Still loving my Hyperion Vanguard, I sometimes feel the need to purchase something with even more awesomeness attached to it - an M7!
Reading the forum, I read a lot about the usual suspects: Panther, Tiger, Shrike.
Why do so few people love the Thresher?
Sure - its stats aren't very appealing.
But it mounts insanely powerful weapons with PPC and IC and I imagine its first strike power completely devastating.
And it looks amazing, too!
[TC] Why so little love for the Boron Thresher?
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
Yea, Agree with you there. it looks cool and packs a nice punch. 
One common reason for disfavour, is the too small weapons generator so you cant fire more then twice before goto wait for recharge.
Though, if you fire 2 charged burst, most ships will go up in smoke
Another common reason is that while its fairly think from front, back and sides, it is a huge target for attack from up and down. making it not so good when attacked by meny enemies.
In the players hands or in OOC its quite nice ... atleast in my opinion.
One common reason for disfavour, is the too small weapons generator so you cant fire more then twice before goto wait for recharge.
Though, if you fire 2 charged burst, most ships will go up in smoke
Another common reason is that while its fairly think from front, back and sides, it is a huge target for attack from up and down. making it not so good when attacked by meny enemies.
In the players hands or in OOC its quite nice
... atleast in my opinion.-
thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
I would LOVE to have the option to test drive (and fight) all those vessels before purchasing them.
The dealer wants me to cough up about 50 million creds and I can't even take that baby for a test fight???
Edit: Woah! Just found this!
IL Test Drive & Hire Centre
I think I'm gonna be a happy boy soon!
The dealer wants me to cough up about 50 million creds and I can't even take that baby for a test fight???
Edit: Woah! Just found this!
IL Test Drive & Hire Centre
I think I'm gonna be a happy boy soon!
Bought a Thresher as my first M7 because PPC are a lot easier to get hold of in bigger quantities compared to the Mainguns of the Panther.
It is an okayish Ship, but the wide layout of its main-guns makes it far to easy to fire parts of the volleys above and beyond the targets, especially if its moving.
Flew it during Final Fury and switched to the Griffon afterwards.
Nowadays, i simply stick to my 3XTC Python.
I know that the ship gets a lot of hate, but i like the "sniper"-approach of the Thresher and the Python does this a lot better with 12 PPC firing to the front, a slim body and a huge amount of energy.
It is an okayish Ship, but the wide layout of its main-guns makes it far to easy to fire parts of the volleys above and beyond the targets, especially if its moving.
Flew it during Final Fury and switched to the Griffon afterwards.
Nowadays, i simply stick to my 3XTC Python.
I know that the ship gets a lot of hate, but i like the "sniper"-approach of the Thresher and the Python does this a lot better with 12 PPC firing to the front, a slim body and a huge amount of energy.
A Thresher is OK, but the massive first strike capability is muted by the poor weapons generator--you won't generally be able to do enough damage with the two charged PPC shots the generator provides to destroy anything above another M7, and you're then sitting waiting for your energy to recharge. While doing so, you have plenty of time to reflect on the fact the Thresher is not as fast as the Split M7s, not as well shielded as the Shrike, and is so much larger than any of them that it might as well have a giant target painted on its back!
If the ship had a decent turn of speed, so it could deliver its massive first punch and then run away to a safe distance to recharge, it would probably be much more popular. As it is, the Shrike and the Split options are simply better in almost all circumstances.
If the ship had a decent turn of speed, so it could deliver its massive first punch and then run away to a safe distance to recharge, it would probably be much more popular. As it is, the Shrike and the Split options are simply better in almost all circumstances.
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
pjknibbs wrote:While doing so, you have plenty of time to reflect on the fact the Thresher is not as fast as the Split M7s, not as well shielded as the Shrike, and is so much larger than any of them that it might as well have a giant target painted on its back!
Thanks for the laugh!
I'm so undecided...
The Tiger looks better on paper...
But then again, the Shrike can mount GCs in its turrets. Plus it has a hangar for eight other vessels.
