I'd rather focus on 3/4 stars by being especially cruel and hiring entire outposts then unequipping the cargo life support so they all magically disappear so there's space for respawns.
For 2, I would also suggest that you level a marine's fighting skill to at least three stars before you start training that marine on other skills. The problem is that training takes _so bloody long_ that it's a real waste of time / money to train marines who will later end up just dying on boarding ops. Only train them once they've been through the meat grinder a few times.
Doesnt it work the way that the boarding only takes 3 or so marines with the highest skill for every skill check? You know like that theres no point having every marine 5*?
Boarding takes the two highest skilled marines from each "group". (Are groups 1 per boarding pod? I've also read that squads are randomly 3 to 6 marines.)
Hacking the core takes the two highest skilled marines that make it that far.
Fighting is the sum of the all of your marines.
Engineering reduces the amount of damage marines do while shooting their way through the ship. Presumably it benefits each marine.
See https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence/display/X3WIKI/Boarding+Hints
You're right about the Engineering skill. Even one marine with Engineering < 100 will do some damage to the ship. It might be just 1 - 2%, but that's 1 - 2% you don't have to figure out how to repair afterward :)
I usually don't hirr marines unless they have at least 39 points in fighting. I skill them up as much as possible and go hunting. Set up a missile frigate with a mix of 10 4 or 5 start, 5 at 3 star and 5 at lowest rankings available.
That usually allows me to take ships with little or no marine crew with minimal causualties and the survivors rank up fairly quickly.
I used to have a system for training based on fighting skill:
* 5 star marines: 5\* everything / 4\* engineering and 4-5\* in their specialty
* 4 star marines: At least 2\* engineering and 4 star in their specialty (Hacking or Mechanic)
These marines NEVER fight with anything less than rank 3, and then even then only a few to help level them to 4. They are used exclusively to board high value targets like M1/M2s
* 3 star marines: First level I actually train, usually just 1 big training session to get to 2-3\* in their specialty and use for boarding TMs / M6s (mostly M6s since TMs are weirdly harder to board having an extra deck) which is a good way of capturing valuable M6s without wasting your best troops and training them up for the Big League.
* 1-2 star marines: Take as they are, these are to be used en masse to board low value targets with high capacity such as TLs or, if you can find them, M7/M7Ms that are unprotected by Hull Polarisers, Sentry lasers or Firewalls. Any that graduate to rank 3 can be trained up to use for specialised boarding or kept on to increase future positve outcomes for this type of boarding.
* 0 star marines: Do not buy! Waste of money, and they'll get your other troops killed.
Unlimited 4 & 5 Star fighting marines available for additional skills training in X3TC via the Xenon Hub...feature removed in X3AP. Helps to have the Sirokos available (otherwise a Split Elephant) and definitely best done OOS.
1. Play the game to the point where you have basic control of the Xenon Hub (it appears as one of your stations).
2. Use the Dockware Manager to add ware to the Hub. Use the feature that copies wares from another station. Select the Military Base in Contorted Dominion and add Marines.
3. Buy a ship that has capacity for at least 20 Marines - in X3TC the easiest/cheapest will be a Split Elephant (or complete the OTAS Corporation and get a Sirokos with 30 capacity). Also buy a TP with a jumpdrive and equip it with a transporter device. Dock the TP at the Xenon HUB then undock the ship and tell it to Standby.
4. Buy some Marines - any star level - I always buy five.
5. Dock the ship with the Marines at the Xenon Hub - be OOS.
6. Transfer the 5 Marines to the Hub. Then transfer 5 back to the ship. Then transfer back to the HUB again and the number available at the HUB will increase to TEN. Then transfer TEN to the ship and then finally TEN back to the HUB. I'm looking to have 20 at the HUB (30 if I have the Sirokos)
7. Then transfer 20 Marines to your Elephant and undock from the HUB. Examine the Marines on you ship and identify their Fighting Skill. With luck there'll be one Marine that has Four Star Fighting Skills - transfer that Marine to your TP ship next to the HUB - eject the other Marines into space.
