Advise for boarding M6's X3TC

[LocTheToker]

So I'm experienced with boarding, but boarding M'6's with an M7M can be very frustrating. There low shielding/quick regen makes it near impossible to maintain the desired shield levels.

I have used drones before, but personally don't care for issuing all the commands to deploy/direct/recover etc.
Have used fighters with some success.
With IonD's they can only strip shields as they fry marines once they reach the ship. However you can definitely fry weapon systems, etc making a close proximity capture much more viable.
I was planning on setting up an IPG platform(probably an HCP or other M6). Was thinking the combination of range/shieldDmg/M6Speed might work well.

What do you guys do for boarding M6's?
Anyone who has experimented with IPG who has any advice would be welcome!

[Solomon Short]

Launching the marines from an M7M works fine IMO.

But for sheild management on M6 I'd personally go with Energy Bolt Chainguns, 6-8 to cut the sheilds down, then just 2 or 1 to keep them down without damaging the hull overly.

Using the Boarding Pods means the speed of the target is irrelevant, & the EBCs can manage the sheilds quite handily.

I never actually got around to trying IonDs for my boarding ops.

[DrBullwinkle]

What do you guys do for boarding M6's?

Except for Hyperion Vanguards, I don't bother boarding M6's. As you point out, they are more trouble than they are worth. M7's and above are better use of your time.

I, too, suppress shields with an M6 or M7 (with me flying it) and remotely launch boarding pods from an M7M. My preferred weapon is Ion Shard Railguns. They suppress shields without damaging the hull (if you are careful) *and* they reduce the enemy's ability to shoot down your incoming boarding pods.

[IanFitzJo]

I use Advanced Drones (about 15 for a Hypie) to bring the shields down, launched from my Cobra, then flails to do the rest.

[Alan Phipps]

For boarding M6s (other than Xenon ones) I generally just use an agile but fairly well-shielded M6 and either spacewalk the marines in from point-blank range or drop the marines off first and then herd the target back into them. This is while keeping the target shields down with a weapons group comprising a fast light weapon among the M6's main guns. Much more complex and potentially risky/costly (but also greater personal involvement and overall fun) than M7M missile and pod tactics.

[LocTheToker]

Thanks for the replies everyone, and please keep em coming.

I agree M7 and greater is a better use of time. I have a few of the more rare capitals that I need to board still. I feel like M6's provide the best challenge outside of capping the Q. If nothing else I was thinking the extra difficulty would provide for some good entertainment.

I actually capped a Hyperion Vanguard straight away in this game back when I was skilling up the fighting of my early marines. I have quite a few ISR's laying around that I got for free in the cargo of M1/M2's I have capped. I have more experience with them than I do IPG's. Statistically speaking they both have a similar range. ISR has more hull damage, a quicker rate of fire, and a better projectile speed. I suppose that ideally a person is attempting to keep the shields in the 1%-4% range so the hull damage becomes inconsequential if you're not damaging the hull. I'm going to try these IPG out though since I have almost no experience with them. I guess we will see.

[DrBullwinkle]

Choice of weapon is not entirely about hull and shield damage.

IPG's slow the target's speed, which is is helpful when spacewalking.

ISR's reduce the target's laser power, which limits their ability to shoot down your boarding pods.

So each weapon has strengths depending on what type of boarding op you do. Personally, I would go for reduced fire on my marines (ISR), even during spacewalking.

But, sure, try 'em and see what you like.

[Honved]

My preference is to use an M3 fighter with HEPTs to knock down the shields, and then use a pair of PRGs to suppress them, because the high ROF and low damage per-shot of a PRG is very controllable, and the high projectile speed means less delay before you see the effects (as well as almost no misses). I'll generally launch a couple of Wasp missiles at the target before and after I order my M7M to fire pods, to distract the turrets without doing any significant damage, then make a few passes myself to give the ship something else to shoot at other than my expensive marines.

Against a bigger target, it helps to use a bigger ship with bigger guns or Fail missiles, since the accidental damage of "overkill" shots won't wreck the ship as easily.

[sithneverdiealone]

i have found the Heavy Hydra and Heavy Centaur Prototype are good for caping M6 due to the ability to mount Ion-D and PBEs, the first to strip, well everything, the second to keep the shields down. then you can spacewalk your marines over with minimal resistance

[pr0nflakes]

I lean towards space walking, but recently i have been using ID's a lot.
I do enjoy trying to get my space walking rines lined up with an M6 though.

[gbjbaanb]

My preference is to use an M3 fighter with HEPTs to knock down the shields, and then use a pair of PRGs to suppress them, because the high ROF and low damage per-shot of a PRG is very controllable, and the high projectile speed means less delay before you see the effects (as well as almost no misses). I'll generally launch a couple of Wasp missiles at the target before and after I order my M7M to fire pods, to distract the turrets without doing any significant damage, then make a few passes myself to give the ship something else to shoot at other than my expensive marines.

Against a bigger target, it helps to use a bigger ship with bigger guns or Fail missiles, since the accidental damage of "overkill" shots won't wreck the ship as easily.

This is exactly how I do it too - only I use PACs due to my choice of M3. The wasps keep the guns happy and I find flying in to keep the shields down adds to the whole excitement of boarding M6s. I got rather good at it in the end, it was fun.

[Honved]

This is exactly how I do it too - only I use PACs due to my choice of M3. The wasps keep the guns happy and I find flying in to keep the shields down adds to the whole excitement of boarding M6s. I got rather good at it in the end, it was fun.

Right, particularly when you're not flying an Argon Nova Raider. Last game, my Paranid used 6x PACs on his Perseus. I also noted that the energy efficiency of PACs is slightly better than HEPTs, so I was able to wear down the shields on a "Q" marginally faster than they recharged, whereas HEPTs wouldn't be ready again until the Xenon had fully recovered from the previous pass, and I had to resort to a lot of expensive missiles to drop the shields. Taking on a "Q" with an M3 is a tedious chore, and I don't think I'll try that again.