X3TC: M7s: Panther vs. Tiger?

[Yossarian22]

What is the difference between these two beauties and in your opinion which one is the better one?

Also tell us about your favorite weapon loadouts.

[simonnance]

Panther for me.

Slightly weaker on weapons i think and no forward fixed guns (which can be a plus or a minus) but has a huge hangar bay. The turret layout is good, with at least 12-14 guns tracking a target if you fly right..... M6s pop like bubbles, and with some FAAs in the mix you wont worry about M3s or below again. Only real struggle is large groups of M6s.... particularly KM6s (insta-hit is an ass) not tried against other M7s yet or larger.

For me the lack of a forward fixed mount means you can focus on flying it..... turns okish, speed is good, cargo is more than enough to kit it out and have plenty space for missiles/ecells and whatever junk you have sitting around.

TBH, from my eye and sense the Panther is a scaled down Raptor/Python, whereas the Tiger is a beefed up Dragon. The models tell that story, as does the weapon layout.

[delray]

It is extremely hard to harm anything bigger than an average M6 (like Osprey) in Panther. No control over front guns makes you cry sometimes. It's much easier in Tiger though. So if you're after big guys, go Tiger.

Also, flying Panther annoys me a lot since I'm sitting at the very end of this long ship and constantly ram stuff.

Panther looks great on paper and in stats but after a while in it you will notice it's not really what you expected at first.

If you are fighting fighters, a full FAA Panther can really destroy giant numbers of them at once, just don't save while they are firing or they will break forever.

(Just kidding. Actually they break until you quit and reload).

My Panther does that now, has full FAA all around and helps my Deimos fend off fighter crowds while Big D is wrecking enemy M6s and M7s with his IBLs.

[Fresshness]

my opinion: none of the above


I would go for the Elephant (!). almost half the cost, even bigger hangar, faster and can equip decent weapons + all the utilities (drilling, etc...).

Only downturn is 1G shield.

[delray]

But shield is the single most important stat for an M7...

[Tanall]

The 'phant and Panther are similar only in that they function as carriers. In combat roles they use totally different tactics.

An Elephant is more like a WW2 'Jeep Carrier': Cheap fighter carrying capability, needing to rely entirely on embarked craft to fight

The Panther is like the Tiger's Claw of Wing Commander fame: A ship that can deploy fighters, and then fight in direct support of them.

[xalien]

For me the front turret instead of a fixed guns is a big plus. And I hate having no docking bays for some M5's on a large and relatively slow ship - that alone completely rules out a number of M7's for me, including Tiger.

Big hangar also means you can have a lot of falcon haulers to keep a lot of stuff that can greatly contribute to it's firepower. I've spent several hundred typhoon missiles in one xenon patrol mission busting K's and P's - would be impossible to do it otherwise. And no way I would have been able to cram all of them in any other M7, let alone Tiger without any docking bays.

[simonnance]

my opinion: none of the above


I would go for the Elephant (!). almost half the cost, even bigger hangar, faster and can equip decent weapons + all the utilities (drilling, etc...).

Only downturn is 1G shield.

you have to be KIDDING ME right? The 'phant turns like one, has 2 guns per turret (4 turrets) vs the 6 turrets of the Panther with up to 6 mounts in each. It's arguably a bigger target, with less manoeuvrability, and has 1/4 the shielding, marginally faster, but if you cant turn for toffee what's the point!

so other than 1/4 the sheilding, ~1/3 the guns, less laser energy, less maneuverable, and a bigger target, its a GREAT alternative.

I have both..... i wouldnt take my 'phant up against more than 1/2 M6s at once, my Panther on the other hand.......

As for taking down ships, i've got used to side strafing to get the top/front/side turrets lined up on a single target..... if i could get some IBLs it'd pack even more of a punch, but i'm stuck with an ISR/FAA mix atm. Might search out some more FAAs for Xenon mission goodness though, is the Phased Array Laser Cannon a piece of vaporware? Cant find it anywhere and it has killer stats.

[SpenzOT]

The panther is like a cheaper, weaker raptor. The tiger is like a giant M3+.


The tiger is my favorite M7. As fast as some M3+'s (like the Kea), very very maneuverable for a ship its size, heavy frontal armament that supports IBL's, low frontal profile so you can strafe and dodge fire pretty easy, fairly good cargo space, good frontal visibility, and a sleek, sexy profile that just screams "I'm pimpin!".

It cannot carry any ships though. Its shields are kind of weak as well, but the ship is a classic example of a pocket battleship design: outruns anything that it cannot outgun.

[Yossarian22]

Panther can support a ship to compensate for it's lack of speed (fly around, accept a mission, dock into the big seat).

However with my OTAS M6 experience, I question if the lack of frontal guns is really bad since you get two frontal turrets (it's a question of ships this size turning like toffee)

[Malkuth74]

Panther Wins in versatility hands down.. THe frontal guns become a little annoying though.

The great thing about My panther is now that I have 15 Solanoes and 6 Novas in the flight deck, it is a lean mean fighting machine.