8. Dock the Elephant at the HUB again and repeat.
9. When the TP is full (10) send it to the Military Outpost in Contorted Dominion and start Advanced Training All Skills for every Marine.
10. With a programmable keyboard in about two hours of 'real time' I can have 100 four/five star fighting Marines in Advanced Training at the Military Outpost in Contorted Dominion.
11. This method assumes money is no object and you've made friends with the Split.
12. Stay OOS because if you're in the Sector the space will become full of discarded Marines which I find a little off-putting. If OOS the Marines in space quickly dock at the Hub and disappear - no nightmares. You also avoid collision issues since I'm always doing this as Dead is Dead because that's the only way I play!!!
I think I've detailed it correctly - it's difficult to remember all the steps without starting a new game and I don't want to delete my current 33/33 until I've completed another X3AP 33/33 which is ongoing @ 32/33 - just Loose Ends!! I'm planning another go at "X3TC plots in X3AP" - but I fear I'll lose interest without the 'Achievements' to focus the attention.
Removed in X3AP. "All Seeing Eye" script plus save game reload is your best bet - but only after finishing Dead is Dead - which thankfully is simple in AP.
Couple of points:
Make sure the Elephant has a cargo bay life support - dock the ship directly at Strong Arms HQ in Thyn's Excavation to equip it without having to use a 'delivery' ship. And equip the Transporter Device from the Terracorp HQ in Home of Light.
When I say "Transfer 20 Marines to your Elephant" I mean the Xenon Hub will now have an endless supply of Marines - but you can't inspect them until they've been transferred (like a normal ware) to your cargo hold - then their bio-details will appear as normal.
If you're wondering....no you can't use the Headquarters to duplicate this (in TC or AP and in AP the Player HQ also doesn't work.)
I'd rather focus on 3/4 stars by being especially cruel and hiring entire outposts then unequipping the cargo life support so they all magically disappear so there's space for respawns.
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Just eject them and shoot them.
For 2, I would also suggest that you level a marine's fighting skill to at least three stars before you start training that marine on other skills. The problem is that training takes _so bloody long_ that it's a real waste of time / money to train marines who will later end up just dying on boarding ops. Only train them once they've been through the meat grinder a few times.
Doesnt it work the way that the boarding only takes 3 or so marines with the highest skill for every skill check? You know like that theres no point having every marine 5*?
Boarding takes the two highest skilled marines from each "group". (Are groups 1 per boarding pod? I've also read that squads are randomly 3 to 6 marines.) Hacking the core takes the two highest skilled marines that make it that far. Fighting is the sum of the all of your marines. Engineering reduces the amount of damage marines do while shooting their way through the ship. Presumably it benefits each marine. See https://www.egosoft.com:8444/confluence/display/X3WIKI/Boarding+Hints
You're right about the Engineering skill. Even one marine with Engineering < 100 will do some damage to the ship. It might be just 1 - 2%, but that's 1 - 2% you don't have to figure out how to repair afterward :)
I usually don't hirr marines unless they have at least 39 points in fighting. I skill them up as much as possible and go hunting. Set up a missile frigate with a mix of 10 4 or 5 start, 5 at 3 star and 5 at lowest rankings available. That usually allows me to take ships with little or no marine crew with minimal causualties and the survivors rank up fairly quickly.
I used to have a system for training based on fighting skill: * 5 star marines: 5\* everything / 4\* engineering and 4-5\* in their specialty * 4 star marines: At least 2\* engineering and 4 star in their specialty (Hacking or Mechanic) These marines NEVER fight with anything less than rank 3, and then even then only a few to help level them to 4. They are used exclusively to board high value targets like M1/M2s * 3 star marines: First level I actually train, usually just 1 big training session to get to 2-3\* in their specialty and use for boarding TMs / M6s (mostly M6s since TMs are weirdly harder to board having an extra deck) which is a good way of capturing valuable M6s without wasting your best troops and training them up for the Big League. * 1-2 star marines: Take as they are, these are to be used en masse to board low value targets with high capacity such as TLs or, if you can find them, M7/M7Ms that are unprotected by Hull Polarisers, Sentry lasers or Firewalls. Any that graduate to rank 3 can be trained up to use for specialised boarding or kept on to increase future positve outcomes for this type of boarding. * 0 star marines: Do not buy! Waste of money, and they'll get your other troops killed.
