X3TC - Equipping Heavy Centaur Prototype suggestions

[Hubasan]

Sooo...I have recently capped this baby and now I'm contemplating what weapons config should I put on it ...And naturally I would love to hear some suggestions from current owners of this fine Corvette.

I would use it as player ship for now.

Thanks guys.

[Teebor]

I recently capped one of these and it was armed with CIG's prior to its new ownership.

Good lord did it hurt when it threw gunfire my way

IIRC it can mount all round PSG's which is what I was thinking of doing on mine to see how much damage it could do. Obviously it would have to get in close but could be very interesting

[Kapakio]

Don't think they can mount PSG, probably you was thinking of PBG.

[Mouseco]

I own 4

I use them to pack follow ships of 'interest' and keep it safe whilst i prepare to own it ...
For the sake of fighter defence and then M6/7 punishment they all have the following layout.


Front:
CIG's

Sides / Back:
1 Ion D
1 Plasma Burst Generator

I keep one ship as my own personal capping ship...

6 Cigs Swapped to 4 Ion Ds and 2 Phased Repeater Guns when shields drop low...
Side will be 2 * Ion D's for added frying power ... swapping the PBG's back in should 'help' arrive for my victim

[Hubasan]

I recently capped one of these and it was armed with CIG's prior to its new ownership.

Good lord did it hurt when it threw gunfire my way

IIRC it can mount all round PSG's which is what I was thinking of doing on mine to see how much damage it could do. Obviously it would have to get in close but could be very interesting

I know right! That bastard gave me the run for my money. I capped it in a Pirate Centaur I capped just few hours earlier.

and yeah here is the link for all the guns that Heavy Centaur Prototype can mount.

Heavy Centaur Prototype Stats

[KaZTek]

HEPT front

PRG turrets

I speak from experience

[Teebor]

Don't think they can mount PSG, probably you was thinking of PBG.

Yup absolutely right, I'm getting my guns mixed up again.

Thats the loadout I'm going to go for, all PBG to see what a mess it makes of stuff short range.

It will probably be totally useless against fighters, or might even be totally pointless but it will be hugely entertaining for me

[Hubasan]

I own 4

I use them to pack follow ships of 'interest' and keep it safe whilst i prepare to own it ...
For the sake of fighter defence and then M6/7 punishment they all have the following layout.


Front:
CIG's

Sides / Back:
1 Ion D
1 Plasma Burst Generator

I keep one ship as my own personal capping ship...

6 Cigs Swapped to 4 Ion Ds and 2 Phased Repeater Guns when shields drop low...
Side will be 2 * Ion D's for added frying power ... swapping the PBG's back in should 'help' arrive for my victim

That's exactly what I did when preparing for capping the damn thing. I used Kastrel M5's to follow two Heavy Centaur Prototypes before my Marines were ready to start the action. Nice loadout.

[b1rd]

I use one of these as a player ship, be advised I keep a lot of guns in the freight bay to switch around as needed.
my standard loadout is:

4xCIG 2xPBE up front for general fighting, capping attemps.
2x PRG protect ship/attack enemies LEFT and RIGHT turrets
2xPBG back Missile Defence - They ocasionally also fry m4s and m5s who sit behind me firing.

When I go into Xenon / pirate /khaak sectors and friendly fire is NOT an issue
6 x CIG up front for m3/6 melting
2xPBG on all turrets. left and right attack enemies, back MD. Just roll around with q and e while being swarmed, slowly turn around and enjoy the explosion sounds.

When I need to kill m7s

4xCIG up front for heavy damage on passes
1xCIg + 1 x PBG on both sides attack my target, if the target has too much firepower, keep your distance and dodge incoming heavy fire from about 1km away while your turrets slowly roast them.
2xPBG back MD.


the HCP is loads of fun tbh ^^

b1rd

[Friznit]

I capped one of these last night. But then immediately sold it again because I decided it wasn't that much better than the Skiron I was flying. Did I do wrong?

Load outs would be pretty similar I guess - for capping stuff, which seems to tbe the best use for both these very similar boats, a combination of ID and IPG for smacking shields in the forward guns, and PBE, PRG or PBG as you fancy in the turrets for fighter and missile defence while you're doing it. I stock a complement of CIGs for destruction and mayhem should the need arise.

[Teebor]

They are pretty much the same but you can't buy them unless you have modded the game iirc

I personally prefer the Skiron but I have been wanting a HCP for a while

[Mouseco]

Reason for the Ion D + PBG layout is two fold ...

turrets will fire both guns as soon as 1 is in range, so having a CIG and PBG ends up in the PBG firing lots ... and never hitting ...

So both weapons having a range of about ... 3 foot helps that

PBG do lots of hull damage, and Ion D's do lots of shield damage so they compliment each other ....

also ... they are both AWESOME missile / Drone defence... the Ion D usually destroying the missile and using it to 'jump' to another target for some sort shield killing fun

Its basically 360 missile defence with this turret layout

[Hubasan]

Well all I have to say is thank you all for your input.

That is some nice load outs you have recommended and it's clear that weapons configuration depends entirely on the size and type of the enemy you are engaging and the purpose of engagement itself. Weather it's annihilation or capping of the enemy that is.

I also hate generalizing the load out as it's a half assed job in all departments and it doesn't do any specific thing all the way.

Two things seem to be a must in configuring your HCP properly in order to be ready for any situation and that is GAZZ Turret On/OFF script, which is now included in the patch 1.4 and Weapons Quickswap from Tatakau another excellent script allowing you to carry multiple weapons in your Cargo Bay and apply the preconfigured non-mounted weapon with a press of a button.

