X3 Combat Guide
Basics
To start with you should have a ship with adequate shields and weapons and atleast fight software mk1 preferably mk2 as well.
The Fighter ships in X3 are the M5 scout, M4 Interceptor and M3 Heavy Fighter, each of these can come in different variants Raider, Vanguard, Sentinel and Hauler as well as the normal version.
The Hauler ships are really meant for trading so they aren't ideal for combat but they can still be used.
The Capital ships in X3 are the M6 corvette, M2 destroyer and M1 carrier, all of the are formidable foes but can be beaten by large numbers of fighters so if you intend to fight in one alot it is a good idea to buy a few escorts, unless you own a carrier in which case you'll have a large number of fighters docked in the ship.
Weapons
When you have got your fighter or capital ship it's time to think about weapon loadouts, because all weapons now have a funcion in X3.
IREs: These are the weakest weapons in X3 but they don't drain the generator of ships quickly so they are useful for those who fly ships with smaller generators and for missile defense in the turret of an M3.
PACs: Pehaps the most useful weapon in the game these can be used by all M4s and M3s and while not as energy efficient as the IRE they can deal alot more damage and are capable of making short work of an M3s shields
HEPTs: These weapons use energy far faster than the PACs but the amount of damage they do to fighters is stunning, mostly fitted to M3s and above but some M4s can use them.
Ion Disruptors: This weapon only affects the shields on a ship but take them down very quickly.
Mass Drivers: This is the only ammo based weapon in the game and ignores the shield instead it just damages the hull, this weapon does most of its damage due to its rate of fire.
PBEs: This weapon is like the mass driver in than it fires alot of shots very quickly but it is energy based and does damage to the shields as well as the hull. The energy drain of this weapon is very low so it can fire for a very long.
PPCs: These can only be mounted on capital ships and are best employed against other capital ships and stations.
Flak Arrays: These are energy based flak weapons mountecd on capital ships for fighter defense.
PSGs: These are energy based area effect weapons which use a large shockwave to do damage over a large area.
Kyon Emitters: These are the only weapons used by the Kha'ak, they are instant hit beam weapons.
Missiles: There are various missiles available: dumbfire rockets, various homing missiles, swarm missiles and others such as the disruptor missile and the firestorm torpedo.
Reasons For Combat
There are several reason to start fighting:
1. Capturing ships and selling them for profit.
2. Protecting your property.
3. BBS missions.
4. Police work (this needs a police license)
Capturing Ships:
Capturing is a very good career path early on as an M3 with no equipment can sell for over 400,000 credits.
To capture a ship you have to force the pilot to bail, get out of your ship and claim the empty ship.
Capturing Tips: by Da_Imp
The freight scanner is your friend when you're out capturing. Always scan your target to see what weapons he's packing. If the weapons equipped are too much for your shields to handle, have a peek at another ship and engage that one if chances are better. This works miracles early in the game, when you've souped up your M4 a bit and want to go TS hunting. The ones with an IRE turret are easy pickings. The ones packing a PAC should be avoided until you have at least 2x5MJ shields.
Protecting Your Property:
Occationally Pirates or Kha'ak may attack your stations or ships if you don't have any escorts for the transporters or defenders for the stations you'll have to desroy the attackers yourself.
BBS Missions:
There are several types of combat mission offered by stations via the BBS these range from transporting a pasenger who is being chased by the Xenon to full blown Xenon invasions.
Police Work:
This involves destroying Pirate, Xenon and Kha'ak ships in race sectors for rewards 5000 credits for M3s, 1000 credits for M4s and 500 credits for M5s.
Tactics
Your tactics will vary depending on what ships you are flying. But you must always pick your fights carefully because while 1 M3 can destroy several M4s with ease the reverse is also true.
Tactics for M5s: by Giskard
When Fighting in an M5 try to avoid all enemy fire because one or two volleys from an M4 can destroy an M5, this is best done by strafing or performing barrel rolls. It is important to take out the smaller targets such as other M5s and M4s because most M5 weapons can't harm the larger ships.
