Preferred Carrier & Destroyer - TC

[BankruptAssasin]

This is not a "what is the best ship thread" Im basically looking for what your preferred one is and why? I have been looking about and not seen many posts regarding them.

So what is your preferred Buy-able Carrier & Destroyer & why?


So what is your preferred Unbuy-able (Captured) Carrier & Destroyer & why?

If you have preferred load-outs then i would like that info as well.

I have never flown any of them, so i have no preference, and i am very far away from even contemplating buying one.

I think my preference would be fast and well shielded which looks like the Boreas (M2) according to Rogueys site but dear god it is one of the most ugly ship in the game, so fast, well shielded and looks half decent.

As for M1, looks like the Shark is decent but again looks like a fish that has been splatted (I am a fan of the Boron designs, like the Thresher, Heavy Hydra & Barracuda, i think these look like nice ships)

Edit - I should have said it's for TC - I have the Cadius Xtra Ship pack installed, so if you like any of these then let me know.

Thanks for the replies so far.


{I've added TC to your thread title to help keep it on topic, hopefully. Nanook}

[WeaponisedCookie]

Personally, I love the megalodon (M2). Place gauss cannons on the main, left and right slots and FAAs everywhere else and watch everything crumble before your might. The only problem is that GC ammunition takes up quite a bit of space.

The Kyoto isn't half bad but it is a bit lackluster due to the PSP. It's redeeming feature is that it can dock up to 6 of anything up to M8/M6, even TS and TM.

I don't bother with M1s because fighters are a pain to replace.

[Gazz]

I'd have to go with the Meg, too. I like big rears and I cannot lie.
Speed is for those whose boss tells them to be there on time.

It's not exactly a precision weapon or low maintenance but it's not going to fall apart over accidentally ramming some M2...

[BankruptAssasin]

As my Edit suggests, this is for TC only with the Cadius Ship Pack, thanks for the replies already given.

[Nyito]

Well, for TC, I'm a fan of the Raptor as my main M1. Biggest hangar bay around at 65, and fast enough to outrun almost anything it can't outfight; assuming it sees them coming. We are still talking about capital ships, after all. Loadout, Flak wherever you can put it, and where you can't, HEPTs, swap in Gauss in the L/R if expecting to fight capital ships in it; though you should be leaving that to your fighter swarm.

Honorable mention goes to the Odin in the M1 class as well. SSCs all around and it chews up fighters admirably, and can deploy a respectable wing of fighters to mop up and deal with some capital threats.


M2s, it's the Boreas, and the Boreas. I like to run 7x PPC 1x IBL in the front, left and right turrets, logic being, if the wiki is to be believed, an IBL does more DPS than a PPC due to the damage over time effect, but that effect does not stack, so 1 IBL is sufficient to keep it up. Any additional IBLs is a loss of DPS over PPCs. How effective this actually is is up for debate, and you could just as easily run 8x PPC with no noticable loss. We're talking, supposedly, about a 2k DPS difference in a turret that can deliver ~370k DPS. Flak dorsal and ventral, and CIGs in the rear if you can stand the constant noise, or HEPTs if you can't.

The most notable feature of the Boreas isn't on any stat sheet though. The small cross section means that with good use of the strafe controls, you're untouchable in a capital duel; or even fighting multiple capitals at once, and 10GJ of shielding means any fire that does get through your maneuvers, you can easily weather.

I know you're asking for likes, not necessarily what's effective, but as you can see, for me, like and effective are one and the same, for the most part. I mean who likes crappy ships, unless they have an interesting gimmick, and there's not really any ships like that in the M1/2 class, save maybe the Aran, which is a topic unto itself.

That said; any ship can be effective. If you like the Shark, go out and make it work for you! Nothing's stopping you, and it's certainly possible to do anything I would do with my Raptor, with your Shark.

[BankruptAssasin]

Thanks for the reply Nyito, very informative. As regarding the shark, i have never used one or any other capital ship, the biggest i have flown has been a hyperion. I just looked at the stats on Rogueys for speed and shield strength.

[DrBullwinkle]

So what is your preferred Unbuy-able (Captured) Carrier & Destroyer & why?

1) Whatever I happen to board and capture. I don't buy big ships if I do not have to.

2) In TC, the Woden is *both* my favorite carrier *and* destroyer. It is is a great ship (especially for the player). Runner up = Tyr (destroyer only).

3) In AP, Kyoto may be my favorite carrier and destroyer, because it can dock M6's. Somebody here put 6x Hyperion Vanguards on their Kyoto; each HV having two Falcon Haulers. So that is 1x M2, 6x M6+, and 12x M3 -- all docked on a single ship. Nice.

