I've just 'upgraded' my Viper to a Cobra...

[McDosy]

Y'see, I only played in a Viper for about a day before I felt the "combat only" was too restrictive. My path of enlightenment has been:
Eagle->Adder->Viper(1day)->Cobra->T6->Cobra, where the T6 was a 100T per run money spinner for 7 days exactly. The 7th day was the day I started to shout at it. Time to move on, thought I. You won't regret the Cobra, but you need 4MCr to get it pretty decent.

If you have no soul, buy a T6 and get some money-building done, the flibble back into your Cobra and A-class it's important bits. If you have a soul, buy a T6 anyway. Quickest way to feel as though you don't.

I absolutely will try a T6 at some point, just because trying different ships is my favourite thing in the game. My non-combat dabbling started in an unshielded sidewinder, then up to and Adder and then down to a Hauler I hunted out especially just to try. Cobra was next on the list when the wanderlust kicked in and something had to go.

I've a bit of a softspot for the Adder and its creaking and clunking, if I'm honest...

I really do love the way the ships are realised in this game. The fact that I care that I've sold my Viper is a huge achievement on FD's part.

 

[Drakkir]

Think of it like, you sold your Corvette and bought a fully militarized APC Not a minivan That should help.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

I absolutely will try a T6 at some point, just because trying different ships is my favourite thing in the game. My non-combat dabbling started in an unshielded sidewinder, then up to and Adder and then down to a Hauler I hunted out especially just to try. Cobra was next on the list when the wanderlust kicked in and something had to go.

I've a bit of a softspot for the Adder and its creaking and clunking, if I'm honest...

I really do love the way the ships are realised in this game. The fact that I care that I've sold my Viper is a huge achievement on FD's part.

I have had the same creaking sounds in every ship and I LOVE it Even in my python.

 

[McDosy]

I like my Cobra ;-) It means I don't have to keep a ship in storage to do what I want to do on any given day.

That was the logic in a nutshell. If I'm going to keep moving, I can only keep one and it's the one that makes the most sense.

I'm just not getting the same frisson about getting home and getting behind the controls though. Lousy sense. /shakes fist

 

[TheDayman]

Someone tested it, the Cobra is actually more maneuverable than a Viper in every axis except yaw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnAVUIo2420

The issue is that it is significantly heavier than a Viper, so it takes longer to actually change direction. The C1 hardpoints are mounted at the back of the wings on the bottom of the ship, so hitting anything above the midline of the Cobra is just about impossible. It's also a far bigger target for someone using fixed weapons and its shields are weaker than a Viper's.

That said, it's faster, has a significantly larger power plant, so you're less likely to run into power issues (you'll still have trouble if you try to run more than one Shield Cell Bank), it can actually carry cargo, it's more heavily armored (with military grade bulkheads you'll be able to sustain a good amount of punishment if your shields drop) and has a much larger jump range. My A-Graded cobra, fully loaded, can jump almost 18ly, empty I can jump 20. If downgraded a few components to D (sensors and Life Support come to mind) I could jump even farther, have a faster boost rate and change direction slightly better.

I like my Cobra ;-) It means I don't have to keep a ship in storage to do what I want to do on any given day.

The Viper also accelerates and decelerates much quicker then the Cobra, so while the maneuverability might be greater in the Cobra the added acceleration and deceleration in combat can give a good advantage over a Cobra in the hands of a skilled Viper pilot.

 

[McDosy]

Think of it like, you sold your Corvette and bought a fully militarized APC Not a minivan That should help.

See? That's what I came here to read!

 

[samevo4]

Viper

Spoiler

View attachment 15749

Cobra

Spoiler

View attachment 15752

Both fine cars, but one is useful for more than one thing.

Does this mean the Cobra needs a new engine after 70k light years

 

[Loskene]

Having flown first the cobra and more recently the viper, I can agree there is no fighter quite like the viper, but for a bit of extra dosh the cobra can do anything it can do. It can also haul a bit of cargo, hunt some bounties, do some exploring (lovely sunroof in the thing) or mining if you're that desperate. It's an upgrade in every sense of the word, but the viper is much more fun to just throw around. I sold the Asp to buy a fully fitted combat viper and a trading/exploration T6 and I've been much happier since. But as soon as I get a clipper in my fleet I'm spending the rest getting my old cobra back.

 

[Doctor Axel]

Fully militarized APC might be a bit of a stretch, but Corvette to Range Rover feels pretty accurate to me. =P

In any case, I skipped the Viper entirely and I don't feel like I missed out on much combat potential. You won't get a lot of mileage out of a quad-weapon setup like you could with the Viper because of the wide and under-slung placement of the two class 1 mounts, so it's not as much of an assassin - my current setup is twin Class 2 gimballed burst lasers and twin Class 1 seeker missile launchers. I'm pretty happy with the results.

While the Viper might be great for lower running cost, maneuverability, and alpha-strike damage output, the Cobra is in no way an inferior choice.

 

[Sayne]

The Viper also accelerates and decelerates much quicker then the Cobra, so while the maneuverability might be greater in the Cobra the added acceleration and deceleration in combat can give a good advantage over a Cobra in the hands of a skilled Viper pilot.

Yes, you're absolutely right. If you overshoot in a Cobra and slam the thrusters into full reverse to slow down, it'll take a looong time to slow down, compared to a smaller ship. I think it's pretty snappy in FA-off though as long as you keep the speed in the blue range. I fought a couple Fed Dropship assassination missions recently, and I've found the best way to deal with them is to keep the ship in FA-off and kite around him with lateral thrusters. Once you get the hang of a Cobra in FA-off... and fly with its strengths in mind, it's a pretty mean ship.

I avoid PVP most of the time, so I can't speak to how it handles for that.

Edit -- because of its superior boost speed, it's also great for those "Nope -- time to leave!" moments... like in a Combat Zone when you draw aggro from 3 or 4 NPC Pythons or Asps.

 

[TriumphANT]

I've a bit of a softspot for the Adder and its creaking and clunking, if I'm honest...

I loved my Adder. I mean, 3 hardpoints?? It's like a classic British motorbike, where that 3rd one makes lots of sense, but none at all at the same time. I think it'll carry 16T(?), and has enough range for some fun distance travelling. You could actually do rares runs too at a great profit for a cheap ship, and explore on your way. Awwww. My wee Adder.