And then I read the fine print. Was checking out Coriolis for new ideas on how to build this and that and decided to look at the Cobra MK IV. Looks like it could be a good mining ship when set up properly. Then the fine print said.... Horizons Early Adopter. So it looks like I can never own this ship unless that has been or will be changed in the future. Am I correct on not being able to purchase this ship since I've only been in Elite for a month or so?
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Newcomer / Intro I got excited over the prospect of a new ship
- Thread starter Mo Ronik
- Start date
You are correct, unless you bought horizons in the first year, I think before February 2016, you can not get it at all.
http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Cobra_MkIV
"The Cobra MkIV is an exclusive reward for Elite Dangerous players who upgraded to Elite Dangerous: Horizons during its first year. It is only available to PC players who purchased Horizons before February 5, 2016 (this also includes Lifetime Expansion pass holders), and to Xbox One players who purchased the Horizons season pass before July 30, 2016. Players who met these requirements can obtain the ship in-game from stations using credits. PlayStation 4 players currently do not have any means to access the Cobra MkIV. Frontier have not made any announcements of making the Cobra MkIV accessible to other players. "
I wouldn't mind this being made available more generally, I have it on two accounts and use it quite often.
"The Cobra MkIV is an exclusive reward for Elite Dangerous players who upgraded to Elite Dangerous: Horizons during its first year. It is only available to PC players who purchased Horizons before February 5, 2016 (this also includes Lifetime Expansion pass holders), and to Xbox One players who purchased the Horizons season pass before July 30, 2016. Players who met these requirements can obtain the ship in-game from stations using credits. PlayStation 4 players currently do not have any means to access the Cobra MkIV. Frontier have not made any announcements of making the Cobra MkIV accessible to other players. "
I wouldn't mind this being made available more generally, I have it on two accounts and use it quite often.
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I didn't even know Elite Dangerous existed back then.. oh well, at least I did eventually find it. I like the 8 optional internal slots and having more than 2 small hardpoints like the Type 6. As a mining ship it could defend itself much better. Price is a little better than the Type 6 as well. Guess we'll see what new ships are on the books for this new update. The 3rd live stream is supposed to feature new ships. Any rumors out there as to what might be offered?
But, is it a ship worth having? It was before my time so I have no idea. 4 > 3?
My educated guess, taking previous "new ship releases" into account - A second variant of Krait and fourth variant of Chieftain.
In my eyes definitely. I love her. But most people hate mk.IV, mainly because it's slow and squishy.
I do not like the cobra, im more a viper dude...the engine sounds better and it looks better also, and speed is not so important as they all say it is. You missed nothing.
I think they disappointed a lot of players with the Cobra MkIV. Maybe it is a good ship if you like something slow but the MkIII saw the fastest thing in the game at the time, who would have thought the MkIV would be so slow? To me it wouldn't make sense for the Cobra brand to be applied to such a slow ship. Maybe it is a good ship if you like that sort of thing but it isn't really a Cobra if you see what I mean. Bit like the reaction a new ship would get if they released an Imperial ship that was a slow, ugly, hull tank...
People were disappointed, because they always looked at it how they wanted it to be, not at what it is. It is the mini-Python. 8 internal slots on a small frame, 5 hardpoints for great versatility at a cheap cheap price/rebuy. Yes it feels more like a medium ship, but how can it not, considering the size ? It's my to go material collector.
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Hmm. Nice praise for it. But really, the only thing it has going for it is that it can do several things which other ships in the same price bracket can also do, but it's a small ship. Unfortunately, while being small, it doesn't come with the speed and agility advantage other small ships generally have. (And that's even before mentioning that even the gameplay niche of better renowned small ships has shrunk a lot, thanks to engineers and the new high-agility medium ships. )
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Currently there's only one single aspect in the game, where being small is an clear advantage: being able to land inside the area of guardian ruins. And even that's only a real advantage if you add point defense, to counter the sentinel missiles. Unfortunately all Cobras have the utility slots on the belly, so unless sentinels start firing subterranean missiles, the Cobra again can't use this advantage.
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I get it that some people love the ship, merely for being a Cobra. I see that they put effort to make an acceptable ship out of it. But if the name doesn't inherently make it better for you, another ship might be the better choice, even if you have access to it.
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And as the Viper MK IV also was mentioned here: that one is more interesting. A lot of people also detested that one when it came around. They didn't like reduction of speed and agility compared to the Viper MK III. But despite the initially bad reception, the Viper MK IV managed to claw its way up and by now is a respected small ship. Its additional capacity and durability (especially when set up well) in many scenarios more than compensates for the small loss of speed and agility.
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The biggest problem of the Cobra MK IV is probably that practically everyone with access to it is mostly past it already, with enough credits für the medium ships at least. For a new player it would be the first tase of something bigger at low price. Except new players have no access to it.
.You know a similar argumentcan beis made for the MkIV.
True. The difference is that the Viper MK IV indeed has some advantages. There are videos around, where the Viper MK IV is made tough as nails. It can be turned into an extremely sturdy small ship, faster and more agile than any medium, but its toughness rivaling that of some medium ships. It's a small niche, but it exists. The Viper MK IV is being used for the given reasons by players who can afford and own much more expensive ships.
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The same just can't be said for the Cobra MK IV. It also tries to be a "small medium". But it only is a small ship in terms of shields, hull, weapons, utility slots and landing pad size. It has all the disadvantages of a small ship and the only advantage would be landing pad size. Which doesn't really matter in the present game. What it lacks are the other advantages small ships tend to have: speed and agility.
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Many people point at the internals, which are "most you can get on a small ship". This is true. But for a marginally higher price, you can get the Type 6. Which offers a similar number of internals, but bigger ones. Along with more jump range, one more utility slot, higher speed, higher boost speed and better handling.
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So the T6 wins for trading, exploration and mining. The only thing the Cobra MK IV has over the T6 is that it's "better" in combat by having more hardpoints and a bit more shields, while the T6 has much more hull. But rating either of those two ships for combat is like a fight between a toddler and a paraplegic. I'd rather have the T6, as it's better in escaping. In terms of combat the Viper family, the Cobra MK III, the Eagle family and arguably even the Adder do better and come at a lower price than the Cobra MK IV. And that's without looking at the Courier or Vulture, as one of them is faction locked and the other one costs much more.
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So really, unless about 200k credits make all the difference for you, there's no point for the Cobra MK IV. And that's why I don't consider this ships niche to exist. Even if a new player would have access to this ship, it's only a small timeframe where this ship would be of advantage. The same time is better spent doing one more mission or trade run and buying a ship which then is useful for a bit longer.
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That's technically true. But it's price is too close to the first medium ships to still matter.
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4 utility slots would indeed serve the Cobra IV very well.
The general consensus in no.
If you want a powerhouse mining ship but a python.
If you want a dedicated industrial mining ship, buy a Type-9.
If you’re just getting started and don’t have a lot to spend, get a Type-6.
Yeah.. but I rarely complain about anything since I'm having fun doing what ever it is I'm doing at the moment. I just thought it would make a good starter mining ship with it's 8 optional slots and the ability to carry more than just mining lasers in the hardpoints. And then my hopes were dashed after reading about the early adopters thing and getting a better understanding of what it means. Now I think it's a good thing to reward those that put their faith in the development of ED and maybe they should have an exclusive ship that us tailgaters can't have. For those that fly one just know I'm very envious of you and at the same time commend you for doing your part in the early days. Had I only known....