I got an M7M Gannet and im looking to cap my first Aran in one of the UFJD Sectors. So how should i:
Find the Aran?
What is the total combat level i need to cap it? (like the 1600 figthing for a Q)
Any other advice that might help me cap an Aran would be appreciated.
Aran capping Questions/bragging over Aran caps
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Aran capping Questions/bragging over Aran caps
Last edited by kotorone1 on Tue, 26. Apr 11, 06:08, edited 2 times in total.
Once you arrive in an UFJD sector, switch to external/3rd-person view (F2) and rotate and zoom the camera trying to locate Arans. Look for a relatively bright-looking, cylindrical object partly painted in yellow. Don't bother checking the sector view - unclaimed Arans don't show up on it (or your radar, for that matter).
If you think you've spotted something, memorize its location and zoom to it from 1st-person/cockpit/turret view using the key associated with the Video Enhancement Goggles extension - a must-have software for this "hunt".
If you don't notice anything other than asteroids and the occasional Xenon/Kha'ak, then you can rest assured that there's no Aran in that sector and you should jump to another.
When you do find an Aran, park your ship close to it after setting up your turrets' commands to "None". Next, eject and tickle the Aran with your repair laser till it turns hostile - your "cross-hair" will turn red and combat music will start playing. Don't use weapons from your ship, no matter how weak, or you'll risk blowing your would-be prize up as derelict Arans are severely damaged by default. Final step: get back into the M7M and issue the Piracy -> Board -> Nearest target (Aran) command.
As for marines, 20 2-star marines should be enough.
One last thing: don't expect to get Arans with more than 10-15% hull integrity, regardless of your troops' engineering skill.
If you think you've spotted something, memorize its location and zoom to it from 1st-person/cockpit/turret view using the key associated with the Video Enhancement Goggles extension - a must-have software for this "hunt".
If you don't notice anything other than asteroids and the occasional Xenon/Kha'ak, then you can rest assured that there's no Aran in that sector and you should jump to another.
When you do find an Aran, park your ship close to it after setting up your turrets' commands to "None". Next, eject and tickle the Aran with your repair laser till it turns hostile - your "cross-hair" will turn red and combat music will start playing. Don't use weapons from your ship, no matter how weak, or you'll risk blowing your would-be prize up as derelict Arans are severely damaged by default. Final step: get back into the M7M and issue the Piracy -> Board -> Nearest target (Aran) command.
As for marines, 20 2-star marines should be enough.
One last thing: don't expect to get Arans with more than 10-15% hull integrity, regardless of your troops' engineering skill.
Last edited by Thunders on Sun, 6. Mar 11, 21:00, edited 2 times in total.
You may not need great combat skills, but due to the low hull on any Aran that spawns, you might do better to train them well in engineering...
Also - if you see a broken gate, there will be no Aran in that sector. Not sure about whether it will spawn in a sector with Xenon/Kha'ak stations.
Tim
Also - if you see a broken gate, there will be no Aran in that sector. Not sure about whether it will spawn in a sector with Xenon/Kha'ak stations.
Tim
Struggling to find something from the forums - Google it!!! 
I don't think that issue applies to Arans.perkint wrote:due to the low hull on any Aran that spawns, you might do better to train them well in engineering
Why? Take any other ship as example: if the boarding operation drags on for too long due to poor engineering skill, your marines bail out if the target's hull had suffered considerable damage.
Then why, even with ace marines, do you end up with ~7%-hull Arans? Because they're the exception the rule that forces marines to abort their task. Even prior to boarding them they're very low on health - hence all the precautions you need to take so that you don't destroy them while making them hostile toward you. It's as simple as that.
I tend to drop an Adv. Sat as soon as I land in the UFJD sectors and use it's remote viewing ability to get a good look at the sector. From what I can remember of the one Aran I've found and from what I've read on these forums it should be easy to spot just doing that, if it's there at all. I have to admit that I've yet to actually cap one, but thus far I've only looked in 15 sectors.
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My capping have resulted with 6% - 26% hull (3 Arans this far). Using ten marines all with 5-star engineering.Thunders wrote: As for marines, 20 2-star marines should be enough.
