M2 or M7M?

General discussions about the games by Egosoft including X-BTF, XT, X², X³: Reunion, X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

Moderator: Moderators for English X Forum

Should i opt for An m2/m1 or M7M/M7

Buy M1/M2 and outfit
16
39%
Buy m7m and make a self sustaining complex to feed it
19
46%
Don't bother with either and make a fortune through trading instead
6
15%
 
Total votes: 41

tandy45
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun, 20. Jan 08, 00:15

M2 or M7M?

Post by tandy45 » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 13:49

Hi I recently acquired the tiny fortune of 153m and i've come to a stumbling block, my trade empire and factories seemed to have taken an age to reach the afformentioned wealth so i have decided to invest in combat missions and capturing to sustain myself. I recenty send 10 amrines to go through training which should be halfway completed, but in the mean time i'm facing a dilema.

Should i buy an M1/M2 for 60 - 70 mill credits and outfit it for combat operations as a means to an end for my credit problems during combat based missions.

Or should i buy an M7/M7M and setup a self sustaining complex to produce the necessary missiles for use in combat and boarding operations and solely board as a means to make money?

The problem i'm facing is if i decide to go with the m7m option i would still have to use my m3 or m6 combination when doing combat missions whilst the m7m attacks corvettes, but if i were to buy an m1/m2 i could just have that problem solved near instantly but at a much greater cost of money.

User avatar
adobis
Posts: 2125
Joined: Sun, 28. Oct 07, 19:22
x3tc

Post by adobis » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 13:54

Well if you have a complex that produces Flail and Hammerhead, a M7M is more powerful than a M2, otherwise go for the M2.

Don't worry, with enough missiles, you can handle almost everything! :D

Xander Cade
Posts: 833
Joined: Thu, 21. Feb 08, 02:38
x3tc

Post by Xander Cade » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 14:06

A barrage or two of Flails will complete almost any combat mission... any remaining capital ships you can Hammer to death or board for profit.

Buy the M7M.

Better yet, you can buy an M7 (Panthers!!) AND an M7M for the same cost as a stock M2 and still have enough cash left over for a missile complex. Use the M7 as your every day ship and the M7M only when you want to board... or lay waste to sectors.

You're also going to be needing a lot more than 10 Marines. It takes 20 to board most capital ships and some are going to die.
"What he doesn't understand is that the Welsh are a subject people, put on Earth to do menial tasks for the English." - John Cleese

Forcy
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu, 5. Jan 06, 14:56
x4

Post by Forcy » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 14:16

Actually I'd recommend go for the M7 AND m7M. Something like a Teladi Shrike AND a M7M like a Kraken WITH supporting factories. Also, train more than 10 marines seriously. You'll need about 40 to have some real fun. 20 that'll be busy training at bases and 20 that'll be busy training fighting in boarding ops. then swap them out. Also, have a freighter stationed at every military base and check every now and then for boarding pods.

you can net 60m PER m2 that you cap or even more. Also, with that amount of money you can buy and kit out a M7 (my fav is the Shrike) to do ANY combat mission. I've killed 3 Qs and a K back to back so you don't need an M2. also with the M7M you can cap an M2 AND all the weapons you'll even need (I've got over 100 IBLs) I now prefer doing boarding ops to actually doing combat missions for money.

cj-spartacus
Posts: 2161
Joined: Mon, 30. Mar 09, 22:15
x3ap

Post by cj-spartacus » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 14:26

If you don't have a clue which to go for I would suggest the Split Tiger.

It feels like a big fighter and handles pretty well considering its size. It also can mount Incendiary Bomb Launchers and can have Flak Artillery Arrays all round on every turret if you desire.

It is a good bridge between fighter and capital ship and will last you a long time before you decide to move on to fleets of capital ships.

This option would also leave you free to purchase an M7M like mentioned previously so you can still make the mega bucks from boarding.

Another option if you like micromanagement is the Split Panther which is an M7 carrier. Fill it with fighters and give it an M6 bodyguard or 2 and you've got yourself an army with which to be reckoned.
"Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken." - Tyler Durden

Smacksim
Posts: 722
Joined: Sat, 20. Jan 07, 08:39
x4

Post by Smacksim » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 14:46

If you're a real tight-wad with cash you could find the M7 and M7M during Return Ship missions, provided your ranks are high enough to spawn them. That would leave you with buying the M2 and having plenty of money for outfitting.

amtct
Posts: 12834
Joined: Thu, 13. Nov 08, 22:19
x3ap

Post by amtct » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 15:09

Where's the steal option :?

Nyax
Posts: 5619
Joined: Fri, 25. Jul 03, 15:32
x3tc

Post by Nyax » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 15:10

If it's still taking a long time to accumulate 150 million then i'd strongly recommend a regular M7 or M2.

M7Ms may be devastatingly powerful, however they also have a major drawback- quite apart from the running costs, The games economy just doesn't produce enough missiles to keep one running. So if you want to operate an M7M you're going to have in invest a lot of cash in a lot of production facilities so that you can keep the supply of missiles going. (one fab of each won't cut it, you're going to need several)

M7s and M2s don't have that issue, Once they're outfitted they're good to go forever.

For an M7 i'd recommend either the split Panther or Tiger.
For an M2 i'd recommend either the OTAS Boreas, or the Terran Osaka (if you can find the guns). Boreas is better if you're flying it yourself, but the Osaka is better for AI controled OOS fighting

Save the M7M for when you're a bit richer and/ or have set up a self sufficient missile supply complex.
mrbadger wrote:Anyway, it's Star Wars, this is important....

