Which ship (under Cr40mil) for jack-of-all-trades exploring?

[Rudi Raumkraut]

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

Maybe sth like this?
Just theory crafted, never used an Asp for fighting (hence the simple weapons Loadout, bring what you like)
But you get ok'ish shields, great speed if they drop, decent jump range and its just 50mio...

I'd suggest to at least engineer the shields and boosters if you really want to pick fights with it...

Can't say if this one can be called 'gank safe' but for pve it should do the job...

 

[Orvidius]

I have a list of ship templates aimed at choosing ships for exploration in the "end game" (when engineering and price don't matter to you). If you click this link, and then click to sort the first column (meta-tier), it will sort the list into three categories on how generally "popular" the ships are for exploration. You can sort by other columns too, and get a sense of the "why".

https://edastro.com/exploration/#shiplist

If survivability against PVE matters, most ships can escape as long as they have halfway decent thrusters and shields.

Surviving a gank squad though? Different story. For that, speed might serve you better, and the Imperial Courier can be rigged to be a decent explorer and still exceed 750 m/s on thrusters. The jump range will max out in the 40s though, so keep that in mind. Speed allows for an escape where you dive right past the attacker (forcing them to turn hard), and boosting away while charging the FSD for a jump to another system (often referred to as "high waking"). Jumping to a system avoids the mass-lock that might prevent you from getting back into supercruise.

Otherwise there are many ships that will fit your other criteria. If upgrading over time is important, I'd probably recommend against ships with size-4 FSDs or smaller, since it will be hard to re-use their components if you decide to switch ships. You could start with a Diamondback, and sometime later jump straight into a Phantom and re-use the same FSD at least.

If you really do want to stay in one ship forever, I'd suggest something in the medium sizes (AspX, Phantom, or even a Krait Mk2), or use the Orca. In fact, the Orca is the one I think of as the true "Jack of all trades, master of none" exploration ship. It's not an exciting choice, but it does everything reasonably well without truly excelling at any one thing.

Some pros/cons.

Dolphin - Great early explorer. Jump range is decent, but not fantastic. Runs very cool. Lots of slots for its size.

DBX - Fantastic jump range, runs cool. Nimble. OK slots. Scoop speed is abysmal (and may annoy you).

AspX - Hard to go wrong. Great jump range, decent internals. A little "drifty" until you engineer the thrusters. Best cockpit for VR players who want to see the universe around them.

Phantom - The new Asp. Great jump range. Pretty maneuverable, decent speed. Good internals.

Krait Mk2 - Closer to a Python than a Phantom, good sized internals. Jump range is just OK. Good choice if you want bigger modules than the Phantom or Asp, otherwise probably should just use the Phantom or Orca.

Orca - Jump range is slightly lower than AspX/Phantom, but has much bigger internals. Good cockpit view, good internals. Reasonably maneuverable and quick, especially for its size. Doesn't excel at any one thing, but is good at everything (except firepower of course)

 

[Vetinari]

DBX - just so much fun. Does take damage easily though which can lead to some fun times.

I would G5 the FSD and use Guardian Booster though, just because I want the choice of Eco or long range to get somewhere quicker.

AspX is safer and tougher but JR is less.

Dolphin - I just dont get the popularity but some people swear by it.

So takes your pick and have a go

 

[marx]

Surviving a gank squad though? Different story. For that, speed might serve you better, and the Imperial Courier can be rigged to be a decent explorer and still exceed 750 m/s on thrusters. The jump range will max out in the 40s though, so keep that in mind.

+1 for the Courier. It's also an excellent multirole small ship, although it's very sensitive to mass increases, so you'd probably want to switch modules.
Jump range maxes out there only if you're on the stock tank, which is rather oversized for the Courier, and quite a lot of dead weight. For comparison, here's my current Courier build, 50 ly on a full tank, 455 / 618 m/s.

