Ships Simple questions for the experts.

[5m4llP0X]

Thank you in advance for answering some noob questions. I gotta say, after some time with the Chieftain I've gown to love this ship.
My questions are these:
1) I know Dirty drives are the thing for combat, but are they worth using with the Chieftain? During the beta I saw a video about the drift being excessive with dirty and I know clean is a much less extreme. So, Clean or Dirty when hunting in rings?

2) Is this ship good for Thargoid combat? I know that was the idea from the Devs, but how useful is it against them?
2.5) If it is, would I sac a shield booster for more hull armor?

3) Any suggestions for ideal PvE weapon loadout?
3.5) I was considering trying out focused pulse lasers for the AP and to avoid using ammo against hull tanks. Anyone know if focused is worth investing in for this?

 

[Pendergast]

Dirty drives on every ship, there is no meaningful downside. Hull tank for Thargoid hunting. Shield Boosters and Armour do not overlap, boosters are in Utilities, Hull Reinforcement are in Optional Internals. If you mean Shield Cell Bank, yes, sacrifice for more armour. For PvE I laser builds I either use Efficient Beam or Long Range Pulse. Well, I use a mix really.

 

[5m4llP0X]

Dirty drives on every ship, there is no meaningful downside.

So it doesn't slide around like a spastic cat on ice? Also: the thermal load from Dirty and Drag. Doesn't that heat up the ship a bit?

Hull tank for Thargoid hunting. Shield Boosters and Armour do not overlap, boosters are in Utilities, Hull Reinforcement are in Optional Internals. If you mean Shield Cell Bank, yes, sacrifice for more armour.

Yeah, I wrote this just before going to bed, mybad and yes I meant cell banks. But this ship is effective at hunting Thargoids?

For PvE I laser builds I either use Efficient Beam or Long Range Pulse. Well, I use a mix really.

Ok, so the focused armor pen isn't useful enough to warrant it's use? Sad. I really wanted to kill the tankier ships quicker.

 

[Ceekay]

Use an armoured power plant mod to control heat (also more power and integrity) https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprint/12/

With dirty drive there will be drift on most ships but I don't think the Chieftain is that bad considering it's speed and agility, clean drives with their better optimal mass will help a little and they reduce heat generation during boost.

I've been hunting Thargoid scouts in several ships and the most effective so far is a FAS with 3 x Guardian "goose" cannons and a turreted class 3 AX MC, two salvos from the goose cannons will take out a scout the issue I have with the Chieftain is it's intended as an anti-Thargoid ship but can only fit 3 x AX or Guardian weapons compared to 4 on a FAS.

Here's a Chieftain with a conventional weapons array, it's huge fun!

http://www.edshipyard.com/new/#/L=C...DEqpDIqpD,7UeG9H34wPcasPcgy0008c107210nE12UI1

 

[XOSHI]

So it doesn't slide around like a spastic cat on ice? Also: the thermal load from Dirty and Drag. Doesn't that heat up the ship a bit?

It shouldn't if you know how to fly. But if you fly with FA off it could look like this (or be like this if you don't know how). And yes the ship heats up a bit. but not more than 5% so don't bother about this. After all, the Chieftain is not the Beluga.

Ok, so the focused armor pen isn't useful enough to warrant it's use? Sad. I really wanted to kill the tankier ships quicker.

Well I have them on my 'Conda and will soon have them on my T10 either. For a turretet build I prefer them for killing smaller ships so I don't have to use my ammunition.
For a gimbaled/fixed build I never used them, but IMO it should work for that too.

But maybe add a MC with the corrosive shell effect on the middle small or the medium HP for larger Targets. It affects the hull damage for all other weapons to (On my 'Conda it was a blast in combination with the focused pulses and a second huge MC)
Also have 2 fire groups for Lasers only and for lasers + kinetics. Or one button for lasers and one for kinetics.

 

[5m4llP0X]

Use an armoured power plant mod to control heat (also more power and integrity) https://inara.cz/galaxy-blueprint/12/

With dirty drive there will be drift on most ships but I don't think the Chieftain is that bad considering it's speed and agility, clean drives with their better optimal mass will help a little and they reduce heat generation during boost.

So Optimal mass instead of drag. And I love Armored. I use it on my miner. I should consider using it and stripped down or thermal spread for my chieftain. I was just trying to keep it light to help with jump and maneuverability.

I've been hunting Thargoid scouts in several ships and the most effective so far is a FAS with 3 x Guardian "goose" cannons and a turreted class 3 AX MC, two salvos from the goose cannons will take out a scout the issue I have with the Chieftain is it's intended as an anti-Thargoid ship but can only fit 3 x AX or Guardian weapons compared to 4 on a FAS.

FAS for thargoid it is, then!

Here's a Chieftain with a conventional weapons array, it's huge fun!

http://www.edshipyard.com/new/#/L=C...DEqpDIqpD,7UeG9H34wPcasPcgy0008c107210nE12UI1

Interesting. Here's what I'm running with at the moment.
Most of the exp effects are because I didn't have the mats for what I wanted, so I should go and fix those.
I also notice that you're using lightweight Alloy. Is the military just not a good idea due to the weight increase?

It shouldn't if you know how to fly. But if you fly with FA off it could look like this (or be like this if you don't know how). And yes the ship heats up a bit. but not more than 5% so don't bother about this. After all, the Chieftain is not the Beluga.

I can, 80% of the time dodge asteroids in a ring with FA on. Is that good enough? I really should try to learn how to fly without it.

Well I have them on my 'Conda and will soon have them on my T10 either. For a turretet build I prefer them for killing smaller ships so I don't have to use my ammunition.
For a gimbaled/fixed build I never used them, but IMO it should work for that too.

But maybe add a MC with the corrosive shell effect on the middle small or the medium HP for larger Targets. It affects the hull damage for all other weapons to (On my 'Conda it was a blast in combination with the focused pulses and a second huge MC)
Also have 2 fire groups for Lasers only and for lasers + kinetics. Or one button for lasers and one for kinetics.

The idea was to avoid using cannons all together so I didn't need to restock ammo. Oddly enough I took out a 'conda and an FDL in a 2v1 battle but 2 FAS give me a ton more more issues.

 

[XOSHI]

I can, 80% of the time dodge asteroids in a ring with FA on. Is that good enough? I really should try to learn how to fly without it.

For PvE thats better than needet. Actually, I'm one of those were FA off not only look like the ship flys where it wants to do, it just does that. That (+ my crappy internet) is why I don't PvP. If you wan't to, you better start training. If not, do what you want to do.

The idea was to avoid using cannons all together so I didn't need to restock ammo. Oddly enough I took out a 'conda and an FDL in a 2v1 battle but 2 FAS give me a ton more more issues.

Hmm, except my armed traders I always had kinetic weapons on my ships (or none). But you can check yourself if the loadout your using melts hull quick enough. Just compare your loadout on Coriolis to the T10 (best stock hull in game) and look how fast it gets down on the offense screen. There you can try different loadouts without wasting your mats.
And sure 2 FAS can be hardcore in a medium ship, they even get my T10 or my 'Vette sweaty. Much more than 2 'Condas. They're fast, agile, they have a enormous hull potential and have (usually) very fast regenerating shields. A 'Conda is slow and heavy and a FDL is no problem with it's Paper-hull, once the shields are down.