Cheapest ship for fuel scooping + weapons + shield + cargo + discovery scanner?
- Thread starter jpinard
- Start date
Cobra I'd say.
The Eagle is a very versatile craft. It is like a cheaper version of the cobra. If you sell your class 3 shields and discovery scanner and then swap your 2 ton cargo bay into the 1 slot where your scanner used to be. Then buy class 2 shields and put them in the 2 slot where your cargo once was. Now you can buy a class 3 cargo bay giving you shields and a cargo space of 10 tons. This is great for a small craft and you don't have to fly one of those horrible haulers.
I have an eagle and have class B and class A stuff in most of the slots now with 10 tons of cargo space and it is a very good ship. I don't want to part wth it.It is very combat capable and I can accept decent missions due to the cargo space...
I have an eagle and have class B and class A stuff in most of the slots now with 10 tons of cargo space and it is a very good ship. I don't want to part wth it.It is very combat capable and I can accept decent missions due to the cargo space...
The Eagle is a very versatile craft. It is like a cheaper version of the cobra. If you sell your class 3 shields and discovery scanner and then swap your 2 ton cargo bay into the 1 slot where your scanner used to be. Then buy class 2 shields and put them in the 2 slot where your cargo once was. Now you can buy a class 3 cargo bay giving you shields and a cargo space of 10 tons. This is great for a small craft and you don't have to fly one of those horrible haulers.
I have an eagle and have class B and class A stuff in most of the slots now with 10 tons of cargo space and it is a very good ship. I don't want to part with it.It is very combat capable and I can accept decent missions due to the cargo space...
Do you have a cargo scoop in it and slighty better discovery scanning equipment? With sheilds and weapons so you can fight off the boogeyman instead of always having to run?
Every ship comes with a cargo scoop... as in, like the pilot's seat.
As I said, the eagle is a good all rounder. It is a little bit like the cobra - for a small ship that is. At the moment the list of small ships in the game is very small but if you compare it to what we currently have - the sidewinder and the hauler you will see that it has a modest level of potential for trade as I described above and also good combat capability once you start upgrading it. The 10 ton cargo bay scenario I described above may not sound that huge to hauler players who might boast 18 tons space on their ships but 10 tons does give you much wider scope for accepting courier missions and fetch cargo missions and increases your ability to make money by leaps and bounds while still being able to defend yourself effectively! I would suggest this tactic to start with if you plan in staying in the eagle for a while as it will allow you to earn money to build up your list of upgrades a bit. Bounty hunting in a stock level eagle is not advised unless you pick soley on other eagles, haulers and sidewinders. You can take on cobras and asps but sooner or later you will be killed by one.
If discovery is your thing it is still possible to retain 8 tons of cargo space and use the small internal slot but it depends if this is what you want to do or not. Personally I have little interest in exploration for exploration sake. My eagle is fitted out for cargo running and maximum defence at present although I do some bounty hunting aswell. Keep in mind though that I will dock and change a few parts for either role as required where in my adopted home port is never a problem as all parts I need are readily available.
If you are interested in exploration I would suggest you dump the class 3 shields and replace with class 2 shields in the class 2 slot. Place your discovery scanner for the class 3 slot and put a decent fuel scoop in the class 1 slot. Jump range is going to be important to you. You are going to want to increase your FSD capability and deck out the rest of the ship with class D components. D class components weigh the least out of all componets and these combined will significantly lower your ships weight and increase jump capability. You will find all class D's will not in reality suit you though but where you can you should fit them as decribed above. If nothing else I would recommend at least your thrusters and scanning equipment as class D's
The most important upgrade by far in the eagle is the power distributer. The eagle has awful power management and needs more power. Your power plant is important for this of course but the power distributer is even more important. You can go to your modules management screen and swap you FSD and cargo hatch into a 2nd priority module. These will then shut off when you employ your hardpoints and make managing your power better until you can purchase a better power plant. The distributer is essential for fighting effectively as I will describe below but for overall power usage the eagle suffers terribly by powering one system and reducing another. If you put all power to shields for example you will find you guns will hardly fire. This is why you need a better power distributer to get the most out of the power you've already got! Once you have conqured power economy on the eagle it is a very different ship...