That said, there is something to keep in mind about surviving gankers: don't fly in a straight line! Doesn't matter if you're speeding away quick in a Courier, or any other ship: railguns engineered for long range can easily hit you up to 6 km. (I tried this out with someone else, and they could pop my Courier before I got away.) In fact, it's easier to hit a more distant target that's flying in a straight line. So, evade, be unpredictable, zig-zag and so on, and only fly in a straight line once your FSD is ready and you have to point at your destination.

Of course, surviving hostile NPCs in a Courier is a much simpler thing: press the boost button, and that's it.


Minor note on the Phantom: it doesn't really fit your criteria of being under 40 million, as the ship itself costs 37 MCr, and then you have to do outfitting. Maybe an Imperial Clipper would (best fuel scooping in the game, excellent supercruise handling, great cockpit visibility, lots of internals, very speedy for its size), but even that's a bit iffy.
That said, credits are easy enough to come by, so I think you can aim higher than 40 million.

 

[Piratescribe]

If you aren't concerned with maximum jump range, the dolphin is amazing. It is very maneuverable in supercruise, can land on small surfaces, has 9 slots (so it can fit all the usual explorer things, and supercruise assist as well), and will never ever overheat (no need to even pack a heatsink).

Here's mine. Total cost: a bit over 17 million (but this is also fully engineered). 61 ly jump range. If FD ever released a double engineered FSD in class 4, I would never fly another exploration ship probably.

Interesting! Well, I went with the Dolphin! And here's how mine looks so far: https://s.orbis.zone/d7ip
Huh, I had no idea you could go with lower than original class core items, like power plant! I'm still in search for a larger Fuel Scoop and a Heat Sink Launcher....
Whoa! Your jump range is pretty nice! I know I'm using a lot of weight on the Passenger cabins (I'm planning on doing some passenger runs now and then)....

 

[Piratescribe]

[...]

Dolphin - I just dont get the popularity but some people swear by it.

So takes your pick and have a go

I decided to go with the Dolphin and give it a try It only cost one day of Road to Riches activity, so, why not! I figure I'd give it a good go... but I'm also considering the Krait Phantom and seeing how that goes... if the M size would be a problem....

 

[Piratescribe]

+1 for the Courier. It's also an excellent multirole small ship, although it's very sensitive to mass increases, so you'd probably want to switch modules.
Jump range maxes out there only if you're on the stock tank, which is rather oversized for the Courier, and quite a lot of dead weight. For comparison, here's my current Courier build, 50 ly on a full tank, 455 / 618 m/s.

That said, there is something to keep in mind about surviving gankers: don't fly in a straight line! Doesn't matter if you're speeding away quick in a Courier, or any other ship: railguns engineered for long range can easily hit you up to 6 km. (I tried this out with someone else, and they could pop my Courier before I got away.) In fact, it's easier to hit a more distant target that's flying in a straight line. So, evade, be unpredictable, zig-zag and so on, and only fly in a straight line once your FSD is ready and you have to point at your destination.

Of course, surviving hostile NPCs in a Courier is a much simpler thing: press the boost button, and that's it.


Minor note on the Phantom: it doesn't really fit your criteria of being under 40 million, as the ship itself costs 37 MCr, and then you have to do outfitting. Maybe an Imperial Clipper would (best fuel scooping in the game, excellent supercruise handling, great cockpit visibility, lots of internals, very speedy for its size), but even that's a bit iffy.
That said, credits are easy enough to come by, so I think you can aim higher than 40 million.

Great advice, thank you!!!
I did go with the Dolphin, although I really do think I also want to try the Phantom. I actually had Cr60mil and just wanted to keep the ship itself under 40mil so that I did have amble to play with and have the rebuy after said and done.

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

Interesting! Well, I went with the Dolphin! And here's how mine looks so far: https://s.orbis.zone/d7ip
Huh, I had no idea you could go with lower than original class core items, like power plant! I'm still in search for a larger Fuel Scoop and a Heat Sink Launcher....
Whoa! You're jump range is pretty nice! I know I'm using a lot of weight on the Passenger cabins (I'm planning on doing some passenger runs now and then)....