One last thing: don't expect to get Arans with more than 10-15% hull integrity, regardless of your troops' engineering skill.
Because they're hard coded to spawn with a low hull (have seen it quoted but can't remember the range).Thunders wrote:Then why, even with ace marines, do you end up with ~7%-hull Arans?
Never experienced it myself (I have always used fairly good marines against Arans) but I have definitely seen others claiming their guys bailed due to hull damage...Thunders wrote:Because they're the exception the rule that forces marines to abort their task.
Tim
Struggling to find something from the forums - Google it!!!
Aran hunting - SPOILERS ABOUND!
Take a look at http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=295990 - lots of good advice there. The last post (mine, currently) contains some pictures that may well help.
Of course, the easiest way to get an Aran is... by using another Aran (with appropriate equipment, natch!
)
SAVE OFTEN!
Be prepared: Start from the sector where you want to end up - a nice safe sector with an EQD and/or shipyard such as Kingdom End would be good. Docking computer, triplex scanner & transporter device (all good to have) have a chance of being destroyed upon entry to the UFJD sector, so have backup with a duplex scanner as well. Take some Asats, a couple of extra 1- or 2GJ shields & some good fighter drones (Mk2 or Keris) with you, as well as top-whack marines in Engineering & Mechanical (if you're not using boarding pods). Fighting skill isn't really important WRT the capture itself - it's the same chance as any other abandoned ship. I use low-fight-skill grunts for Aran hunting to train them up.
Drop an Adv sat when you enter the sector. Press 'k' to give you the satellite camera view superimposed on the sector. Zoom /in/ & scroll through anything on your radar screen, in both X/Y & X/Z axes, looking for the distinctive radar 'shadow' of a huge cigar/submarine-shaped object (ie long, straight with slightly pointed rounded ends. [Trust me, once you've seen one you won't mistake it for anything else!]) You'll notice that this method centres your view on the highlighted (but not necessarily /Targetted/) target, giving you a better chance to spot an Aran hiding behind a 'roid. Then max zoom out & take another look on both axes. /Then/ Target (not highlight) a far-away 'roid or something, zoom out with the f3 camera & take a final look around, all axes - you're looking for a yellow submarine a long way off in space, all lit-up!
Some people find it helps to have <playership> moving when looking around like this - it helps to distinguish between <playership>'s shadow & something else. If you're going to do this remember to do it on autopilot, 'cause crashing into a dark sector's 'roid you've not seen because you're concentrating elsewhere is funny only for the rest of us. If you're lucky enough spot an Aran, SAVE! Fly to it & drop another Asat nearby before you do anything else. SAVE!
This may sound complicated, but the easiest things always take the longest time to explain. Once you get used to the method it may take 15secs tops; on average, most likely around 5-10sec. for the whole 'scan sector' routine. If there's nothing else visible, taget your satellite!
If you're really lucky you'll have no hostiles in the area; this will give you some more time to use SETA repair, or not if you've plenty of time or don't want to fiddle about. If you've got the game music turned down, turn it up for this excersise: it's easier to judge when the Aran turns hostile than by listening for the single 'hostile ship nearby' bleep, especially if your gaming area is subject to 'noises off'. Eject from your ship & use the repair laser to turn the Aran hostile. Did I say SAVE!? If you've no hostiles at this point you can repair the hull some more now - you won't know how badly damaged it is until you've sucessfully boarded it; IIRC it spawns with between 2% & 23% hull.
If you have hostiles IS, be patient. The Asats you've dropped will give you warning, by being destroyed even if you haven't been watching their screens. Your drones have a limited lifetime, so judge carefully when you want to release them - the hostiles may take a while to realise you're there. By default on release they're set to 'protect ship'; since the Aran can't shoot back you /should/ be OK, but if you've taken damage (say by nudging the Aran by getting too close by accident) they'll prolly attack it, so watch yourself here! SAVE!
Send your marines in. In-ship or out, either by the 'Piracy' command, or 'Launch all marines'. In the menu you're presented with, there should be an option 'board nearest..' where the Aran should show up. I've experienced a boarding with a Kraken where the K wouldn't lock onto the Aran - it always went for the nearest Xenon (whether boardable or in view or not); no idea what caused that!