I really love that everything is so delicately balanced in this game; with a few exceptions such as the Hyperion Vanguard, there doesn't seem to be THE BEST SHIP in each class - which makes my life as a beginner a lot harder than necessary.
Do you have access to IBL's?
Are you playing Albion Prelude or Terran Conflict?
If you can buy these weapons and play TC, get a Panther.
You can't shoot yourself, but the Mainturret greatly makes up for the lack of turning speed the M7 have and you can stuff a lot of captured fighters in there (you don't need them to fight M2/M1, as long as you use hit-and-run, your lasers regenerate faster than their shields).
If you play AP, stick with the Tiger, they nerfed the laser energy of the Panther.
If you don't have access to the IBL's, you could try the Shrike (i wouldn't, its horribly slow) or use the jumpgate-trick and keep your thresher:
Fire a charged volley, program your jumpdrive to a nearby gate in the same sector, fire the rest of your energy while the JD charges up.
After jumping, your laser is fully charged again, just blast the enemy and if he still lives, keep this going until he is gone.
Are you playing Albion Prelude or Terran Conflict?
If you can buy these weapons and play TC, get a Panther.
You can't shoot yourself, but the Mainturret greatly makes up for the lack of turning speed the M7 have and you can stuff a lot of captured fighters in there (you don't need them to fight M2/M1, as long as you use hit-and-run, your lasers regenerate faster than their shields).
If you play AP, stick with the Tiger, they nerfed the laser energy of the Panther.
If you don't have access to the IBL's, you could try the Shrike (i wouldn't, its horribly slow) or use the jumpgate-trick and keep your thresher:
Fire a charged volley, program your jumpdrive to a nearby gate in the same sector, fire the rest of your energy while the JD charges up.
After jumping, your laser is fully charged again, just blast the enemy and if he still lives, keep this going until he is gone.
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
Well, limited access to IBLs.
I'm currently trying to become friends with the Yaki (which is gonna take a while since they don't offer me any missions on their stations and I never saw any other hostiles in their sectors but at least they only attack me in their core sector...) and I'm very carefully feeding the Pirate IBL Plant.
Panther is not an option for me.
I just HAVE to shoot manually.
The Shrike is very intriguing but it's so hard for me to really like such a terribly slow ship...
I think I'll install the test drive mod and try them both.
I'm currently trying to become friends with the Yaki (which is gonna take a while since they don't offer me any missions on their stations and I never saw any other hostiles in their sectors but at least they only attack me in their core sector...) and I'm very carefully feeding the Pirate IBL Plant.
Panther is not an option for me.
I just HAVE to shoot manually.
The Shrike is very intriguing but it's so hard for me to really like such a terribly slow ship...
I think I'll install the test drive mod and try them both.
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brucewarren
- Posts: 9243
- Joined: Wed, 26. Mar 08, 14:15
IBLs are of those classic catch 22s in a way.
If you had an IBL equiped ship you could just clobber enough big ships and scoop up the IBLs
If you like shooting, the tiger might suit you. It's got more guns than the panther and IIRC you fire the main bank yourself.
Having said that, it's perfectly possibly to kit a tiger up with shields and go on a ramming spree. Clobber enough yaki TLs or any pirate ship with <4G shields pick up any IBLs they might drop.
The other thing against boron ships in general is size. They're just too big.
If you had an IBL equiped ship you could just clobber enough big ships and scoop up the IBLs
If you like shooting, the tiger might suit you. It's got more guns than the panther and IIRC you fire the main bank yourself.
Having said that, it's perfectly possibly to kit a tiger up with shields and go on a ramming spree. Clobber enough yaki TLs or any pirate ship with <4G shields pick up any IBLs they might drop.
The other thing against boron ships in general is size. They're just too big.
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
Aye!brucewarren wrote:If you had an IBL equiped ship you could just clobber enough big ships and scoop up the IBLs
But I don't mind that.
I actually LOVE using my sexy Hyperion Vanguard to haul goods to those darn pirates to help them produce MY IBLs.
I have three yet and purchasing each of them felt like some kind of real accomplishment.
I guess I'll have tears of joy and pride in my eyes the moment they first devastate something.
*sigh*
I love this game.
