Upgrade my sidewinder or start saving for a new ship

[GDMNW]

Hi folks,

I'm enjoying tootling around the galaxy in my Sidewinder. I can see that there are stacks of upgrades available and on a quick count it will probably cost me around a million to upgrade everything to top tier components.

Which leads me to a question. Should I be upgrading my Sidewinder, gradually or in leaps and bounds, or saving for a different ship?

I'm brand new to the game so I'm doing some trading until I get the basic mechanics of flight and docking down. So if you need a focus trading should be it.

 

[SirKiwi]

Save up for a new ship. Almost every other ship in the game has a role, instead of just being a starter ship, with the exception of the Hauler and Adder. I would recommend saving for a hauler, then getting a cobra, or just going straight for a cobra.

 

[CMDR Rob James]

If the upgrades bring in more chance of profit in whatever you do then by all means upgrade. When you sell your ship strip it of all the upgrades before selling her. Worked for me.

 

[Dominico]

Save up for a viper and then pimp it out. Amazing low priced ship.

 

[GDMNW]

Save up for a new ship. Almost every other ship in the game has a role, instead of just being a starter ship, with the exception of the Hauler and Adder. I would recommend saving for a hauler, then getting a cobra, or just going straight for a cobra.

Just read the Wiki page for the Cobra. Sounds like a great ship and coming in at the cost of three top tier upgrades for the Sidewinder I can see why people seem to generally recommend picking up a new ship.

 

[Dogthinker]

Which leads me to a question. Should I be upgrading my Sidewinder, gradually or in leaps and bounds, or saving for a different ship?

Both. Selling ship upgrades gets you back 100% of what you paid... So you can 'store' the money you're saving in upgraded ship components. (note: if you trade in the whole ship, you only get 90%... So you should sell / downgrade the parts before changing ship.)

That said, if you're focusing on trading, you might want to sidegrade your Sidewinder for a ship more suited to your purpose. You can switch over to a Hauler or Adder for not much more cash. Earn a million trading with the Adder, then try out a Viper (for combat) or upgrade to a Cobra and keep trucking.

 

[Flyinpiranha]

Upgrade. Just remember to sell them before buying your new ship.

 

[OVMorat]

I upgraded my Sidewinder, it's a cool ship with beams and A rated modules. I can still make more money bounty hunting with it than I can with 26tons of cargo on an Adder - or it seems that way because it's more fun.

 

[mossfoot]

Save up for a new ship. Almost every other ship in the game has a role, instead of just being a starter ship, with the exception of the Hauler and Adder. I would recommend saving for a hauler, then getting a cobra, or just going straight for a cobra.

Personally I'd save up for an Adder. It's a surprisingly good all-around ship that will do you well until you're ready for a Cobra or other ship.

 

[GDMNW]

Both. Selling ship upgrades gets you back 100% of what you paid... So you can 'store' the money you're saving in upgraded ship components. (note: if you trade in the whole ship, you only get 90%... So you should sell / downgrade the parts before changing ship.)

That said, if you're focusing on trading, you might want to sidegrade your Sidewinder for a ship more suited to your purpose. You can switch over to a Hauler or Adder for not much more cash. Earn a million trading with the Adder, then try out a Viper (for combat) or upgrade to a Cobra and keep trucking.

I did not know that. Cool to think that my Sidewinder could be carrying enough cash in upgrades for me to pick up a new ship with when I want to.

What sort of proportion do you get back when selling ships themselves?

 

[Deleted member 38366]

-- Deleted --

 

[Dogthinker]

I did not know that. Cool to think that my Sidewinder could be carrying enough cash in upgrades for me to pick up a new ship with when I want to.

What sort of proportion do you get back when selling ships themselves?

90%. If you downgrade/sell everything, you effectively do a little better (as part of the purchase price is the default equipment for that ship.)

This is why up to now, I haven't bothered storing small/medium ships - the losses of buying/selling say, a Cobra, as needed are less than the hassle of having to fly to wherever you parked it.

The quickest way to progress (if Trading is seen as a viable option - which is the most profitable activity) :

- run Sidewinder for Bulletin Missions / Bounty Hunting
- upgrade to Hauler or Adder for Cargo Missions/Trading (Adder makes for good Multirole Trader/Bounty hunter and I'd prefer it any day over the rather defenseless Hauler)
- upgrade to Cobra and either continue Bounty Hunting/Trading/Mission combo - or use as a mining rig (upto ~500.000Cr possible per run in Palladium-rich Pristine-Metallic Asteroid Fields)
- if Fighting is the preferred game - the Viper is a very good and cheaper Option, but certainly not much of a Cargo hauler

From there on, you'll see what your preferred game style is.
Traders will hop into a Type-6, Fighters/Multirole will keep the Cobra/Viper and upgrade it continuously.

