So, the Viper MK IV

[DustyArne]

Is a really nice little ship to fly!


Im in a system now fighting a Conflict between a independent faction and a Federation one, and there "FINALLY" spawned a nice BB mission. But i was in my FDL so i couldn't accept it because i needed a 12 tons cargobay.

I really wanted to do that missions, it was moderate pay, 120k, but high rep, and med influence, and since BB missions are totally broken atm, i needed to do that one.

So i figured to buy me a ship right there on the spot, no discount but whatever, if you have the money, it doesn't really matter anyway..

There i had the choice, the Cobra, Asp Scout, and the Viper Mk IV. Never did fly a Viper, so i picked that one, besides, its a new ship, so i thought lets give it a spin. I was able to make it a nice combat/smuggler aswell in the outfitting. Guess i was lucky i could find all the modules i needed right there on the spot. (Maybe this is even how Frontier intend it to be? hmmm.. Buy a ship when you need it at the station where you need it. Instead jumping the nearest discount system to buy it when you not really need it?)

Aaaaanyway....

And i really, Really enjoyed it!. needed to jump 2 systems with Illicit Combat"stuff", and then fly 200kls to an outpost without getting killed. Af course on the way i got interdicted a few times, and the Viper really knows how to handle herself in battle. Won 2 times form a Elite DBS withouth any major troubles. And had to bail out a fight 2 times aswell because system Autority vessels came in to check out, and i was about to get scanned. I even one time was already being scanned and i was able to outrun the eagles so they couldn't finnish the scan..

I think im keeping this little ship, i hope now more smuggling Missions will spawn the bullitin board, and i mean the missions with 16tons of cargo.. not the 80 or the new 120 tons cargo runs.. lol

 

[Sylar N7]

How does it compare with a Vulture in terms of speed, maneuverability, and firepower? I know the Vulture is legendary in agility, but can the viper mk iv "dance" as well??

 

[Bazziegamer]

How does it compare with a Vulture in terms of speed, maneuverability, and firepower? I know the Vulture is legendary in agility, but can the viper mk iv turn "dance" as well??

Viper is a good little ship. But it doesnt stand a chance against a vulture that knows what its doing. You can take down npc condas in the viper mk4 if you play your cards right. But if you engage a player flying a better ship with even the slightest idea what he is doing. Youre done.

Personally i like to swat it out of the sky with my conda.

 

[DustyArne]

The vulture is a whole different class of ship. Nothing beats the Vulture if it comes to combat.


But, no, the new Viper isn't a Ice dancer, its a stealthy little ship, with an amazing cargobay for its size, good armor, awesome speed, and it can bite hard..


But Viper vs Vulture in combat, the Vulture wins when pilots are equally skilled.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

How does it compare with a Vulture in terms of speed, maneuverability, and firepower? I know the Vulture is legendary in agility, but can the viper mk iv turn "dance" as well??

Nope, it's a bulkier Viper MK III so of course it's handeling isn't even as good as it's MK III version. The payoff for the manuvering sacrifice though is more armor, more shield's and better FSD, Power Plant, Thruster's, armor, and shield's which let it power loadout's like 2 medium PAC's or Rail's and more survivable than the MK III.

 

[Bazziegamer]

The vulture is a whole different class of ship. Nothing beats the Vulture if it comes to combat.


But, no, the new Viper isn't a Ice dancer, its a stealthy little ship, with an amazing cargobay for its size, good armor, awesome speed, and it can bite hard..


But Viper vs Vulture in combat, the Vulture wins when pilots are equally skilled.

Well the vulture isnt the best combat craft imo. Have you seen the crazy builds ppl (including me) have on the FDL?
And the FDL with the powerplant buff and the heat buff, barely gets any hotter from using SCBs. And the inproved pitch speed. I think the FDL is a lot better than the vulture.

