Considering my first M7

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 21:22

I'm finally at the point where I think I want an M7.

I'm thinking something that can carry a few fighters, is decently fast and serviceable in combat.

I was looking at the Panther...but it looks like overkill.

The Deimos is the next on my list but the Shrike is also interesting...

Any thoughts?

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 21:31

.

Well, it's not too important cause hopefully you will try, buy or steal most of them anyway (like I did : ), if not I would advise Shrike. Very well rounded, flexible and powerful fighting machine. One of those ships that doesn't look much on paper but rules in practice.

Panther is absolutely fabulous and unique ship, but it's no M7 really. It's pocket carrier and it's a waste not using it as such. Only question now is - do you want carrier or not?

Deimos is tough and powerful but it's primary choice of weapon (PSG) makes it too unselective on target picking (it just kills all) which can be good but often isn't, leaving shrike as most flexible of all mentioned.

Oh yes, you might find this article interesting:
Field test: Shrike weapon loadout

Jawms · Post by **Jawms** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 21:49

The Panther is a very good choice.. But if you like a challenge, then yes it is overkill.. One of the fastest M7's, can mount six forward IBL's, enough flack to do some damage, and a big enough weapons generator to run it all fairly smoothly..

Once i started flying M7's, there was very little really that i could not kill.. M2's go down fairly easy because of missiles, and our "Unique" ability to strafe incoming bullets

SIMON POPPLEWELL · Post by **SIMON POPPLEWELL** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 21:57

I would go with the Deimos, you can then use it to complete OFF and get you hands on the Griffon.

Falcrack · Post by **Falcrack** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 22:34

I like the thresher myself. If getting a hold of IBLs is going to be tough, then the thresher is one of the best because it is one of the few that can mount PPCs and ion cannons. Also, I love being able to have complete control over where I shoot those big guns, since they are on the main battery and not a turret. Flying it just seems more fighter-like than other big ships. Plus I like how it looks.

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Thu, 30. Jun 11, 23:32

Falcrack wrote:I like the thresher myself. If getting a hold of IBLs is going to be tough, then the thresher is one of the best because it is one of the few that can mount PPCs and ion cannons.

I don't mean to contradict, Tresher is without doubt powerful ship but with those guns he can mount, sheer size and it's power generator I more consider it very specialized weapon which takes skill and experience to use properly - not as one's first M7. If you have access to IBL's, tiger will offer all that Tresher can and surpass it in every aspect. It's just a unfair good ship, just like Panther. I suppose they had to atone for Python somehow ; )

garv222 · Post by **garv222** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 00:42

Well since you want something that has hangar space, that leave you with the cerberus, the panther, the deimos and the shrike. Any of those are decent choices except for the cerberus, which has below average shielding at 3 gj. Not saying it isn't powerful in it's own right, but just that it's underwhelming compared to the rest of it's class.

heratik · Post by **heratik** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 00:50

Shrike gets my vote

Not the quickest, but it is TOUGH and the 8 fighter bay is great...

A5PECT · Post by **A5PECT** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 01:16

You really can't go wrong when picking M7's. They each have their own specialties, but they're all good ships.

My vote goes to the Shrike for its versatility. It has enough guns and shielding to take on any size of opponent, generous cargo space for missiles, ammo, fuel, and a hangar bay for a personal fighters or combat support wings.

twilight_echoes · Post by **twilight_echoes** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 02:36

If your fight rank is still reasonably low, and you aren't facing anything tougher than M6's, but you do get swarmed by M4s & M5s, the Cerebus is a fantastic M7. Masses of Flak weapons make it really fast for taking down fighter groups. The Griffon is better, but only available as a reward for OFF in vanilla.

If you're facing M7s though, don't bother with the Cerebus.

Sovereign01 · Post by **Sovereign01** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 02:53

You may find this useful:

My take on M7s

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 03:27

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the input. I'm tending to agree that it's either a Deimos or a Shrike at this point.

My only question is if the relatively slow speed and shielding of the Shrike is adequately compensated for by its obvious other advantages(cargo, hangar size etc.). It's price is also more suitable for my budget at this point. I do like the look of the Deimos though...

