what would be the best M3 or M3+ to cap an M3 or smaller ship?
I was previously using an M6 with 4 CIGs and 4 HEPTs but I found that I was more often just blowing them to shreds than keeping any alive. Now I'm in an M7 and I think that's just a ridiculous prospect to try capping an M3 with an M7.
So what would be the best ship to buy, and what weapons are the best for the task at hand?
Edit: this is for Xenon L hunting, btw.
X3AP Best m3 for capping M3s and smaller?
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i used a M7. instead of maxing out it's flak, just put a single flak weapon in the slots that could mount em.
Just saying it forward: I give everyone 2 posts to make good, in context posts(proper english, as always, is optional). After that I'm ignoring what you have to say in that thread that's directed to what we previously were talking about.
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ConCorDian
- Posts: 1538
- Joined: Wed, 15. Jun 11, 21:12
im with Catra, ive capped far more fighters in AP using an M7... dont get me wrong i done it with more than 1 flak but he is probably right that it will work slightly more effectivly.
as for M3... to be honest i cant say any given method seems to work, it used to be in TC there were a couple of methods that worked great but i dont know if its got something to do with the increased hulls but any method ive tried hasn't been any more effective than the other... therefore whatever ship your most comfortable in, just keep in mind what your going after and dont use too powerful a weapon for the job.
as for M3... to be honest i cant say any given method seems to work, it used to be in TC there were a couple of methods that worked great but i dont know if its got something to do with the increased hulls but any method ive tried hasn't been any more effective than the other... therefore whatever ship your most comfortable in, just keep in mind what your going after and dont use too powerful a weapon for the job.
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Master of the Blade
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Just flying a flak equipped frigate through a big cloud of fighters should get you a bail or two most of the time as the above posters say.
If you're dead set on using a fighter, anything that can use the Pulsed Beam Emitter is a good candidate, even better if it has strong shields. IIRC the Paranid Medusa uses PBEs and is a solid heavy fighter in its own right. Alternatively, you could use a Mamba or Chimera for their speed and ability to chase down other fighters - though I find having weaker shielding gets you nailed by turrets and escorts while you focus on the cap.
If you're dead set on using a fighter, anything that can use the Pulsed Beam Emitter is a good candidate, even better if it has strong shields. IIRC the Paranid Medusa uses PBEs and is a solid heavy fighter in its own right. Alternatively, you could use a Mamba or Chimera for their speed and ability to chase down other fighters - though I find having weaker shielding gets you nailed by turrets and escorts while you focus on the cap.
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If at first you don't succeed, delegate the job to a minion.
If at first you don't succeed, delegate the job to a minion.
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Troyminator
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Fri, 1. Jun 12, 16:43
Springblossom with SSCs. I bagged 3 Ls and an LX in Grand Exchange at one go without even trying. Problem with flak (and SSC) of course is that anything smaller than an M3 will probably get cooked before it bails.
However, it should be noted that choice of weapons probably matters less than your fighting rank (assuming you avoid PBGs!) At low rank, you won't get too many bails no matter what you do.
As for weapons, just set up your weapon config so that you can pick 1x or 2x of whatever weapon you're using when you get the shields off so you don't blow the hull too quickly.
However, it should be noted that choice of weapons probably matters less than your fighting rank (assuming you avoid PBGs!) At low rank, you won't get too many bails no matter what you do.
As for weapons, just set up your weapon config so that you can pick 1x or 2x of whatever weapon you're using when you get the shields off so you don't blow the hull too quickly.
The problem I seem to have is that I set up a Griffin Sentinel with 6 FAAs, 4 CIGs, and 4 HEPTs installed, and most M3s get obliterated before I can even turn to face them. So, I picked up 10 PRGs and a Medusa before I saved for the night. Lets see if I can get an L to last long enough to shut down (does it have to do updates? 
edit: I'm also Militant rank, which is pretty good, but not quite up there yet. I spent most of my time in the beginning just trading. There are also very few PBE forges in my game, and they're almost always sold out.
edit: I'm also Militant rank, which is pretty good, but not quite up there yet. I spent most of my time in the beginning just trading. There are also very few PBE forges in my game, and they're almost always sold out.
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Deleted User
Use Ion Disruptor
That weapon will leave the M3 or what ever You are trying to capture without destroying it totally
At least in TC, I found it really useful to make an alternate weapon hotkey setting with only 2 of the main guns on it, rather than 4 or 6. #1 is "full main battery", and #2 is "reduced fire" for encouraging bails without creating confetti. If I have some sort of specialty weapons, those are #3. Once I've burned away the shields, or if I'm low on weapon energy, I switch to #2.
Again, I can't vouch for AP, but Phase Repeaters seem to produce very controllable damage (and less inadvertent "friendly fire"), due to the high projectile speed leaving less fire already on its way to the target when they tumble out. HEPT and other "slow" guns tend to kill the target after they bail, thanks to all of those shots still hanging in space.
Again, I can't vouch for AP, but Phase Repeaters seem to produce very controllable damage (and less inadvertent "friendly fire"), due to the high projectile speed leaving less fire already on its way to the target when they tumble out. HEPT and other "slow" guns tend to kill the target after they bail, thanks to all of those shots still hanging in space.
Not directly ship related, but I've found that Xenon seem to bail most often on "Easy" Xenon Invasion or defend-station-from-Xenon type missions.
Of course, if you're already far enough into a game to have an M7 with flack, then where you hunt really doesn't matter.
It's not ~necessary~ to have an M7, though, and whatever you can get ahold of should work fine. I've gotten plenty of Ls to bail with just the basic Elite from the Argon Patriot start by cruising sectors near Xenon space for easy Xenon missions.
Of course, if you're already far enough into a game to have an M7 with flack, then where you hunt really doesn't matter.
It's not ~necessary~ to have an M7, though, and whatever you can get ahold of should work fine. I've gotten plenty of Ls to bail with just the basic Elite from the Argon Patriot start by cruising sectors near Xenon space for easy Xenon missions.