Sure the vulture will outturn it. But who goes into a turn fight with a vulture and expects to win? If i encounter a player vulture in my FDL. I just go jousting with it, my FDL is faster anyway. Ill even ram him, ive got 6 A shield boosters, idc.

 

[DustyArne]

Well the vulture isnt the best combat craft imo. Have you seen the crazy builds ppl (including me) have on the FDL?
And the FDL with the powerplant buff and the heat buff, barely gets any hotter from using SCBs. And the inproved pitch speed. I think the FDL is a lot better than the vulture.

Sure the vulture will outturn it. But who goes into a turn fight with a vulture and expects to win? If i encounter a player vulture in my FDL. I just go jousting with it, my FDL is faster anyway. Ill even ram him, ive got 6 A shield boosters, idc.

you never get behind me in my Vulture..

Trust me, i have both, fully A graded FDL, and a Fully A graded Vulture..

I'll dance pirouettes around your FDL with a Vulture, you wont be able to land a single huge one, and ill chaff the hell out of you so your other gimballed will have no lock..

Trust me, a skilled Vulture pilot is the moste dangerous thing in Elite Dangrous.

 

[Sylar N7]

If I wanted to get a MkIV for bounty hunting, as a change of pace from the Vulture, how would you recommend I spec the weapons? I'm not too familiar with how to run 2 small and 2 medium (and yes, I realize that shows my noobness lol)

 

[DustyArne]

stay with the Vulture for bounty hunting.

A low CZ or Low Res site is nice with a Vulture MKIV though.. Or the high, but pick the right targets then.. lol

Anyway, i run 2 small pulse, and 2 medium multycannons.. gimballed.

Tried the railguns aswell, they work perfectly on it, but ur out of ammo to fast for CZ and RES.

 

[Sylar N7]

stay with the Vulture for bounty hunting.

A low CZ or Low Res site is nice with a Vulture MKIV though.. Or the high, but pick the right targets then.. lol

Anyway, i run 2 small pulse, and 2 medium multycannons.. gimballed.

Tried the railguns aswell, they work perfectly on it, but ur out of ammo to fast for CZ and RES.

Good to know man, thanks. I think I'll avoid the HazRes, but I'll try the high...at least then I'll have some backup lol

Edit: So I took it into a HazRes, like the very smart person I am. It...uh...didn't go well. At all. I need the Vulture to be good hahaha

 

[Bazziegamer]

you never get behind me in my Vulture..

Trust me, i have both, fully A graded FDL, and a Fully A graded Vulture..

I'll dance pirouettes around your FDL with a Vulture, you wont be able to land a single huge one, and ill chaff the hell out of you so your other gimballed will have no lock..

Trust me, a skilled Vulture pilot is the moste dangerous thing in Elite Dangrous.

How will you dance around me if i go jousting with you? i am a lot faster and FDL can still spam SCB due to its buff in absorbing heat. i may not be able to hit you with my gimballed pulses. but my railguns dont care about your chaff.
yes you will win a turning fight. but why would i play to your advantages? id rather play on my terms. and since the FDL is the fastest of the 2. if i go booming and zooming. theres little you can do.

 

[Stealth Gamer92]

How will you dance around me if i go jousting with you? i am a lot faster and FDL can still spam SCB due to its buff in absorbing heat. i may not be able to hit you with my gimballed pulses. but my railguns dont care about your chaff.

Sound's like he's smart enough not to joust, and you're smart enough not to dogfight. Obviously one of you would just run away from the look's of it, it'd be a chicken fight.

 

[Bazziegamer]

Sound's like he's smart enough not to joust, and you're smart enough not to dogfight. Obviously one of you would just run away from the look's of it, it'd be a chicken fight.

Yes. they both have 1 advantage over each other which makes it a very hard decicion. the FDL loses the dogfight. and the vulture will lose the joust. but you can go from a dogfight to a joust at anytime you like as long as you have the speed advantage. its harder to go from a joust to a dogfight as the one that initiated the joust has to give up his advantage to do so. i love the vulture, ive flown it A-rated myself and i liked it a lot. but imo an A-rated FDL is better IF you know how to use it advantages against the vulture. as i said. the vulture will win the dogfight everyday. but thats why you dont dogfight a vulture like every NPC ever does...

yes a chicken fight indeed . but thats just the age old question: manouverability, speed or brute force?

