Ship Capture Guide: X2 Version 2 (Updated for 1.4)

[jlehtone]

When you attack someone, they interrupt their current task and focus on killing you.
If your target's current task was to escort someone, they do one more thing: they notify their leader that they are under attack.
When a leader of formation gets signal that one of its escorts is under attack, it will (1) attack that threat and (2) tell all its escorts to do the same.

[Alan Phipps]

My tip would be to kill or bail out the leader first and as quickly as you can; that tends to confuse the followers for a while as they debate who is the next leader and then what to do about you after that is decided. This short period of confusion leads to further opportunities!

It's actually quite realistic in that respect!

[Praefectus classis]

It's the weapons that count - quick shield reduction and slow hull reduction but with lots of impacts - and not so much the ship. A Buster has probably better weapon options and combat survivability than a Disco but, either way, just keep trying.

You were right. I've managed to capture a few, now. The real trick is not capturing them for me ; it's simply finding some that are not among a cluster of 5-6, in which case I'm often outnumbered and overpowered. Even if I'm starting with the one most at the back and hit no one else, they always all turn on me.

For groups, try the following. Carry a few mosquito missiles with you. Check the speeds of the other ships. Fire one mosquito missile at one of the ships from a distance. They get their attention without destroying them. If you fly away they will follow and gaps develop between the ships because of the different speeds. You can then attempt capture or take out the smaller, faster, less valuable ships first. You may have to rinse and repeat a few times. This works best if your ship is faster than the opposition.