SAVE! before the marines get to the hull. SAVE! at every point. Hull-cutting should be OK if using BPs: they cause little damage, but if you're using an M6 you should be prepared for some frustration at every level. /This/ is why you need top-level marines in mech & eng: they cause as little (or even no) damage as possible whilst doing their jobs.* If your hackers fail you can always pick them all up & send them in again, if you have time
Once you've managed a sucessful board, SAVE! Then transfer the extra shields over first, so they gain some extra recharge time. If you need to dock manually to transfer kit, do so carefully! Obviously, if your DC has survived that's the easiest, quickest & safest way to dock. Once docked, you can transfer the JD & necessary ecells & jump right out back to the sector you started from. Once you get there, SAVE! The last thing you need now is for some stupid NPC TL or capship (or anything else if you have no shields) to blunder into you!
You'll end up in more or less the position IS where you jumped from, so if you started a long way from your Aran's intended (first) destination, be prepared for a long wait!
According to the code posted in a long-ago thread there is slightly less than a 2% chance of an Aran being generated in a UFJD sector, unless that sector has a gate in which case the chance is zero. So if you see a gate, broken or otherwise, forget it. The Aran (or Goner Ranger; you'll only get one /or/ the other, & since the Ranger is tiny you've almost no chance of spotting it) can be generated a /looong/ way off (I've seen unconfirmed reports of up to 120Km) & this figure is not limited to the ecliptic, so don't be surprised if you can't spot one visually
* ISTM that fight skill determines how long a marine section takes to deal with each deck; mech (or engineer, I always mix those two) skill determines the damage done whilst doing so. I've no idea if the skills are interrelated or interconnected in any way - ie whether the team causes more damage because it's stayed longer because of the lower fight skills, etc. However this is all limited speculation - if anyone wants to take it further, please start a new thread!
Good grief, I didn't know I'd absorbed /this/ much info about Arans - thanks everyone!
Hope this helps! - X3:TC 3.x vanilla applies
Of course, the easiest way to get an Aran is... by using another Aran (with appropriate equipment, natch!
)SAVE OFTEN!
Be prepared: Start from the sector where you want to end up - a nice safe sector with an EQD and/or shipyard such as Kingdom End would be good. Docking computer, triplex scanner & transporter device (all good to have) have a chance of being destroyed upon entry to the UFJD sector, so have backup with a duplex scanner as well. Take some Asats, a couple of extra 1- or 2GJ shields & some good fighter drones (Mk2 or Keris) with you, as well as top-whack marines in Engineering & Mechanical (if you're not using boarding pods). Fighting skill isn't really important WRT the capture itself - it's the same chance as any other abandoned ship. I use low-fight-skill grunts for Aran hunting to train them up.
Drop an Adv sat when you enter the sector. Press 'k' to give you the satellite camera view superimposed on the sector. Zoom /in/ & scroll through anything on your radar screen, in both X/Y & X/Z axes, looking for the distinctive radar 'shadow' of a huge cigar/submarine-shaped object (ie long, straight with slightly pointed rounded ends. [Trust me, once you've seen one you won't mistake it for anything else!]) You'll notice that this method centres your view on the highlighted (but not necessarily /Targetted/) target, giving you a better chance to spot an Aran hiding behind a 'roid. Then max zoom out & take another look on both axes. /Then/ Target (not highlight) a far-away 'roid or something, zoom out with the f3 camera & take a final look around, all axes - you're looking for a yellow submarine a long way off in space, all lit-up!
Some people find it helps to have <playership> moving when looking around like this - it helps to distinguish between <playership>'s shadow & something else. If you're going to do this remember to do it on autopilot, 'cause crashing into a dark sector's 'roid you've not seen because you're concentrating elsewhere is funny only for the rest of us
. If you're lucky enough spot an Aran, SAVE! Fly to it & drop another Asat nearby before you do anything else. SAVE!This may sound complicated, but the easiest things always take the longest time to explain. Once you get used to the method it may take 15secs tops; on average, most likely around 5-10sec. for the whole 'scan sector' routine. If there's nothing else visible, taget your satellite!
