got my clipper - feeling very vulnerable...

hoppingdeth

hoppingdeth
ok well i took advantage of the emperor's generosity tonight and grabbed me a clipper. spent a while running around high tech systems trying to buy my config, and about 70m credits later im nearly there with what i want.

took it for a gentle spin to a beacon to test out some combat, and realised quickly that i need to change my play style - again! i always configure my ships shield heavy. brute force attacks have got me to dangerous ranking and a couple of hundred million in the bank against npc and pvp, and the last couple of months has been exclusively in a vulture running 3 x a0 shield boosters giving me about 627mj (160%) shield strength running on an a5 shield generator. basically i can often charge headlong, headbut stay on target and generally be pretty base in my combat.

this does not translate to a clipper!!!! on no!!! the shields feel flimsy for such a large ship and generator. im running 4x a0 shield boosters on an a6 generator (180%) which only generates me 472mj of strength, 150mj less than the vulture, and it feels very nerve wreckin. yes im punching much harder with beams and cannons, but these shields just drop like nothing else! incredible difference between the two ships.

back to flight school for me....
 
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Kava

K
Yeah, you need to use the Clipper's engine for some advantage. Not sure how well it compares to being able to face-tank in a Vulture or Fer De Lance, though.
 

Trafalgar Law

Trafalgar Law
If the shields go down run. Only the Cobra can catch you.
.
n.b. you've got plenty of space and power to run lots of shield cell boosters.
 

askavir

askavir
Indeed the Clipper shields are lackluster for such a big ship. On the other hand, its hull is only surpassed by the Anaconda and the dropship, while the Vulture you are nearly dead man flying once the shields drop.

Maybe your combat style of simply facing a target and pressing fire until target dies could be improved.

Never used shield boosters on my beloved clipper as they use too much power, and I do not fear Pythons or Condas. The Clipper is very manouverable and super-fast, can easily out-manouvre Pythons, Anacondas and Dropships and keep up with the smaller, nimbler ships, and packs quite a strong punch for its price. There's no reason to feel vulnerable with it, if you fly it instead of just pressing the fire button.
 
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Trafalgar Law

Trafalgar Law
Also note that you can put an A7 shield on it instead of the A6 for 550mj with 4 boosters. Even a C7 gives stronger shields than an A6.
 
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Jenner

I wish I was English like my hero Tj.
Jenner
The Clipper is where it's at. Follow their ^ advice and you'll do well. :)
 

Rauminen

R
Hmm.... I don't know man, I've 468 Mj on my Python and it takes a loooong time to lose the shields. Few SCBs and Bob's your uncle.

Edit: never mind, wrong col. It's actually 564 Mj.
 
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Dariiem

D
And oh, one more thing: Did you knew, that you can flip it without using FA-Off? Its an amazing thing to have for doing hit and run (atleast for my flying style :D )

I also tend to watch other Cmdrs vids on yt, gives me general idea about performance of ships that i never owned: Knowing your enemy (well, atleast his hardware) does help alot.
 
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Arkhanist

A
ophiophagus hannah said:
I keel you real slow.
By the way, it's racking. Nerve 'racking'. Kthx.
Click to expand...

Ahem, nerve wracking is more common in US English, and nerve racking in British English. Both are valid spelling in either, though from different roots; racking is from a torture rack (that stretches your limbs) implying your nerves have been stretched to breaking point. Wracking comes from wreck, aka destroy. So your nerves were destroyed by the stress.

'wreckin' tho? Close. ish.
 
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HeavyGroovez

HeavyGroovez
You need some chaff. The vast majority of NPCs run turrets and the Clipper is a big profile that is easy to hit.

A Vulture can duck out of the firing arcs and is tiny in comparison.

You basically end up tanking more damage in the Clipper and therefore need to fill her up with cells to keep your shields up.

You will get used to her. If it all goes bewbs up just chain boost out of there. She is a missile.
 

hoppingdeth

hoppingdeth
She’s definitely fast – that’s for sure! It’s like the old days back in my Cobra, especially with my fav combo of lasers and cannons too. Loving the Power Plant on this thing. :cool:

With regards to shield strategies, I might up to a 7c or b (7a is just a rip off for such little gain) so I can indulge my favourite pastime of ramming (head-butting I like to call it). My 627mj Vulture is sooo much fun when a player in a much larger ship decides to play a game of head on chicken. I’ve taken down a Clipper before when a CMDR tried it on me during a battle – and he came off so much worse despite his mass, and I took the advantage and didn’t give the poor fellow much time to dive for the cell banks. I’m now starting to understand why that was… :(

Shield booster strategy – I think if you use boosters you have to use lots or it’s really not worth it – and I’ve no idea why you’d use anything less than a 0A (20%) as it’s no good buffing rubbish shields by 20% as you’re left with slightly better rubbish shields. 3 or 4 are needed minimum to start to make the strategy effective. An A0 uses twice as much power as a cargo hatch. Not bad power value really.
 

scorpyon

scorpyon
Arkhanist said:
Ahem, nerve wracking is more common in US English, and nerve racking in British English. Both are valid spelling in either, though from different roots; racking is from a torture rack (that stretches your limbs) implying your nerves have been stretched to breaking point. Wracking comes from wreck, aka destroy. So your nerves were destroyed by the stress.

'wreckin' tho? Close. ish.
Click to expand...

Could be worse.
He could have said: 'All Be It'... shudder...
 

Stressfest

Stressfest
hoppingdeth said:
Nice spreadsheet. When you look at shields spread out like that you realise what a little beast that Vulture really is....

Maybe I'll reserve the Clipper for taking me to the hairdressers instead.
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That's what i'll be using mine for! Vulture for thrills, Cobra for Smuggling and the Clipper for driving miss daisy :D
 

v01i0

v01i0
hoppingdeth said:
got my clipper - feeling very vulnerable..
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Congrats it is a fine ship. On the contrary to your experience, I feel very confident in the Clipper. With A class thrusters it can outrun or catch most ships. Yes the shields are paper and the Power Plant is easy to take out, but the idea is not allowing to let your enemy do that. I think I've got my clipper for a month now, it is fully upgraded to A-class and I've done plenty of PvP and no commander have been able to destroy it so far. If I am loosing the battle, I just boost away to safety. However I rarely need to run since I estimate carefully my chances before engaging.

-v
 
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