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Your Fighter and You, An Owner's Manual: For X3:Reunion, X3:Terran Conflict & X3:Albion Prelude
Your Fighter and You, An Owner's Manual: For X3:Reunion, X3:Terran Conflict & X3:Albion Prelude
Statement of Purpose:................................................................................................................................4
Disclaimer:.................................................................................................................................................5
Combat Strategy:......................................................................................................................................18
Combat Tips:............................................................................................................................................19
In Closing.................................................................................................................................................20
How to Read this Guide:
My Story: When I first purchased X3:Reunion, I got home from my local electronics store, fired it up only to
quickly give up because I found X3:Reunion boring. I didn't feel like remapping all of the controls, learning a whole
much of seemingly random pieces of information, etc. My copy of X3:Reunion, if I recall correctly, sat on top of my
desk where I used it as a coaster for several months. One day out of the blue I felt like learning how to play regardless
of the cost. Through sheer determination I navigated badly organized menus, found cryptic key names ( SETA,
wha...?) and read a badly written manual. Finally I managed to move my ship in an intelligent manner. Still being
VERY new to the game I believe I explored 20+ sectors in my Argon Buster without full engine tunings, shields, etc.
but I was hooked. I had finally learned enough to be able to find the information I required. The game itself was no
longer a hindrance to being able to play the game. This is entirely my goal for you, the reader.
This guide contains an enormous amount of information for a new player. Don't try to simply read it on your
computer screen and go. There's just too much information. I organized and wrote this guide to be referenced first,
then read later. If you find yourself in an Argon Buster, read the section titled “M4 Argon Buster”. Then, using the
information you glean from that read the sections on the other ships, then the weapons, drones, etc.
There is quite a bit of downtime in X3 so print this manual and set it near your computer. When your waiting
for something, going somewhere or just have random time to do nothing, grab this guide & thumb through it. Slowly
but surely you will learn that the X-Series are indeed very good games, despite the vertical learning curve.
I hope you enjoy yourself and enjoy one of my favorite toys, X3.
Statement of Purpose:
I have authored this guide with the hopes of dispelling some of the confusion
new players experience with the X3 series of games. The scope of this guide is to
broadly cover M3 through M5 fighter craft in X3:Reunion, X3:Terran Conflict and
X3:Albion Prelude. If the reader is not already aware all games in the X-series build
on their predecessor's mechanics. Therefor many ships, weapons, stations, sectors, etc.
that were present in a previous version of the game can also be found in newer
versions.
When a differentiation between games is required, please see the associated
annotation on the bottom of the page. It is generally true that anything in X3:Reunion
will be applicable to X3:Terran Conflict and anything available in X3:Terran Conflict
will also be applicable in X3:Albion Prelude. This guide will attempt to categorize
objects in the X3 series but as items are later added this system will not always work
precisely.
This guide will exclusively cover the basics of M3~M5 class fighter craft,
their most often utilized armaments, software, etc. The overriding goal is to keep
things simple through systematization & categorization to allow players a context for
comparison. If a player draws a conclusion similar to “The PAC1 is the basis for
comparing all M4-class fighter guns.” then this guide has succeeded.
1 Particle Accelerator Cannon, see section FIGHTER GUNS for more information.
Disclaimer:
This guide attempts to keep the mystery of discovery open by not revealing all information about objects in
the X3-series. I believe this is important for the enjoyment of the series for many players. As such this guide is not an
attempt at a comprehensive listing of all possible configurations, derivatives, etc. I have intentionally omitted much
information that is largely irrelevant to a newer player in keeping with this line of thinking.
With regards to X3:Reunion, most of the guns come in
an Alpha, Beta & Gamma variety. Insofar as fighters are
concerned there are generally only two, Alpha and Beta. Please
check the chart to the right for more information on their
relative strengths and weaknesses. That being said, an Alpha
PAC is still a PAC and of an entirely different class than
HEPTs2 or IREs3 so both Alpha and Beta are identified
collectively by their type (ex: PAC, IRE, etc.) for this guide.
