[X3TC] Boarding Atmospheric Lifters

[riceygringo]

What Mechanical skills are required to get through the hull of an Atmospheric Lifter? I have 20 100 skill marines and most of them can't get through the hull after 6 reloads.

Even more strange, exactly 4 marines get past each time. Do boarding pods only double the mechanical skill of 1 marine?

[Sabrina Bergin]

Re Boarding:

What command are you using to launch the marines.

If you fire the pods individually they will be scattered over the target with different odds of getting through the hull.

I always use the piracy command "Launch all marines".

This is why you may be having success with one pod but not multiple ones.

Also if your marines are 5 star in every skill that is as good as they get.

[riceygringo]

I'm using launch all marines, considering that last week I managed to board another Atmos Lifter with 12 marines at ~80-90 mechanical skill (the AL had hull polarizing installed), this one is very strange.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The only thing I can conclude is that the AL has a bug in your present situation jump out and find another one.

[Bill Huntington]

Atmos have no weapons yet they are the hardest TL to board. The trouble you are having sounds like HP. Or if you have less than 100 in your Marine categories. I will still board and take an Atmo with HP, but you will need reloads. 6 is only starting, if you really want it. HP means some get in, and some don't. With reloads, a time will come when they all get in. This is the only Terran I will try with HP. The others are too hard. So I blow them up, so another will spawn, hopefully without HP. Sometimes I will blow up at Atmo too. Another will spawn in a very short time. You can find it easily, by checking the Logistics Dock in the Terran Sector, under Owned Ships. Sometimes the name is a different.

Atmos have a lot of tricks. Ramming you is one. Destroying themselves and possibly you too. Swinging themselves around in another direction, faster than their 105 normal speed. Launching freight drones, which kills your marines on board. Their speed makes it hard to coordinate attacks.

I usually set up with my full team and take 10 of them at the same time, or whatever I want for the whole game. That means having enough Jump Drives and E for all of them, or a good plan for getting them. Good for training a few marines too.

I like the Atmo for its speed and huge carrying capacity.

[riceygringo]

I gave up when a Skirnir drove by with only 2 Vidars as escorts

I always thought TLs are the best ships to practice boarding, but apparently not, even with HP there was no "This hull is tough!" speech from my marines as I boarded the Skirnir with no hull damage and 0 marine deaths.

Oh well, I guess I can sacrifice the other Atmos Lifter at the PHQ once I collect 75k microchips at the Hub.

Also, since I'm on the subject of boarding, how come I keep seeing posts "Oh I boarded ship X and got IBL/PPC/*insert expensive weapon here*? Yet every ship I board is stripped of equipment as soon as the computer is hacked. I boarded an Odin loaded to the brim with PSPs and SSCs, at the end of the boarding the ship has 100% health. But all the shields and weapons were gone.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Re: Goodies

Save before the hack and reload for different results.
Also have a save when your marines make contact.
Either one can change the outcome.

[Nanook]

..
I always thought TLs are the best ships to practice boarding, but apparently not...

It depends on the TL. Atmospheric Lifters are probably the toughest. If you want easy TL's, find Casinos, Arenas and Hospital Ships. They're unarmed and if your marines have good mechanical skill, and the TL lacks a hull polarizer, then you shouldn't have any problem.

However, if you want the easiest training ships, train your marines on 'Return Ship' missions where the target is an M6, M7 or M7M.

[riceygringo]

..
I always thought TLs are the best ships to practice boarding, but apparently not...

It depends on the TL. Atmospheric Lifters are probably the toughest. If you want easy TL's, find Casinos, Arenas and Hospital Ships. They're unarmed and if your marines have good mechanical skill, and the TL lacks a hull polarizer, then you shouldn't have any problem.

However, if you want the easiest training ships, train your marines on 'Return Ship' missions where the target is an M6, M7 or M7M.

Well I just tried again about a game day later on the exact same AL, first try all of my 100 Mech marines got on board and captured it without a scratch. So I definitely have no idea what went on the last try, perhaps ships have different hull thicknesses depending on where your marines make contact?

The nice thing about ALs is (other than the fact that it's hands down the best TL) that they like to fly several hundreds of kms away from the center of the sector, so you can take as long as you want with the boarding. Casinos and others likes to loiter right next to a group of ships that could potentially blow up your loot. Hire-able TLs are usually equipped with weapons, my first ever experience with boarding involved a hired mammoth shooting down most of my pods even with all the flail coverage I can provide.

[Nanook]

...
Well I just tried again about a game day later on the exact same AL, first try all of my 100 Mech marines got on board and captured it without a scratch. So I definitely have no idea what went on the last try, perhaps ships have different hull thicknesses depending on where your marines make contact?...

As in most things X, the RNG plays a significant role. But it's not truly a random number generator, since it uses some sort of seed value. My theory is that it's tied to the system clock, so leaving it a day and coming back can significantly change the 'seed' value, and hence the numbers generated by the RNG.