If you're really lucky you'll have no hostiles in the area; this will give you some more time to use SETA repair, or not if you've plenty of time or don't want to fiddle about. If you've got the game music turned down, turn it up for this excersise: it's easier to judge when the Aran turns hostile than by listening for the single 'hostile ship nearby' bleep, especially if your gaming area is subject to 'noises off'. Eject from your ship & use the repair laser to turn the Aran hostile. Did I say SAVE!? If you've no hostiles at this point you can repair the hull some more now - you won't know how badly damaged it is until you've sucessfully boarded it; IIRC it spawns with between 2% & 23% hull.
If you have hostiles IS, be patient. The Asats you've dropped will give you warning, by being destroyed even if you haven't been watching their screens. Your drones have a limited lifetime, so judge carefully when you want to release them - the hostiles may take a while to realise you're there. By default on release they're set to 'protect ship'; since the Aran can't shoot back you /should/ be OK, but if you've taken damage (say by nudging the Aran by getting too close by accident) they'll prolly attack it, so watch yourself here! SAVE!
Send your marines in. In-ship or out, either by the 'Piracy' command, or 'Launch all marines'. In the menu you're presented with, there should be an option 'board nearest..' where the Aran should show up. I've experienced a boarding with a Kraken where the K wouldn't lock onto the Aran - it always went for the nearest Xenon (whether boardable or in view or not); no idea what caused that!
SAVE! before the marines get to the hull. SAVE! at every point. Hull-cutting should be OK if using BPs: they cause little damage, but if you're using an M6 you should be prepared for some frustration at every level. /This/ is why you need top-level marines in mech & eng: they cause as little (or even no) damage as possible whilst doing their jobs.* If your hackers fail you can always pick them all up & send them in again, if you have time
Once you've managed a sucessful board, SAVE! Then transfer the extra shields over first, so they gain some extra recharge time. If you need to dock manually to transfer kit, do so carefully! Obviously, if your DC has survived that's the easiest, quickest & safest way to dock. Once docked, you can transfer the JD & necessary ecells & jump right out back to the sector you started from. Once you get there, SAVE! The last thing you need now is for some stupid NPC TL or capship (or anything else if you have no shields) to blunder into you!
You'll end up in more or less the position IS where you jumped from, so if you started a long way from your Aran's intended (first) destination, be prepared for a long wait!
According to the code posted in a long-ago thread there is slightly less than a 2% chance of an Aran being generated in a UFJD sector, unless that sector has a gate in which case the chance is zero. So if you see a gate, broken or otherwise, forget it. The Aran (or Goner Ranger; you'll only get one /or/ the other, & since the Ranger is tiny you've almost no chance of spotting it) can be generated a /looong/ way off (I've seen unconfirmed reports of up to 120Km) & this figure is not limited to the ecliptic, so don't be surprised if you can't spot one visually
* ISTM that fight skill determines how long a marine section takes to deal with each deck; mech (or engineer, I always mix those two) skill determines the damage done whilst doing so. I've no idea if the skills are interrelated or interconnected in any way - ie whether the team causes more damage because it's stayed longer because of the lower fight skills, etc. However this is all limited speculation - if anyone wants to take it further, please start a new thread!
Good grief, I didn't know I'd absorbed /this/ much info about Arans - thanks everyone!
Hope this helps! - X3:TC 3.x vanilla applies
Wiki X:R 1st Tit capping
Wiki X3:TC vanilla: Guide to generic missions, Guide to finding & capping Aran
Never played AP; all X3 advice is based on vanilla+bonus pack TC or before: AP has not changed much WRT general advice.
I know how to spell teladiuminumiumium, I just don't know when to stop!
Dom (Wiki Moderator)
DxDiag
Wiki X3:TC vanilla: Guide to generic missions, Guide to finding & capping Aran
Never played AP; all X3 advice is based on vanilla+bonus pack TC or before: AP has not changed much WRT general advice.
I know how to spell teladiuminumiumium, I just don't know when to stop!
Dom (Wiki Moderator)
DxDiag
Mine was that far off I think, but I haven't got the save, or a screen of it.