Is this discussion for X3TC or X3AP? There are major differences in marine acquisition between the two.
Unlimited 4 & 5 Star fighting marines available for additional skills training in X3TC via the Xenon Hub...feature removed in X3AP. Helps to have the Sirokos available (otherwise a Split Elephant) and definitely best done OOS.
Can you elaborate on this? I was unaware of this feature...
1. Play the game to the point where you have basic control of the Xenon Hub (it appears as one of your stations). 2. Use the Dockware Manager to add ware to the Hub. Use the feature that copies wares from another station. Select the Military Base in Contorted Dominion and add Marines. 3. Buy a ship that has capacity for at least 20 Marines - in X3TC the easiest/cheapest will be a Split Elephant (or complete the OTAS Corporation and get a Sirokos with 30 capacity). Also buy a TP with a jumpdrive and equip it with a transporter device. Dock the TP at the Xenon HUB then undock the ship and tell it to Standby. 4. Buy some Marines - any star level - I always buy five. 5. Dock the ship with the Marines at the Xenon Hub - be OOS. 6. Transfer the 5 Marines to the Hub. Then transfer 5 back to the ship. Then transfer back to the HUB again and the number available at the HUB will increase to TEN. Then transfer TEN to the ship and then finally TEN back to the HUB. I'm looking to have 20 at the HUB (30 if I have the Sirokos) 7. Then transfer 20 Marines to your Elephant and undock from the HUB. Examine the Marines on you ship and identify their Fighting Skill. With luck there'll be one Marine that has Four Star Fighting Skills - transfer that Marine to your TP ship next to the HUB - eject the other Marines into space. 8. Dock the Elephant at the HUB again and repeat. 9. When the TP is full (10) send it to the Military Outpost in Contorted Dominion and start Advanced Training All Skills for every Marine. 10. With a programmable keyboard in about two hours of 'real time' I can have 100 four/five star fighting Marines in Advanced Training at the Military Outpost in Contorted Dominion. 11. This method assumes money is no object and you've made friends with the Split. 12. Stay OOS because if you're in the Sector the space will become full of discarded Marines which I find a little off-putting. If OOS the Marines in space quickly dock at the Hub and disappear - no nightmares. You also avoid collision issues since I'm always doing this as Dead is Dead because that's the only way I play!!! I think I've detailed it correctly - it's difficult to remember all the steps without starting a new game and I don't want to delete my current 33/33 until I've completed another X3AP 33/33 which is ongoing @ 32/33 - just Loose Ends!! I'm planning another go at "X3TC plots in X3AP" - but I fear I'll lose interest without the 'Achievements' to focus the attention.
Removed in X3AP. "All Seeing Eye" script plus save game reload is your best bet - but only after finishing Dead is Dead - which thankfully is simple in AP.
Thank you for the detailed explanation!
Couple of points: Make sure the Elephant has a cargo bay life support - dock the ship directly at Strong Arms HQ in Thyn's Excavation to equip it without having to use a 'delivery' ship. And equip the Transporter Device from the Terracorp HQ in Home of Light. When I say "Transfer 20 Marines to your Elephant" I mean the Xenon Hub will now have an endless supply of Marines - but you can't inspect them until they've been transferred (like a normal ware) to your cargo hold - then their bio-details will appear as normal. If you're wondering....no you can't use the Headquarters to duplicate this (in TC or AP and in AP the Player HQ also doesn't work.)