This guide will only thoroughly cover three ships
which were chosen due to their abundance in Argon Space and the fact that they form a base line for comparison
among all other ships of their class. The player will generally lack both the Racial Reputation 4 and the credits to
purchase these ships immediately, they are commonly encountered throughout Argon space and beyond. This means
that I highly encourage new players to choose an Argonian as their race the intention is to apply the lessons learned
here.
2 High Energy Plasma Thrower, see section “Fighter-Guns” for more information.
3 Impulse Ray Emitter, see section “Fighter-Guns” for more information.
4 The Player's standing with a particular race, raised through the completion of missions, trading and elimination of that race's enemies.
Register with Egosoft and
download the Bonus Pack. Each game
has a different version but the Bonus
Pack adds features like Mosquito
Defense, the Commercial Agent, etc.
that are very helpful not just for
fighters but also for enhancing the
game as a whole. This guide assumes
the player has the most updated version
of their respective X3 game and the
bonus pack correctly installed.
Lastly, some explanation of
how my charts are derived is called for. Essentially no statistic in X3 has meaning except relative to other statistics.
For example, a Buster at 176 m/s 5 is fast only relative to a Nova at 150 m/s while being painfully slow relative to a
Discoverer at 346 m/s. How these numbers and many others relate are the core of what this guide is about. As such, I
have attempted to use percentages of base to compare disparate data sets.
For example, to build a normative speed for the Argon
M3 Nova, including its subtypes requires adding the speed
values for all 5 subtypes of ship, dividing that value by 5
(mean), then producing an “offset” for how fast a particular
subtype is relative to the normative value, shown as a percent.
The standard Argon M3 Nova has a maximized speed of 150
m/s whereas the Argon M3 Nova Raider travels at 191 m/s. This is a 27% increase (or 127% of mean) which displays
on a graph much more clearly than an additional 41 m/s.
6 X3:Terran Conflict & Albion Prelude, names like Solano, Elite, etc.
The Argon M5 Discoverer:
7 Cargo not only takes up units of space but also has a size requirement ranging from Small to Medium to Large to eXtra Large.
The Argon M3 Nova
9 Not to be confused with the “advanced” designation for one time special ships.
To Recap:
We have discussed the categories of fighters present in the X-Series, from the small M5 Scout to the M4
Interceptor and up to the M3 Heavy-fighter. All things being equal the previous class should have little chance against
the next class. With a skilled player flying a Buster “could” handle a Nova but this would be very time-consuming
and require that all other threats had already been destroyed (so the player doesn't get shot while avoiding a Nova).
M5s are fast, lightly shielded and
carry the weakest weapons. M3s carry far
heavier weapons and have far superior
shielding but at the expense of speed and
acceleration. M4s are somewhere in
between. This basic idea holds true for all
races' ships and is useful in making quick
comparisons of ship types.
We have also briefly covered the advanced versions of the M4 and M3, the M4+ and M3+ respectively and
how they are to be given a wide berth when encountered. Unfortunately only experience will inform the player as to
whether they are engaging one of these “advanced” ships or not.
The Typical Guns of Fighter-Class Craft:
In the X3 series, there are really is only one basic question
about which weapon to carry. “Am I aiming at a slow, easy to hit
target or a small, fast and hard to hit target?”. The answer to this
question will define what type of weapons are needed.
Nearly every ship in X3 can carry more than one type of
gun,10 and due to the differences in ship weapon compatibilities, play
styles, etc., you will have to determine the answer for yourself.
However, all is not lost as most fighters can carry 6~10 guns
in their frontal (main) mounts. For dealing with fast, hard to
hit targets, you want weapons that fire projectiles that travel
extremely quickly. Examples would be the Impulse Ray
Emitter and the Phased Repeater Gun.11
As the following two charts demonstrate, weapons
like IREs, PRGs and to a lesser degree PACs are quite
capable of dealing with faster targets but they do not do as
much damage as quickly as HEPTs or EBCGs.
