[X3TC] Supercarrier ideas? (Aran)

[Lelouch]

Hello all fellow carrier users

I recently started acquiring Arans for the sole purpose of using them as carriers. I haven't put much thought into it yet except that I'm probably going for a docked M2, a wing of M8 bombers and twentysomething M6. The idea is to have something which can jump into a system, deploy an insane amount of firepower and return. M1+Fighters is for sissies. I have money to burn and I want to show it. ;) (The Aran's speed or lack thereof is of no interest. It's just a carrier. It has to jump and deliver its payload.)


What do you think about it?

The M2 is going to be a fully decked out Tyr. With the M8 and M6 I'm not so sure. I could go for "easily replaceable" and just buy them (anticipating potential losses) or simply go over the edge and use Hyperions / Springblossoms / Marlin Haulers for sheer bragging value. Maybe even Medusa Prototypes armed with firestorm torpedos as a M8 replacement. (Although I fear they will mostly self destruct themselves. >.<) Or simply give up on sanity altogether and field Hyperions with Wraiths. Or maybe go for looks and use a Ray and Heavy Hydras?

[Gazz]

You could also dock an M7M and fill the Aran up with missiles. =P

[Lelouch]

You could also dock an M7M and fill the Aran up with missiles. =P

Already done that. >.>

[dholmstr]

Go M2 and use Hyps with 2 fighters to protect them (like the Medusa, money no problem right?! ). That should be enough firepower , and you get more fighters like that. Screw Bombers the Hyps and Medusa stocked with Typhoons is enough.

[Rhox]

Oh yes, a Skirnir with fire probability set to 100% teamed with an Aran would be a nice combo.
However, I would suggest vanilla-overtuning your Aran by using kurush's method (third link in my sig). If repeated often enough (10 extensions will give the Aran a plus of about 3,5 m/s), that will give your Aran enough speed to remain IS without needing to jump the Aran out. You could also dispatch a small M6 and/or M8 group to protect the Aran.
For M6, I would go for Hyperions as they may also carry 2 fighters each, where I would suggest Spitfyres for the speed.
If you speak of Marlin haulers, do you really mean those? They have the smallest cargo bay of all M8, are not obtainable in Vanilla anymore and are not even the fastest M8s. I would suggest the Viper or the Hades instead. Or the Claymore if you can obtain enough Phantom rockets.

best regards,
Rhox

[David Howland]

I have had my PHQ producing Arans and Hyperions to put in them for six months now, since I capped my first one.
The first was used for hunting my second Aran, then the next 6 were used as storage extensions for my most pressurised Eq. distribution points, shipyards and Eq. docks. Now they are joining my specialist fleets eg.; Exploration Fleet, Building Fleet, and my pirate boarding fleet is the lastest.
My Pirate Boarding fleet is at the moment boarding capitals in Dukes Domain and is vital for supplying the; Pheonix, Condor, 5x M7Ms, 3x hyperions, Shrike, Osprey, Fighters and now 2x Zeus with missiles, drones and fuel. The Aran is a God send on an extended marine fight training operation like this one.
I do not have a Battle Fleet yet, but when I do the Aran will probably be the flag ship!

[Lelouch]

If you speak of Marlin haulers, do you really mean those?

Yes. I absolutely mean those. Not being available anymore is the whole point. ;) (I've gone through the hell of acquiring these in an unmodified game - might as well use them.) 350 units is a bit limited, but then again - even "just" 150 Tomahawks (per ship) is nothing to sneeze at. (Don't need to calculate in eCells, because the Aran does the jumping.)

Otherwise I'd probably choose the Claymore (due to Phantom's smaller cargosize) or Hades/Gladiator. (mainly because of their looks)

[Infekted]

What about nested Arans, each packing Hyps with Medusa protos? Or whatever.

[Lelouch]

What about nested Arans, each packing Hyps with Medusa protos? Or whatever.

Matroska-Style?

I guess it's quite a nightmare to unpack these and properly pack them back together. I actually want to use this beast in combat...

[Infekted]

Oh I dunno. Say have 5 of them stacked. Put all the Hyps in each Aran in its own wing. Have the Hyps fighters all set to protect their home.

Order your monster to jump in, possibly whilst OOS to prevent gate collision.
Order the first wing to attack. Undock 2nd Aran. Order wing 2 to attack. Etc etc. Shouldn't be too hard. Ofc it would take time to fully unload/reload. But the first 30 Hyps should prevent anything untoward occuring to your beasty.
Plus you did want a super carrier.. Well this method has theoretically no limit

[Triaxx2]

I posted this elsewhere, but here it is again:

What can you do with an Aran? The better question, is what can't you do with one. It qualifies as an M1 for the purposes of classification, so it's right near the top of the property list. It's not fast, but it can dock any class of ship. It only has a single capital class docking point, and frankly, I recommend not being in sector when things like Atmo Lifters undock.

That said, it's also capable of carrying 30 total ships, which means a defensive force of 29 M6's and an M2. Or another M1. Including, other Aran's. It mounts 6x2GJ shields, making it one of the two most shielded ships in the game, the other being the ATF Tyr. Combine that with a 120,000 unit maximum cargo bay, and it's the single most effective warehouse available.

