ASP setup questions from a new ASP owner

[Shaamaan]

Hello there CMDRs!

I've purchases a brand new ASP yesterday! It's so brand new they didn't even have time to paint the dashboard!

Anyway, I want to kit this ship out for all sorts of things (more on that later), but my first goal is to outfit it for trading to make money for the other components. I'm already surprised it's got bigger jump range and loadout than the Type-6, which I promptly sold when I found that out. (BTW: It IS a bit weird that the ASP, a multipurpose ship, can carry more cargo than the T6 which is also a trading-only vessel, despite both ships being in similar in size...)

So far I've only upgraded the FSD to the best available (there goes 5m cr!) and loaded the thing with cargo racks of various sizes (with a smaller 3A shield generator to avoid scratching the paint when docking), giving me 120 tons of cargo space (albeit very few noteworthy modules).

Here are my questions:
- Is there an optimal "upgrade" strategy for the main components? I suspect, for trading, it would be something like thrusters -> power plant -> power distribution -> sensors -> life support (D class?)
- Is there any point in getting an A6 shield generator (obviously not for trading)? It seems overkill, given the price, if this link is to be believed: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...ES69Lc317U/pubhtml?gid=2011892275&single=true
- Is it worth doing long rare runs in this thing, or should I stick to regular trading (I'd loose 4t of cargo space for an 2A fuel scoop)?
- What's a good set of (PvE) weapons on this thing? My cobra packs 2 C2 gimballed beams on top and an assortment of missiles on the wings (homing and dumbfire for small and big enemies respectively)... the missiles are a ton of fun to use, but are expensive. The beams, on the other hand, cut shields like crazy but it seems they don't do much damage after that. I was thinking of replacing the beams with multicannons and placing smaller beams on the bottom... Yes, I'm still talking about the Cobra! Would a similar setup work for the ASP (a few beams to cut the shields, then multicannons)? Also, a friend said they prefer pulse lasers far more, because you can fire them almost indefinitely... Is there any sense to this?

 

[Shimmergloom667]

I think the beauty in an Asp is: you really don't have to drop anything! My jack-of-all-trades Asp has >30 LY jump range, a full set of weapons, shields, scanners, interdictor, cargo hold, fuel scoop... I can literally do *everything* in this game - albeit not being specialized, there *will* be people whose ships are better than mine in a certrain aspect. That's ok.

Here's my loadout: http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=30g,0...7u57u5,2-8S8S7_6u6u8S8I,0AA7TC4zM9sK7fi2UI2jw

Currently on my way to Alpha Cygni and then I will see

 

[Toscaner]

about the A6 shield: for me the question is, what else in this slot? i don't need the cargo, so it's the best option for me.

about weapons: pulse are great yes, they are not getting as hot as the other lasers
i use Class2 Multis and small pulses

 

[TheNameIsJambo]

All very well..

Have you got enough for insurance?

On my Asp I tried 4xC1 rail guns [Fixed] and 2xMedium multi-cannons [Gimballed] - It was complete overkill. I then switched to 2xC1 Rail Guns and 2xC1 MCs [Gimb] and 2xC2 MCs [Gimb]. Worked out well. I didn't have the Asp long enough to test out other gimballed/fixed weapon setups before switching back to the Cobra. It's far too expensive to run, especially when you only want to do limited trading.

It appears that anything past the Viper/Cobra isn't really worth it for bounty hunting, but the Cobra has enough cargo space for occasional rare hauling.

 

[Belsameth]

I prefer bursts myself. Better overall damage than pulse and still very doable in terms of power management. Beams, on the other hand, I hate with a passion.

 

[Shaamaan]

All very well..

Have you got enough for insurance?

Yup!

That's also why I'm doing trade runs rather than any sort of bounty hunting (and run like hell when interdicted - thankfully the NPCs are easy enough to outrun).

On my Asp I tried 4xC1 rail guns [Fixed] and 2xMedium multi-cannons [Gimballed] - It was complete overkill. I then switched to 2xC1 Rail Guns and 2xC1 MCs [Gimb] and 2xC2 MCs [Gimb]. Worked out well. I didn't have the Asp long enough to test out other gimballed/fixed weapon setups before switching back to the Cobra. It's far too expensive to run, especially when you only want to do limited trading.

It appears that anything past the Viper/Cobra isn't really worth it for bounty hunting, but the Cobra has enough cargo space for occasional rare hauling.

A simple Lave-Fujin route would be too "small" for the ASP - that definitely is true. That's why, at THIS moment, I'm doing regular trading (120t of cargo can get you somewhere, when you have a profit of over 1k/t). But that can be mind-numbingly boring, and I want to mix it up with some epic rare runs if only to see more systems and see the huge income once the run is complete.

But with regards to shields: the A6 cost 16m credits, but adds 14MJs of shield. That sounds... extremely expensive, no?

