Horizons Which ship is suitable?

Hello Commanders,

I fly the Cobra MKIII and take missions in order to rank up,
travel a lot and generally learn the game.
I love that ship but it's very sensitive and has no great possibilities for weapons.
Could you please suggest which ship is more suitable for general missions and
better abilities/chances in dog fights etc.

Thank you for your time!!!!
 
Last edited:
It entirely depends on your budget, and what your preference is.
In the Cobras Price range;
The Cobra is good at everything.
The DBS is much better in combat, but not so good with cargo. Good if you do some missions, but a lot of combat.
The Viper is just good at combat. Only good for combat, or very light missions.

The T6, I've not flown. Probably good at cargo, but nothing else. (Need someone elses opinion there).

Otherwise, the next step up in price is the Asp for everything, or Vulture for combat and light missions.
Or the T7 if you wish to commit suicide regularly.

There could be Imperial or Federation ships suitable to your needs and budget too, but i don't use either of their ships.

Ultimately, the Python is the best Multi Purpose ship available, but you need around 125,000,000cr minimum, plus 6,500,000cr insurance cover.
 
Last edited:
better dogfighters: viper, DBS, courier, vulture.

"better" missionrunner: AspE, python (in my opinion, the cobra mkiii is the best mission runner ingame - with the python close by ... but for a python you'll need 100+ mio cr).

basically, it makes sense to own a multipurpose ship, and a combat ship.
 
I fly a Cobra III too - I've tried everything up-to and including a Python. I liked the python, but it was a bit sluggish, so I've moth-balled it somewhere till I get round to sorting some dirty drives for it. My compromise is i have a vulture for pew pew, a T6 for the occasional delivery mission and, the Cobra for courier/small cargo runs/ everything else. I spend most of my time in the Cobra...

The T6 is great for cargo (~96t with decent shields, which you'll want in dodgy systems), but the weapons are pretty much useless (maybe mine launchers might be worth a try...???) - it flies like a brick so you'll want A class thrusters especially if you need to get into a station in hurry...


** I tried the FDS, FAS and FGS too - but I personally couldn't get on with them - might be worth a look though.

Anyway, long story short, the Cobra III is the best ship in the game. ;)
 
Last edited:
The T6, I've not flown. Probably good at cargo, but nothing else. (Need someone elses opinion there).

If I may pitch in, I must say that the T6, as long as you don't plan to fight with it, is a very underrated, extremely versatile cheap ship.

It has a good jump range and lots of module slots, which makes it a very good exploration ship.
Its jump range, low fuel consumption, nice tank and reasonable cargo capacity make it very good at trading rares.
Ist a great entry level miner, due to (again) lots of module slots which make it possible to carry refinery and limpet controllers and still have decent cargo space.
Excellent non-combat mission runner.
It has a very nice boost speed, and small profile make escaping pirates easy.
Great for salvaging.
Ironically, I don't find it good for regular commodity trading... It would take ages to make any worthwhile money. Any of the above is a better use for it than trading.

The T6, as long as you don't plan on using it for combat, is a lot of bang for buck!
 
The Asp Explorer is a very good all around mission runner but using one in heavy combat since 2.1 dropped is really not recommended. In light combat against a single foe who isn't in a heavily modded ship or flying dedicated fighter like the Vulture or Dropship variants' you should do ok.

My T6, Viper III and Diamondback Scout are all heavily modded and fun to fly. The Viper cruises at 400 and boosts to 500. The DBS is a real blast to fight with. The best weapons layout of the small ship by far. The T6 cruises in the mid 300's and boosts to the mid 400's with a 30+ ly jump range. Armed with only mines she's nimble and quick.

I also have a heavily modded FAS that I use for all mission types and she is my favorite. Heavy hitting, very maneuverable and with a 22ly jump range she's my go to for any mission involving combat or a high potential for interdiction. Plus, she looks great in orange!
 
"A lot depends on what you want to do with it".

People say that A LOT, but they don't really DEFINE it. The biggest part of the module system is that it allows one to customize one's ship to a specific role in which to specialize. So you really need to sit down and think about what you PRIMARLY need the ship to do.

For general courier missions, any of the smaller craft will do ok [Cobra/Asp/Diamondback] My favorite in this is the Imperial Courier. The only issue is, you need imperial rep to buy the ship. You can actually do courier missions between HIP 10716/Wu guinagi, make a few bucks, and grind rep there all at the same time. The nice part about the Courier is extremely good handling, relatively decent jump range unmodified, and 3 class 2 weapon mounts. Oh, and did I mention the capability of 500+ shields? The downside is cargo, because you WON'T be carrying much. maybe 12-16 tons, up to you.

