Which M3 is the best?

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lyubarskiy
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Which M3 is the best?

Post by lyubarskiy » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 20:33

What is the best M3 in X3?
Also which weapon layout is best. I am currently loving Alpha something high energy plasma thrower. Is there anything better? Also what is that blue wave the pirates use? Kills me instantly.

Still main question which M3 is best.

Nanook
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Re: Which M3 is the best?

Post by Nanook » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 20:38

lyubarskiy wrote:What is the best M3 in X3?...
Count the number of various M3's and their variants, and you'll have a good idea of the variety of opinions you'll get. Simply put, there is no 'best' M3 in X3. It all depends on player flying and fighting style and what you want it for. Note, for example, the recent thread on Mamba Raiders and Nova Raiders. :wink:
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Fred_Sanford
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Post by Fred_Sanford » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 20:47

There are lots of opinions and lots of threads discussing M3s

Popular Answer: LX
Second Popular Answer: Mamba Raider
Best Answer: whatever works for you

lyubarskiy
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Post by lyubarskiy » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:27

What is that M3 Nova + Fighter? Forgot the name. What is the difference between normal M3 and + Fighter M3?

H.F._Mudd
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Post by H.F._Mudd » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:27

Top 3 seem to be the Xenon LX, Split Mamba Raider, and the Pirate Nova Raider.



My current personal favorite is the Split Chimera, which is the 'raider' of the M3+ class.


Oh, the blue mist is called phased shockwaves. :wink:

Edit:

M3= Heavy fighter, good weapon's power and up to 75MJ of shielding.

M3+= Heavy. heavy fighter, HUGE weapon's power and up to 125MJ of shielding, with speed close to a medium fighter.
Last edited by H.F._Mudd on Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:33, edited 1 time in total.
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saber1
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Re: Which M3 is the best?

Post by saber1 » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:28

lyubarskiy wrote:... what is that blue wave the pirates use? Kills me instantly.
Its called Phased Shockwave Generator (PSG) and comes in Alpha, Beta and Gamma version (Gamma is strongest). It's an "area effect" weapon with high damage on shields, low on hull (still can be nasty). From Player point of view: it is "area effect" - if something is in area it's got hit - enemy ships (Kha'ak Scouts going down in squads :twisted: ), all missiles (friend and foe), also - friendly or neutral ships (there goes my escort, "oh sorry officer, please it was accident, do not drop my notoriety" :S ), containers ("where was that Hammerhead Missile for 80 thousand credits?").
They can be mounted many ships, mostly Paranid and Pirates.

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Post by AlderonDark » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:32

My personal favorite M3 is the Pirate Nova Raider and my favorite M3+ is the Xenon LX.

But in a game like this, where there are so many variations on ships, stats and weapon loadout, most people develop their own list of 'best ships and stuff'. You will too. :)

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Post by Shannon Maricle » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 21:39

I still love the Eclipse (M3+).

It reminds me of an old WWII fighter plane. Fat body, and I love the guns mounted on the nose. Lots of people dont like the looks...but I do.

The Pirate version has a bit better weapon layout, but the Argon version has the shields.

The LX might be top notch as far as stats, but I think its too damn ugly to use.

But like EVERYONE says...your questions cannot be answered. Its like asking 100 people what is the best car...or food...or color.

maphys
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Post by maphys » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 22:23

Agree that there are a mllion opinions on this but I'll still go for:
Pirate Falcon - Just because they are easy to get and do the job. An old workhorse for a new player.
or just on stats:
Nova Raider (Pirate if you can cap it): Fast and powerful, decent cargo space for guns and jump-fuel.

Weapons are a funny one - those AHEPTs are the most powerful main gun you are going to get on an M3. But hitting M5s with them? Pain! The projectiles are too slow to hit them unless they are charging right at you. PBEs are great for fast ships and capping but only Split and Xenon ships get them at M3 level. PACs are the mainstay of my arsenal, I find. Cheap, effective and just about anything can mount them. They do more hull than shield damage and are not as quick to hit as the PBEs but are still OK for M5s. Oh and BIREs in turrets on missile defence are great for minimising stray hits on ships when they are bailing. Short range, low damage but good enough for missiles.

Most of all - try things out! Look for cheap weapons (full fabs) and buy a few. Try them out, sell what you don't like. Profit and honing your fighting edge. A hold full of PACs or HEPTs make a tidy profit at any EQ dock. Have fun.

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Mærifer
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Post by Mærifer » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 23:00

And my vote goes to: Perseus Rider!

Pros:
- nearly all stats
- psg are very useful against khaak cluster

Cons:
- low cargo space
- it's very ugly

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Post by maphys » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 23:09

Mærifer wrote:And my vote goes to: Perseus Rider!
I found the cargo sizes the Paranid ships held were a problem too. IIRC the Medusa cannot hold L goods - which rules out some lucrative combat-leavings. The moment I got one I kept finding BHEPTs left by assassination marls in TLs. And couldn't pick them up! It was frustrating.

The woeful cargo space means you are forever gathering jump cells too. I'd love the Paranid ships if their weakness didn't hit gameplay really hard. Paper thin hulls and so on you can adapt to but the tedious docking and undocking every third sector (or skimping on guns) is something else. Pirate Falcon Vanguard is the same. 74 cargo or something? Nice carrier ships but (in my opinion) not the best player ships. The Paranid M4s have larger holds than their M3s for goodness sake! That looks like a nerfing to me.

