M3 Fighter Guide

General discussions about the games by Egosoft including X-BTF, XT, X², X³: Reunion, X³: Terran Conflict and X³: Albion Prelude.

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What's Your Favourite M3?

Argon Nova
115
51%
Boron Barracuda
24
11%
Khaak Fighter
17
8%
Paranid Perseus
35
16%
Pirate Orinoco
10
4%
Split Mamba
21
9%
Teladi Falcon
3
1%
 
Total votes: 225

Nanook
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Post by Nanook »

JungleJim wrote:
Maximum476 wrote:I think you missed the sheild info from the ships. You should also maybe point out the friendly fire issues you can get when using psgs, and the fact that the KM3, due to the nature of its weapons, cannot easily take out ships with very strong sheilds.

As for the nova, the back turret is only useful because the thing is so slow, all other fighters can outrun the dangerous missiles. :P
All other M3s EXCEPT the Falcon & Orinoco.
And the Xenon L. Actually, the only M3 that can outrun both Hornets and Silkworms is the Split Mamba. And for those that don't think Silkworms are dangerous, you haven't attacked a pirate base and let loose a swarm of Pirate Orinocos, or attacked the Unknown Station in X472. Three quick Silkworm hits will take down even 75MW of shielding. :P
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

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Java Jawa
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Post by Java Jawa »

Yeh, I think I'll add some more notes to the craft about these side-notes that could be useful, like yours nanook. Thx for the feedback, keep it coming! Oh, and if any mod authors would like me to include their ship mods in the guide, pm me or post :D
cheers.
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Atrium
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Post by Atrium »

GCU Grey Area wrote:Things just seem to go so much better if the only ship with any shields left is the one I'm flying... :)
You should put that as your sig. :) It's one of the most amusing things I've seen on this forum.


Someone voted for the falcon !. :o
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The_Seeker
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Post by The_Seeker »

Atrium wrote:Someone voted for the falcon !. :o
DOUBLE :o
Nanook
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Post by Nanook »

The_Seeker wrote:
Atrium wrote:Someone voted for the falcon !. :o
DOUBLE :o
Probably felt sorry for it. :lol:
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

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Post by Java Jawa »

*sniff*
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MDA
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Post by MDA »

Surprised to see the Mamba isn't as popular. Its definitely my favorite, with the Boron M3 a close second. It *is* tricky to fly with only 25 MW shielding, but I love it. If the pirate ship rear turret works better now, I may find myself liking it more because I can make high speed passes instead of tailing my target. Tailing a pirate ship with the new turret script doesn't appeal to me (or does that script only apply to cap ships and corvettes?).

I've been away for months... how long has that "modified" tag appeared next to edited posts? :D Genius!
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jaguarskx
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Post by jaguarskx »

I casted my vote for the Nova, however I fly an overtuned version that I capped from an assassination mission. It has has speed of 202 m/s so it is a much more effective M3 than a standard Nova.
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Post by Java Jawa »

Nice! 8) My Falcon needed a bit of overtuning . . . it's amazing what scripts can do :twisted:
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JaimeWolf
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Post by JaimeWolf »

I have hundreds of hours in my current game.
The overturned Orinocco is my "Favourite" ship.
I spend more time in that beast than all my other ships combined.
Until 1.4 I would have said my favourite M3 was the Bayamon but the Khaak M3 is too accurate these days to go for only 10MW of shields :(

The Orinoco is by far the most versatile M3.
The Nova is a tank - it gets you there but it's such a beast to get anywhere.
The Falcon is just bad. Too slow to do anything other than carry fuel for my M2.
The Mamba is for speed junkies - underweight but BOY can it move!
I haven't spent much time in the Perseus - the small cargo bay completely kills it for me.
I know next-to-nothing about the Baracuda. Despite all the time I've spent in the X universe I just can't bring myself to spend much time in a Boron ship.
The Xenon L isn't worth talking about in a serious discussion about M3s.
The Khaak Fighter isn't worth talking about - it's so seriously overpowered it doesn't bear thinking about. The only time I've seen it struggle is taking down an Osprey or any M2/M1. The rate of damage isn't high enough to deal with 375+ MW.

Finally the Iguana - This does belong in the list of heavy fighters. Even though it turns like a bus it hits so hard it's ridiculous. Until Capturing with IDs was nerfed this was my ship of choice. Now I fly something that can mount PSGs for capturing.

