Newcomer / Intro shield generator vs fuel scoop

[Red Orchid]

Ok I,m in a viper mk lll. Saw a video on 5 things you should never do in ED...#1 never kill Fuel Rats. #2 always have rebuy. #3 always have a fuel scoop. #4 I forget. #5 Just don't gank people it's uncool. Ok I get it. So I buy fuel scoop and later notice I have no shields. Fortunately I had stored it and refitted it. I don't plan on exploration at this point in my career, so probly wont need fuel scoop. But i do plan on trying out combat vs pirates and massacres etc...So i prefer the shields for now. Is this wise? I would probly self destruct before I called a fuel rat anyway. so... thx!

 

[Screemonster]

If you're just running missions you can get away without a scoop, even a sidewinder can do two full-range jumps on a tank, which is enough to run missions just about anywhere inthe bubble.
And if you're bounty hunting, you're in an inhabited system anyway, just refuel at the station.

 

[TiberiusDuval]

If you plan being on comfortable range away from next fuel station you do not need fuel scoop. But well scoop is one of those things, that when you NEED it you better have it.

 

[aRJay]

Shields are a very good thing when you are doing combat and generally useful elsewhere, fuel scoops are useful for travel in general and virtually essential for long distances and exploration.

Most of my pure combat ships don’t have fuel scoops normally, and a couple of my freighters don’t either, but I do check where they are going to be operating to make sure I am not being too stupid.
Although it is done I don’t run any ships without shields, some of the non combat shields are the bare minimum to protect against bad landings or bumping bits of stations.

Edit: A Viper III with its two class 3 slots could easily run both without problems unless you wanted cargo space as well.

 

[Krieger]

I reccommnd a fuel scoop because the Viper can only do 2 max range jumps and traveling becomes tedious having to dock every 2 jumps. I run an unengineered Viper mk3 to relive the good old days from before engineering every now and then.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

The two chaff launchers provide near immunity from gimbaled and turrented weapons because the Viper is so small. The hull and module reinforcements make sure you have a chance to get out of weapons range or jump away if shields go down.

I also run an engineered version of the Viper. It is powerful enough to do Elite assassination missions. Taking out a pirate lord in a Corvette takes some time but is big fun. (Tip: destroy their FSD otherwise they jump away.)

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

 

[d8veh]

A Viper is a combat ship. You can have as many ships as you want. Each type has strengths and weaknesses.

Rule #6: Always choose a ship that's suitable for the task you have in hand and outfit it accordingly.

Rule #7: Don't carry modules that you don't need for the task in hand.

Rule #8: Never buy a ship if you don't have the money to outfit it properly for the task in hand

Here's a suitable build for a Viper that will get you about 2 mil per hour bounty farming in a high RES:

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

coriolis.edcd.io

Use it for a few evenings until you have enough to buy the next ship you want to use. For Combat, that would be a Vulture, which would get you about 4 mil per hour in a high or Haz RES. If you want to go exploring, 10 mil will get you a nice DBX. A DBX will get you 10 mil per hour doing "Road to Riches" scanning Earthlike and water worlds.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

coriolis.edcd.io

Now that we have ship transfer and module storage, you can outfit ships how you want, like optimised for combat, passengers or cargo, then either use the DBX to travel to where you want to use the optimised ship and call it up when you arrive at the destination, or, after optimising your ship, store its modules as you swap them for ones that optimise travelling in it, like fuel scoop and anything to lighten the ship, then call up the stored modules and swap them out when you get to the destination.

Having said all that, say you had the Viper above and needed to travel some distance. You have plenty of empty module space to add a 3A fuel scoop without suffering any power, speed or jump range penalty, so you might as well fit one.

IMHO, multi-role ships are for losers! There are many happy losers playing the game.

 

[Wyaston Hypatia]

For travel in the bubble a fuel scoop is a nice to have rather than a necessity. The moment you leave the bubble it's a necessity. If you want one for emergencies in the bubble then you can fit a size1 scoop to your Viper, it would be slow to scoop but will get you out of trouble. For exploring fit the biggest you can get though!

 

[Wyaston Hypatia]

Another thing to remember is that 2 short jumps will use less fuel than 1 long jump. If fuel is limited switching to Economical route planing in the galaxy map (second tab) could get you to a destination where fuel is available whilst Fastest route won't.

 

[Ethaidan]

Ok I,m in a viper mk lll. Saw a video on 5 things you should never do in ED...#1 never kill Fuel Rats. #2 always have rebuy. #3 always have a fuel scoop. #4 I forget. #5 Just don't gank people it's uncool. Ok I get it. So I buy fuel scoop and later notice I have no shields. Fortunately I had stored it and refitted it. I don't plan on exploration at this point in my career, so probly wont need fuel scoop. But i do plan on trying out combat vs pirates and massacres etc...So i prefer the shields for now. Is this wise? I would probly self destruct before I called a fuel rat anyway. so... thx!

Add to your list...

Always play in Open, but be very aware and cautious when approaching well known and often dangerous systems. Shinrarta, Deciat, Wyrd, Power headquarters, etc. There's maybe a dozen out of 10,000+ systems, but when you venture there, be prepared. Oh, and hollow triangles are bad.

 

[Ashnak]

More like - when you see a hollow triangle, it's often already too late . The experienced attackers will deploy their interdictor only when they're in position.

 

[Rick6549]

Wow i broke all of those rules

 

[wetwire]

IMHO, multi-role ships are for losers! There are many happy losers playing the game.

I pretty sure your using the term looser as "a person or thing that is put at a disadvantage by a particular situation or course of action. "
Because using a multi-role ship is quite a challenge in most situations. Advantage of multi-role would be running a verity of different missions without having to change ships.