Congratulations on your purchase!

If it gives you half the pleasure it has given me, you’ve had a bargain.

 

[znôrt]

PvP is what I most want to avoid. I've NEVER been good with PvP anything. ... but I don't want to stay in Solo Even though I want to run away from any possible PvP combat, I want to have the chance and ability to run away.

your best bet would be a cool, fast and nimble ship, so the dolphin is probably right.

however you should be warned that while your attitude is commendable it is also a bit temerary. you will most likely not survive a determined gank without lots of prior experience. if you want to go that way you should really consider extensively testing your abilities and build in deciat or any hotspot to get a sense of your possibilities, before you get obliterated with months of exploration data onboard.

 

[Piratescribe]

your best bet would be a cool, fast and nimble ship, so the dolphin is probably right.

however you should be warned that while your attitude is commendable it is also a bit temerary. you will most likely not survive a determined gank without lots of prior experience. if you want to go that way you should really consider extensively testing your abilities and build in deciat or any hotspot to get a sense of your possibilities, before you get obliterated with months of exploration data onboard.

No, that's fair and wise advice! ... you mention Deciat, I'm there now because of Felicity Farseer (but in Solo, natch). Uhm, is this system really pretty dangerous in Open? :O
(Is this related to ALL THE FCs all over the place?!)

 

[znôrt]

No, that's fair and wise advice! ... you mention Deciat, I'm there now because of Felicity Farseer (but in Solo, natch). Uhm, is this system really pretty dangerous in Open? :O
(Is this related to ALL THE FCs all over the place?!)

the thing in elite is that the galaxy is really huge (even the bubble is) and it is actually difficult to meet anyone unless in a few systems. those vary (events, cg, etc), but deciat is probably the most famous hotspot, it has one of the early engineers to unlock so tends to be visited by beginners and stalked by gankers. you could try to sneak your dolphin undetected to the engineer settlement there, that would be good practice. stay on your toes as soon as you enter the system though

 

[Northpin]

Great advice, thank you!!!
I did go with the Dolphin, although I really do think I also want to try the Phantom. I actually had Cr60mil and just wanted to keep the ship itself under 40mil so that I did have amble to play with and have the rebuy after said and done.

Dolphin is a nice ship, but i personally kinda hate the view.

I'd aim for a ship with a Size 5 FSD.
Why? because of the purchasable G5 double engineered FSD. You can unlock it from Human Tech Brokers
Great choices - DBX, AspX, Phantom, Orca and not at last a Krait Mk if you plan to go out and stay long enough (with good engineering it can do 62ly with Srv and SLF)

 

[Piratescribe]

If you aren't concerned with maximum jump range, the dolphin is amazing. It is very maneuverable in supercruise, can land on small surfaces, has 9 slots (so it can fit all the usual explorer things, and supercruise assist as well), and will never ever overheat (no need to even pack a heatsink).

Here's mine. Total cost: a bit over 17 million (but this is also fully engineered). 61 ly jump range. If FD ever released a double engineered FSD in class 4, I would never fly another exploration ship probably.

Yeah, I've noticed that I haven't had to worry about heat at all!! In my Hauler, I've had to use a heatsink to save my bacon a couple of times and thought about it several times!

...I just looked at the actual name of your Dolphin... noice! ^_^ I heartily approve

 

[Piratescribe]

Dolphin is a nice ship, but i personally kinda hate the view.

I'd aim for a ship with a Size 5 FSD.
Why? because of the purchasable G5 double engineered FSD. You can unlock it from Human Tech Brokers
Great choices - DBX, AspX, Phantom, Orca and not at last a Krait Mk if you plan to go out and stay long enough (with good engineering it can do 62ly with Srv and SLF)

It didn't seem like the Orca was nearly as good for the cost... but the Phantom is one I'm certainly eyeing.... But not sure there's anything about it better than the Dolphin especially not to justify the huge price difference and the M size vs the Dolphin's much more versatile S size.
I've not had any complaints about the Dolphin view, really... but then, I'm moving up from a Hauler, so shrug

 

[[PS4] Lorenzo Waringos]

...I just looked at the actual name of your Dolphin... noice! ^_^ I heartily approve

That is quite funny because mine is named Teapot Taxi, this something from an album by Gong called Flying Teapot, which was inspired by a conversation about Russell’s Teapot.

