Ships I need suggestion on what small ship to engineer

KG_Jedi

KG_Jedi
So, long time I was flying the Corvette, engineering it to nuts, but now I wanna try something new. So i decided to engineer a small combat ship. What ship is best for that?

From my 2015 flashbacks, I remember really enjoying the ViperMK3, but I am not sure how it holds up to this day. I mainly want to use that small ship for careless PvP.
 

Achtung-Goomba

Achtung-Goomba
Well I can’t advise you on PvP because that’s not my bag, and I’m not clever enough to give much advice in truth, but at least spare a thought for the poor little Adder.

Smol and cute, and with engineering and enhanced performance thrusters you’ve got a proper fast and nippy little fighter. I’m a fairly poor PvE player so I know I’m nowhere near getting the most out of her; I’ve built myself a ‘git-gud’ skill-based fighter, with small pulses and a rail gun. I don’t know if that’s the sort of thing you’re looking for, but I’ll take any excuse to holla for the Adder after first launching her after fitting the enhanced thrusters; I don’t mind being so bad at flying when the ship is so much fun!
 

Northpin

Northpin
KG_Jedi said:
So, long time I was flying the Corvette, engineering it to nuts, but now I wanna try something new. So i decided to engineer a small combat ship. What ship is best for that?

From my 2015 flashbacks, I remember really enjoying the ViperMK3, but I am not sure how it holds up to this day. I mainly want to use that small ship for careless PvP.
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Vulture - always nice to fly one
DBS - really nice and some broader weapon options - including cytos and dumbfires/rails or torpedoes and rails/dumbfires
Courier, nice too

Otherwise, you can get a mamba, put some torpedoes and rails/mc/seekers on it and go hunting ganker cutters
 

[PS4] Filthymick420

[PS4] Filthymick420
Why not just do them all? Or at least the ones you like. That's what I did. Now I have 7 g5 sidewinder, 2 g5 viper 3s,1 g5 iEagle, 1 g5 viper 4, 3 g5 cobra 3s, 1 g5 vulture,1 g5 iCourier, 1 g5 dbx, 1 g5 aspx, 1 g5 FDS, 2 g5 chieftains, 1g5 mamba, 1g5 python, g5 krait 2s, 1 g5 vette, 1 g5 type 9 and 1 g5 cutter.

I have many others but those are g5'd 🤪
 

KG_Jedi

KG_Jedi
[PS4] Filthymick420 said:
Why not just do them all? Or at least the ones you like. That's what I did. Now I have 7 g5 sidewinder, 2 g5 viper 3s,1 g5 iEagle, 1 g5 viper 4, 3 g5 cobra 3s, 1 g5 vulture,1 g5 iCourier, 1 g5 dbx, 1 g5 aspx, 1 g5 FDS, 2 g5 chieftains, 1g5 mamba, 1g5 python, g5 krait 2s, 1 g5 vette, 1 g5 type 9 and 1 g5 cutter.

I have many others but those are g5'd 🤪
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I don't have that much time and materials, holy .
 

Batterby76

Batterby76
Small ships are so much fun, I usually use a cmk3 but have recently engineered a pve viper4, they not perfect killing machines but smaller ships help you improve your skills as a pilot.
Feels great to knock out a contact or a vetted with a ship with less than 1mil rebuy
 

Kayvan

Kayvan
Alright. Now for some details.
Disclaimer: I have never done any PvP in this game, so I can only really give first-hand advice for PvE.
BTW, do you intend to fly FA On or Off?

Anyway I mentioned the Vulture above. It's an almost perfect small combat ship, provided you have access to engineering.
Advantages:
  • class 5 Thrusters -- same as on a FDL but in a much smaller frame, so imagine the speed and agility.
  • good speed and maneuverability even with 0 pips in ENG
  • 2 Large hardpoints --> great firepower, including the option to use class 3 PAs
  • really strong shields, class 5 with high base, and 4 utility slots
  • nice internals to reinforce shield, hull and modules and round out your resistances.

Drawbacks:
  • only a class 4 power plant means you will need to engineer the sh* out of it
  • having just 2 hardpoints is a bit limiting in terms of versatility and utility. So get used to relying on "bigger hammer" tactics. xD

Most people outfit their Vulture with 1 laser and 1 MC, both gimballed. And it works, but personally I find it a bit tedious, especially against bank tanks. The upshot is that you are so nimble that you can stay in most ships' blind spots all the time and never get (seriously) hit. But still you have to wear down those shields again and again and again...
So personally, I enjoy using PAs. Unfortunately your PP and PD will allow pretty much only Efficient ones - but hey, better than nothing. ^^

If I could figure out how to supply a pair of class 3 Rapid Fire PAs on a Vulture... oh boy what a feast that would be. 🤤
 

KG_Jedi

KG_Jedi
Kayvan said:
Alright. Now for some details.
Disclaimer: I have never done any PvP in this game, so I can only really give first-hand advice for PvE.
BTW, do you intend to fly FA On or Off?