Again thank you all for sharing the info and fell free to add anything else you think is essential in equipping this fine vessel.

[Friznit]

Or get MARS fire control, stick a round number of each weapon type in the hold (6 or 8 is usually enough), and let the script work its magic.

[jwigeland]

Wah! I want a HCP so bad!

Where can you cap one? I just can't see getting to Terracorp rank 10 any time this year. Do you need marines or is it standard "shoot and bail" fare?

Just bought me a "normal" heavy centaur and loaded it with 12 PRGs for fighter shredding. I'm in love!

Not to hi-jack, but I need recomendations on two good missles to use - one to swat little fighters, and the other to take down other M6s from a distance (I'm trying silkworms atm). Suggestions? Thanks!

[Thelic]

Wah! I want a HCP so bad!

Where can you cap one? I just can't see getting to Terracorp rank 10 any time this year. Do you need marines or is it standard "shoot and bail" fare?

Just bought me a "normal" heavy centaur and loaded it with 12 PRGs for fighter shredding. I'm in love!

Not to hi-jack, but I need recomendations on two good missles to use - one to swat little fighters, and the other to take down other M6s from a distance (I'm trying silkworms atm). Suggestions? Thanks!

Whenever I need an HCP I usually look around Omicron Lyrae - Treasure Chest - Black Hole Sun - Nathan's Voyage. They travel alone, which makes them easy to board. You need marines to get them, but they're simple to board with raw marines.

I love the HCP, if for nothing but the looks. I load it out with 6xEBC up front and PRG in the turrets, with IPG in the cargo bay incase I need to disable a ship.

[GCU Grey Area]

I need recomendations on two good missles to use - one to swat little fighters, and the other to take down other M6s from a distance (I'm trying silkworms atm). Suggestions? Thanks!

For most M5s I'd recommend Hurricane (471m/s, 6k warhead), for the really fast ones use Wasp (560m/s, swarm, 8x 1k warheads).

Tempest (195m/s, 60k warhead) is my favourite for most fighters larger than that - they have auto-targetting warheads so if their primary target is destroyed they'll find something else to destroy.

For M6s & M3s with anti-missile turrets recommend Typhoon (195m/s, swarm, 8x 30k warheads).

Against M6s I'm also currently having a lot of fun with Tornado - they're unguided so need to be fired at close range, but they're fast & make a satisfyingly big bang (312m/s, swarm, 8x 50k warheads). Unlike most swarm missiles they seem to fire the warheads sequentially, rather than simultaneously, so it gives the feeling of firing a really big gatling gun that's been loaded with nuclear bullets - maybe not to everyone's taste (suspect most people prefer guided missiles), but I like them.

[DevilDog_016]

Against M6s I'm also currently having a lot of fun with Tornado - they're unguided so need to be fired at close range, but they're fast & make a satisfyingly big bang (312m/s, swarm, 8x 50k warheads). Unlike most swarm missiles they seem to fire the warheads sequentially, rather than simultaneously, so it gives the feeling of firing a really big gatling gun that's been loaded with nuclear bullets - maybe not to everyone's taste (suspect most people prefer guided missiles), but I like them.

Sounds good to me, I mean Tornado's pretty much don't need any guidance when used against capital ships, and if you catch a Xenon J/K or any paranid cap on its top/belly, they worry quite a bit. 8x50 is quite something. And having 8 of them firing in a row rather than at once minimizes the risk of missing the target (although you need skill to miss anything that big from 1.5-2 km away) and it keep them worried.

[Lancifer]

I am still relatively new to the game, but I use HCP as my player ship. It is almost perfectly balanced for any situation that I have come across so far.

My setup is:
Front Turret: 4x CIG + 2x HEPT
Right and Left Turrets: 2x PRG (each set to Missile Defence)
Rear Turret: 2x CIG (set to Missile Defence)

I have never used PBGs, so I do not know how good they are. I assume if they are as good as people claim I might replace some of my missile Defence Turrets. I mix two HEPTs with my CIGs up front because I can keep a steady stream of fire if my Laser energy runs low (extremely useful in finishing off an enemy if he has low hull% left and I am exhausted). The Right and left turrets on PRGs is my best anti-fighter/missile configuration since I can quickly set them to "attack my target" if I am dogfighting M5s (their speed and accuracy on "missile defence" is reliable as well). My 2x CIG in back is good for tailgaters of any size since M4-M5 sometimes seem to think they can take non-evasive maneuvers in my blind spot; but mostly I like it because it keeps the shields down of large starships as I retreat to reposition another attack run. If the range is less than 2kms on any weapon I am less likely to use it.

With that setup I can take on most M1s and M2s, one on one, if I can manage to dodge its Turret fire. I can also easily dispose of small swarms of fighters. I imagine I need a different layout (possibly those PBGs) if I want to take on larger swarms.

[Bill67]

I dont have a HCP but curious how your energy rate works for this loadout?

Right now I mainly use a Skiron and even spacing shots I find using 4x CIG will exhaust my powerplant if not too careful, this is with using EBC's as turret weapons.

I still need a good anti fighter config tho as the EBC's are fast I am getting diced with a drone swarm and not sure why the EBC's arent shredding them up faster.

I guess I need to look at the HCP more, stat wise didnt seem much different from my skiron but then again it wasnt a buyable ship and so far been trying to build relations to get the good weapons so didnt want to try capping one.