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Nanook
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Post by Nanook » Mon, 17. Mar 08, 23:14

maphys wrote:...The Paranid M4s have larger holds than their M3s for goodness sake!...
And unfortunately, that's only for class 'S' cargo, so no jumpdrives, satellites, or triplex scanners. Paranid M4's. :thumb_down:
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Post by jaguarskx » Tue, 18. Mar 08, 02:42

Personally my favorite M3 is the Pirate Nova Raider. Great combination of firepower, speed and shields.

Some people will say that their favorite is the Xenon LX. It's a great fighter, but is considered a M3+, more powerful than the typical M3. There are only four M3+ fighters:

Argon Eclipse - Well shielded with 125MJ shield, but kinda big and looks like large maggot. It seems to handle reasonable well.

Paranid Medusa - 4 x 25MJ shields pretty well balanced for a M3+ less shields than the Eclipse, but faster. Got one as my wingman.

Split Chimera - 3 x 25MJ shields and fast. Pretty good handling and weapons, but like a Split ships, it has the least amount of shields. Seems to be the favorite for many people since it is fast and can mount the A/B BPEs.

Xenon LX - My favorite. Some people consider it a cheat since it basically trumps all other M3+. You can only cap this ship since no one sells it. I think I have capped over 10 of these ships.

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Post by Naferius » Tue, 18. Mar 08, 02:50

Pirate Nova Raider, but its hard to get.Not many are there.So till i cap one im gonna shoot for the Xenon XL. :wink:
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Post by Nightwatch » Tue, 18. Mar 08, 02:55

maphys wrote:
Mærifer wrote:And my vote goes to: Perseus Rider!
I found the cargo sizes the Paranid ships held were a problem too. IIRC the Medusa cannot hold L goods - which rules out some lucrative combat-leavings. The moment I got one I kept finding BHEPTs left by assassination marls in TLs. And couldn't pick them up! It was frustrating.

The woeful cargo space means you are forever gathering jump cells too. I'd love the Paranid ships if their weakness didn't hit gameplay really hard. Paper thin hulls and so on you can adapt to but the tedious docking and undocking every third sector (or skimping on guns) is something else. Pirate Falcon Vanguard is the same. 74 cargo or something? Nice carrier ships but (in my opinion) not the best player ships. The Paranid M4s have larger holds than their M3s for goodness sake! That looks like a nerfing to me.

M
Do what I do. Have a Hauler of your choice follow you around picking up goods using the "Gather wares in sector" command in the special commands submenu. Also have it store 1500 energy cells at a time. Then when you are low on whatever fly up to it and beam energy aboard your ship using the transporter device. When you need it to restock you can simply jump it to a convenient sector to dock to a SPP to resupply. You can also send it to equipment docks to sell loot.

AND you can bring along your spare supply of missiles, and if you use them, Mass driver ammo. Literally dozens of uses! Frankly I never leave home without mine at this stage. You have to keep half an eye on it to make sure its safe and sometimes it starts orbiting a can without picking it up, but that doesn't happen OSS.

As to the question it really depends on you. Frankly its an easier question to state which M3s are utter rubbish than which one is the best.

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Post by Torpor » Tue, 18. Mar 08, 02:57

perseus raider if you got a TL//M7//M1 to be your jumpdrive

nova vanguard if you need some extra firepower

(pirate) nova raider if you like the nova and acceptable speed
(atm flying a pirate one)

mamba raider if you are on speed :D

xenon LX if you wanna OWN

meduasa if you wanna good m3+


any other: if you like to fly it :D

or check the pirate buster, it has more weapon energy than the baracuca vanguard :D
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Post by AeoNGriM » Tue, 18. Mar 08, 05:22

In my modded game, by far the best M3 is the Terran Thor MKII. I use these as escorts for the Terran Vidar M6 running Sector Patrols. I load them with 2 AHept's and 6 AEMP's. They can pretty much fire continuously and not run out of energy.

But, for sheer looks and by far my personal favourite M3 is the Yaki Tenjin. It looks like an awesome futuristic fighter jet, and the designs on the 'wings' look quality.
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Laguna252
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Post by Laguna252 » Thu, 8. May 08, 17:06

what if you just cant get a pirate nova, would you guys recommend the standard novas or would you try another race?

AleksMain
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Post by AleksMain » Thu, 8. May 08, 17:26

Using standard Nova you can get reputation and money to buy Eclipse.

Eclipse is best M3+ - heavy fighter in Argon's space.

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Post by yoricknicholls » Thu, 8. May 08, 18:51

It is indeed true that your chosen M3 must reflect your dogfighting style, however when it comes to chosing which one, sometimes you take what you get...

The Pirate Nova Raider is my current ship, it's fantastic to be honest as it can use quite a wide range of weaponry and has a 145m/s top speed. With 3x25MJ, I'dd love a little more shielding so I will look into other options also.

I hear a lot about the LX and I'dd love to get one but to be honest, from all the dogfighting I've done with the Xenon, never has one abandonned ship so I haven't a clue what I'm doing wrong...

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