Capping Aran difficulties

[mikefrombrooklyn]

So I finally found the Aran. The repair laser doesn't seem to be drawing aggro. I tried that for about thirty seconds then I tossed some weapons fire at it. Nuthin' so far. I also don't seem to have a piracy option even though I've got marines and boarding pods. Missile barrage doesn't seem to work either.

Am I missing something here?

[Vim Razz]

Do you have fight command software 1+2? I'm pretty sure you need those to launch marines.

The specific launch command you'll need to use is the "Alternate Commands -> Launch All Marines -> Closest Target" function.

When you succeed in gaining aggro from the Aran, you'll hear the standard warning beep once but there wont be any other signs that it's hostile. (aside from the fact that it will show up as a viable target under Launch All Marines.)

[terryokc2]

First time I tried with the repair laser, found that I wasn't quite close enough to hit the hull to pull aggro.

And in the M7M I was piloting, the Piracy option then allowed me to pick which marines were going and be it that I only had 4 pods on board, only 16 marines were shot aboard. Managed to gain the Aran without losing one marine, but I did have to reload a couple of times until I repaired the hull enough for the boarding operation. Got her with 8 percent hull, which took 138 million to repair after she finally docked (2ms is painfully slow, btw )

As was said in the other reply, only way to know you have aggro'd is to hear the music...the Aran shows no other sign and is not targetable and does not show up on the sector map until after capture.

[Nanook]

So I finally found the Aran. The repair laser doesn't seem to be drawing aggro. I tried that for about thirty seconds then I tossed some weapons fire at it. Nuthin' so far. I also don't seem to have a piracy option even though I've got marines and boarding pods. Missile barrage doesn't seem to work either.

Am I missing something here?

What ship are you using to capture the Aran?

[Lelouch]

First time I tried with the repair laser, found that I wasn't quite close enough to hit the hull to pull aggro.

The repair laser's range is 2km and the Aran is HUGE. The OP may simply be out of range.

[Snafu_X3]

As was said in the other reply, only way to know you have aggro'd is to hear the music...the Aran shows no other sign and is not targetable and does not show up on the sector map until after capture.

Difficult to tell when you're being attacked by Xenon/Khaak.. & since the first time you attempt this your ship is unlikely to carry anything suitable to repel aliens it can be a problem. I said before the best ship for capping an Aran is an Aran (

I had similar problems a few times. Find Aran (yay!) fly up to it while watching for reds.. OK; eject, fly closer if neccesary & hit it with repair laser a few times & listen for the music change: NP. After the music changed I'd command my Cobra to take the Aran using 'nearest target'; no dice - no target Entered the Cobra, music changed back to peace, therefore no target Ejected out.. battle music; enter ship, calm

In some cases it was my mistake: 'Set enemy as enemy to me' was toggled wrongly, or the M7M's locked onto a target way out of range & the settings won't accept a change, but there have been a few occasions when I've run down my checklist & still haven't been able to get the Aran to register as enemy to the M7M (as opposed to my spacesuit) & therefore boardable

I guess if I can repair it to an inch of its life, then batter it with my M7M's shields/hull, that may work (as damage is being caused to the M7M, enough for it to recognise a threat) but hanging around in a suit in xenon/khaak infested space with no support for a couple of hours in SETA is not my idea of fun.. or survivability..

[Snafu_X3]

The repair laser's range is 2km and the Aran is HUGE. The OP may simply be out of range.

OP doesn't need to be in range of the Aran's centre (as defined by targetting reticule); any of the outlying structures (eg capship docking arms, tail or head sections) will work if you can hit 'em

Your point is still valid though..

[Coreblimey]

but hanging around in a suit in xenon/khaak infested space with no support for a couple of hours in SETA is not my idea of fun.. or survivability..

The simple solution to that is just keep using your UFJD until you find a sector with the Aran but no enemies! It shouldn't take too many jumps. (Well at least it didn't in my game!).

[Lelouch]

hanging around in SETA:

a) Most times you don't need to repair the Aran. It's just sometimes it's so badly damaged some repair (about 5min non-SETA) is required for boarding.

b) At least in TC the enemies stopped to spawn after some time so you can mop up the sector before boarding.

c) You don't actually need to kill them. I was once forced to lure a M1/M2 quite a distance away, before I was able board the Aran without interruption.

But yeah - in AP it's probably way easier to just leave the sector and gamble for another spawn.

[Snafu_X3]

hanging around in SETA:

a) Most times you don't need to repair the Aran. It's just sometimes it's so badly damaged some repair (about 5min non-SETA) is required for boarding.

My method was linked to shooting/ramming the Aran to turn it hostile to the boarding ship, if repair laser method didn't work. For that you need a fairly high target hull

b) At least in TC the enemies stopped to spawn after some time so you can mop up the sector before boarding.

Never noticed that in my game

c) You don't actually need to kill them. I was once forced to lure a M1/M2 quite a distance away, before I was able board the Aran without interruption.

Good idea, but it's not usually the bigships that are the problem

But yeah - in AP it's probably way easier to just leave the sector and gamble for another spawn.

Never played AP, so I don't know how the mechanics have changed there..