That said, my favorite combat ship is a Deimos (M7). I prefer front guns and maneuverability over raw firepower, and the Deimos is the best-balanced M7 for boarding ops (due to heavy shielding and ISR's -- the best pirate weapon in the game).

Runner up = Griffon (Sentinel in AP). It is fast, has a lot of docks (especially in TC), is a small target, and has an extra-large laser generator. No ISR's, unfortunately.

[Triaxx2]

Buyable M1: The Raptor, of course. It's pretty hard to argue with a 65 fighter combat screen, or the potential damage generated from that many missile armed fighters. Destroyers aren't too impressive when they die while trying and failing to swat missile launching fighters out of the sky.

Unbuyable M1: The Galleon. It might seem like an odd choice, but it's absolutely tiny, and if it lacks some firepower, that's fine. It's a carrier, so it's not intended for direct combat, but if you treat it like an M7, it will still carry the day nine times out of ten. Plus it has carrier size cargo, in an M7 size hull.

Buyable M2: The Phoenix. Another odd choice, but for it's size, if you attack while turning just the right way, you'll have full broadside firepower, while still presenting a minimal profile.

Unbuyable M2: The Brigantine. It's fast, it's reasonably powerful, admittedly lightly shielded but still potent enough to defeat most other threats except for the most powerful of enemy destroyers.

[bizbag]

I've collected one of each M2 in my latest game, and I've played around a bit with calling one in to fight, and I've been pleasantly surprised by the Titan. I've tried using the Ray and Megalodon (this is AP but similar enough) but they are so large, they can't defend huge sections of themselves. The Brigantine is nice but poorly shielded. I wasn't expecting much from the Titan but its small size and competitive armament maximizes gun time on target and minimizes blind spots and damage.

[StarSword]

Panther and Osaka. Fell in love with the latter after playing Operation Final Fury and discovering the Kha'ak capital ships are thoroughly outmatched by it.

[-XeNoN-]

I love Xenon ships but for startes to capture ones my early/mid game fleet is:

TC:
M7M:

Boarding: Cobra
Fight/support: Kraken

M7:

Tiger
Panther

M2:
Ray/Boreas/Python (depends on my notoriety)

Main Fleet and what it looks like and why:

M1: Xenon J (fighter killer + can engage capitals with big enough fighter wing, to max its performance try to get LX's as much as you can, for ships you can buy i usually buy Mambas)

M2: Xenon K (bad as AI ship, great in player hands)
Ray
Boreas

M7: Xenon Q x 5 (OOS patrol and strike vessels)
Tiger x 2
Panther (Support carrier)

M5: Kestrel

M3: x 10 LX's (if you can acquire it)
Mambas (as many as you can)



AP fleet build:

Beggining:

M3: I usually buy as soon as i can Venti (m3), then pirate and completing the assassin/target mission to maximize my combat rank to at least Assassin

After that i buy Tiger as always or Panther, then Cobra and off i go to cap:

Xenon I, Xenon J, Xenon Q

What can i say im a freak for Xenon ships XD...

M2 choices before capturing Xenon ships:
Megalodon or any other m2 that has 10 + GJ shielding!


Non Vanilla ships that i buy (using Xtra SHippack):

AP/TC choices:

M7 Always Wolf frigate!
M7+ Adder
M2+ Taipan/Daedalus/Megalodon (vanilla) or Coelacanth
M7M Cobra

Xenon Ships:
M7M:
After capturing Xenon G (M7M 12x2 Missile Turrets x2 Normal Turrets)
I sell my Cobra
M2+:
Xenon Z and Xenon I
M7+: Xenon C
M7: Wolf

Currently my fleet in AP IS:

M2+:
x4 Xenon I
x2 Xenon K
x1 Xenon Z
x1 Megalodon
x1 Taipan

M2:
x2 Boreas

TL:
x4 Mammoth

TS:
x 2 Mistral SF XL

M5:
x1 Kestrel

M7M:
X 2 Xenon G

M7:

X2 Wolf
x1 Agamemnon

M7+ (cruiser):

x 4 Xenon C
x 2 Adder

That's pretty much it.

But my favourite ships in vanilla are Xenon I and panther/tiger.
Moddified with Xtra Shippack: Xenon I, Xenon Z, Xenon C, Wolf

Im a sucker for Xenon ships (again)...

[werewolves?]