Sovereign01 · Post by **Sovereign01** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 03:33

The shields on the Shrike are above average with 4GJ, it's the speed that's more of an issue as it's the slowest. The Shrike is unique in its ability to use Gauss cannons. Deimos is good if you want a PSG wagon, though if you go down that road you won't want to be launching fighters when they go off

As far as looks go, the Agamemnon trumps the Deimos

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 03:36

I kind of disagree. While the Cerberus isn't exactly a battleship, it's pretty capable at standing up to other M7's, particularly if you're careful about using your fighters to counteract the additional fire most M7's bring to the table. Fighters slinging medium grade missiles, like Hornets, or Tempests, or best of all Typhoons give the advantage to the Cerberus.

Even fighters flinging Tornadoes are more than capable of turning the tide.

An M7 with a hangar is like a carrier. It's total firepower is more than the sum of it's primary weapon mounts.

Personally I really like the Shrike as a personal M7, good combo of firepower, shields, and hangar space. I have in fact taken out M1's using only the the guns of a Shrike.

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 08:49

Triaxx2 wrote:I kind of disagree. While the Cerberus isn't exactly a battleship, it's pretty capable at standing up to other M7's, particularly if you're careful ....

I'm gonna repeat what I've being saying very often: In a hands of a capable pilot, any ship is deadly. I use to wreak havoc in carrack when I tested it after the capture, that ship seems far worse on paper then in practice.

I guess only difference is that some ships require skill to be deadly and others are no brainer that you can't really miss with, no matter what you do : )

Tiger with turbo booster is just ...lame to use. Too good can be a problem sometimes, it get's boring : )

heratik · Post by **heratik** » Fri, 1. Jul 11, 09:08

Slashman wrote: My only question is if the relatively slow speed and shielding of the Shrike is adequately compensated for by its obvious other advantages(cargo, hangar size etc.).

It may seem like a fairly small point this early in the game, but a generous cargo bay makes a HUGE difference, especially when you can't dock hardly anywhere and you are running out of e-cells every few jumps....

I have tried a couple of times using other M7s and am instantly annoyed that I can't fit all my stuff in them..

Also as has been mentioned, with 8 IBL in the front and Gauss Canon in the left and right and FAA in the top/bottom, the Shrike is fairly unstoppable.

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Sat, 2. Jul 11, 19:50

I bought a Shrike just for a test and I cannot fly something that ugly.

It's like someone took a heap of scrap metal, shaped it into an abstract art sculpture...and then beat it repeatedly with an ugly stick. Then they stuck the stick into it and said 'all done'.

So I may just go with the Deimos for now. Once I get enough extra cash to outfit it, that is.

By the way...are there any other military transports like the Boa from other races? Ones that have a fighter bay?

Jawms · Post by **Jawms** » Sat, 2. Jul 11, 20:14

Every race has its own TM (military transport) the Boa is just the Split version.

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Sat, 2. Jul 11, 20:15

Slashman wrote: I bought a Shrike just for a test and I cannot fly something that ugly.

Oh cmo'n man! Give it a try : ) You love it later when you see how flexible it might be. Efficiency is the priority, sometimes is actually fun to sacrifice your aesthetics taste and go kill things. Beauty is in the eye of beholder anyway (I found it's rugged mechanical look realistic and almost appealing). BTW Deimos is not beauty either : )

Slashman wrote: By the way...are there any other military transports like the Boa from other races? Ones that have a fighter bay?

Every race has one. You might try OTAS version, it's mean : )

bubba_000 · Post by **bubba_000** » Sat, 2. Jul 11, 22:01

I apologize to the OP for slightly derailing his topic, but I thought that it would be pointless to start another thread for a short and somewhat related question.

I finished OFF and got my Griffon. I intend to use its turrets against fighters, and the logical choice for this is the FAA. However, my laptop is simply not capable of playing the game when flaks go off. My framerat instantly dives and sometimes freezes for about 3 secs.

So, what do you think is the "second best" anti-fighter gun that i can use. I'm currently using PRGs because they're good at swatting those annoying M5s/M4s. I assume the HEPT is too slow against small, fast targets and the PBE has too low a range.

So, what do you think? Should I stick with the PRGs?

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

Considering my first M7

Considering my first M7