Looking for suggestions (TC)

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JJRSC
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Looking for suggestions (TC)

Post by JJRSC » Sat, 21. Oct 17, 00:28

So, I just built yet another Griffon at my PHQ to patrol my sectors and protect my stations from Pirates, Xenon, and Yaki, all of whom detest me (and the feeling is mutual.) Now, I'm a bit of a Terran fanboy, so most of the time I load my Griffon up with a mixture of Scimitars and Cutlasses. Every now and then I deviate... I have a couple full of Ventis, one Rapid Response Ship filled with Spitfyres (I figure you can't get much more rapid than that) and another with a squadron of Solanos armed with mass drivers.

So I'm thinking I want to shake things up a little bit, do something different. I'm leaning Solanos w/mass drivers again, but does anyone have any other suggestions? It will largely be OOS as I will not be flying this Griffon.

Just so you all know, I won't do Falcon Haulers (or any kind of Falcon.) I'm not saying I think it's a bad choice, it's a great choice... b/c of their shields, Falcons rock OOS and they can hold tons on missiles and/or EBC ammo. But I'm not doing Falcons. I'm just not. Guess I'm looking for something flashier. Whatever that means since any combat will probably be OOS anyway...:roll:

Anywhoo, any suggestions what to use for this new squadron? Please let me know.

I will also keep track how long it takes for someone to tell me to use Falcons anyway... :wink:

Bill Huntington
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Questions

Post by Bill Huntington » Sat, 21. Oct 17, 02:05

This looks like a good post coming, JJRSC. You've listed a number of good choices already. When I made my choice for an M3 for carrier operations, I found the Scimitar to be the best choice if cost was an important part of the equation. The shields give it survivability and Terran weapons are effective.

Assuming you've tested your crews in combat, how do your choices fare?

The Spitfyre is fast but is it effective when it gets there?

How many M3s does your Griffon carry? How you organize them?

How do your fighters do OOS? IS?

Are they your primary defense or do they just tie up the enemy for your own RRF?
Bill in S.F., enjoying the game

Timsup2nothin
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Post by Timsup2nothin » Sat, 21. Oct 17, 02:37

I have nothing to contribute here, really, but just have to say 'Terrans, bah.'
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jlehtone
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Post by jlehtone » Sat, 21. Oct 17, 18:04

Timsup2nothin wrote:I have nothing to contribute here, really, but just have to say 'Terrans, bah.'
Well, the OP has Terrans, but is "looking for something flashier". Okay, "flashier than Falcons", but does he imply the other bit too?


Falcons are usually followed by Eclipses in the shields, shields department.

Ammo-based weapons are not for OOS. They are for IS, where running out of energy is an issue and ammo does not drain box/shot.

Overall, OOS is numbers game. IS is too, but differently. You could simply look at the table of features, but that ain't very flashy, is it?

The M3+ ships are all expensive. Nova or Perseus?
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JJRSC
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Post by JJRSC » Sun, 22. Oct 17, 16:47

Timsup2nothin wrote:I have nothing to contribute here, really, but just have to say 'Terrans, bah.'
Actually, I'm a little surprised you didn't tell me to load up with nine advanced discos :wink:

Bill, all of the choices seem to have worked out well so far. I've lost a few of each, but percentage-wise, I seem to lose fewer Scimitars than anything else, including the Cutlasses, which is slightly surprising. The ones I lose the most are the Spitfyres... they crash into stuff and, with 3 25M shields, sometimes they get shot down... especially if there is a Tenjin or two with PBGs in the mix. But if one of my freighters gets attacked and I'm busy and can't jump in myself, I want to make sure my fighters can get there in time... so the Spirfyre's speed makes it the best choice for RRF. For the most part I haven't had to replace too many fighters and they all seem to be effective at taking out enemies I need them to take out. It's rather interesting to watch on the sector map when my MD-Equipped Solanos engage a target and I see the hull go to zero in two or three seconds. Fortunately I haven't had too many issues keeping them supplied with ammo. Oh, I'm playing TC, so the Griffon holds nine ships.

And yeah, I could have (and have) looked at the table... but sometimes players know stuff - through experience or whatever - that isn't on the table... am interested what other people think are good options... I might be surprised. And I actually was thinking about Novas or Perseuses for this wing... I've always liked the Perseus, and I was also thinking about putting together nine Nova prototypes from the PHQ. Good point on OOS ammo, though, I had forgotten about that.

