Capping Ship

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BankruptAssasin
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Capping Ship

Post by BankruptAssasin » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 14:59

Hi guys, i have been looking to start capping a lot of fighters/freighters etc, i have just finished the Terran & Khaak plots - rushed through just to get it done plus pick up the rewards (Vidar is such a ship, dunno what to do with the Griffon)

So i have 6 PBE's and 2-4 PRG's - I assume these are the best weapons for capping ships? since they fast firing, high shield damage and low hull damage although energy hungry.

I'm looking at buying a Tenjin or Chimera (want an Enhanced Chimera - but its unbuyable, maybe i can cap it?) for my capping adventures, they are both fast and i like fast ships, the Chimera has a larger cargo hold and can hold L cargo and has a rear turret, the Tenjin is just as fast, but it can also mount PRG, but has no back Turret for missile defense, although i think i can use the mosquito missile defense as it will be getting transported in my Vidar so cargo is not really an issue. What should i do? they both cost about the same amount of money and have similar stats so i don't know.

I currently have a Nova Raider, a Nova and a wide varity of M'5s basically at stations in Terran Space so they don't get wiped out.

Or if you have other recommendations or you have your own favorite ship for capping let me know.

Thanks
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Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 16:59

Best ship for capping TS/TP/M8/Fighter in X3TC? The Xperimental Shuttle - hands down winner.
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Triaxx2
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Post by Triaxx2 » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 17:14

Tenjin is perfectly fine without a rear turret. The two side turrets do an adequate job of missile defense, combined with MDM.

The Chimera is frankly junk. It's got such a limited weapon selection and isn't faster than the Tenjin, plus it mounts fewer guns. No idea about the Enhanced C.

My preference for capping is either the Advanced Eclipse, or a Boron Hydra. The Adv Eclipse is reasonably maneuverable, good turret defense, and not so fast you're going to spend a lot of time over shooting freighters, which can be an issue with some ships. The down side is that it doesn't mount the PBE.

The Hydra is a little faster, has huge shields in comparison and mounts PBE. It's very good at capping ships. Stopping before running them over is another story though.
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BankruptAssasin
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Post by BankruptAssasin » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 17:17

Really?

I have to start that plot, will keep an eye out for it and try it out, how about obtainable ships from the commonwealth?

I think the Chimera is winning me over, same shields, same speed, rear turret, stronger hull, better weapons energy (i think) but it can't hold PRG which means i can only use PBE's (out of the 2 i mentioned) which means 1km killing distance.

What else would you use? Pacs? Ires? i don't want to damage hull to much but i do want to give the AI something to think about.
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BankruptAssasin
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Post by BankruptAssasin » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 17:21

A M6? That's a surprise considering how slow they turn compared to fighters, but then again, better shields, you have thrown a spanner into the works Triaxx2 - I have the Vidar, but it don't mount a wide variety of weapons, let alone capping weapons.
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zazie
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Post by zazie » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 17:42

There were epic discussions in these forums about how important speed is for capping ships (= fighters). Based on personal experience I think speed DOES matter.
That's the reason I have reactivated my X3R-favourite "Mamba Raider" in X3TC just for capping purposes (it's more or less useless in other situations, alas): whenever I absolutely WANT a pilot to bail I call the MR in, equipped with PBEs, grouped by four, two and 1 (and a separate IRE).

Of course I can't prove it but when I attack a target with MR i make pilots bail that have refused to do so in many, many attempts before with Hyperion or Springblossom or Notus Hauler or Advanced Barracuda.

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Post by Nanook » Wed, 12. Dec 12, 21:54

When it comes to making ships bail, the larger your ship compared to the target, the better. M6's like the Hydra actually do a great job at capping M3's and below.

I'm currently playing a Boron-only game and my ship of choice for general combat is my Hydra "Sea Devil". What I can't kill or capture, I can usually run from, especially with the help of the Turbo Booster Mk I. Huge cargo hold for Mosquitoes and other missiles, several sets of weapons that I can swap in and out as needed, including CIG's, HEPT's, Ion D's, PBE's and PBG's, and, of course, lots of energy cells. What it lacks in maneuverability it makes up for in toughness. A surprisingly useful ship. :D
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Thank you, Triaxx2 !

Post by Bill Huntington » Thu, 13. Dec 12, 01:39

Congrats to you, Triaxx2 !!

I like TC for a lot of reasons. A big one is learning something new almost every day. Usually it is a small thing, a little improvement in how to do something. Occasionally it is a big thing, like today. Capping the small ships in an M6 !! what a great idea ! The bigger ship bonus, for sure. My favorite capping ship was the Mamba Vanguard or the Mamba Proto if available. Now it will be the Dragon with its 172 speed and 2 x 200 shields.