Anyway I mentioned the Vulture above. It's an almost perfect small combat ship, provided you have access to engineering.
Advantages:
  • class 5 Thrusters -- same as on a FDL but in a much smaller frame, so imagine the speed and agility.
  • good speed and maneuverability even with 0 pips in ENG
  • 2 Large hardpoints --> great firepower, including the option to use class 3 PAs
  • really strong shields, class 5 with high base, and 4 utility slots
  • nice internals to reinforce shield, hull and modules and round out your resistances.

Drawbacks:
  • only a class 4 power plant means you will need to engineer the sh* out of it
  • having just 2 hardpoints is a bit limiting in terms of versatility and utility. So get used to relying on "bigger hammer" tactics. xD

Most people outfit their Vulture with 1 laser and 1 MC, both gimballed. And it works, but personally I find it a bit tedious, especially against bank tanks. The upshot is that you are so nimble that you can stay in most ships' blind spots all the time and never get (seriously) hit. But still you have to wear down those shields again and again and again...
So personally, I enjoy using PAs. Unfortunately your PP and PD will allow pretty much only Efficient ones - but hey, better than nothing. ^^

If I could figure out how to supply a pair of class 3 Rapid Fire PAs on a Vulture... oh boy what a feast that would be. 🤤
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Thanks. I know Vulture very well, used it to farm rank and money for FAS back when powerplay was a popular thing. I don't like it's appearance but love it's great performance.

And lucky for me i will be unlocking Advanced PAs in 2 weeks which, i heard, are perfect fit for Vulture.

So i guess i will settle on Vulture AND Viper Mk3, now just need to grind the mats for them.
 

Kayvan

Kayvan
Cool, do that. ^^
With the current CGs I am also thinking about pimping my combat Viper. TBH I never flew it in earnest, only a couple of short spins in not-Haz for giggles. So I don't really know yet how to get the most out of it. If I remember correctly, it has pretty good hardpoint convergence - much better than the Cobra's for instance - but the traverse angle of gimballed weapons leaves something to be desired. My memory may be inaccurate, mind you.

Either way 2 Small, 2 Med hardpoints sound pretty awesome for such a small and cheap craft, but ofc we still need to plan within the confines of a class 3 power distributor and limited heat capacity, so shooting for "2 Rails, 2 Plasmas" would probably not be wise. xD
But hey, I'm gonna get Cytos in 1 or 2 days, now that might be a good first test platform for them. ^^
 

B.Roberts

B.Roberts
KG_Jedi said:
So, long time I was flying the Corvette, engineering it to nuts, but now I wanna try something new. So i decided to engineer a small combat ship. What ship is best for that?

From my 2015 flashbacks, I remember really enjoying the ViperMK3, but I am not sure how it holds up to this day. I mainly want to use that small ship for careless PvP.
Click to expand...
My all time favorite small ship is a Courier. When I get tired of flying my large ships and want some change, Courier is there for me. Looks fantastic (best cockpit in the game), flies great, decent firepower, well built and can take some beating. Vulture is OK too but it is more like a tool that was made for one particular job. I think Courier is more flexible and more fun.
 

Viscera

Viscera
Try out a selection unengineered.

Once you find the one you like flying the most, engineer it up.

Imperial courier can be built as a good fighting ship rather than a pure speed ship.

Viper mk4 is a tank.

DBS is cracking good fun.

Find the one you like, or get them all...
 

sinisalo

sinisalo
Kayvan said:
How do you guys outfit your (combat-focused) Couriers?
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This is how mine turned out. We had a fairly long thread here, which has been bumped recently. Fast Battle Courier, which is still on the first page as of this writing. Lots of really nice Courier builds in there.

Velocity

It started out much faster, but as I built it I saw the need to increase both firepower (full weight beams) and integrity (HD HRPs). Those added significant mass, and speed came way down. In the end it is a compromise build, but I'm happy with it. I fly it wide open all the time, making gunnery passes, extending away, then carving a big arc back to the furball. Just getting tags, not too concerned with killing the target start to finish really. I have other ships to do that.

I wanted a small, fast combat ship to fly in a very different way, and this is the result. It may not be quite so fast, but G-Loc is still a thing, blacking out is common, and one of the charming quirks of such a ship. No NPC can catch it of course, and I even outspeed my wingmates' missiles lol. For me, collision is the main threat to this ship, and why I tried to get good shields and integrity. I've only lost one ship since 2018, and it was this Courier in a collision with a NPC named Andrew Knox. Been hunting him ever since :)

Few build projects are as interesting as a ship like this. Every half-ton matters. Building a Courier that has speed, firepower and survivability in equal measure is a big challenge. It helps too that I feel a connection to the Courier. I love the design, and the cockpit evokes the cool 1950s fighter jets like the Sabre and Shooting Star with the canopy framing. I use a blue HUD scheme and it all dovetails so nicely with the smart blue piping in the 'pit. Small-ship combat is one of the best things about Elite, and the Courier is a fantastic choice for a commander looking to get in.
 
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