Weapons are a point of preference but I would suggest you look at what you actively spend your time doing in the game and choose weapons accordingly. Bounty hunting and piracy alone are not that profitable when you weigh them against the risk involved. To make any money you need to be able to fight without spending all your money on ammunition. If however, you are first and foremost a trader or explorer then putting big guns on your ship is a lot more cost effective since you are not going to be firing them all the time. Only when you need to. For example, on my eagle I have a single gimballed burst laser fitted above the cockpit as my sole gun and this is enough for me to see off most pirates because my power plant and distributer (both class A's) allow me to put full four pips to shields and one pip to engines and one pip to guns. Even with my power set like this I can fire that burst laser indefinately. It never heats up on me and in a manouverable ship like the eagle witch you can get in behind an enemy ship and stay there firing constantly with just one burst laser it is possible do quite enough damage against most attackers.
Underneath though is where the magic happens. This is where I keep my reserve weapons for battles where manners need to be dealt out to more powerful enemies who pose a real threat. On the undercarriage I have two dumbfire missile silos and this is where the real power lies. At 24,000cr full reload they are very expensive to maintain but my activities don't require me to use them that often. If however I get jumped by a python or dropship then I get in behind them blast away with my continuous blasting burst laser and bring down their shields and then deal death as I open up both silos on him!
This may sound extreamly expensive but if you weigh up the cost that my ship currently costs me 27,000cr to replace in insurance and that the missiles cost me 24,000cr then it is a no brainer and dealing death to an overconfident big pig of a ship like that is all the compensation I need to put a big grin on my face!
This set-up of course would not be suitable for bounty hunting as the costs would be too high. In this case I swap the two missile silos for multi-cannons and use the same tactics with the burst laser and finish big ships with the cannons only if he is doing me damage. Better to be safe than sorry. . If you really want to do bounty hunting on the cheap I would suggest one gimballed burst laser up top and two gimballed pulse lasers underneath. This will allow you to fire effectively in a constant manner and still have respectible power to your shields which is always a must in my book.
My ship is fitted with class A shields, class A power plant and class A power distributer and fights very well but you still need to know when to simply run. Find your feet by running from all ships except sidewinders and eagles to start with and slowly build up your ambitions from there. It is very easy to be overconfident and have the smile wiped off your face until you understand your ships limitations and be aware of the capabilities of your enemy, especially when you are still changing parts all the time and have no real accurate feel for what it can take. Learn to check their weapon loadout before engaging to gauge what you are up against. Learn to use 'flight assist off' in combat to give you an edge when making sharp turns whilst dogfighting and target particular components of your enemy's ship. If he only has one gun then target that. If you don't want him to run then target his FSD for example. Learning little tricks in combat is the key to success. Just running in often gets me killed I find.
Hope this helps.
If discovery is your thing it is still possible to retain 8 tons of cargo space and use the small internal slot but it depends if this is what you want to do or not. Personally I have little interest in exploration for exploration sake. My eagle is fitted out for cargo running and maximum defence at present although I do some bounty hunting aswell. Keep in mind though that I will dock and change a few parts for either role as required where in my adopted home port is never a problem as all parts I need are readily available.
If you are interested in exploration I would suggest you dump the class 3 shields and replace with class 2 shields in the class 2 slot. Place your discovery scanner for the class 3 slot and put a decent fuel scoop in the class 1 slot. Jump range is going to be important to you. You are going to want to increase your FSD capability and deck out the rest of the ship with class D components. D class components weigh the least out of all componets and these combined will significantly lower your ships weight and increase jump capability. You will find all class D's will not in reality suit you though but where you can you should fit them as decribed above. If nothing else I would recommend at least your thrusters and scanning equipment as class D's
The most important upgrade by far in the eagle is the power distributer. The eagle has awful power management and needs more power. Your power plant is important for this of course but the power distributer is even more important. You can go to your modules management screen and swap you FSD and cargo hatch into a 2nd priority module. These will then shut off when you employ your hardpoints and make managing your power better until you can purchase a better power plant. The distributer is essential for fighting effectively as I will describe below but for overall power usage the eagle suffers terribly by powering one system and reducing another. If you put all power to shields for example you will find you guns will hardly fire. This is why you need a better power distributer to get the most out of the power you've already got! Once you have conqured power economy on the eagle it is a very different ship...
