Why I need a Clipper

NCFCpaul

N
And what to do with it. I have just finished the two Salome books about Elite by Drew Wagar. Reclamation and Premonition are both absolutely excellent. Huge respect to Drew for bringing alive the Elite universe, fleshing out the lore and background.

Problem is, our hero Salome is closely linked with her Imperial Clipper. But I've never bought this ship despite having the rank to do so - I was grinding for the Cutter.

Anyhow, what is the best way to use the Clipper? As an all purpose ship, like a Python or Krait? I've heard it excels at mining? Is it good at PvP?

If so could anyone suggest good builds?

And now I need to read more Elite fiction, but the bar has been set incredibly high!
 

VR Jay Le Chardon

VR Jay Le Chardon
NCFCpaul said:
And what to do with it. I have just finished the two Salome books about Elite by Drew Wagar. Reclamation and Premonition are both absolutely excellent. Huge respect to Drew for bringing alive the Elite universe, fleshing out the lore and background.

Problem is, our hero Salome is closely linked with her Imperial Clipper. But I've never bought this ship despite having the rank to do so - I was grinding for the Cutter.

Anyhow, what is the best way to use the Clipper? As an all purpose ship, like a Python or Krait? I've heard it excels at mining? Is it good at PvP?

If so could anyone suggest good builds?

And now I need to read more Elite fiction, but the bar has been set incredibly high!
Click to expand...

It's a hunny of a thing to fly, it has supercruise handling to die for, the problem with a clipper is it's outclassed at everything by something else. For example a python carries more cargo than a clipper, has more firepower, more shields, more power capacity in both plant and distributor. Krait outguns it, out turns it and can launch a fighter. FDL is the combat meta. And we won't even mention clippers weapon convergence. Cutter Conda & Vette are all more capable than a clipper, but there's just something about a clipper that gets under your skin.

They are great for PVE, and I often fly one with a class 6 passenger compartment and an SRV for sightseeing tours, skanking mats when taking the VIP to a surface site like fumaroles or geysers.

Go for full A Rated, 7c, 7c biweave shields, 4x A rated boosters, engineer the thrusters as DD5, thermal resist with rapid charge on the shield genny and resistance augmented with flow control on the boosters, 4A fuel scoop, keep the class six lot as your mission bay, either cargo, fuel, passengers . A cute build might be a 4a prismatic

Here's a good multirole, currently outfitted for passengers, permitting SRV shenanigans, dropping in on signal sources for mats, and enough teeth to give most other ships that NPC's could hurt you a bloody nose.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
The main drawback of the Clipper is that it's a Medium-sized ship that needs a Large landing pad, because those ginormous crane-fly wings don't retract.

The Clipper's main advantage, when launched, was that it was the fastest ship in a straight line - faster even than the Cobra III. With the advent of Engineering, however, this advantage has been negated with other ships overtaking it for straight-line speed. I think the Mamba is also unengineered straight-line faster, so even here it has been superseded.

The Clipper's intended purpose can be seen in it's alternative name, which is still used in-house by FD's programmers: the "Imperial Trader". It was designed for medium-haul trading, with (according to the sales blurb) capacity for ready modification to luxury passenger transportation. Alas, when Passengers were implemented, this niche market was also forgotten; the Clipper cannot equip a Luxury-class cabin as those are restricted to SK cetacean-class ships.

I own a Clipper, with intent to convert it to a snatch-and-grab salvage extraction ship: dash in, deploy collectors, grab everything in sight and get out of dodge before the trap closes. The squishy shields and large-pads-only capability restrict my plans for using it in this way.
 
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Mr T

Mr T
I used to do mining in a Clipper but that was back when surface mining was all there was and must have been before I unlocked the Cutter. Now I've stripped it of it's mining modules and it's just sitting in my shipyard doing nothing. I could sell it I suppose but I think the imperial ships just look fantastic. For mining I'm now using the Python (core and subsurface) and Cutter (surface only) for mining as they are better suited to the job.
 

Just Paul

Just Paul
miketuppen said:
I used to do mining in a Clipper but that was back when surface mining was all there was and must have been before I unlocked the Cutter.
Click to expand...

Now that brings back memories.
Delkar.jpg
 

NCFCpaul

N
Appreciate the builds and responses from everyone. I've always looked at it and wondered what it does that another ship doesn't?

The answer is: it's in Drew Wagar's book and Salome has one. So I needs one! Seems to me a lightweight /big landing pad trader is a role which might work for me. Or mission runner, could do that. Or spot of mining....
 

GroG79

G
I have a cool runninig speedy pirate clipper. Too bad that the megaships can not be raided anymore. It is unemployed at the moment.
It is also good at short high stakes cargo missions.

I tried Clipper with rails.. You always miss the enemy with at least one hardpoint.
 

Iskariot

Iskariot
NCFCpaul said:
And what to do with it. I have just finished the two Salome books about Elite by Drew Wagar. Reclamation and Premonition are both absolutely excellent. Huge respect to Drew for bringing alive the Elite universe, fleshing out the lore and background.

Problem is, our hero Salome is closely linked with her Imperial Clipper. But I've never bought this ship despite having the rank to do so - I was grinding for the Cutter.

Anyhow, what is the best way to use the Clipper? As an all purpose ship, like a Python or Krait? I've heard it excels at mining? Is it good at PvP?

If so could anyone suggest good builds?

And now I need to read more Elite fiction, but the bar has been set incredibly high!
Click to expand...

The Clipper is one of those misfits that needs a large pad but can only do medium things, and compared to other ships is not really good at anything it does.
I used it for a while but as soon as you can afford it you will want to move on to either a medium ship that is actually good at what it does, like the Python or the FDL, or a large ship that is good at what it does like the Cutter, or Anaconda, or whatever. Any big ship is better at being a big ship than the Clipper.
 

goemon

goemon
clipper was my step up from the t6 as a trader many years ago. i than used it as a miner. i now use it as a core miner. the FC for my bubble account was financed in it.

handling in both supercruise and real space and its speed is amazing, and the cockpit view i like, too.
 
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