My FDL Build http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_lance/26A5A4A4A6A4A3C1q1b1b2a2a040404040400B25e5ef266.AwRhrSu82I==.CwBhpBGECZPyMlIMyxuIA===?bn=FDL%20Bruh

 

[Time Streamer]

thats just the age old question: manouverability, speed or brute force?

As a quick remark, imho, most of the times you don't pick any of those traits. You just have to adapt accordingly the trait you have. If you have a good T/W ratio, you go into a furball. If not, you joust. Obviously, if you have only one tactic, it's better be the correct one. But almost any tactic can be defeated if it is totally predictable, and such approaches are enemy to innovation. Total flexibility is not ideal either, as it is difficult to become proficient if you're constantly changing style and technique.

Anyway,

Just to say I've stated my BH career on a Viper Mk 3, passing through Vulture and now FDL. Yesterday I've bought the Mk4 and fitted her with dual small gimballed beams and dual med PA's. Regarding internals, I've fitted her with top class, a class 4 bi-thing shield (those with faster recharge rates), a class 2 scoop just to be safe and a class 1 interdictor. I've filled the rest with HRP's (a thing I never do. It is my first ship with those). And what a blast!!! Yes she doesn't turn much, but it can hold beams firing for a long time and it's a tough nut to crack on the right hands. Sure it doesn't pack the speed of it's predecessor but it is a nice upgrade in survivability too. I've liked her a lot. I could do RES with no problems at all, using the PA's to dispatch anything larger than an Asp. Two thumbs up.

 

[Docjas18]

I think the Viper Mk4 is one of the best little ships in the game. People see Viper and they think oh tiny fighter I can destroy easy! But, it is a tank. Mine has best shield generator and shield booster and chaff launcher, plus I filled all empty module with hull reinforcement packages. I can out last even some of the bigger ships when I pilot right and manage my pips properly. I love the little thing. It is slower and less manuverable but that is the trade off.

And the Vulture is another great ship, but does lack for speed. I like the ships overall in this game because there is no one perfect ship. They all have significant drawback in my opinion.

 

[DustyArne]

I think the Viper Mk4 is one of the best little ships in the game. People see Viper and they think oh tiny fighter I can destroy easy! But, it is a tank. Mine has best shield generator and shield booster and chaff launcher, plus I filled all empty module with hull reinforcement packages. I can out last even some of the bigger ships when I pilot right and manage my pips properly. I love the little thing. It is slower and less manuverable but that is the trade off.

And the Vulture is another great ship, but does lack for speed. I like the ships overall in this game because there is no one perfect ship. They all have significant drawback in my opinion.

Yeap, one of the things FD really did nailed..

all ships are awesome, i enjoy flying all of them.. even the T9 got her charms.

 

[Jason Trask]

bought a viper mk4 myself im in love with it

sadly I had to sell my clipper and buy and fit a vulture as I couldent afford to rebuy my clipper


BUT the mk4 has filled the void

 

[Docjas18]

The little ships are the bomb. I want a python, but have little interest in the anaconda. I can't see giving up my tiny ships.

 

[OZYMANDlUS]

I would go so far as to say that the Viper Mk IV takes the spot of the Cobra Mk III. The only thing a Cobra Mk III does better than a Viper Mk IV is straight line speed.

-Ozy

 

[choices]

I just got one last night. Haven't tweaked too much of it yet but it seemed like a fun little ship. After finishing up merits for PP I will take it into a hazardous or HighREZ place and give it a spin. I am looking forward to using this. However if I choose this over a vulture is hard. It's one of the first loves when coming to fighting so I don't know if I can ever replace it.