Tactics for M4s:
When fighting in an M4 the most important thing is to avoid enemy fire, this can be done by using the strafe keys and by moving as fast as possible and by performing barrel rolls and other similar manouvres. It is also important to take out the biggest threat first.
Tactics for M3s:
When fighting in an M3 it is important not to think that you are neally invincible because even M4s can carry some very powerful missiles. Some M3s have rear turrets these should be set up with weapons that don't use much energy and set to defend against missiles.
Tactics for Capital Ships:
I don't have any experience of using capital ships in combat so if anyone has some advice please post it in the original thread at http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=101217 and I'll add it to the guide.
Destroying M1s and M2s In Fighters:
The easiest way to destroy an M1 or M2 in X3 is to find a blind spot and stay there whilst constantly pouring fire in to it.
One of the most effective weapons against these ships is the Mass Driver because it ignores the huge ammount of shielding and can keep firing as long as you have ammo in your cargo hold.
The disadvantage of the mass driver is the cost of the ammo which can be very high if you don't have a regular source of income, but each ammo pack does last quite a long time.
General Tactics:
Have several weapon loadouts available so you don't waste energy (or ammo) on smaller targets eg: 6HEPTs being used against an M4 when 2 would do.
If possible carry a couple of mass drivers around and some ammo because even if your generator runs out of energy you can always use mass drivers provided you have enough ammo.
Avoid fighting too close to stations, asteroids and capital because due to the new physics model there is a chance that you might slide in to objects despite the fact your ship is pointed in a different direction.
The barrel roll - by VincentTH
The barrel roll is an excellent maneuver in X3, thanks to the new interface. I play the game with the mouse and KB, and holding down Q-A (or Q-A-S for a wider roll) will execute the barrel roll. It is extremely useful when you need to dogfight with the Nova which has a deadly aft-turret, or when you need to get away from the fight, so that your gun or shield can recharge.
On a head-on pass, as well as when you are in the bogey's six, align your ship at the reticule ('K' key with Fight SW Mk 1), press Q-A, and voila, it reduces damage to your ship, while still hitting the enemy. Once you get used to it, it is a must have manouver against the Nova. The barrel roll is not effective against PSGs and IDs however, but damage from PSG and IDs are low, so it is a non issue, since you would take the target out before your shield goes low.
You can do the barrel roll on the initial head-on pass, with full guns. Here is my loadout on a Nova: 1 Ion Disruptor, 1 Mass Driver, 3 A-HEPT, 3 A-PAC and an A-IRE or B-IRE in the back for missile defense. Given enough practice, this should kill the Nova in the first pass with the barrel roll move, without much damage to your shield.
If you are on the target's six, the barrel roll is also useful when other pirates are shooting at you, or when the target has an aft-turret, like in the case of the pirate Nova.
The barrel roll is also useful for getting away, when your shield is low or when your gun power is dry. Just break off your attack, then roll away until your guns/shields recharge.
Gun configs:
- If you want to capture the Nova instead, use Gun Coinfig 1 for full guns, and use Gun config , say, #3, for 1 ID + 1 A-PAC; do the initial pass as usual with full guns, then switch to gun configuration #2 for the capture. It is also a good idea to use gun config #4 for low power mode, with 1 MD + 1 A-PAC. (I use gun config #2 to take out fast targets like Harriers and/or Khaak Scouts, and consists of 2 A-PAC + 1 A-IRE).
- If you are outnumbered, fret not: engage your jump drive to the same sector at about 3km from the target, then use the barrel roll to engage. You should target the slowest ship, which usually is the leader of the pack. The idea is to create a difference in speed in order to create a separation of the pirate ships. After the jump, the M5s will be first to be slaughtered, then the M4s, etc.... Your target from the initial pass should now be the slowest of the pack, because its hull is now damaged. This jump tactic is also useful against Khaak clusters.
Also engage your jump drive whenever your shield drops below 50%. With 50% shield you should survive till the jump sequence ends, and you can always cancel the jump if you take out the target beforehand.
