Some Questions for Clipper Owners from a current Asp Owner

TomT · Apr 14, 2015

So I'm getting ready to buy the Clipper, in part thanks to the community goal discount. I've been flying a pretty much "A" rated Asp for quite some time, and have found it great for pretty much everything I like to do: a bit of bounty hunting, trading, exploring, (even a bit of mining early on) i.e. most of what ED has to offer.

It appears on paper the maneuverability of the Clipper is quite a bit lower than the Asp, and I know I'll be losing jump range, medium landing pads and outposts. I'm wondering how former (or current Asp owners) who have also flown the Clipper feel about its performance as a multipurpose ship vs the Asp. I intend to upgrade the Clipper's FSD and power distributor early on, and fly it to Founder's World to get further upgrades done. I'll have to get a fuel scoop to get there as well.

I'd like to keep the Asp, but am considering selling off it's components to have enough to further invest in the Clipper. So, I'm just curious as to how people who have made this transition (Asp>Clipper) feel about making the switch. It would be nice to have both ships with high specs, but I can't afford that right now.

Thanks for any advice, etc....

Lord Lucan Onion Head · Apr 14, 2015

Clipper is far more nimble than the Asp.
Keep the Asp, it'll come in handy. Just strip it down for now.
Use the Clipper for trading. Soon be able to re-equip the Asp.
You'll love the Clipper! Those sounds!

clavain · Apr 14, 2015

Heh, I'm in almost exactly the same situation and considering the same change - be interesting to hear what people think.

Pilot Mark · Apr 14, 2015

I'd agree with the right honorable Lord, Clipper is a fine ship and far more maneuverable than the 'paper' suggests.

Earl Mark

B0xCutter · Apr 14, 2015

I dunno. I just bought a clipper from that community goal thing at 15.1mil. So far I have put 64 million ontop of that with A class everything except Shield(B) and Life support(D) and stock Bulkheads, thats going to be another 60 million to upgrade those. I'm really not impressed. Shields are weaker than a vulture, the weapon placement forces you to use gimbals so theres no point in using rail guns in the medium slots. However it is FAST and it can boost forever. The large power capacitor and reactor let you run those Large hardpoints much longer and it has lots of internal compartments so it can be re-purposed for just about anything. Its a jack of all trades but a master of none type deal... except speed, it does that very well.

My opinion on it overall is it makes a great trading ship ONLY with the community goal discount. Otherwise stay with a cheaper Type-7

If combat is your thing, you can dish out just as much damage but take more punishment with a Vulture for a WHOLE lot less money (and rebuy cost) The clipper is limited to Large pads only so re-arming and repairing should be planned ahead. But if you got the 140-180 million CR to make it somewhat combat ready, get the FDL instead.

However, the one redeeming quality of the clipper has got to be the sound.

MorsGotha · Apr 14, 2015

You can strip out your Asp's FSD and install it on the clipper for free and instant best FSD (and vice versa if you are keeping your Asp) which will save you 5 million.

A Clipper is indeed way more nimble than an Asp, however Lord Lucan didn't mention you need to pay 16 million (without discounts) for the 6A thrusters for that. Until then it maneuvers like a trader. It is also way faster, we are talking A-Spec Cobra speeds.

It is expensive to upgrade to the best stuff, but it is all round awesome.

EDIT: I don't quite agree with boxcutter, while it is true that its shields arn't brilliant they arn't supposed to be. The Clippers armour is its speed, which also makes it a way better trader than a type-7.

CMDR Holycow · Apr 14, 2015

The clipper is superior to the Asp in every way, except maybe jump range. I actually didn't like my Asp all that much.. sold it after a week or two... but i've been in my clipper now for a month. It trades more than a T7, fights like a vulture, has decent shields with a couple of shield cells, has no power issues, and the best part for me... the ship is "safe". If you are out and about by yourself... nothing that can kill you, can actually catch you. If you get pirated while trading, just hit 4 pips to engines and boost away at an almost never-ending 440m/s. While the pirate is loading up his "cut your engines" macro, you're already 5km away charging up your FSD. Pirates/gankers don't even try on me anymore... there is nothing they can do. The only ship that can catch me is a cobra.. but he can't kill me, so it's a win/win. On top of that, if you want to use the ship to Bh, it has good mass lock, and nothing can get away from you.

