Ships Krait Phantom for exploration explodes easily (with class 3 shields)

[CMDRQuainMarln]

I love HighG planets and I test all my exploration ships on 6G (Achenar 3) and StrongG (10G planet, I forgot the system name) ...

I figured that you can safely land and leave if you use the highest D-Rated Thrusters you can fit with Dirty Drive tuning and Drag drives)

Everything below that makes mistakes almost instantly deadly.

(Unless you fly the Conda ... this ship falls like a brick, no matter what thrusters you use, as soon as you make a mistake.)

HD 148937 is 9G.
Paying proper attention, having a roughly 25 degree glide and using FA off for the last descent results in an OK landing on 6G Achenar 3. I've just done my second landing. I am collecting a few materials just to see what's here at Geo location 1.
4D thrusters + dirty 5 drag is working just fine. No need for 5D or 6D.
Boosting straight up results in a pretty fast climb away from the planet, so I'd guess it would work on a 9G world since this 6G world is not that difficult so long as you do it right.
I've done a 17,000ly round trip exploration with an Anaconda. Too slow to turn in supercruise, time consuming to land, consumes more materials to repair.
I have plenty of other uses for the Anaconda - would not part with it. But the Phantom is for exploring. There is no more engineering I want to do on mine now. Heat sink launcher is standard - don't think I want to reduce it's integrity for the sake of 0.18ly more jump range. Same feeling about life support, although engineering that is complicated by a trip to Colonia.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

coriolis.io

 

[sleepfishl]

HD 148937 is 9G.
Paying proper attention, having a roughly 25 degree glide and using FA off for the last descent results in an OK landing on 6G Achenar 3. I've just done my second landing. I am collecting a few materials just to see what's here at Geo location 1.
4D thrusters + dirty 5 drag is working just fine. No need for 5D or 6D.
Boosting straight up results in a pretty fast climb away from the planet, so I'd guess it would work on a 9G world since this 6G world is not that difficult so long as you do it right.
I've done a 17,000ly round trip exploration with an Anaconda. Too slow to turn in supercruise, time consuming to land, consumes more materials to repair.
I have plenty of other uses for the Anaconda - would not part with it. But the Phantom is for exploring. There is no more engineering I want to do on mine now. Heat sink launcher is standard - don't think I want to reduce it's integrity for the sake of 0.18ly more jump range. Same feeling about life support, although engineering that is complicated by a trip to Colonia.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

coriolis.io

True, You can land perfectly fine with smaller thrusters. But (I can only speak for myself) if you are on a months long trip and you land at least 2 or 3 times per system, you risk alot with a build that is lighter, but doesn't forgive mistakes.

I personally lean towards more save and forgiving builds that can survive a fast hit on the surface if distracted.

In the end it really comes down to personal preference.

 

[varonica]

I don't know what your ship look like, but i run

• 3A shields - enhanced low power grade 5 - Stripped Down
• OE shield booster - heavy duty grade 5 - Super Capacitor
• Lightweight Alloy - Heavy Duty grade 5 - Deep Planting

I run 3D enhanced low power shields on my Phantom, doesn't explode unless I do something really silly! Dropped into some reasonably high gravity planets as well. No shield boosters or any other resistances. Some of my stuff could do with a bit more engineering but it does the job and has taken me a long way.

 

[Zieman]

Boosting straight up results in a pretty fast climb away from the planet, so I'd guess it would work on a 9G world since this 6G world is not that difficult so long as you do it right.

Just don't point your ship's nose upwards when doing this.
Zero throttle and use vertical thrusters to go, well - I'd recommend at least gravity (maybe x2) km, up before engaging supercruise/hyperdrive.
To see why :

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8QYnT3gzs

 

[sleepfishl]

On super high G planets like 8G+ I tend to just fly completely level and stop the ship. As soon as I'm down to 0 I just point the nose down and let gravity do it's job. Never lost a single percent hull with that approach. Not efficient, but safe. ^^

 

[sleepfishl]

My first landing and Thruster test with my current exploration ship. It was a bit intense, since I never landed a ship this big on this planet. xD

Source: https://youtu.be/jfqIUzn1x0Y

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Just don't point your ship's nose upwards when doing this.
Zero throttle and use vertical thrusters to go, well - I'd recommend at least gravity (maybe x2) km, up before engaging supercruise/hyperdrive.
To see why :

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok8QYnT3gzs

Lol, using thrusters to go down on an 11G planet. I really needed to do the hover and FA off trick for the 6G planet.
Ah yes, high G and FSD charge will cook the ship. You made it, though. I think I might just draw a line at 8G planets unless I have a build specifically for more.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

My first landing and Thruster test with my current exploration ship. It was a bit intense, since I never landed a ship this big on this planet. xD

Source: https://youtu.be/jfqIUzn1x0Y

An unorthodox choice of ship for exploration
Has an awesome cockpit view.