Contributors:
VincentTH
Da_Imp
Giskard
Basics
To start with you should have a ship with adequate shields and weapons and atleast fight software mk1 preferably mk2 as well.
The Fighter ships in X3 are the M5 scout, M4 Interceptor and M3 Heavy Fighter, each of these can come in different variants Raider, Vanguard, Sentinel and Hauler as well as the normal version.
The Hauler ships are really meant for trading so they aren't ideal for combat but they can still be used.
The Capital ships in X3 are the M6 corvette, M2 destroyer and M1 carrier, all of the are formidable foes but can be beaten by large numbers of fighters so if you intend to fight in one alot it is a good idea to buy a few escorts, unless you own a carrier in which case you'll have a large number of fighters docked in the ship.
Weapons
When you have got your fighter or capital ship it's time to think about weapon loadouts, because all weapons now have a funcion in X3.
IREs: These are the weakest weapons in X3 but they don't drain the generator of ships quickly so they are useful for those who fly ships with smaller generators and for missile defense in the turret of an M3.
PACs: Pehaps the most useful weapon in the game these can be used by all M4s and M3s and while not as energy efficient as the IRE they can deal alot more damage and are capable of making short work of an M3s shields
HEPTs: These weapons use energy far faster than the PACs but the amount of damage they do to fighters is stunning, mostly fitted to M3s and above but some M4s can use them.
Ion Disruptors: This weapon only affects the shields on a ship but take them down very quickly.
Mass Drivers: This is the only ammo based weapon in the game and ignores the shield instead it just damages the hull, this weapon does most of its damage due to its rate of fire.
PBEs: This weapon is like the mass driver in than it fires alot of shots very quickly but it is energy based and does damage to the shields as well as the hull. The energy drain of this weapon is very low so it can fire for a very long.
PPCs: These can only be mounted on capital ships and are best employed against other capital ships and stations.
Flak Arrays: These are energy based flak weapons mountecd on capital ships for fighter defense.
PSGs: These are energy based area effect weapons which use a large shockwave to do damage over a large area.
Kyon Emitters: These are the only weapons used by the Kha'ak, they are instant hit beam weapons.
Missiles: There are various missiles available: dumbfire rockets, various homing missiles, swarm missiles and others such as the disruptor missile and the firestorm torpedo.
Reasons For Combat
There are several reason to start fighting:
1. Capturing ships and selling them for profit.
2. Protecting your property.
3. BBS missions.
4. Police work (this needs a police license)
Capturing Ships:
Capturing is a very good career path early on as an M3 with no equipment can sell for over 400,000 credits.
To capture a ship you have to force the pilot to bail, get out of your ship and claim the empty ship.
Capturing Tips: by Da_Imp
The freight scanner is your friend when you're out capturing. Always scan your target to see what weapons he's packing. If the weapons equipped are too much for your shields to handle, have a peek at another ship and engage that one if chances are better. This works miracles early in the game, when you've souped up your M4 a bit and want to go TS hunting. The ones with an IRE turret are easy pickings. The ones packing a PAC should be avoided until you have at least 2x5MJ shields.
Protecting Your Property:
Occationally Pirates or Kha'ak may attack your stations or ships if you don't have any escorts for the transporters or defenders for the stations you'll have to desroy the attackers yourself.
BBS Missions:
There are several types of combat mission offered by stations via the BBS these range from transporting a pasenger who is being chased by the Xenon to full blown Xenon invasions.
Police Work:
This involves destroying Pirate, Xenon and Kha'ak ships in race sectors for rewards 5000 credits for M3s, 1000 credits for M4s and 500 credits for M5s.
Tactics
Your tactics will vary depending on what ships you are flying. But you must always pick your fights carefully because while 1 M3 can destroy several M4s with ease the reverse is also true.
Tactics for M5s: by Giskard
When Fighting in an M5 try to avoid all enemy fire because one or two volleys from an M4 can destroy an M5, this is best done by strafing or performing barrel rolls. It is important to take out the smaller targets such as other M5s and M4s because most M5 weapons can't harm the larger ships.