If you're into cargo hauling, the T-6 is everything Askavir said. Forget combat, but savor those mine launchers! They are SO MUCH FUN!

If you decide to go combat, the typical established ship progression is viper/Vulture/FDL depending on price and preference. I've never actually flown a viper, but I can tell you with the Vulture and FDL, you better get a space suit with add on thruster packs, because one wrong jump and you're gonna have to get out and push.
 
Prior to 2.1 I would have said the Asp Explorer is the ship to upgrade your Cobra. Unfortunately now it is not agile enough for combat now, although a high grade dirty drives upgrade might fix that problem. Probably the ultimate mission runner, and the ship I use for missions myself, is the Python although again it really needs at least grade 3 dirty drives for combat but at least it will stay intact while running away.

If you have the rank required then an Imperial Clipper is a cheaper alternative than the Python. It requires a large pad though so can't land at outposts.
 
The Cobra III and AspX are great ships but a bit weak in maneuverability and weapons. Dirty drive and weapons upgrades help them a lot.
 
The way the AI penalizes you for trading (the tasty cargo NPC crowd) the best way I found to get to that Python is though bounty hunting and running missions. If you try to run cargo you will be always on the run and eventually you will get caught. I got tired of running and worked my way through a Vulture, an FDS, an FAS (while ranking with the Feds, you can do the same with the Imps with their ships). I tried a T6, it just wasn't my style to constantly run. So eventually I sold everything and got into a Python.

While you are doing whatever it is that you decide to do, start unlocking the Engineers, Farseer first (dirty drive, FSD extended range), then Tod (for some MC's) later shields. You won't really be able to reach a stable point until you have a ship that can run if you want or fight on your terms. A full-mod Python is not a pushover and can even take on Anacondas (if you like a thrill).
 
Last edited:
Thank you all for your answers!!!!!!
I realize that you can't do everything with one ship,
I suppose I should gather credits and experiment with the game.
I own an Asp Explorer but I thought it would be great to use her as an exloring vessel, but right now she rests in the "garage" waiting to get upgraded!!!!
To be honest I'm into exploring mostly, and general courier and up to 16t cargo missions just to make credits.
I just want to avoid bullying from heavy ships (although light ships won't bother me that much).

Anyway thank very much for your time, your answers game me food for thought
please feel free to put more ideas on the table.
Hope to see ya in space (right now I fly around Lembava and Sol).

Fly safe!!!!!!!!!!!
 
To be honest I'm into exploring mostly, and general courier and up to 16t cargo missions just to make credits.
I just want to avoid bullying from heavy ships (although light ships won't bother me that much).

speed is your friend. who needs weapons, when he has thrusters?

if you have horizons, outfit an Adder with "enhanced performance thrusters" at fraseer martuk or palin - that modul you can simply buy. you'll end up with an Adder boosting 460-500 m/s laden with 16T.
if you have imperial rank, do the same with an courier.

and if you don't have horizons, stay with the cobra mkIII.
 
speed is your friend. who needs weapons, when he has thrusters?

if you have horizons, outfit an Adder with "enhanced performance thrusters" at fraseer martuk or palin - that modul you can simply buy. you'll end up with an Adder boosting 460-500 m/s laden with 16T.
if you have imperial rank, do the same with an courier.

and if you don't have horizons, stay with the cobra mkIII.

What?! You mean I can just buy upgraded thrusters without the material collection and the annoying slog to Palin?
 
Last edited:
For purely combat and missions centric gaming I've yet to upgrade past the Cobra Mk III. I suspect I'd have to spend a lot of credits to get something as fast that packs a significantly bigger punch. Flown the AspE for a couple of weeks for exploring and it's an extremely fast, easy to handle ship.

Purchased a T7 over the weekend and you'd have to love Dark Souls to want to use that for combat!
 
My progression so far has been: Adder, Cobra Mk.III, T6, and currently Asp Explorer.

I've been doing mostly trading/cargo hauling, with a small amount of combat (during interdiction mostly).

The Asp can hold its own in combat, but it can't turn, so against more maneuverable ships it is in trouble. I managed to deny an Eagle a shot (we were locked in a turning fight), but I couldn't get around to fire back. I had to run.

With 6 hardpoints the AspX has good firepower for its size, but is less survivable due to the poorer turning ability and larger size. The Cobra Mk.III in this respect is much better.

I've yet to try the Vulture, but it is supposed to be good.

For a general ship, I'm struggling to better the Asp at this point. It can run, it can fight, and it can haul. I only want a larger ship for more hauling. I might get a T7 and keep the Asp, and say "see ya later" to the Python.
 
Back
Top Bottom