And it's flat out gorgeous.

The only problem with the ship, is it's painfully under-powered vertical and lateral thrusters. It still pitches great, at speed, in combat... but slow speed maneuvering is a pain. Docking is quite a bit more tedious. You really need to pay attention. The ship "skates"... i.e., if you thrust vertically... you can count 3,4, or 5 seconds before the ship stops. Unlike an eagle that stops on a dime. And the ship is HUGE, no outposts (not to mention WAY more expensive to upgrade)

I love my clipper. I have about 70m in mine right now..and don't see myself changing anytime soon.

Rikk · Apr 14, 2015

All the stats aside, the Clipper makes for superb screenshots.

DrakeAurum · Apr 14, 2015

So far I've kitted mine out with a motley assortment of B, C and D modules, and I'm already having great fun with it - it's plenty maneuverable for RES hunting, a lot moreso than the Asp, and while the shields aren't as strong as the Vulture's (but then, whose are?) they recharge far more quickly, and it's perfectly capable of going toe-to-toe with the larger opponents.

The only thing I can't make my mind up about are the weapons - I've tried pulse lasers only, pulse + cannons, and pulse + multicannons, and am not completely sold on any of them. Once I can find some C3 gimballed beams I'll give them ago, and I'm definitely going to try out Plasma Accelerators, but I'll probably need to wait until I can get the A-rated power plant.

CMDR Beltane · Apr 14, 2015

@OP: Keep both, at least what i did. As a general mission ship i would always favor the Clipper, even compared to the Python - though that depends on how important overall feeling is to you. I have flown one quite some time before i tried the Python and bought an Anaconda afterwards. Already stated in another thread, only ship i was really sorry to sell it to get a new one was the Clipper. Even bought one again today, as a general purpose mission ship. To me, the Clipper is like that awesome car you want to have. Can't wait for the next day to get to work, but not because you love your work - but simply because driving that car gives you that special feeling.

And so far... i haven't found any other ship that gives me the very same feeling the Clipper gave me...

Zephyriel · Apr 15, 2015

You guys really make me want to get a Clipper... I could get one soon (currently 15mil in the bank plus my 10mil Vulture) if it wasn't for the reputation grind... I have no rank with the Empire (though I'm friendly with them), I have no idea how long it takes to reach baron but from what I've gathered from this forum, it looks like it takes a painfully long time...

hort_wort · Apr 15, 2015

ERghhhh you guys are making me want to cut my first exploration mission short to fly back and get one before the discount is gone!

Noooo I just read that it ended today and I didn't participate... so no discount T.T

CMDR Beltane · Apr 15, 2015

Zephyriel said:
You guys really make me want to get a Clipper... I could get one soon (currently 15mil in the bank plus my 10mil Vulture) if it wasn't for the reputation grind... I have no rank with the Empire (though I'm friendly with them), I have no idea how long it takes to reach baron but from what I've gathered from this forum, it looks like it takes a painfully long time...

As there is no red lining regarding the ranks... hard to tell. Took me quite a while in Empire space to get to Baron even with beeing allied (started neutral). On the contrary Federation was a few hours job. Left it with Midshipman when i headed for Empire space. Headed back two weeks ago, still beeing friendly with them, to get at least to Ensign. Got three rank missions in a row without doing anything. Did some trading afterwards and the next day (nothing special, 'twas only 3 - 5 roundtrips), and got the next two nearly in a row. Anyways, if luck is on your side (RNG ftw) you should be able to get to Baron within the remaining timeframe until the discount runs out. Trading seemed to always work fine for me. Pick up some stations, trade between these two and pick up delivery missions. Expand your trade network depending on what they ask for. That way i also got my current trade network which is quit stable for more than a month, in case you like trading.