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The Tale of Ea't s'Quid Completed
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Some small tricks for Aran-hunting:
- switch off any antialiasing and filtering before you start hunting. This will make it easier to spot distant ships.
- max out your marines in engineering - yes, they can abandon the boarding if the hull drops below the usual threshold.
- burn the Aran with your repair laser for some minutes, somehow it'll affect the boarding difficulty.
- pack some missiles: you have to be able to clean up before boarding.
- switch off any antialiasing and filtering before you start hunting. This will make it easier to spot distant ships.
- max out your marines in engineering - yes, they can abandon the boarding if the hull drops below the usual threshold.
- burn the Aran with your repair laser for some minutes, somehow it'll affect the boarding difficulty.
- pack some missiles: you have to be able to clean up before boarding.
An additional trick: when you enter a sector, target an asteroid (usually there is at least one), then press F3 and rotate around that, zoom out. The zoom out distance is MUCH greater, and when you rotate you often get an overview of the whole plane of the sector, in which the Aran generally spawns. Makes it easier than doing the exterior view of your ship.
Also, as Rive said, bring missiles! I was caught aback when I destroyed the few xenon that were lurking around, went over to the Aran and suddenly I got jumped by two Qs and some fighters that somehow spawned next to me... I only had 10 Hammer heavy torpedoes, with the rest being flails, so I was fortunate to have lots of flails to finish off those pesky Qs! Imagine... Having to jump out because you're getting killed, when you've FINALLY found the Aran... That would be tragic.
Also, as Rive said, bring missiles! I was caught aback when I destroyed the few xenon that were lurking around, went over to the Aran and suddenly I got jumped by two Qs and some fighters that somehow spawned next to me... I only had 10 Hammer heavy torpedoes, with the rest being flails, so I was fortunate to have lots of flails to finish off those pesky Qs! Imagine... Having to jump out because you're getting killed, when you've FINALLY found the Aran... That would be tragic.
I got one with 30% hull.
13 marines with 100 eng/mech/hacking. Fighting ranging grom 32 to 100. All shot in BPs from a Cobra with FAA/CIG in back turret.
It was a cakewalk.
Just watch your Flail missiles after tickling the Aran: any Sub-Missile thats left from dealing with the Xenon willl be homing in on the Aran.
On my first cap my back turret took care of any incoming Xenon including a P.
My second Aran took some Damage from the Xenon but still got 16% hull.
Edit: haven't found any Aran in a sector with khaak or broken gate so far.
13 marines with 100 eng/mech/hacking. Fighting ranging grom 32 to 100. All shot in BPs from a Cobra with FAA/CIG in back turret.
It was a cakewalk.
Just watch your Flail missiles after tickling the Aran: any Sub-Missile thats left from dealing with the Xenon willl be homing in on the Aran.
On my first cap my back turret took care of any incoming Xenon including a P.
My second Aran took some Damage from the Xenon but still got 16% hull.
Edit: haven't found any Aran in a sector with khaak or broken gate so far.
I have found my first aran after just 16 jumps, Yay Me. Im using an M6 which only had space for 5 marines and while they are maxed on all skills they seem to find it impossible to cut through the hull. Am I going to have to start overe using an M7M with 20 marines to get through the hull or is their success just a random event?
I think a recent patch made it impossible to board the Aran by spacewalking, so now you are required to use an M7M with boarding pods.
Also, has the the whole "invisible everywhere except your property menu" bug been fixed yet?
Also, has the the whole "invisible everywhere except your property menu" bug been fixed yet?
Admitting you have a problem is the first step in figuring out how to make it worse.
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I seem to remember someone posted here not long back that they had boarded an Aran in v3.0 (or maybe v3.1) from a single M6. But I suspect it'd take a lot (and then a lot more) of reloads...
It is not a bug that the Aran is invisible. There is a flag on ships which can be set to make a ship invisible. It is set on Arans. It may have been a bug that it didn't become visible once you'd boarded it, and that is what was fixed in a recent patch...
Tim
It is not a bug that the Aran is invisible. There is a flag on ships which can be set to make a ship invisible. It is set on Arans. It may have been a bug that it didn't become visible once you'd boarded it, and that is what was fixed in a recent patch...
Tim
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