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Newcomer / Intro Deep space exploration, best ship for little money?
- Thread starter Flakoff
- Start date
DBX.
Diamondback Explorer (DBX) if you don't need much cargo room and need cheap. Other than that, just look at all the ships and their jump ranges here: (https://coriolis.edcd.io/)
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php/116-Ships-of-Elite
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php/118-Elite-Retrofitting
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forumdisplay.php/117-Elite-Exploration
Very little money - Hauler
Bit more money - T6
more money than sense - DBX
More sense than taste - AspX
Loadsamoney and intelligent - Anaconda
one of the 0.0001% - "What is exploring?"
With only 2 million, you can only just buy the Diamondback Explorer. However if you want to spend less, and get a long range ship, consider the Hauler. You lose a lot of features and space but even my other choice of the Type 6 will still cost 2.6 million, with the ship plus A rated FSD.
I would advise grinding a few more, just the Advanced Discovery Scanner will eat most of your budget.
So - you need more moolah really because as has been stated the ADS will set you back a good whack.
When you are ready to buy and get kitted-out go to a station controlled or exploited by Li Yong-Rui as ships and modules are 15% cheaper there.
Use the website https://eddb.io/station to find one, selecting Li Yong-Rui in the Powers box of course.
With 2 Million:
https://eddp.co/u/ek6P89bF
But I suggest doing a couple of missions and get a 2A power plant (A rated are cooler).
Keep in mind the insurance too.
https://eddp.co/u/ek6P89bF
But I suggest doing a couple of missions and get a 2A power plant (A rated are cooler).
Keep in mind the insurance too.
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If you're short on cash, as above - grab your Sidey, add biggest fuel scoop you can afford (make the effort for a 3A, seriously, you'll thank me when you're 10k LY away), with A rated FSD, D rate everything else (but make sure you have an ADD and DSS), the point in a random direction and go.
Exploration payouts are ridiculously huge now, people seem to be making on 20k LY trips what I used to make over 300k LY, a single trip 10k LY out, with some smart scanning will give you enough cash for an "ideal" fitted DBX or ASPX.
Z...
Exploration payouts are ridiculously huge now, people seem to be making on 20k LY trips what I used to make over 300k LY, a single trip 10k LY out, with some smart scanning will give you enough cash for an "ideal" fitted DBX or ASPX.
Z...
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Cobra works fine as a starting exploration ship, it's got good internals and OK jump range. Eventually when you have more money you will want something that jumps farther, both so that you can go to more remote places and so you can get where you are going faster.
My advice: Buy an ADS and DSS. Make a short-to-mid-range trip in the Cobra, come back, sell your data, use the cash to buy a DBX (or if you make a lot of money, an Asp).
Personally, I explore in an Imperial Courier, but I also don't make really long trips, so 40 ly (fully engineered - don't mess with engineering until you get more experience, it can be a real time sink) is more than enough jump range for me.
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Pretty much any ship can be turned into a decent explorer, you just need internal slots for the two scanners a shield and a fuel scoop, obviously more slots will allow for maintenance and an SRV which allow you to be somewhat self sufficient out there.
A really important factor in my view is do you like sitting in the cockpit and listening to the engines of your ship, you are going to be there a long time so the more pleasant that is the better.
For just less money than a DBX I suggest the Dolphin, it is fast and agile to fly so hunting down planets to scan isn't hard work, the engine is unobtrusive which is good when doing a long session, the view out might not be the equal of the best but is pretty good and you can easily fit a passenger cabin for sightseeing.
Get a Hauler my friend, best budget Explorer money can buy...
Get D rated components for everything except the FSD (A), this will give you a 30-31ly jump range and the Hauler uses very little fuel on its jumps and refills quick with a 3A scoop.
Here's a link to the build.
https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/hauler?code=A0p3t3F0l3d3s3f2---2t2i3u2f.Iw19A%3D%3D%3D.Aw19A%3D%3D%3D..EweloBhAWEoUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A%3D&bn=Exploration%20
If you can't quite afford the Advanced Discovery Scanner you can actually still make the best profits with the Intermediate Discovery Scanner. The reason for this is that the vast majority of all earth like worlds are within 1000ls of the systems star (or they wouldn't be earth like worlds).
You can use EDDB to find the nearest scannable earth like worlds to your current location. For example there's about 20-22mil up for grabs in a 150ly radius around Maia, probably much more if you include water worlds in your route.
Get D rated components for everything except the FSD (A), this will give you a 30-31ly jump range and the Hauler uses very little fuel on its jumps and refills quick with a 3A scoop.
Here's a link to the build.
https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/hauler?code=A0p3t3F0l3d3s3f2---2t2i3u2f.Iw19A%3D%3D%3D.Aw19A%3D%3D%3D..EweloBhAWEoUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A%3D&bn=Exploration%20
If you can't quite afford the Advanced Discovery Scanner you can actually still make the best profits with the Intermediate Discovery Scanner. The reason for this is that the vast majority of all earth like worlds are within 1000ls of the systems star (or they wouldn't be earth like worlds).
You can use EDDB to find the nearest scannable earth like worlds to your current location. For example there's about 20-22mil up for grabs in a 150ly radius around Maia, probably much more if you include water worlds in your route.
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The learned and sagacious Cmdr Maymo hits the nail squarely on the head yet again.
I am bemused by this fixation so many people seem to have with the Cobra. Yes it was a great ship in the 1984 version of the game but the game has moved on and the need for an all-rounder type ship is much less obvious now. Especially as with the game as it stands combat is an optional activity.
For a non-combat pilot the progression would seem to me to be Sidewinder -> Hauler -> T6-> AspX/Python/Whatever you fancy.
For those who fancy a life of fighting then I would suggest that the Cobra still doesn't really have a place. Sidewinder -> Eagle -> Adder -> Vulture seems the way to go, why lug about that cargo capacity when what you want to do is kill?
I am bemused by this fixation so many people seem to have with the Cobra. Yes it was a great ship in the 1984 version of the game but the game has moved on and the need for an all-rounder type ship is much less obvious now. Especially as with the game as it stands combat is an optional activity.
For a non-combat pilot the progression would seem to me to be Sidewinder -> Hauler -> T6-> AspX/Python/Whatever you fancy.
For those who fancy a life of fighting then I would suggest that the Cobra still doesn't really have a place. Sidewinder -> Eagle -> Adder -> Vulture seems the way to go, why lug about that cargo capacity when what you want to do is kill?
Empty hardpoints apart from a small mining laser (in case of needing jumponium mats)
one heatsink launcher (just in case)
4A FSD - engineer if you can
2A Power Gen
other core D rated
optionals - 3D shield Gen
4A Fuel Scoop
4A AFMU
ADS
DSS
(stick in a PVH in the spare 2 slot if you want)
http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=A028,...AcI0Aqq0B4S0BK40Bb60,,4_w00M287Q40mpT2jw02UI0
The above is 11MCr and you can fit out a T6 for less than that.
If you are short of funds then cut back (buy smaller / cheaper) on the AFMU and Fuel Scoop - and just take an intermediate disco scanner for your first trial run.
YMMV
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