Just be aware that Fighting alone only gets you so much.
Traders will quickly be able to buy 2nd (or more) Ships to hop in, anytime they feel like taking a combat break from their trading.

I heard that exploration is actually a profitable option in the early game. Which rather makes sense, since it has quite a flat progression in profit (making it relatively rubbish as an income stream, once you're more effective at fighting or trading.)

 

[MrFibble]

I did not know that. Cool to think that my Sidewinder could be carrying enough cash in upgrades for me to pick up a new ship with when I want to.

What sort of proportion do you get back when selling ships themselves?

It's a nice way to go, as improving the FSD for better jump range opens the game more. Also, if you buy the next class (from E to D) for items suchs as power plant, thrusters, etc. You will lighten your ship and again increase your jump range. Just before you sell your ship - re-equip it with the E class gear to recoup your investment (your personal bank). Then sell the ship, but you'll only get 90% of its value, so pick your next ship wisely. By-the-way, your first ship is a loaner, so you won't get anything for it, but sell your upgraded gear first and receive 100% for your gear.

Pick your next ship for what you want to do... hauler for trading, eagle for bounty, adder for exploration/trading. The cobra and viper are expensive for someone starting the game. Find what you like to do and then play what ship seems like the right fit for your future adventures.

Enjoy,
CMDR BugsBunny

 

[kurush]

Whatever you save for a new ship you should be also able to invest into upgrades, at least some of them. Dedicated slot upgrades you will only able to exchange for lower quality components but anything from general slots can be just sold for the price you purchased them for. So, upgrade lasers, shield, cargo and just sell it before you buy a new ship. FSD, sensors, power train you would only be able to exchange for the lowest quality component before selling and you get them as "free" or "Loaned" in a new ship, so there will be losses.

 

[GDMNW]

Whatever you save for a new ship you should be also able to invest into upgrades, at least some of them. Dedicated slot upgrades you will only able to exchange for lower quality components but anything from general slots can be just sold for the price you purchased them for. So, upgrade lasers, shield, cargo and just sell it before you buy a new ship. FSD, sensors, power train you would only be able to exchange for the lowest quality component before selling and you get them as "free" or "Loaned" in a new ship, so there will be losses.

I like the way this works, as it makes it semi-progressive. The ship you have keeps getting incrementally better until you are ready to buy a new one, which you can then make incrementally better until you... ah, very satisfying.

Any merit in owning your own Sidewinder?

 

[TriumphANT]

Hi folks,

I'm enjoying tootling around the galaxy in my Sidewinder. I can see that there are stacks of upgrades available and on a quick count it will probably cost me around a million to upgrade everything to top tier components.

Which leads me to a question. Should I be upgrading my Sidewinder, gradually or in leaps and bounds, or saving for a different ship?

I'm brand new to the game so I'm doing some trading until I get the basic mechanics of flight and docking down. So if you need a focus trading should be it.

Everyone else has nailed the upgrade/resell dynamic perfectly. I concur with moving to the Adder as soon as you can. It made me my first million, via mostly exploration/trading (basically flying around stupid enjoying the early game, scanning everything, trading 16T here and there, and learning the ropes.) This would be harder in the very restricted Sidewinder, and you really need about 1.2M to get a Cobra with some basic upgrades.

The best thing with the smaller ships is that getting killed, or blowing yourself up, hardly hurts at all financially. You can rebuy with full loadout over and over. Once you get to a ship worth about 1M, you need to be more careful, but enjoy the freedom of action without consquences while you can!!

 

[RipperJack]

iirc just upgrading the power distrobutor to max level makes a huge difference on a sidewinder.

Upgrades dont cost anything you can swap them out, without any loss so upgrade away, then if you do decide to replace your ship, swap/sell all parts for the cheapest version possible and trade it in.

 

[TeRRoRiTe]

It's definitely worth it to upgrade to a little more cargo space if you're into trading, you'll earn back the investment in about an hour. Other components can be useful, though I wouldn't go above D grade (which is generally the "light" variation). And always make sure you have enough money left for a buyback (the cost is in your right hand console), also once you upgrade to a bigger ship, make sure you have way more money than it costs, so you have plenty left for buyback AND cargo.

 

[GDMNW]

What practical effect does the power distributor have? What's different when you have a better one?

Also, as the sidewinder is very small, would it be a good choice for exploration? Decent range and very cheap to fuel up?

 

[RhymeRhyme]

You could Bounty Hunt with the sidewinder at a Resource Extraction Point (RES). You get the money for the Cobra pretty easily, if you're into fighting and hunting. But you need (I THINK) round about 6 Mio. Credits to get the Corba upgraded with A parts. And you need to have enough cash for the insurance.