Weapons are a point of preference but I would suggest you look at what you actively spend your time doing in the game and choose weapons accordingly. Bounty hunting and piracy alone are not that profitable when you weigh them against the risk involved. To make any money you need to be able to fight without spending all your money on ammunition. If however, you are first and foremost a trader or explorer then putting big guns on your ship is a lot more cost effective since you are not going to be firing them all the time. Only when you need to. For example, on my eagle I have a single gimballed burst laser fitted above the cockpit as my sole gun and this is enough for me to see off most pirates because my power plant and distributer (both class A's) allow me to put full four pips to shields and one pip to engines and one pip to guns. Even with my power set like this I can fire that burst laser indefinately. It never heats up on me and in a manouverable ship like the eagle witch you can get in behind an enemy ship and stay there firing constantly with just one burst laser it is possible do quite enough damage against most attackers.
Underneath though is where the magic happens. This is where I keep my reserve weapons for battles where manners need to be dealt out to more powerful enemies who pose a real threat. On the undercarriage I have two dumbfire missile silos and this is where the real power lies. At 24,000cr full reload they are very expensive to maintain but my activities don't require me to use them that often. If however I get jumped by a python or dropship then I get in behind them blast away with my continuous blasting burst laser and bring down their shields and then deal death as I open up both silos on him!
This may sound extreamly expensive but if you weigh up the cost that my ship currently costs me 27,000cr to replace in insurance and that the missiles cost me 24,000cr then it is a no brainer and dealing death to an overconfident big pig of a ship like that is all the compensation I need to put a big grin on my face!
This set-up of course would not be suitable for bounty hunting as the costs would be too high. In this case I swap the two missile silos for multi-cannons and use the same tactics with the burst laser and finish big ships with the cannons only if he is doing me damage. Better to be safe than sorry. . If you really want to do bounty hunting on the cheap I would suggest one gimballed burst laser up top and two gimballed pulse lasers underneath. This will allow you to fire effectively in a constant manner and still have respectible power to your shields which is always a must in my book.
My ship is fitted with class A shields, class A power plant and class A power distributer and fights very well but you still need to know when to simply run. Find your feet by running from all ships except sidewinders and eagles to start with and slowly build up your ambitions from there. It is very easy to be overconfident and have the smile wiped off your face until you understand your ships limitations and be aware of the capabilities of your enemy, especially when you are still changing parts all the time and have no real accurate feel for what it can take. Learn to check their weapon loadout before engaging to gauge what you are up against. Learn to use 'flight assist off' in combat to give you an edge when making sharp turns whilst dogfighting and target particular components of your enemy's ship. If he only has one gun then target that. If you don't want him to run then target his FSD for example. Learning little tricks in combat is the key to success. Just running in often gets me killed I find.
Hope this helps.
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The Eagle is a very versatile craft. It is like a cheaper version of the cobra. If you sell your class 3 shields and discovery scanner and then swap your 2 ton cargo bay into the 1 slot where your scanner used to be. Then buy class 2 shields and put them in the 2 slot where your cargo once was. Now you can buy a class 3 cargo bay giving you shields and a cargo space of 10 tons. This is great for a small craft and you don't have to fly one of those horrible haulers.
I have an eagle and have class B and class A stuff in most of the slots now with 10 tons of cargo space and it is a very good ship. I don't want to part wth it.It is very combat capable and I can accept decent missions due to the cargo space...
What's your max jump distance if you have 10 tons of cargo in your Eagle? Really curious, never even thought of trying to max out the cargo space in an Eagle, I like the idea.
Well at the minute I only have a class B FSD but that allows me 16.52ly when the cargo bays are empty. When they are full it is around 15ly I am not sure of the figure. I am currently saving up for a class A FSD and that will give me about 21LY capability with about 19.5 when fully loaded with cargo!
Is it possible to have my cake and eat it too in the Eagle or Sidewinder? Because right now it doesn't seem like it. If not, what's the ship that will allow me to be a jack-of-all trades?
Thanks!
Well, for fuel scooping + weapons + shield + cargo + discovery scanner?
You need 4 internal compartments. The cheapest solution for that is the Hauler, with 4 internal compartments.
It will lack in the weapons department, however, since it has only 1 small hardpoint.