X3AP - Woden all the way

Just overtuned it so it flies 148ms has 20+ extra rudder tunings as well.

8 MAML Front
8 PSP R
8 MAML L
SSC everywhere else

1 side is for taking out Corvettes one is for taking out M7+

12000 Cargo for wraiths/ecells/MAML ammo, and 12gj shields <3

I like it because it's about the same size as a m7, can act like a destroyer but isn't easy peasy so it's still a challenge to clear sectors - sometimes I even launch some fighters

[Nanook]

And for those of you who missed the OP's edit about TC, I've modified the thread title.

[Baratheon79]

Like Triaxx2, I like the Galleon, at least for my flagship (used one quite heavily in my last TC game and loved it, and I just added one to my growing fleet in my AP game; just need to fill its hangar). 25 fighters may not be much compared to the other choices, but it's usually more than enough for most fights. Plus, as Triaxx pointed out, it's also a compact ship, and so it's easier to evade incoming fire with it than many of the alternatives. (Plus, since I keep finding myself resorting to piracy rather heavily, it suits my play style. )

I also kind of like the Colossus (and have one of those as well, though I'm NOT looking forward to keeping that thing stocked with fighters). This, and the other bigger carriers, I see myself using more in a supporting role, where I'd call it in when I need more firepower in a sector.

As for M2s, I tend to use whatever I can get. In my last TC game, I had a number of Brigantines in my fleet (haven't obtained any yet in AP). I don't fly them myself, though; I haven't flown an M2 personally since X2 (where I used a Titan as my flagship)

[Triaxx2]

The Brig is nice to fly, because it's not so slow as to take forever to get anywhere.

[Manks]

No opinion on carriers, after seeing that the most dangerous thing to the wing I carried on my Shrike was: my Shrike, but I've had a rockin good time with the Tyr. Relatively thin profile, pretty easy to get a bundle of guns on a target, and reasonably "fast". As has been pointed out elsewhere, the fact that it can't carry a full, boring PSP and SSC all-around loadout means that compromise is required and the ship is a little more interesting than otherwise.

I can't say it was a perfect setup, but I had 8 PSPs in the front, 8 PSP/4 MAML on one side, 4 PSP/8 MAML on the other, and half SSC/half EMPC everywhere else. That gives you a "strong" and a "weak" side, that I would turn either to cap ships or escorts respectively. SSCs are so strong that it doesn't really require a full set to blow the snot out of fighters, so no real drawback there. With all that, there was enough left for some E, plenty of ammo, and some missiles. Pretty easy to clear sectors all on one's own, and you look stylish doing it.

[Lone Jedi]

Panther and Osaka.

Panther is the only carrier that has the real frontal gun power ( I don't consider ships with 5 or 6 fighter capacity carriers). Even after being nerfed, 20 fighters are just enough.

Osaka because of the massive shielding and good capital/ flak gun power. Storage space is decent too. It's good both IS and OOS.

[Triaxx2]

The Shrike is kind of a bad example. It's very tall, and the AI seems incapable of adjusting sufficiently to not plow into it.

The best fighters to run off the Shrike are 2-4 fast M4's or M5's. Those are what you use to run out and chase down fleeing fast movers. The other trouble is Flak Coverage, which is excellent on the Shrike but also tends to hit it's own fighter escort.

[Kirlack]

The other trouble is Flak Coverage, which is excellent on the Shrike but also tends to hit it's own fighter escort.

See now, I almost exclusively use the Shrike as my flagship and I've never seen that happen, even before I started using the CODEA script. Maybe I'm just lucky?

On topic: fave M1 is without doubt the Raptor based on it's 65 docking slots. I'm starting to wonder if maybe the Condor wouldn't be worth a look as well though (Triaxx2, any thoughts?), based on my current DiD. I'm starting to get into loading fighter wings up with a lot of missiles, and the combination of the Condor's smaller hangar bay (35 fighters) and huge cargo bay (12k units) makes me think it would be good for long tours/extended engagements.

My fave M2 without doubt is the Brigantine. The turret coverage is excellent and the speed makes up for the slightly under par shielding.

[Choublanc]

M2 Tyr

I love the look from the bridge when the 10 up SSC are vaporizing all the ennemy M3/M4/M5/M6
Tiny cargo space, but we don't really need a full load of PSP.

M1 Odin, Aran and Panther

I don't use wings, they are a pain (it isn't fun at all to replace killed fighters).
Odin for supply purposes in combat situations (huge cargobay).
Aran mainly for storing and moving around TS's
Panther for storing Jumpdrives, transporter devices, and other equipments