Best M7

[pologoalie8908]

Ok since i made a post for the best M6 thinking, stupidly, that the M6s could hold fighters....I now want to know which M7 is the best since they hold fighters

[garv222]

wasn't there a thread like this.... 2 weeks back?

Not all m7 hold fighters, but probably the most well rounded conventional m7 with hangar bays is the shrike. It mounts Gauss cannons, has a large cargo bay and it's low speed can be partially compensated with a turbo booster for short bursts of speed.

The panther is probably the other most used one since it's more of a carrier, but good speed and shielding and weapons energy. It also houses... I think 32 fighters which is ridiculously high for a m7. It has no main guns but it's just an awesome ship over all.

For m7 that can't carry fighters, most people are going to point to the Tiger because it can mount 8 IBL up front and it's fast. That's really all that needs to be said, speed and good forward fire power. The thresher also has can perform in this function, but I think it's slower, has less shielding, has a huge tail that can collide with objects and it uses PPC which is probably better since they're more powerful and are easier to come by.

Personally I like the panther because it's a solid ship overall that can perform well when I'm not in it.

[TryckSh0t]

I can almost guarantee that, based on the Vanilla stats, a good 85%-90% of the responses will be 'Split Panther.' With good reason. It's pretty zippy at 121+ m/s, it's one of the most maneuverable M7s, carries 32 fighters, which it can back up with a disgusting amount of weaponry (10 IBLs + 12 FAAs). And if that isn't enough, it's covered in 4GJ of shielding. There simply isn't a single other M7 that can bring that kind of destructive capabilities to a sector. Heck, there's some M1s that can't bring that much firepower.

Actually, the Panther was one of the driving forces behind my personal ship/weapons rebalance mod.

[Deadbeat_Spinn]

While the Tiger and Panther are two of the three fastest M7's (third being the Q), and while I do own both and enjoy having them I'm finding a pair of other M7's to be rather fun.

For fighter based, the Griffon. While it lacks firepower and the hanger is a fraction of the Panther it's profile is tiny compared to its M7 counterparts and is a fun ship to use.

For non fighter based, the Aggy. When needing to kill everything around you (short of using an M7M or M8's) accept no substitute. Plus getting weapons for an Aggy is easier than the Panther/Tiger since the IBL isn't the only anti-cap weapon it can mount.

[Catra]

Depends on what needs to be done:

Antifighter / corvette: Cerberus Thresher Yokohama Aegir.
Anticapship: Thresher Tiger Panther Shrike.

There's no one "best" M7, there's just ones thatre more proficient in an area than others.
And for the thresher, you need to choose which role its going to do, because it has poor energy and can't do both at the same time effectively.

[A5PECT]

I love the Cerberus. I understand people knock it for having little in the way of anti-capital weaponry, but 10 flak guns are just magnificent. The ship has a very compact design, meaning its collision box doesn't impair the FAA's range. Just coast into a swarm of enemy fighters and watch them drop left and right. Having your own fighter support on top of that is gravy; any large targets get the contents of my hangar bay thrown at them. Finally, a large supply of Typhoon missiles make up for the Cerberus' weakness against capital ships.

It's a real all-rounder. Probably one of my favorite ships in the entire X series.

[Venereus]

The Tiger is also the best ship to make use of the two unique Phased Array Laser Cannons. You can fill a side turret with both, or put one on each side and only get one empty weapon slot per turret. The Panther's side turrets have 4 slots, so either way you'd get too many empty slots.

Also, there is an M6 with hangars, the Hyperion Vanguard, though it has only two.

[A5PECT]

How do PALCs perform? I have two sitting in my Mammoth's cargo bay, but I'm not quite sure how they work. Are they anti-fighter weapons like FAAs, or are are the more effective against big ships?

[Catra]

How do PALCs perform? I have two sitting in my Mammoth's cargo bay, but I'm not quite sure how they work. Are they anti-fighter weapons like FAAs, or are are the more effective against big ships?

They're anti everything.

[StarSword]

The Panther's side turrets have 4 slots...

In what universe?

I've got the Panther as my flagship, and I can tell you for certain that the Panther's flank guns have two slots each.

Unless that's what you meant.

[TryckSh0t]

How do PALCs perform? I have two sitting in my Mammoth's cargo bay, but I'm not quite sure how they work. Are they anti-fighter weapons like FAAs, or are are the more effective against big ships?

As Catra so eloquently put it, they're anti-everything.

Obviously, they're beam weapons. With a range of 6.4 Km. Roughly 9,400 shield dps, something like 7,000 hull dps, AND they use less energy than a CIG.

[Jawms]

The Panther is (arguably) the best M7 around.

I have my own personal preferences, which make it the best choice, and there are some others.

For me, i use a joystick, so the fact that i can set the forward gun to, "Attack My Target" and just fly, and let the AI do the shooting is brilliant. It also has a hangar bay.. Now i dont normally use the fighters in my Hangar as Combat vessels, a hold filled with Falcons, or preferably, Blastclaw Prototypes, can extend your cargo capabilities Immensely.

The Panther can also mount 6 IBL's up-front, and fire them, almost, continuously.
For Anti-Fighter work, you can have FAA's in every single other slot.. making anything that even thinks of poking you have a ball of fire appear over its windshield.
It is also one of the fastest ships in the game.. Beat only by the Griffon, the Aegir, and the Atreus Hauler. Source



The only other M7 i have use for, that isnt an M7M, would be the griffon.. Mount up 10 IonD's, and fry some weaponry

[tranenturm]

Which ever one you think is prettiest. Seriously, they all have strengths and weaknesses and it depends on your needs. For those with a hanger, I've enjoyed my Panther and my Deimos, but I like the Panther better.