Patrol missions the Panther can stand up to anything other then A Kha'ak invasion (which you die real quick) and with the fighters you can do station defense missions no problem.

Jump in to the Gate that the pirates are, kill the big boys.. Then send out the wings to kill the straglers M5s and M4s.

Try ever chasing around an M5 in an M7 without fighter support? Talk about pull hair out.

[Creston]

Deimos FTW. 8 Ion Shard Guns as front guns will MURDER an M6 in ~ 3 seconds. Solid turrets, good weapons loadouts, 6GJ shields. Flies decently fast, moves decent.

Creston

[Chroniss]

I think Deimos should be 3GJ like it was in Reunion. It's so powerful as it is, I don't see why it needed its shields doubled. Either that or charge like 50mil for it.

Anyways, if you go Panther, make sure you get MARS

[xalien]

Patrol missions the Panther can stand up to anything other then A Kha'ak invasion (which you die real quick)

I did a few Kha'ak patrol missions in a Panther, 50 typhoons and they're gone. Sure, it costs ~1.5 million to kill one KM2 this way, but when they pay 9 million for one it's a pretty good deal I'd say.

[jannix]

I am still conflicted on which M7 to get. I have a Boreas and recently acquired an Agamemnon through boarding. I want one more M7 to go with it. The Panther sounds like it can fit a multi-purpose role. I could take my favorite fighters in the convoy - my LX, eclipse and maybe a scout, along with energy refuelers. Its flaw at not being very good with cap ships is fine in my case, since I have a boreas and Agamemnon in the convoy.

My only concern is the 4x1 GJ shielding. And... well a Deimos would go really well with an Agamemnon, wouldn't you think?

[Rudinho]

JUST capped my first M7, after capping a 'phant to deploy my Fab Empire.


And the M7 is the Tiger, i had a difficult job to choose what to cap.

I was in a boron sector hmm dont remember Boron Shalves or sometin.

Tracked a Panther with full M8 M3 escort, then after jumping in Split sector i saw a panther with one M6 but just befor attack i saw a Tiger - slim shiny and ALONE tiger, tracked and waited when no other patrol was around and capped it.


This M7 is a joy to ride, same menouveurabilty as centaur M6, wich surprised me.
4GJ of shielding, god recharge rate, decent cargo, extend it right away, e cells missiles and salvaged stuff need place.

Ion Shard RailGun in front for now, i have the cash but no fab or eq dock with the stuff i need. Turrets beefed with Flak array + MARS.

Assasinations missions with 3-4 M6 and other M3 is a joy to watch.
Pirates, Xenon - P's are weak!, even Khaaks

It's a perfect tool to kill escort then swith to a M6 and cap a Missile M7, just capped a split one.


Gonna havta give a chance against a M2, with my hand on the wheel of course.
Can dodge like a M6, i 'm sure there is a way to take down a M2.

[TBV]

but the ship is a classic example of a pocket battleship design: outruns anything that it cannot outgun.

There is nothing in the game that it cannot out-gun, if you're flying it personally of course.

i 'm sure there is a way to take down a M2.

Beg, borrow or steal some IBLs. You wont look back.

[1muvwndr]

Tiger + IBLs = win. You can take out ANY capital ship 1 on 1 without much effort, is it a KM2 or a Valhalla. When taking multiple capital ships you have just to be a little more careful. It's just about staying at the margin of your IBL range and strafing. Against fighters the turrets equipped with FAA and set to missile defence (I'm not using scripts) do the job quite nice. plus, you turn so fast that you can just ram them. M6s die in 2 seconds (charged IBL volley + 1 normal volley or 3 normal IBL volleys to take out anything with less than 800Mj in the pants).
The only downside is that it has no docking bay. I keep a Kestrel following me. Well, he just keeps being docked at the local stations .

[H.F._Mudd]

I just capped a panther, I think I'll call it T.G.S. Under New Management.

Man, it was tough to get too!!! With flaks and IBLs the Panther is a handful!!!
It was MUCH harder to cap than my Agamemnon. The Panther has nearly 100% turret coverage.

There may be some things the Tiger is better at than the Panther, but as another poster pointed out, the Panther is very versatile... Just make sure you get IBLs for the front turret, flaks everywhere else. It's a beast.

[PaulP]

The Tiger is IMO the best ship in the game. Decent shielding, best in class weapon generator, among the fastest of the M7s, wonderful maneuverability. 8 IBLs on the front turret and some flak's all around, and you can massacre anything.

If the Deimos could hold IBLs on main turret I would think about switching, but even then it has an inferior weapon generator - which really matters when you are fighting fleets of big ships.

The Boreas equipped with PPCs or ICs is even more badass, but I just can't adjust to being 1/2 the speed and 1/4 the maneuverability. I use it when I need to wipe out a sector, but for regular use it's just too bulky.

The panther is OK, but having main guns REALLY makes a difference - and I can live without a hangar. If I need a faster ship I just jump in my variety pack (Hyperion Vanguard with a Nova Raider and Pirate Kestrel).