User avatar
imperium3
Posts: 3120
Joined: Fri, 5. Jun 09, 18:55
x3tc

Post by imperium3 » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 15:17

Buy the M2 - it's more fun to use and much cheaper to run.

User avatar
Spychotic
Posts: 956
Joined: Fri, 26. Sep 08, 23:52
x3tc

Post by Spychotic » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 15:46

Buy seventy M2s and get a trading empire so big you can't spend your money fast enough! :wink:

(guess who voted the third option!)

Spike
Check out the X3 Wiki!

Struggling with a plotline? Spike's Walkthroughs are your answer!

Whether you're building your first factory or a trading empire, this station management guide was made just for you.

you_rebel_scum
Posts: 702
Joined: Tue, 6. Jul 10, 13:05
x3tc

Post by you_rebel_scum » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 16:28

M7M:once marines trained its very easy to make money off stealing ships, u should always have one of these.

I'd say get an m2 over an m7 since some are almost as cheap as the most expensive m7

U could go for a panther which fills m1/m2/m7 qualities across the board

regardless u need to consider a flail and hammer plex, in fact its a must to sustain ur m7m otherwise its useless, also boarding bods r quite rare and should be made into a ware that u can produce tbh
Die-Hard...Suicidal Squid DiD
I was born free, but now I'm expensive!

User avatar
adobis
Posts: 2125
Joined: Sun, 28. Oct 07, 19:22
x3tc

Post by adobis » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 17:02

Remember one thing : M2s are very slow! And I really think that speed is important when using a ship as "home".
you_rebel_scum wrote: also boarding bods r quite rare and should be made into a ware that u can produce tbh
I believe you can't produce boarding pods

cj-spartacus
Posts: 2161
Joined: Mon, 30. Mar 09, 22:15
x3ap

Post by cj-spartacus » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 17:07

adobis wrote:Remember one thing : M2s are very slow! And I really think that speed is important when using a ship as "home".
you_rebel_scum wrote: also boarding bods r quite rare and should be made into a ware that u can produce tbh
I believe you can't produce boarding pods
I think he was making a request to the devs as opposed to suggesting we find a way to do it ourselves.
"Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken." - Tyler Durden

Sockrox
Posts: 47
Joined: Thu, 15. May 08, 21:34
x3tc

Post by Sockrox » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 17:08

...get the m7 and use it to cap a m2?

Allan F
Posts: 1565
Joined: Sun, 10. Nov 02, 08:10
x3ap

Post by Allan F » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 17:39

There's plenty of boarding pods in the game. Just automate the collection, and you'll have more than you can use.

I've captured around 250 ships at the moment, and still have 330 boarding pods in store.
Maverick: Requesting permission for flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That's a negative ghostrider, the pattern is full.
Goose: No. No, Mav, this is not a good idea.
Maverick: Sorry Goose, but it's time to buzz a Split.
Split: Split now give you .... Aaaarrriiiigh.

cj-spartacus
Posts: 2161
Joined: Mon, 30. Mar 09, 22:15
x3ap

Post by cj-spartacus » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 18:03

Allan F wrote:There's plenty of boarding pods in the game. Just automate the collection, and you'll have more than you can use.

I've captured around 250 ships at the moment, and still have 330 boarding pods in store.
One way to get a bunch of boarding pods at once is to buy 10 Harriers from the shipyard at Ceo's Sprite and fill them with boarding pods from the military base. They can hold quite a few each and all you need is an Orca or Elephant near by to dock the harriers and unload their wares before selling the ships back to the shipyard to recover some of the cost.

It's an expensive way to get them but it works if you need lots and in a hurry.
"Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken." - Tyler Durden

GCU Grey Area
Posts: 7777
Joined: Sat, 14. Feb 04, 23:07
x4

Post by GCU Grey Area » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 19:06

Voted M2 - IMO it's more fun if combat missions are done up close & personal, rather than just nuking the entire sector from a safe distance with an M7M.

My personal favourite is the Yaki Akuma - it's fast (by M2 standards) & has more guns than most (most notably double the number of flak compatible gun mounts in the upper & lower turrets compared to most M2s). Shields are a bit weak for an M2 (6GJ), but they're sufficient most of the time & I find the slightly weak shielding adds to the fun of flying one (makes battles a little bit more tense & exciting).

Dantrithor
Posts: 1752
Joined: Mon, 3. Jul 06, 19:29
x3tc

Post by Dantrithor » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 19:19

I love M7M's. But you should better begin building a complex of -at least- 10 hammer/10 flail factories if you want to use one and run a lot of combat missions/fight a lot. And keep a TS stocking the missiles. Otherwise you'll notice you empty your missile bays quite quickly.

bonalste
Posts: 361
Joined: Wed, 19. May 10, 01:33
x4

Post by bonalste » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 19:32

Oh my goodness. I just used my very first M7M for the very first time. I took some effort making a missile complex with about 8 of each factory, so I had a few missiles in my TL that followed me but... wow. With just 1 ship I took out Paranid Prime. I mean all of it - all ships, all factories, shipyard, trading station, equipment dock - the whole lot - all by just sitting there and pressing "launch barrage - 100"

Heheh, that's a whole new level of awesome!

User avatar
Serial Kicked
Posts: 3823
Joined: Fri, 12. Aug 05, 20:46
x3tc

Post by Serial Kicked » Sat, 31. Jul 10, 19:37

i voted for the "press L to win the game" option.

I wouldn't use a M7M without installing a decent missile defense turret script on the AI ships, though.
X3:TC/AP Pirate Guild 3 - Yaki Armada 2 - Anarkis Defense System

Anarkis Gaming HQ
Independent Game Development
X3 Scripting and Modding Station

Post Reply

Return to “X Trilogy Universe”