Yes, it does only do a maximum of 12 m/s, and no, it does not have any guns. It doesn't need guns, since it shouldn't be in a fight, and it doesn't have to move fast because the best thing to do is jump it where you need it, then tow it with the Tractor Beam.

Did I say it can hold 30 ships? That means it can hold 181 fighters, with 29 TM's and a Split Raptor on board.

By the way, that 120,000 units of Cargo bay? Yeah, that's capable of unleashing computer crashingly vast numbers of fighter drones. 59,334 of them to be precise, presuming full shielding. Enough to grind up a Kha'ak invasion fleet.

Now, in addition, since it can indeed dock ships, it's capable of running CODEA. While this does make it the only carrier in the game capable of withstanding that first 30 second shot of an OOS Q, it's not the reason this is a good thing. Rather, it's the fact that CODEA has Mechanics, which can repair any ship docked to the Aran. Which means there's no need to pay for shipyard repairs, or sit in space for hours. (Or minutes with the SETA trick.)

Plus the fact that I can use it to go hunting for more. 12 GJ of shields, and an M7M. Since I can stack an M7M into an Aran, and then into another Aran. Plus I've got a place to hold the missiles I might want to destroy any enemies hanging around my prize.

[Lelouch]

It mounts 6x2GJ shields, making it one of the two most shielded ships in the game, the other being the ATF Tyr.

Three. Osaka.

[blackfire83]

I very much want an Aran. But I despise RNG endeavors.

I'll give it a go, but I'm not sure how long I can do it. Especially knowing that I could have possibly MISSED the Aran in a previous jump.

[RicoOcho]

the whole 12m/s thing is a turn off for me on the aran...that and the fact that its HUGE...if it was faster....15 Vidars n 15 Hyperions each with fighters would be....death to every thing around it

[rwhiteruff]

the whole 12m/s thing is a turn off for me on the aran...that and the fact that its HUGE...if it was faster....15 Vidars n 15 Hyperions each with fighters would be....death to every thing around it

Think of it more as a (barely) mobile space station than as a ship, honestly. In trying to figure out what to do with it, I hadn't considered it for stationary storage but that's a very good idea. It's hideously expensive to use as a big crate, but I've got the money so I may just consider it.

Moreover it can fit a jump drive. So consider it a fleet carrier that carries around your capital ship itself and various support craft rather than an offensive ship itself. Dock an M1 filled with fighter ships, and the other 29 docking ports can be filled with M6s and M8s. Or choose an M2 for the cap ship slot and fill out the rest with M6s, M8s, and TMs filled with fighters. You can mount a devastating strike force that deploys as fast as you can issue the 'broadcast to all docked ships' order.

Or here's an idea I might use: Aran as main drop-off point for a mobile mining operation.

[RicoOcho]

the whole 12m/s thing is a turn off for me on the aran...that and the fact that its HUGE...if it was faster....15 Vidars n 15 Hyperions each with fighters would be....death to every thing around it

Think of it more as a (barely) mobile space station than as a ship, honestly. In trying to figure out what to do with it, I hadn't considered it for stationary storage but that's a very good idea. It's hideously expensive to use as a big crate, but I've got the money so I may just consider it.

Moreover it can fit a jump drive. So consider it a fleet carrier that carries around your capital ship itself and various support craft rather than an offensive ship itself. Dock an M1 filled with fighter ships, and the other 29 docking ports can be filled with M6s and M8s. Or choose an M2 for the cap ship slot and fill out the rest with M6s, M8s, and TMs filled with fighters. You can mount a devastating strike force that deploys as fast as you can issue the 'broadcast to all docked ships' order.

Or here's an idea I might use: Aran as main drop-off point for a mobile mining operation.

I used it for the the mobile mining part (IE HUB)....had to micro manage 30 miners...yay....

i can use it for storage..but thats about it....

[Nanook]

It mounts 6x2GJ shields, making it one of the two most shielded ships in the game, the other being the ATF Tyr.

Three. Osaka.

Four. #deca.

Which is something you might also think about docking to your Aran. Fifty fighters and 12 GJ of shielding.

the whole 12m/s thing is a turn off for me on the aran...that and the fact that its HUGE...if it was faster....15 Vidars n 15 Hyperions each with fighters would be....death to every thing around it

It can go 80 m/s if you use one of your docked M6's to tow it.

[David Howland]

You can always tow with a TB. it Rico.,
Its not something I have stooped to YET? However many Aran fans use it like this, after all it cannot shoot guns and missiles so you have almost as much control towing it!

[rwhiteruff]

Four. #deca.

Which is something you might also think about docking to your Aran. Fifty fighters and 12 GJ of shielding.

Hah!

The idea of trying to do that docking/undocking operation IS fills me with terror, though!

[Infekted]

Huh? It will dock stuff that no other ship can, and can jump. Oh and has 12GJ of shields. It's basically the ultimate bridgehead. 12m/s is meaningless, since its the ships aboard it that will be doing the in sector moving, not the Aran itself..

You only have micro manage miners if you cant use CLS. And there are, by now plenty of guides on how to do that.