If you want a multipurpose ship, the next step up will be the Cobra, which is about 6 times as expensive as the Hauler, but the natural progression upwards from the Hauler. In it you can have weapons for real, with 2 medium and 2 small hardpoints.
Plus it 6 internal compartments, allowing you to fit another cargo slot and an additional scanner (if you want to go exploring) or other shenanigans.
The current best "jack of all trades" is the Asp. It can fit a full explorer setup (2 scanners, fuel scoop), while having weapons and shields and 80 units of cargo. Plus a huge range FSD (B Class can jump 18 ly with 80 tons laden).
EDIT: Exploring in an Eagle? Thank you, but no thank you. 3 internal compartments? So you can fit 2 scanners + fuel scoop and that's it? No shields, no cargo? Naaaa.... That is not multipurpose, that is tying your legs together and compete in a long jump competition.
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You don't need two scanners. The man didn't ask to be pointed to a ship that costs 6 million credits
I didn't say the eagle was multi-purpose. I said it was versatile, which it is. Exploration is possible with one scanner and as a 'cheap' ship it boasts a much better setup than the hauler or sidewinder. The hauler is a 'get rich quick' spaceship for those who are in a rush to get into the pilot seat of a cobra. It is also a highly boring and highly risky craft to fly. Each to their own...
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You don't need two scanners. The man didn't ask to be pointed to a ship that costs 6 million credits
The question was about the cheapest ship with the given characteristics. This is the Hauler.
For exploration to be worthwile, you need two scanners. The discovery scanner and the surface scanner. Payouts are meager enough with both. Plus the discovery scanner is currently bugged (is it still) so you don't get any payouts for newly scanned astronomical bodies.
He was asking for "jack of all trades" so I made a short sketch of the ships that are of this variety.
Regarding the Eagle: It really depends where you set your main focus. If you like fighting, you can do that in an Eagle. If you want to trade/explore, you can do neither very well in the Eagle. Because you just lack the internal compartments.
So in my opinion you have the choice of explore / trade with the Hauler and fight with the Eagle.
Neither is jack-of-all-trades. But at least in the Hauler you can have a shield + cargo + scanner + fuel scoop. Which allows you to pick up stuff you find in USSs. It's imho not a trading setup, because for that you'd throw out everything and fly naked with 4 Cargo Modules. Or 3 Cargo Modules + 1 internal (Scoop/small shield/scanner). And haul 20 tons.
The first real jack-of-all-trades is the Cobra, which can be fitted to fulfil every role it's thrown at.
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The OP sent me a PM asking me to expand on my original post on this thread as he wantd more information as to how I utilise the eagle. That is the reason I went into the detail I did.
I also would not consider the hauler a jack of all trades. At least no better than the eagle by any account. It boasts the worst combat capability of any ship currently in the game. Hardly a jack of all trades.
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Well, Eagle is a nice ship, I really like it's speed and it's amazing maneuverability.
It has it's uses.
The best use I found was to sell it and buy cargo to haul around innersystem in a 10t Sidewinder.
But tastes are different.
EDIT: Regarding Hauler as "jack-of-all-trades"... I updated my previous post regarding that. i do not think that our opinions differ by a lot
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I agree. Of course tastes are different. But you see I vowed never to fly "the white van of interstellar space travel" ever again and I am sticking to that vow. I like small ships and am staying in my eagle until it is maxed out. After that I will go back to the sidewinder and take that as far as I can.
I agree. Of course tastes are different. But you see I vowed never to fly "the white van of interstellar space travel" ever again and I am sticking to that vow. I like small ships and am staying in my eagle until it is maxed out. After that I will go back to the sidewinder and take that as far as I can.
+1 rep Orfeboy, for explaining to others on how to think outside the box. There is a great majority of players out there that have a hard time trying things that don't fit the mold. By swapping around different classes of parts, you have made a very customized Eagle, that would be perfect for running missions and such. That is great. There are a LOT of game aspects that people complain about that just needs a little more outside the box thinking for a solution.
I don't like the viper. It has nothing to do with stats or what is a superior ship. It is simply on design. I liked the old vipers in he original Elite but the redesign of the viper is not to my taste. I think they done an excellent job on the other ships but the viper and the engines on it and so on just looks ugly to me. I have avoided that ship in the game pretty much. Flew it around just to see what it was like but I just don't like the design