Ships What's it actually for? (Keelback)

Xiorell

X
I had a Keelback for a very short time, before I went back to my old Cobra.
I wanted to like it, but I didn't really know what I brought it for.

What's the BEST use for this ship? Seems to be the entry point into SLFs but does it loose functionality as soon as you put a Fighter in there, making it useless?

I am kinda tempted to try one again if I can figure out what it's for.
 

goemon

goemon
i use mine as a carrier, to train npc crew before they take over my gunship.

balance of flying a fighter while crew in keelback is better than with a gunship (where you can simply watch from the fighter).

keelback is also great as a platform for planetary exploration, where you scout with a fighter.
 

Rankaze

Rankaze
Xiorell said:
I had a Keelback for a very short time, before I went back to my old Cobra.
I wanted to like it, but I didn't really know what I brought it for.

What's the BEST use for this ship? Seems to be the entry point into SLFs but does it loose functionality as soon as you put a Fighter in there, making it useless?

I am kinda tempted to try one again if I can figure out what it's for.
Click to expand...

Mine basically serves as a mobile hangar for my SLF.
 

Ceekay

Ceekay
Multi role m8 it can do a bit of everything BH, cargo missions, scavenging, exploring etc......., outside of the combat focused (Vulture, FDL, FAS ) or trade focused (T6, T7, T9) there's a lot of multipurpose ships and I reckon the Keelback is a good un!
 

Ozram

Ozram
goemon said:
i use mine as a carrier, to train npc crew before they take over my gunship.

balance of flying a fighter while crew in keelback is better than with a gunship (where you can simply watch from the fighter).

keelback is also great as a platform for planetary exploration, where you scout with a fighter.
Click to expand...

That's one thing annoys me about the keelback. It reminds me of the lack of intention for FD to make NPC crew consistent with multicrew system. There's no second seat on the keelback. You can have an NPC crewman but no multicrew. It's weird and irritating for me.
 

Xiorell

X
Ceekay said:
Multi role m8 it can do a bit of everything BH, cargo missions, scavenging, exploring etc......., outside of the combat focused (Vulture, FDL, FAS ) or trade focused (T6, T7, T9) there's a lot of multipurpose ships and I reckon the Keelback is a good un!
Click to expand...

Fair point. I guess maybe I could use it as a short range armed trader or something, with the fighter for defence etc. Maybe drop the docking computer and stick in an extra cargo rack for me.
 

goemon

goemon
Xiorell said:
Fair point. I guess maybe I could use it as a short range armed trader or something, with the fighter for defence etc. Maybe drop the docking computer and stick in an extra cargo rack for me.
Click to expand...

well, if you don't intend to fight, a fighter bay is an amazing tool. deploy fighter, let it attack the target, while you highwake out. it's funny that npc pirates always take the bait. with that in mind, you can fit a class 3 shield and have 48T of cargo.
 

Madrax573

Madrax573
Keelback can do whatever you want. It is a very versatile ship and an excellent starting point to get into the whole SLF thing.

I love this ship and if it wasn't for the fact that I flew and fell in love with the Cobra IV before I finally got a KB it would probably be the one ship I could never do without.
 

CMDR Corlas

CMDR Corlas
My Keelback works - in a few slightly different rekits - as a miner, explorer, mission runner, base assault platform, and in 2.4 will also be a rescue ship.

One thing that's nice about it is that a class 4 shield really isn't that weaker than a class 5 in it. I use a class 4 bi-weave which frees up the c5 for 32 tons of cargo.
 

Xiorell

X
Ok Might give it another chance then.
I think it might be my "in the bubble" general ship. I got my Vulture for pure combat roles, ASP X for Exloration, Dolphin for passenger missions, I am after a T7 for cargo/trade and maybe fit for mining until I can get a T9 anyway.
Might have the keelback as a the ship for just zipping about the bubble doing random mission, bit like I was doing in my old Cobra
 

Starbreaker

Starbreaker
It is considered a trader, but it can't compete with the T-6 for cargo space. The fighter bay is what makes this ship worth considering, but then you wont have much left for cargo. So I use it as a scavenger, 32t cargo, fighter bay, SRV bay, collector controller and a fuel scoop.
 

CMDR Spadino

CMDR Spadino
I have two Keelbacks in my primary account (bubble and Colonia) and one in both my second and third accounts. I love it as a tank, which I use extensively very well armored and with a fighter bay. Sometime I fit cargo, but for CZ I fit the most hull reinforcement I can. It's sturdy and can bite very well... It's a real joy to fight with, but you need to be used to its poor maneuverability. I like to use it as a support tank for the fighter; for this, you have to properly learn how to manage the orders, so you can avoid to be the main target and focusing on subsystems.
 

Madrax573

Madrax573
You used to be able to just sit it about 20km out of a CZ and just deploy the fighter. Tell it to hold position and go kill stuff in the fighter. But with the missile spam that I've seen recently that can't be done any more :(

one thing I have noticed though is if you have a decent crew member and fixed weapons they can be deadly with them. But don't put frags on there! I often got shot by my own crew when I had frags fitted.
 

Xiorell

X
Madrax573 said:
You used to be able to just sit it about 20km out of a CZ and just deploy the fighter. Tell it to hold position and go kill stuff in the fighter. But with the missile spam that I've seen recently that can't be done any more :(

one thing I have noticed though is if you have a decent crew member and fixed weapons they can be deadly with them. But don't put frags on there! I often got shot by my own crew when I had frags fitted.
Click to expand...

Crew are actually able to use fixed in a meaningful way then?
That opens up options.

I was gonna buy it last night but i also wanna start my T7 build so having a little think which comes first
 

Madrax573

Madrax573
Xiorell said:
Crew are actually able to use fixed in a meaningful way then?
That opens up options.

I was gonna buy it last night but i also wanna start my T7 build so having a little think which comes first
Click to expand...

once you level them up a bit yes they can be quite nasty with fixed weapons.
 

california1

C
Keelback:

great multipurpose, combat-able, jump-able, mine-able, trade-able and an acceptable explorer too. Did you try going full combat-ship on it? Should be interesting too.

T7 can't land on outposts, keelback can and it has better shields and hardpoints than T6 so it has advantages over both the T7 and the T6 in some areas. Actually you could bounty/pirat-hunt while trading or surface scanning or salvaging or whatnot.
Moves slower than the cobra but has also better hull and more space. I prefer it over the cobra when i don't in particular fight small ships. Turns slower than cobra but faster than T6. I think it's worth its price.
 
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