I like the IRE as the capping weapon of choice. I’ve compared 1 PBE vs. 3 IRE and they are similar for results, energy, and other. But having 3 IRE means that you can use 3 of them on one button and 1 IRE on another button. Sometimes you want the smallest possible weapon to fine tune things. Sometimes 1 or more PBEs does a lot more damage after you’ve won the cap.

Thank you, Triaxx2 !

Good Hunting, BankruptAssasin !
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BankruptAssasin
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Post by BankruptAssasin » Thu, 13. Dec 12, 09:43

Again thanks for the replies,

Now you have made me think differently, but what makes you think the Hydra is such a good cap ship? I have never really flown anything bigger than an M3+ except for the Vidar - which has opened my eyes as it is such a good ship, a little slow for my liking but i haven't died yet, took down to centaurs and a Carrack quite easily and it didn't even break a sweat, and I'm not that good as a fighter pilot.

So i have decided to try an M6, i only have 20 million at the minute, i don't have any factories and only 2 ST's, i will work my trading empire up shortly, but I'm hoping you can guide me, What are each of the races M6's good at? and what are they bad at?

Hydra - Capping? anything else
Dragon -
Centaur -
Osprey -
Nemesis -
Hyperion - I have flown this, it is such a good ship, although i find it slightly a cheat, but i do like the Hangar Bay part.
Others -
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zazie
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Post by zazie » Thu, 13. Dec 12, 16:34

Others: Springblossom (Aldrin Ship).

You will never need another ship :). But if you think the Hyperion is a Cheat then the Springy might not be the ship you want to fly. Speed: 360 m/s - do I need to say more ?

The Nemesis is an awesome ship. But it has a ridiculously small cargo bay. Osprey is underrated imo.

Sovereign01
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Post by Sovereign01 » Thu, 13. Dec 12, 16:56

Springy comes into its own in Terran sectors with their lack of jumpgates, for capping the Hyperion is a good choice since you can use it to scoop up fighters that bail.

If you don't mind damaging the ship, the PBG is surprisingly good at making fighters bail, more than once I've had pirates bail in the middle of a fight while dogfighting with the Hyperion. I ended up using a Panther to pick up all the abandoned ships that were lying around :lol:

Bill Huntington
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Tm

Post by Bill Huntington » Thu, 13. Dec 12, 23:15

BankruptAssasin, this has been an excellent discussion. You have asked some good questions.

Since you want to get into capping in a big way, let me give the next step. Actually, your choice of a capping ship is your next step. But the step after that. To make your capping career pay off, a TM would help a lot to make it very smooth. After you cap a ship, you have to get it to a safe place, first to repair and then to sell or whatever. With a TM, you can pick up an M3 and carry it. With a TS, you can transfer a Jump Drive, jump your new TS to a safe place, then either sell it or prepare to use it yourself. If you sell it, transfer the JD back to the TM. With a TM, you can carry a few other small ships that can carry your extra Jump Drives.

I prefer the Boa for its speed, but I have used every other TM in TC.
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BankruptAssasin
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Post by BankruptAssasin » Fri, 14. Dec 12, 09:42

I do have a TM, and have used it a few times for the capped ships, I'm currently using it to stock up my Phant with Ecells as i am planning my first complex - a Missile plex consisting of Dragonflys (Resale) Wasps, Hurricanes and something else - A complex created by Deca.Death

A good thing about the capping so far has been the loot, 50+ Tomahawks, 1 IBL, 3 Cluster Flaks, Hundreds of Missiles, Thousands of Ecells, Beef, Meatsteaks and a couple of ships - I actually had to use capped/found TS's to collect all the Loot i have found. The Yaki Armada has proved useful.
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Zaitsev
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Post by Zaitsev » Fri, 14. Dec 12, 10:55

BankruptAssasin wrote:What are each of the races M6's good at? and what are they bad at?

Hydra - Capping? anything else
Dragon -
Centaur -
Osprey -
Nemesis -
Hyperion - I have flown this, it is such a good ship, although i find it slightly a cheat, but i do like the Hangar Bay part.
Others -
The Dragon, and its Heavy cousin, are both good at killing stuff, as they can mount the Plasma Burst Generator. If you have ever been on the receiving end of a PBG attack, I'm pretty sure you know how effective they can be :p
The Heavy Dragon lacks turret coverage though, so it's vulnerable to missiles.
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