So I have been running the orca for awhile now and have the cash for a beluga... after some forum browsing I am left uncertain if I should though. One the one hand there is the desire to upgrade... on the other its expensive for what, as I read, seem small gains. the pax mission have never once taxed my orca's ability to carry... infact that's something of a issue for me... why have a super liner when (the odd 32 not withstanding) most missions are only for 6-19 people... tbh I have more than once thought that the orca was a bit over kill as I rarely encounter a mission my dolphin couldn't have done. This raises all kinds of flags in my mind about the beluga as if the orca is overkill wouldn't the beluga just be more of the same? So with more questions than answers I turn to you..... what, if any, is the reasons I should, or should not, buy a beluga?
With the current passenger missions situation I can hardly see it as worthwhile but perhaps once the thargoids show up maybe there will be a higher demand. The dolphin and orca pretty much cover it all at the moment not to mention all the other ships... although why any first class class passenger would want to get on some of those is beyond me with perhaps the notable exception of the larger imperial ships. That said I will still getting one to add to my pod/fleet as soon as funds permit.
Meh
I bought it because I'm collecting them.
Not particularly impressed but I haven't given it enough of a chance.
It is expensive to outfit competently, many times it's initial pricetag.
You don't have to have cabins in every restricted slot.
It's a nice yacht if you're looking for a money sink but I still think the Orca looks better, performs better and can't even fill it's own cabins. That's a lot of whiners to drag along with you for 40,000LY even if you can find them.
It is surprisingly agile for it's size once you cross certain t:w thresholds.
I bought it because I'm collecting them.
Not particularly impressed but I haven't given it enough of a chance.
It is expensive to outfit competently, many times it's initial pricetag.
You don't have to have cabins in every restricted slot.
It's a nice yacht if you're looking for a money sink but I still think the Orca looks better, performs better and can't even fill it's own cabins. That's a lot of whiners to drag along with you for 40,000LY even if you can find them.
It is surprisingly agile for it's size once you cross certain t:w thresholds.
Unless i am missing something doesnt the python or type 9 carry more? So not sure i would get one for trading
I went back to the Orca from the Beluga. Why?
The Beluga IMHO is just a double sized Orca (both outside and inside), but costs almost three times more than an Orca (both fully equipped). Not to mention it has serious heat issue because of its undersized power plant considering its thrusters (just like T-6, T-7 and T-9), and frustrating and confusing internal slots (no class 7 slot for a such large ship, are you kidding me FD?).
So I would not recommend the Beluga to any existing Orca pilots, unless you just want to fly the largest ship in the game.
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Sometimes I will need a class 6 luxury cabin for passenger missions (it happens), therefore I would recommend the Orca over the Dolphin if anyone has the money to invest building an Orca.
- The Orca is much faster / has very strong thrusters, handles really well both in SC and normal space - particularly by acceleration and deceleration. Its insanely fast speed for its size (just like Im' Clipper) is ideal for passengers that don't want get scanned / high-G world landing / NPC escaping. The Beluga's thrusters are good, but not good enough for its size and surely not good enough for those speed-demanding tasks.
- The Orca is much lighter, since FD halved its hull mass in 2.3, it got not only further FSD jump range (now can easily past 30 Ly with mods which is pretty decent), but also more shield strength for self-defending. The Beluga can not even pack a shield generator that optimises its hull mass in it, which is a shame because it stands up really bad in a fight even with SLF onboard. As mentioned before, escaping is unlikely because of its slow speed, prepare to take hull or heat damage when you do so.
- The Orca is much cheaper than the Beluga, obviously. Since both ships do almost the same thing (not that many advantages transporting passengers in a Beluga honestly), the Orca has much more cost-performance ratio than the Beluga. Also you definitely don't want to loose your longtime trained NPC co-pilot in a Beluga by NPC attacking or crashing on a high-G world (it happened to me once).
The Beluga IMHO is just a double sized Orca (both outside and inside), but costs almost three times more than an Orca (both fully equipped). Not to mention it has serious heat issue because of its undersized power plant considering its thrusters (just like T-6, T-7 and T-9), and frustrating and confusing internal slots (no class 7 slot for a such large ship, are you kidding me FD?).
So I would not recommend the Beluga to any existing Orca pilots, unless you just want to fly the largest ship in the game.
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Sometimes I will need a class 6 luxury cabin for passenger missions (it happens), therefore I would recommend the Orca over the Dolphin if anyone has the money to invest building an Orca.
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I like the Beluga. I bought one around 3 weeks ago after flying the Dolphin and Orca.
The Beluga made me enough money in 2 weeks to buy my 1st Conda (and I'm not a big grinder - no time for that with RL).
I put 1-Luxury, 1-1st Class, and 1-Business class cabin in with 96 tons of cargo capacity. Running out of my green systems I was able (with some patience) to routinely get two, 2 million to 4 million credit passenger contracts to the same location. Sometimes I was able to get three. I targetted missions that were less than 100 LY trips. I had A-grade FSD/PP/PD and mostly D-grade on the other modules.
I could make 2 to 6+ million credits in roughly 15 minutes plus what I made selling cargo (I never leave home w/o cargo to sell). I had to return to green pastures to get more of those lucrative contracts when they would pop up, but when I flew the Type-9, I never made that much money in that time frame.
I play "the old fashion way" and don't use exploits. I have played off and on since early access and I thought I'd never get a Conda. Now I have one and like it.
Disclaimer: I play solo
As far as defending myself, I was able to avoid interdictions every time. However, a couple of times when I did not have passengers on board, I submitted to test a tactic I never used before. I would target the scoundrel then get him/her (the NPC) on my six and sling mines like crazy. It was nice watching his shields go down while screaming "I didn't expect this!". I've gotten two bounty rewards doing this. Very nice it was.
have a nice day
edit: I need to clarify, I did not make hundreds of millions in 2 weeks but I made enough to buy the Conda, outfit it enough to defend itself and still have ~40million credits in the bank. I also sold one of my mid sized ships.
The Beluga made me enough money in 2 weeks to buy my 1st Conda (and I'm not a big grinder - no time for that with RL).
I put 1-Luxury, 1-1st Class, and 1-Business class cabin in with 96 tons of cargo capacity. Running out of my green systems I was able (with some patience) to routinely get two, 2 million to 4 million credit passenger contracts to the same location. Sometimes I was able to get three. I targetted missions that were less than 100 LY trips. I had A-grade FSD/PP/PD and mostly D-grade on the other modules.
I could make 2 to 6+ million credits in roughly 15 minutes plus what I made selling cargo (I never leave home w/o cargo to sell). I had to return to green pastures to get more of those lucrative contracts when they would pop up, but when I flew the Type-9, I never made that much money in that time frame.
I play "the old fashion way" and don't use exploits. I have played off and on since early access and I thought I'd never get a Conda. Now I have one and like it.
Disclaimer: I play solo
As far as defending myself, I was able to avoid interdictions every time. However, a couple of times when I did not have passengers on board, I submitted to test a tactic I never used before. I would target the scoundrel then get him/her (the NPC) on my six and sling mines like crazy. It was nice watching his shields go down while screaming "I didn't expect this!". I've gotten two bounty rewards doing this. Very nice it was.
have a nice day
edit: I need to clarify, I did not make hundreds of millions in 2 weeks but I made enough to buy the Conda, outfit it enough to defend itself and still have ~40million credits in the bank. I also sold one of my mid sized ships.
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If you have bags of money yes, if nor...
Its bug ugly too, goodness knows they obviously couldn't afford to make it like the dev art. Such a shame.