Tactics for M4s:
When fighting in an M4 the most important thing is to avoid enemy fire, this can be done by using the strafe keys and by moving as fast as possible and by performing barrel rolls and other similar manouvres. It is also important to take out the biggest threat first.
Tactics for M3s:
When fighting in an M3 it is important not to think that you are neally invincible because even M4s can carry some very powerful missiles. Some M3s have rear turrets these should be set up with weapons that don't use much energy and set to defend against missiles.
Tactics for Capital Ships:
I don't have any experience of using capital ships in combat so if anyone has some advice please post it in the original thread at http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=101217 and I'll add it to the guide.
Destroying M1s and M2s In Fighters:
The easiest way to destroy an M1 or M2 in X3 is to find a blind spot and stay there whilst constantly pouring fire in to it.
One of the most effective weapons against these ships is the Mass Driver because it ignores the huge ammount of shielding and can keep firing as long as you have ammo in your cargo hold.
The disadvantage of the mass driver is the cost of the ammo which can be very high if you don't have a regular source of income, but each ammo pack does last quite a long time.
General Tactics:
Have several weapon loadouts available so you don't waste energy (or ammo) on smaller targets eg: 6HEPTs being used against an M4 when 2 would do.
If possible carry a couple of mass drivers around and some ammo because even if your generator runs out of energy you can always use mass drivers provided you have enough ammo.
Avoid fighting too close to stations, asteroids and capital because due to the new physics model there is a chance that you might slide in to objects despite the fact your ship is pointed in a different direction.
The barrel roll - by VincentTH
The barrel roll is an excellent maneuver in X3, thanks to the new interface. I play the game with the mouse and KB, and holding down Q-A (or Q-A-S for a wider roll) will execute the barrel roll. It is extremely useful when you need to dogfight with the Nova which has a deadly aft-turret, or when you need to get away from the fight, so that your gun or shield can recharge.
On a head-on pass, as well as when you are in the bogey's six, align your ship at the reticule ('K' key with Fight SW Mk 1), press Q-A, and voila, it reduces damage to your ship, while still hitting the enemy. Once you get used to it, it is a must have manouver against the Nova. The barrel roll is not effective against PSGs and IDs however, but damage from PSG and IDs are low, so it is a non issue, since you would take the target out before your shield goes low.
You can do the barrel roll on the initial head-on pass, with full guns. Here is my loadout on a Nova: 1 Ion Disruptor, 1 Mass Driver, 3 A-HEPT, 3 A-PAC and an A-IRE or B-IRE in the back for missile defense. Given enough practice, this should kill the Nova in the first pass with the barrel roll move, without much damage to your shield.
If you are on the target's six, the barrel roll is also useful when other pirates are shooting at you, or when the target has an aft-turret, like in the case of the pirate Nova.
The barrel roll is also useful for getting away, when your shield is low or when your gun power is dry. Just break off your attack, then roll away until your guns/shields recharge.
Gun configs:
- If you want to capture the Nova instead, use Gun Coinfig 1 for full guns, and use Gun config , say, #3, for 1 ID + 1 A-PAC; do the initial pass as usual with full guns, then switch to gun configuration #2 for the capture. It is also a good idea to use gun config #4 for low power mode, with 1 MD + 1 A-PAC. (I use gun config #2 to take out fast targets like Harriers and/or Khaak Scouts, and consists of 2 A-PAC + 1 A-IRE).
- If you are outnumbered, fret not: engage your jump drive to the same sector at about 3km from the target, then use the barrel roll to engage. You should target the slowest ship, which usually is the leader of the pack. The idea is to create a difference in speed in order to create a separation of the pirate ships. After the jump, the M5s will be first to be slaughtered, then the M4s, etc.... Your target from the initial pass should now be the slowest of the pack, because its hull is now damaged. This jump tactic is also useful against Khaak clusters.
Also engage your jump drive whenever your shield drops below 50%. With 50% shield you should survive till the jump sequence ends, and you can always cancel the jump if you take out the target beforehand.
Contributors:
VincentTH
Da_Imp
Giskard
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