing ships on tatakau spread sheet

http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=218500

and its either the tiger or cerberus. but then i saw it has a Astraeus Hauler, but i can't find this ship anywhere...

999jefro · Post by **999jefro** » Mon, 3. Nov 08, 00:02

I myself have gone for the Split Panther... it is NEARLY as good at everying as the tiger (Best all out combat M7 imo) exept its got 32 ship hanger bay huzzah!

GCU Grey Area · Post by **GCU Grey Area** » Mon, 3. Nov 08, 01:15

Personally quite fond of the Agamemnon. Moderately heavy shields (6x 1GJ) & plenty of guns: currently got it kitted out with 8 ISRs for the main guns, along with 4 IBLs in the front turret, 4 Flaks on each wing & a pair of EBCs in the tail. Particularly like having both fixed & turretted forward guns - means I can leave the IBLs to target nearby capital ships on their own while I snipe at fighters with the fixed ISRs.