Most Maneuverable Ship For Combat

Hey fellow CMDR's I need to pick yall's brains a sec.

I am far from an expert so I'm looking for some options to try, (engineered options ofc as I dont expect un-eng ships to be the best). You may have an answer that covers all these options but I also feel that there may be better builds suited to each one. Or maybe even a build that suits a side of maneuverable combat I haven't thought of below, that you'd like to share. So, what is:

a - The most maneuverable ship in the game right now, regardless of if it is also good for combat, but whether it is or not please mention that.

b - The best ship for maneuverability and effective combat as a ratio.

c - The most maneuverable ship that would be effective in wing combat, for getting those pesky insect ships off the big boys in the wing.

d - Or simply what you think is the best maneuverable combat focused ship right now.

I'm looking for something to improve my combat flying skills as rn I'm running a corvette death machine that has made things a lil too easy, I would like to be able to nip around targets taking shots from any angle I please (once I 'get good' ofc) dodging attacks as much as possible. I'm hoping this thread will generate a few options, as I know there may be many right answers with engineering, Lets see what you guys have come up with.
 
eagle. with enhanced performance thrusters. i have one mainly for conflictzones. i also have one as a planetary explorer.

generally you'll have to say what you are referring to as "manouverable".
a) by using pips or not (ratio of pip effects are very different between ships - vulture looses almost none with zero pips to engine, while DBE gains a lot)
b) by using vertical and lateral thrusters a lot or not (those are differently strong on different ships)
c) by referring to acceleration and decelleration, aka agility
d) by flying FAOFF fulltime or parttime or not (viper mkIV is said to gain a lot flown faoff)
e) ...?

as for effectivity of a very manouverable ship pve, I'd recommend courier (good shielding, 3 medium hardpoints, 4 utilities) or vulture.
 
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a - The most maneuverable ship in the game right now, regardless of if it is also good for combat, but whether it is or not please mention that.

b - The best ship for maneuverability and effective combat as a ratio.

c - The most maneuverable ship that would be effective in wing combat, for getting those pesky insect ships off the big boys in the wing.

d - Or simply what you think is the best maneuverable combat focused ship right now.

A. Eagle, in terms of balance between rotational performance and translational (especially vert/lat) acceleration.

B, C, & D. FDL. Best laterals among mediums, by far. Tied for best boost multiplier in the game. Decent ENG pip and out-of-blue slopes. Vastly tougher and harder hitting than any small.

Viper III/VI, GU-97, Vulture, and Sidewinder deserve mention. FAS, Chief, and Clipper all have impressive rotationals, but lack in most other areas.
 
generally, as it it mentioned so often, the vulture is the ships needing the least skill pve for "moving" combat (in opposition to executive pve combat in a corvette). it's a good "starter" ship, but an eagle will teach you more.
 
For a good blend of firepower, defense, and agility...

Small: Imperial Courier, Vulture (some power issues but can be engineered around)
Medium: Krait (both Phantom and Mk2), FdL, Federal Assault Ship (a bit weak on shields though), Alliance Chieftan
Large: Well, as a rule, large don't do great agility, but the Corvette has ridiculous agility for its size. Also Imperial Clipper, which is more of a medium ship but too big for a medium pad. Weak on shields but amazingly fast and agile. Note, fixed weapons are a problem on it due to their wide placement.
 
(...) Also Imperial Clipper, which is more of a medium ship but too big for a medium pad. Weak on shields but amazingly fast and agile. Note, fixed weapons are a problem on it due to their wide placement.

It's agile and quite fast, but hardly "combat focused" per OP imho.

A bit like dogfighting in a private jet :)
 
a - Sidewinder or Viper II. Not quite sure, someone correct me.
b - Vulture
c - Vulture
d - Vulture or Chieftain
Can't go wrong in a Vulture.
It is a dangerous little beast and will teach you a lot about evasive flying, range control and positioning! Also, only two large hardpoints on an incredibly agile platform, so no messing around with lots of fire groups etc. Just pure straight forward action. ;)
eagle. with enhanced performance thrusters. i have one mainly for conflictzones. i also have one as a planetary explorer.

generally you'll have to say what you are referring to as "manouverable".
a) by using pips or not (ratio of pip effects are very different between ships - vulture looses almost none with zero pips to engine, while DBE gains a lot)
b) by using vertical and lateral thrusters a lot or not (those are differently strong on different ships)
c) by referring to acceleration and decelleration, aka agility
d) by flying FAOFF fulltime or parttime or not (viper mkIV is said to gain a lot flown faoff)
e) ...?

as for effectivity of a very manouverable ship pve, I'd recommend courier (good shielding, 3 medium hardpoints, 4 utilities) or vulture.
A. Eagle, in terms of balance between rotational performance and translational (especially vert/lat) acceleration.

