Here's a brief FIRST EVER BOARDING (in your game) method for
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Titurel
I've chosen a Tit because they're less fragile than Rahanas, require less BA than Sanahars & they're relatively easy to find.. plus they can transport /any/ cargo in their huge cargo bay! It's a bit time consuming (10-20mins playtime) & the numbers may vary depending upon how many marines you have & what experience (level) they & your MO have, but it works for me:!
Thanks to XenonSurf for his followup from my original post, I've decided to update this guide now v4.00 is out. [edit] XenonSurf's link to much better boarding explanations here . [/edit] THIS IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS!
BR = Boarding Resistance; BA = Boarding Attack; cURV = Constructor URV
Assignment: Boarding a Titurel
Assets required:: 50 rookie marines & a reasonably decent Marine Officer (MO): 4/4/3 (this was mine: hunt with smalltalk until you find a decent one*). Skunk has Mk2 weapons except for Mining Laser (/not/ Heavy Laser) which we can discount for obvious reasons. A targeting computer, preferably Mk2, is essential & cheap enough to equip in the early game. I'll not use missiles in this boarding as it's a waste of money at this point (still early game) IMO but if you wish, feel free to use them. Have any Captain** (purely to enable drone transfer) & a /good/ (4-5*) Engineer ready to deploy.
[I've done this with Mk1 weps; it takes a bit longer but the result is the same. Missiles (Sunstalkers or their lighter versions) are good at taking out turret clusters due to splash damage, but it takes a fair bit of skill & the results are variable, so not recommended for a first capping attempt.. plus splash damage (AoE) may take out active cURVs, which you want to keep alive]
* Marine officers' boarding stat will rise by (I reckon) 2%-10% per successful boarding, (on a bell curve for those stats ppl here). If you don't intend boarding a /lot/ of ships to raise that stat (the most important!), find a MO with 5* boarding & use training lessons (available from smalltalk or other rewards) to skill them up
** If you have the choice, pick a Captain with good (3-5*) Leadership & excellent (4-5*) Navigation. Navigation will help your new lumbering beast to manoeuvre a little quicker, & Leadership will help all around
If you're confident using a hacker (Trojan) drone (ie playing the minigame), go ahead; if you're not [below 15fps gamers need not apply IME!] I suggest you sell the drone(s) to a friendly dealer nearby to prevent Yisha from telling you to use it. REMEMBER that hacker drones may be targeted by an enemy's PD (point defence), so if you don't have the cash to spare or the techniques to avoid PD fire, sell it off!
[A successful hacker drone mission set (5 successes) will disable capship shields & weps for a short time (5mins?) if used prior to commencing boarding; THIS DOES NOT mean Yisha's interference will do the same!]
Preparation:
Find a Tit a fair distance out from any stations & their patrols to avoid ‘helpful’ interference. With decent radar coverage you should be able to find one at around 20-35Km away from any station, with its command 'Patrol'. This is ideal! Remember any ships squadded to you will automatically move & fire on the Tit as soon as it lands a hit on you, so send them away as soon as you find your target
Good hunting places in Albion: Dominant Bear, Big Empty. Cuspid Splint would be good but for its ferocious defence, so any hostile you find there is likely to be destroyed (or flee (jump/boost away) before you can board it
Method:
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