M7 Advice

[Ruger]

Hi all, new player to the X-Universe and looking for advice on an appropriate M7 to obtain. I've looked over the ship's attributes on roguey's ship database site but I would appreciate some advice from the community on a M7 in terms of effectiveness and ease of use.
Thanks in advance!

[Nanook]

First things first, TC or AP?

[Ruger]

My apologies. I'm playing X3TC.

[Nanook]

Well, you have lots of options, all of which depends on your play style and what you expect from the M7. The most popular ones for general use include the Teladi Shrike, the Split Panther, and the Paranid Deimos. These are general purpose, with certain strengths and weaknesses, and all can carry your personal fighter(s). The panther is also capable of carrying a lot of fighters and is essentially a small carrier.

The Argon Cerebrus can also carry fighters, but doesn't have the same ability to fight capital ships as the three above. It's more of an anti-fighter platform. The Split Tiger and the Boron Thresher don't carry fighters at all, so that limits their usefulness in my mind. But they do pack a good punch against capital ships, especially the Thresher with it's forward main guns - 10 PPC's.

Since you've already checked them out on Roguey's site and know the specs for each, you now need to decide how you're going to use yours. My advice, since you're new to the game, save, buy one and try it out, then reload and try another. Like test driving a new car.

[Ruger]

Test driving alien war machine sounds like fun. Where do I sign?

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

There is some sound advice from Nanook. I tend to see my first M7 as a flagship so I tend to lean toward an M7 that can carry fighters, mainly so you can carry an M5 and M3 to use in any missions that you may want to take, other than combat missions.

[Honved]

In TC, many players prefer the Split Tiger over the Panther, because of the forward guns instead of forward turrets. The Diemos and Thresher are more specialized and both have good and bad points (short-range area effect weapons and massive shields versus long range cannons and a slow recharge), and are for different purposes. The Argon Cerberus is a great anti-fighter ship, but weak against other Capitals. As Nanook points out, it all depends on your playing style.

If you're playing AP, then the balance may be a bit different.

[Sovereign01]

The main thing you need to take into account with M7s is whether you have access to IBLs since for most of them IBLs are the only capship-level guns they can mount. Of course if you're going to board one you can kill 2 birds with one stone since you might luck out and capture the ship with its guns intact

[Ruger]

I ended up getting the Tiger. Trying to outfit it with Ion Shard Railguns at the moment. There is an extant IBL forge in weaver's tempest still.

I was wondering though, what should be in the turrets? A m5/m4/m3 level weapon for missile defense/anti-fighter?

[Kirlack]

I like Flak Artillery Arrays in my Tiger. Let the turrets handle the little ships while your main guns flay the nuts off the capitals

[Triaxx2]

ISR's are an acceptable starter gun. I used them on my Shrike for a while until I was able to acquire IBL's. They're technically Corvette weapons, so they don't do as much damage as full capital class guns, but they'll still pack a punch and with a capital weapon generator and battery, they'll fire for a long while.

Flak Artillery Arrays where they fit and HEPT's where they won't. Don't forget that the long nose on the Tiger is a weapon in itself when under attack by fighters. anything close enough for flak to hit is probably close enough to end up smudging the paint on the nose of your Tiger.

Also, don't be afraid to use missiles. They make for a good first punch, particularly some of the big ones the Tiger can mount, and they'll vastly improve the damage you deal.

[Lukesharp]

Personally I went for the Panther because I liked it so much in TC. I have mine fitted with IBL's and FAA's however, I have been wondering what missiles I should be bringing along with me. Any suggestions most welcome.

[Admiral-Dyroi]

In TC I went Panther also, the fighter space made it an easy choice for me as my first flag ship.

In AP for m7 I prefer the Cerberus just because I am not trying to chase down anything larger than my own ship.

[Lone Jedi]

Personally I went for the Panther because I liked it so much in TC. I have mine fitted with IBL's and FAA's however, I have been wondering what missiles I should be bringing along with me. Any suggestions most welcome.

In TC missiles are not necessary if you pilot an M7, mainly because of the low hull value. I usually just use Mosquitoes for missile defense, Hurricanes for fast fighters, and Tempests to add a bit punch when your targets are out of turrets/gun range. Please note Tempest has the ability to acquire a new target automatically if the 1st one died.

[Triaxx2]

Yes, the Tempest is definitely an excellent missile. I also recommend some Typhoon missiles. Double the punch makes for a good opening salvo.

Beyond that Wasps and Mosquitoes are must haves, and some other missiles are useful in certain situations. Remote Guided Warheads for instance are exceptional at removing Kha'ak clusters before they break.

[X-Tie]

From experience, I would say I like to use the Panther and Tiger most.

A fully IBL and FLAK equipped Tiger is in my opinion better in combat, as the Thresher is a larger ship and bigger target - easier to maneuver out of enemy fire with the Tiger - as well as the fact that the Thresher does not seem to have enough weapons energy generator capacity to sustain all its weapons, i.e.: to kill enemy fighters with its turrets whilst firing away the main PPC guns at capitals; the energy is drained way too quickly. I've had a lot more success with the Tiger in all encounter types, and its turret coverage is pretty good. Only downside is getting those IBLs. The Thresher does look good, but its tail also has a tendency to clip other ships.

Downside obviously is the lack of hangar capacity, which is where the Panther comes in. The Panther is an excellent base of operations, however its downside is the lack of main guns - instead, it has the front turret acting as a "main guns" unit, which is not ideal.

So Tiger if you plan on not flying fighters, and Panther if you want to be able to switch. As I see you've gone for the Tiger, get those IBLs as soon as possible - without them, the Tiger is not that great. Get a bunch of wasps and dragonfly missiles to occupy the pesky fast fighters - they are cheap missiles, and your FLAK will take care of anything else.

[Sovereign01]

Since it's TC, best way of getting IBLs is boarding pirate Brigantines, often you can get a full load that way. The other way is to be friends with the Yaki and buy them from their IBL forges, but that takes time, even when they're fully stocked with resources.

[Ruger]

Thanks for all the advice. I did end up sticking with the Tiger, and will replace with IBLs soon! Right now sticking with the ion shard railguns in the mains and flak on the turrets.

First capital ship to pilot and was surprised by how punishing it can be to opponents in fighter form. Flak seems quite quite excellent at mangling anything lower then corvette.

My end goal for this Tiger is to use it to do UFJDs and hopefully capture myself an Aran for unknown sector mining shenanigans.

[jlehtone]

The Panther is an excellent base of operations, however its downside is the lack of main guns - instead, it has the front turret acting as a "main guns" unit, which is not ideal.

I must disagree with the last bit. That turret is superior to fixed guns. The turret can fire even when the ship is not pointing directly to lead reticle. That is freedom.

[Triaxx2]

You can't board ships with a Tiger. You'll need an M7M, such as the Cobra, though for UFJD fun, I'm partial to the Gannet, since it's massive shielding system and the utter domination of the weapons will keep you safe.

That said, the Cobra certainly makes getting to the blasted Aran that much easier.