B, C, & D. FDL. Best laterals among mediums, by far. Tied for best boost multiplier in the game. Decent ENG pip and out-of-blue slopes. Vastly tougher and harder hitting than any small.

Viper III/VI, GU-97, Vulture, and Sidewinder deserve mention. FAS, Chief, and Clipper all have impressive rotationals, but lack in most other areas.
generally, as it it mentioned so often, the vulture is the ships needing the least skill pve for "moving" combat (in opposition to executive pve combat in a corvette). it's a good "starter" ship, but an eagle will teach you more.

So from this I gather vulture is probably the way to go, with an eagle also being a fun choice, Im guessing the imperial eagle isnt as good? you just mean a normal eagle? as i think i'll build both a vulture and eagle, vulture for effective use of the skills I develop in the eagle, if that is right about the eagle teaching me more, Thank you guys btw, great responses
 
I'd have to say the Kraits, on paper not the most agile but the super efficient thruster boost cycle makes up for this, additionally the class 7 PD will run any weapon array you like.

The Chieftain and Challenger are certainly agile but the class 6 PD really isn't up to the potential of the weapon hardpoints so you'll have to find a balance between shield and hull damage weapons that the PD can support.
 
The Chieftain and Challenger are certainly agile but the class 6 PD really isn't up to the potential of the weapon hardpoints so you'll have to find a balance between shield and hull damage weapons that the PD can support.
The Alliance combat ships are practically begging for a set of Cytoscramblers in those small hardpoints.
 
It actually comes down to your own flight style.

What is great in one persons hands flies like a lump of wood in anothers.

Do you fa off? All the time? some of the time? never?

It makes a difference as to which ship is better.

Surprised no one has mentioned the diamondback scout yet either. That is a lovely ship for dancing around in. Works well in all flight styles too.
 
So from this I gather vulture is probably the way to go, with an eagle also being a fun choice, Im guessing the imperial eagle isnt as good? you just mean a normal eagle? as i think i'll build both a vulture and eagle, vulture for effective use of the skills I develop in the eagle, if that is right about the eagle teaching me more, Thank you guys btw, great responses
The Vulture! It's by far the most fun you can have in the galaxy, but it's crap when not (fully) engineered. Consider frags. They demand that you are very close to your target, but that's pretty easy in a Vulture, and once you're close enough, the frags will blow your mind, and blow the opponent to another Universe. Rapid fire, screening shell being my personal favorite. It might not beat a FDL in a PvP fight, everything else equal, but it's still my favorite PvP ship.

The biggest drawback of the Vulture is that you probably won't get ganked when flying one (cause gankers are wimps). Still, I've been fighting three gankers at Deciat, including a shield tanked Cutter. I was able to cling onto the back of the Cutter firing like crazy, while the ganker in the Cutter went "Get him away from me!". His two friend tried to hit me, but the Vulture is small and the Cutter is Huge, so they mostly hit their friend. That's a typical Vulture situation :)

The Eagle handles even better than the Vulture, and it can be a lot of fun, but you need to stay away from anything being fired at you, or it's instant rebuy.
 
It's agile and quite fast, but hardly "combat focused" per OP imho.

A bit like dogfighting in a private jet :)

Not combat focused no. I use mine for trade. Nothing like saying to a pirate "eat my dust" as you boost away at 600+.

But its pretty good for combat and amazingly agile for its size.
 
Surprised no one has mentioned the diamondback scout yet either. ´´
DBs was my first dedicated CZ ship, and i love it alot. it is just not as manouverable as an eagle, nor does it have a small profile, so not as good to teach you evasive flying. beside its amazing heli feeling, it really shines if someone wants to learn fix weapons for its hardpoint placement, more so for hot running fixed weapons set up like a double plasma-slug railgun.
 
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