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
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Hemmingfish
- Posts: 435
- Joined: Fri, 14. Mar 08, 23:00
My thresher was very useful for final fury, here are the pros and cons I've found from using it.
Pros:
+ Immense burst damage. While I don't recommend it, firing two fully charged shots will level or severely damage pretty much any ship in the game
+ Good turret coverage. This was a lifesaver in khaak space. Flak cannons can hit pretty much any ship nearby.
+ Large cargo bay. The thresher goes for quite a while without needing to replenish its energy cells, making it a very useful ship to call into a sector you know you'll be fighting in
+ Extremely high OOS firepower. Seriously, it's just scary.
Cons:
- Unfavourable dimensions. The thresher is very wide, making it a pain to maneuver in friendly sectors. It's also an extremely large target from above and below. Don't expect to be doing a lot of dodging in it.
- Low weapons energy. This has been touched on earlier in the thread, but I never really found it to be a problem except in prolonged combat. If you have flak cannons going off your energy never recharges, so your main guns become very limited.
- Below average shields. You will really feel this in capital vs capital combat because of the difficulty in dodging. Keep it out of the same sectors as Xenon Q while OOS because they will eat it alive. (In-sector is a different matter. Two fully charged shots will level a Q.)
It's not my favourite ship, but there are a few situations it excels in. First of all, the thresher is a very useful sector patrol craft for keeping pesky pirates away from your complexes. Carracks pose little to no threat to it either in or out of system and fighters won't even faze it.
Second of all, the thresher is a very good long-range artillery ship for killing M7s or even some bigger ships before you enter their firing range. I don't remember the exact range of PPCs, but it's in the area of 5.5 km so you'll have quite a lead on them in most cases.
I think most people don't like it because of the energy and profile, but it does have its uses so if you feel like it, go for it. It's easy enough to fly personally until you get to a gate (those wings are scary, man) and makes defend station and assassination missions a walk in the park.
Pros:
+ Immense burst damage. While I don't recommend it, firing two fully charged shots will level or severely damage pretty much any ship in the game
+ Good turret coverage. This was a lifesaver in khaak space. Flak cannons can hit pretty much any ship nearby.
+ Large cargo bay. The thresher goes for quite a while without needing to replenish its energy cells, making it a very useful ship to call into a sector you know you'll be fighting in
+ Extremely high OOS firepower. Seriously, it's just scary.
Cons:
- Unfavourable dimensions. The thresher is very wide, making it a pain to maneuver in friendly sectors. It's also an extremely large target from above and below. Don't expect to be doing a lot of dodging in it.
- Low weapons energy. This has been touched on earlier in the thread, but I never really found it to be a problem except in prolonged combat. If you have flak cannons going off your energy never recharges, so your main guns become very limited.
- Below average shields. You will really feel this in capital vs capital combat because of the difficulty in dodging. Keep it out of the same sectors as Xenon Q while OOS because they will eat it alive. (In-sector is a different matter. Two fully charged shots will level a Q.)
It's not my favourite ship, but there are a few situations it excels in. First of all, the thresher is a very useful sector patrol craft for keeping pesky pirates away from your complexes. Carracks pose little to no threat to it either in or out of system and fighters won't even faze it.
Second of all, the thresher is a very good long-range artillery ship for killing M7s or even some bigger ships before you enter their firing range. I don't remember the exact range of PPCs, but it's in the area of 5.5 km so you'll have quite a lead on them in most cases.
I think most people don't like it because of the energy and profile, but it does have its uses so if you feel like it, go for it. It's easy enough to fly personally until you get to a gate (those wings are scary, man) and makes defend station and assassination missions a walk in the park.
I happen to like the Thresher. (X3TC, don't know if it had any changes in AP.)
Yes, it has a large profile and its energy is limited, considering its forward PPCs.
But, if you're firing those, you're going after a large target and if its still there once you begin to get into trouble, you shouldn't have engaged it in the first place.
Shielding can be a problem against capitals, but the Thresher isn't a brawler, it's a sniper. Its speed should enable it to stay at extreme range and take advantage of a larger ship's blind spots.