DrakeAurum · Apr 15, 2015

Zephyriel said:
You guys really make me want to get a Clipper... I could get one soon (currently 15mil in the bank plus my 10mil Vulture) if it wasn't for the reputation grind... I have no rank with the Empire (though I'm friendly with them), I have no idea how long it takes to reach baron but from what I've gathered from this forum, it looks like it takes a painfully long time...

Read some of the hints and tips posted recently. It's not all that hard - just a matter of taking missions for pro-Imperial factions to grind rep, then looking out for the ascension missions. Took me maybe a week at 2ish hours a night. I'd actually only just hit Baron when I heard about the Clipper CG.

Shocken-Orr · Apr 15, 2015

2 large Gimbaled Beams and 2 medium Gimbaled Cannons and the world is truly your oister!

Loving it all over!

Poseidal · Apr 15, 2015

I did this exact swap. Not only is the clipper (even with D thrusters) fun to fly, she made back her money in no time that I re-equipped theAsp to use as a dedicated explorer to have as well.

CMDR Starschulz · Apr 15, 2015

More firepower than a vulture, its fast, sounds amazing, and very maneuverable. did i mention, that when you leave your ship to go consult the security office, your very own servant has a bottle of wine ready for you? you don't get that kind of treatment unless your flying an imperial ship

MorsGotha · Apr 15, 2015

CMDR Starschulz said:
More firepower than a vulture, its fast, sounds amazing, and very maneuverable. did i mention, that when you leave your ship to go consult the security office, your very own servant has a bottle of wine ready for you? you don't get that kind of treatment unless your flying an imperial ship

The Imperial Clipper is the Downton abbey of ships.

CMDR Beltane · Apr 15, 2015

CMDR Starschulz said:
More firepower than a vulture, its fast, sounds amazing, and very maneuverable. did i mention, that when you leave your ship to go consult the security office, your very own servant has a bottle of wine ready for you? you don't get that kind of treatment unless your flying an imperial ship

Hehe - thats about it. And the interior, already said that to one pilot a formed a wing with - the interior is simply sex for the eyes

Cawcanbawlz · Apr 15, 2015

I currently have an APS with the most top rated equips (trade-in is currently worth 13m CR) and I am going to trade up to the clipper as soon as I get enough CR to properly equip it with some decent items.

This is from my observations. Clippers have greater agility compared to APS due to the observations of NPC being able to 180 almost instantly to attack back. 2 large hardpoints + 2 medium hardpoints is way better than 2 medium hardpoints and 4 small hardpoints on an ASP.

My current set up on my APS are 2 small beam lasers + 2 small cannons + 2 large cannons and they work wonders. The beams last the entire time I am take out conda shields and I use the cannons while the beams cooldown a little. Then I use both cannons and beams to finish off the conda. All gimbled of course and this set up is very nice which works for my play style.

When I am fighting clippers, I notice that the hull integrity decreases much faster than the integrity of the power core. I almost always defeat a clipper off due to hull rather than subtargeting the power core. This is different when I am 1v1 an ASP. The APS hull integrity is far superior than the Clipper because I usually destroy another ASP from subtargeting their power core.

So from these experiences, I assume that ASP have better hull protection than Clippers. But the Clippers have better fire power due to the fact that it has large and medium hardpoints.

I am looking about 2-3m shy of equiping a clipper....I learned the hard way when I only had enough money to get an ASP because I had a hard time doing things with stock equips. Once you get spoiled on A rating equips, its kinda hard to down grade eventhough the ship is better than your previous.

Disclaimer: I am a new guy so if what I said disagrees with you....go easy on me

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ASP* (typo....sorry I didnt proof read it enough)