A final question: what's the deal with shield cell bank "ammo"? Why is it that a rank A shield cell bank holds fewer shield cells than a rank A?

 

[Badda Boss]

If you want to trade, then removing the 64 cargo slot for the A6 shield seems counter productive. With a good route you can make 1.5m/hour, so I dont know if rare trading is worth it comparatively.

I run my ASP in trading mode too for now (rekitted after a 2000 ly exploration expedition). 120 cargo slots, A3 shield and a few guns to blow the crap out of anyone attempting to interdict me. Point defense turret on the roof to kill pesky missiles in case anyone tries that.

2 gimbal size 1 beams to take the shield off, and 2 gimbal size 2 MC. You remove Eagles, Sideys and Cobras in 1-2 strafing runs at low cost.

 

[Mkkt Bkkt]

Yup!

But with regards to shields: the A6 cost 16m credits, but adds 14MJs of shield. That sounds... extremely expensive, no?

A final question: what's the deal with shield cell bank "ammo"? Why is it that a rank A shield cell bank holds fewer shield cells than a rank A?

From what Iv'e read, the A has more powerful individual cells, while the B has the most cells. I think on the viper 1 2C cell will only charge 1 ring of it's shield.

For most parts I noticed the gains from B to A is much less than the price increase, D would be the most weight-efficient while C being the most cost-effective. B gives a little boost and A is just if you want the absolute best.

 

[Taskmage]

Been flying my ASP for some time now, most of it as cargo hauler.

For trading i took an A3 shield, everything else cargo racks => 120 tons...good enough.
With a good trade route you will make about the same as if doing rare trades, however it is boring since you just fly between two/three systems, 4-6 rounds per hour...

As for combat, depening on your skill the A3 is ok for most fights and occasional interdictions.
However, i did some bounty hunting at resource points, and had about 40k hull repair cost vs. 200k bounty after half an hour...A5 shields and shield cells would be better here.
I think A6 is overkill - it is only ~10% stronger than A5 in an ASP. If you want to focus on combat i'd rather go for A5 Shields and shield cells (maybe even X6 shield cells...if those exist, no idea).

Weapons (i play only solo PvE):
Tried several setups, all have strong/weak points, be it energy, heat, damage output vs, small ships, damage output vs. big ships, etc.
Tried C2 Plasma, C2 Multi, dual C1 railguns, quad C1 multi, dual C1 burst, dual C1 beam, quad C1 beam...
Currently i use dual C2 gimbaled beams, dual C1 gimbaled multi, dual C1 gimbaled burst. The C2 beams to kill the shields (and vaporize small ships), the C1s to finish bigger prey. Only two MCs since it saves ammo costs...not that it matters much.

Most of the tiem i used dual C2 gimbaled beams + quad C1 gimabled multis, works ok, but somehow i can't manage to take out the engines of bigger ships without wearing down the hull to the point where they flee. Most likely due to personal incompetence.

As for the rest of the components:
- I didn't notice a big difference between C-thrusters and A-thrusters...no need to upgrade it for trading. Might be helpful for combat.
- Frameshift drive makes a difference if you want to trade, saves fuel cost and you can reach more systems in one jump. Other than that, take what you can afford.
- Powerplant: Upgrade it if you need more juice, ignore it if not. Heat is not much of a problem.
- Side note: power becomes a (minor) problem if you have to high grade KWS and/or many high energy weapons...i just don't like that "modules have been deactivated", even so it doesn't matter if i have my frameshift drive online in combat.

 

[_Flin_]

Do whatever you like to.

I fitted an Advanced discovery scanner, Class 3 shields and a B3 Fuel Scoop.
Modules all D and as much power as needed.

Weapons as you like them, I use gimballed Beam on the Medium Slot, gimballed fast lasers and gimballed cannons on the small slot.

Gives me 108 tons of cargo and a 25 ly range when fully laden. So I can easily do a 40 ly trading roundtrip in 12 minutes, as long as the stations are close to the sun. While I can easily rare trade, I found that good routes are more profitable. Plus with that range you can do rounds others can't. Like going from a good Extraction system to a HighTech 40 Ly away.

 

[Sugarat]

I have almost fully upgraded my Asp. My only "slight" disappointment is that I cannot upgrade to 5A power distributor. Love the ship tho'

 

[mono]

I use 1 med fixed beam, 1x med gimballed MC, 2x small gimballed MC. Haven't settled on anything for the other two small hardpoints, may put 2 lots of seeker missiles on there at some point. With C5 thrusters/power plant/sensors and everything else A rated I'm getting 28+Ly unladen/24.5Ly laden. It's easy enough to swap things in and out if I want to focus on a task.

Despite beams being the most power hungry, with a single med and 3 pips you can pretty much keep it running and I like tracking the target with that beam fixed on them constantly.