And if we're going to branch out into TPs, what about the TS combat king - the Demeter! Armed with a PSG and a Mining Laser this thing will hold its own against a large cluster OOS and do a good job in sector too.
I had a wonderful time using one of these going mobile mining. Out in the badlands where the pirates roam free I took many scalps and captured many ships in that beastie. It's a shame its so slow ...
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Post by Java Jawa »

Righty-ho! Sorted that one out quite nicely, the Iguana and the Demeter are both at the bottom of the list. I didn't add image links, but just go to

www.the-commander.com

and go to races at the top, paranid/split > ships > demeter/iguana
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GCU Grey Area
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Re: The Compl33t M3 Gu1d3!

Post by GCU Grey Area »

Excellent... you added the Iguana :)
Nice summary, though I do have a couple of comments (because I'm a pedantic old git :))

1. Iguana's are about 1/2 the price of M3's: 846k for the L variant, compared to 1.9million for the Mamba L

2. combat effectiveness.
Not sure I'd personally rate the Demeter higher than the Iguana; Demeter may have PSG compatibility, but those 3 Ion-D's on the front of the Iguana can rip through most shields in a matter of seconds (60,000 shield damage per second). Once the shields are down, a couple of G-PACs are more than enough to finish the job (I always left the 3rd weapon as Ion-D, just to make sure the shields never came back).

3. another honourable mention?
Back near the start of my current game, when I was still hauling silicon for a living (& trying to save all my credits to build factories with), I flew a Mercury for several weeks. Quite liked it when it came to combat: unlike the other TS class ships, the Mercury's turret is mounted on the roof (rather than the back) so it can fire forwards (feels a bit like flying a tank). It also has 75MW shields & fairly good weapon compatibility (IRE's, A-PAC, A-PSG & Ion-D :)).
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Post by Java Jawa »

1. uhh . . . oops . . . will change :roll:

2. I based that purely on the fact that I play around with paranid ships and I love PSGs, so it's personal, not a general opinion.

3. Yeah . . . kinda, but I can't have too many y'know? soon, it'll be the guide to M3s + M4's, M5's, TP's and TS's that have similar capabilities! I only included the two which I think really needed an honourably mention :)
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Socio
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Post by Socio »

Java Jawa,

Are you going to add the third party M3's like mentioned earlier?

If so there another third party mod with m3's you might to include called RA Mod

http://www.egosoft.com/x2/forum/viewtop ... c&start=45
Last edited by Socio on Fri, 1. Apr 05, 06:02, edited 1 time in total.
Nanook
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Re: The Compl33t M3 Gu1d3!

Post by Nanook »

GCU Grey Area wrote: 3. another honourable mention?
Back near the start of my current game, when I was still hauling silicon for a living (& trying to save all my credits to build factories with), I flew a Mercury for several weeks. Quite liked it when it came to combat: unlike the other TS class ships, the Mercury's turret is mounted on the roof (rather than the back) so it can fire forwards (feels a bit like flying a tank). It also has 75MW shields & fairly good weapon compatibility (IRE's, A-PAC, A-PSG & Ion-D :)).
Another Merc lover! :D When I play as a trader the Merc is my favorite TS, mostly due to the top turret with an APSG. And it is by far the most maneuverable TS in the game. I too have captured many a pirate and Xenon with it. I've even defended myself from Khaak, although I do avoid the larger clusters. Jumpdrives and Engine Tuning Kits are very handy. :mrgreen:
Have a great idea for the current or a future game? You can post it in the [L3+] Ideas forum.

X4 is a journey, not a destination. Have fun on your travels.
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Post by Java Jawa »

I MIGHT do Socio . . . I've just received an invitation from FACTS, once I'm done with joining, then I'll be happy to include the ship mods! Also, watch out for separate guides on M4s and M5s. They all have their uses you know!
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Dragon_Rider
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Post by Dragon_Rider »

Split Mamba for me, my friend! :D

Just can't beat the thrill you get when flying a split ship ;) When its not the Mamba, its my Dragon :twisted:
Ben
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Post by cf_nz »

[quote="-XAAR-"]i know everyone seems to strangely love the nova, so im glad its becoming clearer to people the superiority of the perseus 8) :D[/quote]

I Agree :)
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Post by Java Jawa »

I voted Perseus, i think . . . it was 4 weeks ago, so I really can't remember!
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Post by Pirate hater »

Dragon_Rider wrote:Split Mamba for me, my friend! :D

Just can't beat the thrill you get when flying a split ship ;) When its not the Mamba, its my Dragon :twisted:
I agree. The mamba kicks arse with its high speed and ablity to dodge most fire and mssles.

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