[cj-spartacus]

The best M7 is the Hyperion from Reunion. No competition.

There are a dozen other threads with my favourite M7 from TC, it doesn't take long to look them up I'd imagine.

[pjknibbs]

Shrike. It's the only M7 that can both dock fighters and uses anti-capital-ship guns you can actually buy easily (IBLs are a pain to get)--it's also quite a bit smaller than a Panther, which makes it easier to avoid incoming fire. Sure, it's not the fastest thing around, but the only time I ever found that an issue was when trying to keep up with a Boron Orca during the Final Fury plot...

[Triaxx2]

Speed is no issue, thus is why GoD invented missiles.

Besides, the Shrike looks awesome. I remember it being called the Hawk, way back in XTM.

[cj-spartacus]

Shrike. It's the only M7 that can both dock fighters and uses anti-capital-ship guns you can actually buy easily (IBLs are a pain to get)--it's also quite a bit smaller than a Panther, which makes it easier to avoid incoming fire. Sure, it's not the fastest thing around, but the only time I ever found that an issue was when trying to keep up with a Boron Orca during the Final Fury plot...

If it's the mission in the unknown sector I'm thinking of then the ability to keep up with the TL is fairly vital to the mission success. I suppose a fighter wing could negate this issue being able to tie up the bogeys until the Shrike trundles into range or the missiles finally hit home.

[fisiu]

Is this regarding TC??

I just had the same problem yestersay and there are alot of posts about this. After some stuying of the forums, x3tc.ru and table compeniums, I decided on the Tresher.

I was looking into buying a M2 really but the ones I wanted I didn´t have high reputation enough for (argon/terran). But then I thought I have 100 mills, better to buy a M7 with anti-capital power which I can equip for now and put the other 70 mill into the economy since I can barely equip a M2 anyways. Since my primary focus was using it as a anti capital/capping personal ship (for now until I have some other huge ships) I can EASILY hunt down a M2 in the tresher. I have only used it myself so I don´t really know how the computer handles it or how it behaves OOS.

Tresher:
Fast, only 3GJ shields (low for a M7), only one that can mount PPC (it also mounts hard to get IBLs). My setup right now is 6PPCs and 2 ICs at main (waiting for my factory to pump out 2 PPCs more) and flak everywhere else. After 2 full overcharged volleys the laser energy is gone, but so is all of the shields and a big chunk of the hull of the target M2 too.

As someone wrote in a post reviewing the M7´s it is the "sniper" of the M7´s. You gotta watch it because it has rather low shields, but the range and power of that volley of PPC is just lethal to anything really. So as long as you don´t jump straight into a swarm of ships you´ll be fine.

As for the other ships:
I haven´t tried them so I can´t tell you much but from what I have been reading it´s a very mixed oppinion about them on the forums. But mostly people think Tiger, Tresher, Panther, Deimos depending on preferance and variables such as carrier capacity, mountable shields, mountable guns.

I capped a M7 missile frigate, the Kraken, but I havent used it yet since I am currently getting the necessary missiles for it. I don´t know how well the work yet but I wanted one that can mount lasers because it just seems more simple.

Not to hijack the thread but does anyone have a oppinion on M7 missile frigates? An when you write M7M is the M for missile frigate or is it something that denotes the ones that mount lasers, im confused in regards to that. How are they 1. Player flown. 2. Computer flown IS. 3. Computer flown OOS.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

There are three top dogs for best in M7 class.

Shrike: A Pocket M2. Slow (but not as slow as a M2), but monster cargo bay and can mount Gauss Cannons. Those Gauss Cannons also can shoot dead ahead giving you excellent forward firepower despite it's worst in class power generator. EBCs in the mains give even better sustained firepower. Also a small hanger for support fighters or personal ships.

Panther: Basically a pocket M1. Does the job of an M1 better than most M1s. Fast, well armed, and an average generator gives it an edge in combat.

Agamemnon/Deimos: Monster shields that you would expect to find on an M2. It has well rounded stats that doesn't excel at anything, but it has PSGs. This makes a wonderful personal ship, but doesn't play nice with others. If you want the PBGs big brother, then this is the ship for you. Deimos has a hanger bay, but IMO worse turret configuration over the Agamemnon. Otherwise identical stats.

[cj-spartacus]

There are three top dogs for best in M7 class.

Shrike: A Pocket M2. Slow (but not as slow as a M2), but monster cargo bay and can mount Gauss Cannons. Those Gauss Cannons also can shoot dead ahead giving you excellent forward firepower despite it's worst in class power generator. EBCs in the mains give even better sustained firepower. Also a small hanger for support fighters or personal ships.

Panther: Basically a pocket M1. Does the job of an M1 better than most M1s. Fast, well armed, and an average generator gives it an edge in combat.

Agamemnon/Deimos: Monster shields that you would expect to find on an M2. It has well rounded stats that doesn't excel at anything, but it has PSGs. This makes a wonderful personal ship, but doesn't play nice with others. If you want the PBGs big brother, then this is the ship for you. Deimos has a hanger bay, but IMO worse turret configuration over the Agamemnon. Otherwise identical stats.

You forgot the Thresher with its monster forward fire power. Unfortunately it has such a piss poor generator that after 2 volleys it is left spitting staggered shots around its targets. Excellent OOS patrol vessels though.