 

[puca]

Yeah, I've noticed that I haven't had to worry about heat at all!! In my Hauler, I've had to use a heatsink to save my bacon a couple of times and thought about it several times!

...I just looked at the actual name of your Dolphin... noice! ^_^ I heartily approve

Thank you! I take a long time naming ships, it's serious business!

If you are curious about the game mechanics behind the Dolphin's unusually cool running, check out this thread:

A table of all of Edsy's ship thermals.

I made this table to get a more comparative overview for my own purposes, but it occurred to me I might as well share it. AFAIK none of this has been listed before, at least not comparatively other than in the research thread which is sadly out of date and has some unverified data. Thanks to...

forums.frontier.co.uk

Basically, FD at some point buffed the maximum cooling coefficient on the Dolphin such that it can safely both fuel scoop and FSD charge without going above about 80% heat in the worst case. I kind of hope they keep that -- that way a lot of different exploration ships are in play because they make tradeoffs differently.

Want a super cool running ship with lots of internal room, and maneuverability, but relatively low jump range? Dolphin.

Want to carry everything but the kitchen sink, have the longest jump range, but don't mind the price or slow turning in supercruise? Anaconda.

Want a well-rounded explorer with the best canopy view in VR? AspX.

Want a cool running ship with a very long jump range that won't break the bank, and don't mind slower scooping speeds? DiamondbackX.

Want a medium ship that has a bit more room than the Asp and jumps a bit further too, but turns a bit slower, and has a worse view? Krait Phantom.

Want to travel in style while still having a nice jump range? Orca.

etc.

 

[Northpin]

If you are curious about the game mechanics behind the Dolphin's unusually cool running, check out this thread:

No. not that thread.
Dolphin is so cool, literally, because it was wrongly fixed

Dolphin was subjected to a prolonged campaign to correct a non-existent heat bug.
As a result and to close some vocal mouths with "see, we are dealing with long standing bugs" marketing ploy that happened during a period where new content was replaced with bug-patches - they simply turned the Dolphin from a nice and decent ship into a HellBoy meme (I'm fire proof. You're not.)

 

[Rudi Raumkraut]

No. not that thread.
Dolphin is so cool, literally, because it was wrongly fixed

Dolphin was subjected to a prolonged campaign to correct a non-existent heat bug.
As a result and to close some vocal mouths with "see, we are dealing with long standing bugs" marketing ploy that happened during a period where new content was replaced with bug-patches - they simply turned the Dolphin from a nice and decent ship into a HellBoy meme (I'm fire proof. You're not.)

If I remember correctly it wasnt possible to turn and boost on a hot/highG planet without cooking the Dolphin, even when it was engineered, so there was an existing issue with it.
But as usual (ok,ok, 'often' ) FDev patched it not just slightly but from one extreme to the other.

Ntl, I like the Dolphin, decent choice, @OP... mine is called "The Lundgren" btw

 

[[PS4] Filthymick420]

Not familiar with those limpet types, looking into them, but that looks pretty fantastic!
Why would someone need a dual SRV bay? I mean, you can only drive one buggy at a time, yeah?

If they blow up they don't respawn like slf do. If you're out exploring for a long time it may be a long time before you could replace a destroyed srv. Having more than one is like insuring against situations like this

 

[Northpin]

If I remember correctly it wasnt possible to turn and boost on a hot/highG planet without cooking the Dolphin

It wasn't possible to do that with a Cutter either.
In the above movie, the Cutter was under ADC control, not even boosting, just doing a hard turn above a starport located on a 1.2G planet

but, i'm digressing... sorry OP.