How should I equip my M6

[Handicapd_Hippo]

Today I got my first M6 in Terren Conflict its a boron hydra that I captured from the pirates. I was planning on making it my flag ship and using it for boarding operations as I hate having to use an express to deploy marines. What kind of loadout should I use when taking on M6's and M7's?

[zackinger]

This is propably not the answer you were looking for, but i´d suggest, sell it, gain a few more credits and get a TL, do station build missions and buy/capture a M7M for further capping.

As an answer to your question, the (standard)Hydra is to be honest a terrible combat ship. I has a terrible laser generator, is a big target and lacks maneuvrability, so in a fight you are much better off with a decent M3 / M3+.
If you insist on using it for combat, i´d make it a missile platform, as it has a decent cargo hold and can launch the bigger payloads like Typhoon, Hornet and Firestorm.

As for spacewalk capping, a M6 can only hold 5 marines, and that´s only enough to go for other M6. If you want to go for a M7M (the next logical step) you´ll need at least 10 marines, so again using the M3 + TP combo is better.

[GCU Grey Area]

I rather like the Hydra. It's definitely one of my favourite M6s (has been since X2), mostly for the absurd number of missiles, drones, laser towers, etc which can be crammed into the hold. It's also reasonably fast for an M6 & has an adequate amount of shielding. Main downside is the poor weapon energy regen. However, that flaw can easily be dealt with by using EBCs as it's primary weapons, though I also like to install a pair of Ion Disruptors as well - 2 main reasons:
(A) for disarming smaller targets such as other M6s prior to boarding
(B) for zapping incoming missiles fired from in front of the Hydra
For the turret I tend to use PRG set to 'missile only'.

[Sovereign01]

I rather like the Hydra. It's definitely one of my favourite M6s (has been since X2), mostly for the absurd number of missiles, drones, laser towers, etc which can be crammed into the hold. It's also reasonably fast for an M6 & has an adequate amount of shielding. Main downside is the poor weapon energy regen. However, that flaw can easily be dealt with by using EBCs as it's primary weapons, though I also like to install a pair of Ion Disruptors as well - 2 main reasons:
(A) for disarming smaller targets such as other M6s prior to boarding
(B) for zapping incoming missiles fired from in front of the Hydra
For the turret I tend to use PRG set to 'missile only'.

The Hydra from X2 was a terrible ship, it could only hold 2 guns and could mount just 1 Ion Disruptor, it was the weakest of all the M6s

[GCU Grey Area]

The Hydra from X2 was a terrible ship, it could only hold 2 guns and could mount just 1 Ion Disruptor, it was the weakest of all the M6s

I have to disagree about that & wonder how much time you have spent flying one or if your opinion is based solely on looking at it's stats. Must admit I also overlooked it initially due to it's stats, for quite a long time. However after finally getting round to trying one (after trying all of the rest first), found I preferred Hydra to the all other X2 M6s by a very big margin.

Main reasons were that it was the 2nd fastest M6, after the Dragon, but with double the shielding & almost 2x the cargo capacity as well. Guns were certainly limited in number but had very interesting options. I usually went for front Ion-D & rear anti-missile A-PSG turret. Note that the X2 Ion-D was several times more powerful than the severely nerfed X3 version.

My usual style of combat with the Hydra was to strip shields with the Ion-D then administer the coup-de-grace with a missile launched at point blank range. Definitely needed a different approach to combat, compared to the other X2 M6s, but once that was mastered it was no less effective & quickly became my first choice as a vessel for conducting high level assassinations.

[Master of the Blade]

Yeah, I have a soft spot for the X2 Hydra. Unlike most, I find its aesthetics cool - way more interesting than the others. I liked to lug a few lasertowers around in mine instead of missiles after I failed repeatedly at that part in the plot where you have to kill two to get at an Albatross. My poor Mako at the time just didn't have the shields...

TC Hydra has a similar premise - high cargo and fast speed making it good at deploying Stuff(tm). Doesn't look cool anymore though. If you have your heart set on making it your flagship, take a look at the missiles zackinger suggested. You might also want to look into a pair of IPGs - they're really good for dealing shield damage without causing too much to the hull. Your main guns will be EBCs though due to the laser generator.

[Triaxx2]

I've got one mounting 2xCIG's and 6xPRG's. Plus an IonD in the rear turret. Munches through anything up to M6's. Never tried it V M7's, but that's why GoD invented missiles.

[deca.death]

I have to disagree about that & wonder how much time you have spent flying one or if your opinion is based solely on looking at it's stats.

I don't know anything about old Hydra but I endorse upper statement wholeheartedly. You know nothing of ship until you test it in combat and there is no bad ship in this game (in a hands of good pilot), only ship which is attempted to use in a wrong way. Many times ship don't look like much on paper and then surprises you in combat or you find some other usages for it.

[Sovereign01]

The Hydra from X2 was a terrible ship, it could only hold 2 guns and could mount just 1 Ion Disruptor, it was the weakest of all the M6s

I have to disagree about that & wonder how much time you have spent flying one or if your opinion is based solely on looking at it's stats. Must admit I also overlooked it initially due to it's stats, for quite a long time. However after finally getting round to trying one (after trying all of the rest first), found I preferred Hydra to the all other X2 M6s by a very big margin.

Main reasons were that it was the 2nd fastest M6, after the Dragon, but with double the shielding & almost 2x the cargo capacity as well. Guns were certainly limited in number but had very interesting options. I usually went for front Ion-D & rear anti-missile A-PSG turret. Note that the X2 Ion-D was several times more powerful than the severely nerfed X3 version.

My usual style of combat with the Hydra was to strip shields with the Ion-D then administer the coup-de-grace with a missile launched at point blank range. Definitely needed a different approach to combat, compared to the other X2 M6s, but once that was mastered it was no less effective & quickly became my first choice as a vessel for conducting high level assassinations.

I tried flying it during the mission where you borrow one and wasn't impressed. I went for the Osprey in the end- with 6 guns and the strongest shields it was the ideal ship for me to do XI missions- even if it was slow compared to others it was still faster than the Nova (which itself can mount more Ions than the Hydra).

I also ended up owning 2 dragons as they bailed on me during assassination missions- while it was the fastest and could mount the APPC the single mount made it unsuitable for dogfighting with fighters, it was better used against capships while the turrets took care of fighters. And the single shield was a dealbreaker.

Centaur was a very good ship for defending sectors OOS because it was well balanced- the Nemesis was hopeless because its wimpy laser generator couldn't fire the GPSG for more than a couple of seconds