It's not an ideal ship, but it's a lot of fun. (It does have some peculiar steering issues, since the ship's center is so far aft.)
Yes, it has a large profile and its energy is limited, considering its forward PPCs.
But, if you're firing those, you're going after a large target and if its still there once you begin to get into trouble, you shouldn't have engaged it in the first place.
Shielding can be a problem against capitals, but the Thresher isn't a brawler, it's a sniper. Its speed should enable it to stay at extreme range and take advantage of a larger ship's blind spots.
It's not an ideal ship, but it's a lot of fun. (It does have some peculiar steering issues, since the ship's center is so far aft.)
I love the Thresher. I love being able to manually aim all 10 of those PPCs (or mix of PPCs and Ion Cannons), pull the trigger, and watch the target ship go "poof" before my eyes. It is like flying a very large fighter instead of a capital ship.
They are also great for OOS patrols, as the weapons generator is not a factor OOS, but the 10 PPCs certainly are.
In sector, controlled by the AI, the Thresher is (almost) useless.
They are also great for OOS patrols, as the weapons generator is not a factor OOS, but the 10 PPCs certainly are.
In sector, controlled by the AI, the Thresher is (almost) useless.
I flew both the Thresher and the Tiger back in TC, hoping to like the Thresher better, but kept going back to the Tiger simply because it is much more combat-capable.
I am typically drawn to Boron ships - I love Boron design (I think Split ships are the ugliest thing in existence, even worse than Teladi ships) - and I had hoped the Thresher's frontal firepower to kick major butts. But like others mentioned, the Thresher's weapon capacitor/generator is abysmal and you run out of energy way too quickly. You can charge shots to increase its effectiveness, but if you miss... ouchies.
The Tiger dishes out much more consistent damage and can stay in the battle for much longer. It is also much more well-defended against fighters due to having better flak coverage.
I ended up retiring the Thresher to OOS patrol duty, and it does well there for obvious reasons...
I am typically drawn to Boron ships - I love Boron design (I think Split ships are the ugliest thing in existence, even worse than Teladi ships) - and I had hoped the Thresher's frontal firepower to kick major butts. But like others mentioned, the Thresher's weapon capacitor/generator is abysmal and you run out of energy way too quickly. You can charge shots to increase its effectiveness, but if you miss... ouchies.
The Tiger dishes out much more consistent damage and can stay in the battle for much longer. It is also much more well-defended against fighters due to having better flak coverage.
I ended up retiring the Thresher to OOS patrol duty, and it does well there for obvious reasons...
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thatguyfromvienna
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Fri, 22. Mar 13, 05:32
Personally, I only fly M7's that can carry fighters, so that I can dock and do missions with them when I wish. I usually carry at least one fast M5 and a strong M3 or M3+. Flying an M7 as the main personal ship without hangars is too limiting for my playstyle. I like the Shrike and the Panther, especially.
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
For general "everyday" flying, I tend to stick with a M6. I think the docking limitations is the reason why most players continue to fly a M6 as personal ship even long after acquiring a huge fleet of capital ships (not being able to dock at a SPP whenever I feel like replenishing my energy supplies is a bit annoying)Nanook wrote:Personally, I only fly M7's that can carry fighters, so that I can dock and do missions with them when I wish. I usually carry at least one fast M5 and a strong M3 or M3+. Flying an M7 as the main personal ship without hangars is too limiting for my playstyle. I like the Shrike and the Panther, especially.
Even with a M7 that has hangar abilities, there's a limit to what kind of mission types you can take (taxi that doesn't require TP ships, or ware-transport missions - in which case there are only a few M3's with the kind of cargo capacity to handle those). For taxi missions that require TP, you need to call one in regardless... though I guess one could always just skip those.
Ware transport missions are one of my favorites and often pays top money ("Go to X, pick up 150 units of engine components, come back here"), and those often require a lot of cargo space - do special M3's (Falcon Sentinel I think?) have the cargo space to handle those?
@OP: Why not make a save file before you make your purchase, then go buy each ship and try them out? Can always revert to the old save after you "test-drove" both.