Cost isn't an issue as I'm pretty late in the game. And I had thought of a number of possibilities; just curious what you guys have to say. :D

RAVEN.myst
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Post by RAVEN.myst » Sun, 22. Oct 17, 17:09

If you like the Scimitar, then you might consider the Thor - same shield size with *very slightly* slower recharge, *very slightly* slower (196 vs 199, if I recall correctly), stronger weapons, and a two-gun tail turret. However, in vanilla X3TC you need to fully complete Balance of Power (meaning that you complete it AND you capture ships at the end for their blueprints), and then manufacture them at your HQ. Of course, you could go the whole-hog and opt for the Fenrir, which is the M3+ version of the Thor, stronger and faster than the Cutlass in every respect, but they take very long to manufacture (helluva a personal fighter, though!)

Good hunting! :)
Last edited by RAVEN.myst on Mon, 23. Oct 17, 11:38, edited 1 time in total.
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Timsup2nothin
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Post by Timsup2nothin » Sun, 22. Oct 17, 17:47

JJRSC wrote:
Timsup2nothin wrote:I have nothing to contribute here, really, but just have to say 'Terrans, bah.'
Actually, I'm a little surprised you didn't tell me to load up with nine advanced discos :wink:
:lol:

Well, that IS still my personal favorite as a personal ship, but like any M5 they do not play well in groups and are mostly useless OOS.
Trapper Tim's Guide to CLS 2

On Her Majesty's Secret Service-Dead is Dead, and he is DEAD

Not a DiD, so I guess it's a DiDn't, the story of my first try at AP
Part One, in progress

HEY! AP!! That's new!!!

zazie
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Post by zazie » Mon, 23. Oct 17, 11:23

In my experience the best compromise for a IS-/OOS-combo is a pack of LX. Up to 8 LX as one attacker group is overwhelming; more are better split in packs of 6-8.

JJRSC
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Post by JJRSC » Wed, 25. Oct 17, 19:47

Huh... Thors and Fenrirs didn't even cross my mind... and I have the blueprints for them. I might just do that.

I've heard the LX is supposed to be pretty nasty (though I guess it's been nerfed since Reunion?) but I've only ever been able to get one to bail. I sent it to dock at the Eq Dock Menelaus' Paradise but then they kicked it off the docking clamp and it got run over by a TL. :evil:

RAVEN.myst
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Post by RAVEN.myst » Thu, 26. Oct 17, 08:17

JJRSC wrote:Huh... Thors and Fenrirs didn't even cross my mind... and I have the blueprints for them.
Ah, so you have the 'prints for those - nice! :) My usual approach with these is to use a Fenrir as personal fighter (when I play as ATF) and perhaps as a wingman or two (but usually much later), with Thors as my "mass-produced" fighters for carriers. Of course, it becomes necessary to ramp up EMPC production...
JJRSC wrote:I've heard the LX is supposed to be pretty nasty (though I guess it's been nerfed since Reunion?)...
Yup, but it's still not bad, if you can get one early enough (later on they tend to be overshadowed by alternatives, I find) - and the L is totally underpowered now (LX less so, by comparison)
JJRSC wrote:... but I've only ever been able to get one to bail. I sent it to dock at the Eq Dock Menelaus' Paradise but then they kicked it off the docking clamp and it got run over by a TL. :evil:
Holy crap! That's quite a Murphy's litigation campaign! (In case this is relevant: I find that, especially in the late game, my most effective approach for capturing bailees is to not try too hard - I just let it happen, instead of chasing it. I fly around in a frigate with flak weapons, docking bays, transporter device, and docking computer, and occasionally bailed ships survive and I quickly snap them up if they're on my "to-get" list.)
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JJRSC
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Post by JJRSC » Sun, 29. Oct 17, 20:14

Yeah, I don't usually try to make ships bail either, they just happen... usually when I invade a Xenon sector with my Osaka or my Boreas, one or two Ls will usually bail, or if I take a Xenon patrol mission somewhere. I have a couple dozen Ls at my HQ - great for transporting jumpdrives in a Zephyrus. But I only got that one LX to bail. Would have made a nice trophy, but I guess I can't complain too much.

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