This means an ideal setup would involve two sets of
weapons. A good setup on a fighter that can mount eight
weapons might be something like 4xRPG and
4xEBCG/HEPT. That being said, 8xPAC can be almost as
devastating without having to rotate weapons mid-fight.
12 See “Combat Tactics – Missiles” for more information about how to deal missiles fired at the player.
13 See “Software, Ship Upgrades and Useful Wares → Fight Command MkII” section for more on this.
Drones and you, what they do and how they work:
Originally this section was a sub heading of another section but in retrospect it was decided to give a full-
fledged page for outlining how and why to deploy Fighter Drones.
Fighter Drones in the X-Series are designed to be used as distractions and as
offensive weapons. They come in two versions, the MkI and MkII. 14
The Mark I version is useful in providing a distraction. At 400 m/s they
are difficult to hit but can take a hit or two (unlike most missiles). They also
carry 1 Impulse Ray Emitter which is useful for getting the enemy's attention
but little more unless used in very large numbers.
The Mark II version is useful for doing real damage to the enemy. At
200 m/s they are significantly slower than the MkI but carry 2 Particle
Accelerator Cannons. These drones have a difficult time dealing with fast M5s but a handful can
quickly destroy a standard M3.
A typical use of the fighter drone would be to deploy them at range
(say 5~20 Km), order them to attack the enemy and follow them in, allowing
them to take the hits (or evade being hit). This would be tailored to the
individual ship as the Argon M3 Nova Raider (195 m/s) can almost keep up
with the Fighter Drone MkII.
The great thing about drones is that they continue fighting for long
periods of time. Whereas a missile either hit's its target, misses the target or is
destroyed, the Fighter Drone continues to fight as enemy ships are being
destroyed. They are as close to “fire and forget” as the X-Series gets and do this at a reasonable cost.
◦ It goes without saying that the ship should have as many of the heaviest shields as possible. 15
• Engine/Rudder tuning:
◦ Again, upgrade these as quickly as possible for maximum performance from your fighter.
• Jump Drive
◦ Bring up your freight bay. You are looking for “Speed” and “Guidance” Anything faster than 200 m/s
with guidance is a M5 killer (save the Mosquito and Thorn). Anything slower than 200 m/s with
guidance for less than 15,000 credits is an M3~M4 killer.
◦ Do not use large missiles (usually sized “M” and slower than 200 m/s) while under fire. They will
destroy the player's ship if they are hit while leaving the ship.
• Guns
◦ Faster Targets = Get closer
◦ Slower Targets = Stay farther away
◦ Ammo Based weapons require more management but some are superior to their energy based cousins. A
good mix helps.
• Enemies
◦ M6, M7, M2, M1 and TL ← Will kill you, leave alone for now
• Strafe
◦ The player should always be strafing, preferably in two directions at once. The player should also vary
their direction of strafe to avoid incoming fire. This is less useful against fast, light weapons but essential
against larger, heavier weapons.
• Jump Drive
◦ Can be used to “string out” enemies. Close on an enemy formation, launch a missile & jump to the far
side of the sector. All ships will chase you at maximum speed. This means you will engage M5s first,
M4s second, and so on. Very useful for large formations of enemy ships.
◦ Always keep energy cells on hand for speedy escapes.
In Closing
At this point you've potentially read this entire manual. I hope you've understood the ideas I have attempted
to convey. By this point you should recognize which ships are stronger than yours but not be intimidated by it.
Indeed, you should be able to engage them with a high degree of confidence in your ability to either destroy or capture
them.
Missiles are great additions to the armament of any ship but should be treated with due respect. Missiles can
really level a playing field between asymmetrical opponents but are just as dangerous to the launcher if not utilized
properly.
Drones are great for many things and are a force multiplier for the player. A drone really costs very little as a
fraction of what the player spent on a ship and are an economic method of leveling the playing field.
Weapons have a rhyme and reason to their naming. Additionally, nearly all weapons have a reason for
existing and a job they do better than any other.
Essentially, the X-Series has systems and rules like any other game. I hope I have helped explain how those
systems work for smaller craft so you can enjoy one of my favorite toys, X3.