 

[Zieman]

Lol, using thrusters to go down on an 11G planet.

Yeah!
Muscle memory can be a female dog when not paying properly attention...

I really needed to do the hover and FA off trick for the 6G planet.

Was doing just that, until the lapse.

Ah yes, high G and FSD charge will cook the ship. You made it, though.

Lol, yeah.
That place really demonstrated the power of vertical thrusters and inadequacy of main thrusters in extreme gravity conditions.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Yeah!
Muscle memory can be a female dog when not paying properly attention...


Was doing just that, until the lapse.


Lol, yeah.
That place really demonstrated the power of vertical thrusters and inadequacy of main thrusters in extreme gravity conditions.

The whole reason I put the time and effort into this shield design I've got is 5 low G moons in a row, then land on a planet that needed 9 DSS probes to scan it. No idea what G it was, but way higher than the moons. BOOM
Such a silly lapse, but this is what puts the Dangerous in Elite Dangerous when you're exploring.

 

[sleepfishl]

Why exactly are people using this FA-Off thing when landing. I imagine that switching modes can significantly increase the possibility of mistakes.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Why exactly are people using this FA-Off thing when landing. I imagine that switching modes can significantly increase the possibility of mistakes.

I have it so Flight Assist is only off while pressing the space key. That means I can tap it very briefly and lose just a few meters of height before Flight Assist catches the fall. It's the only way to have a relatively gentle landing on a high G planet. If you press down thrust when in the last few hundred meters or km of really high G planets, you're instantly going too fast to stop the descent quick enough to avoid a crash.

 

[Cohen the Worrior]

Perhaps it's not the landing technique at all.
Do you use a Starfleet issue console?

 

[sleepfishl]

I have it so Flight Assist is only off while pressing the space key. That means I can tap it very briefly and lose just a few meters of height before Flight Assist catches the fall. It's the only way to have a relatively gentle landing on a high G planet. If you press down thrust when in the last few hundred meters or km of really high G planets, you're instantly going too fast to stop the descent quick enough to avoid a crash.

I just go in shallow after I got my ship to a full stop once (on 80+G) ... the rest is just smooth sailing without the need of pressing a button. XD

 

[Pentotark]

Thank you all so much! This thread has been so helpful.
I upgraded my thrusters from 4D to 5D, left on 3D shields, upgraded the power plant from 3A to 4A, added 2 shield boosters. Still on my way to engeneer all this following all your great advices.

 

[Northpin]

Thank you all so much! This thread has been so helpful.
I upgraded my thrusters from 4D to 5D, left on 3D shields, upgraded the power plant from 3A to 4A, added 2 shield boosters. Still on my way to engeneer all this following all your great advices.

Use 5D shields instead of 3D. Engineer the shields with Enhanced Low Power / Low Draw (g5 if possible, ofcourse)
Use 2-3 Shield Boosters, E-rated not bigger. Engineer them with G5 Heavy duty / Super Capacitors

With that setup (5d shields and 3 E-rated shield boosters) you can reach 672MJ shields.
With 4 Pips in SYS, you can boost crash into planets, no boom!

Even if you can only afford G3 engineering, you still get 520MJ shields... I would not boost crash with only 500MJ, but they should hold really nice with 4 Pips in SYS

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

Use 5D shields instead of 3D. Engineer the shields with Enhanced Low Power / Low Draw (g5 if possible, ofcourse)
Use 2-3 Shield Boosters, E-rated not bigger. Engineer them with G5 Heavy duty / Super Capacitors

With that setup (5d shields and 3 E-rated shield boosters) you can reach 672MJ shields.
With 4 Pips in SYS, you can boost crash into planets, no boom!

Even if you can only afford G3 engineering, you still get 520MJ shields... I would not boost crash with only 500MJ, but they should hold really nice with 4 Pips in SYS

Yes, this, except I am seeing 661MJ - which works perfectly. I had to run an unengineered 4A power plant until I got the 5D shields all the way to G5 Enhanced Lower Power plus Low Draw and then I switched to 3A Power Plant Low Emissions Grade 1 plus Thermal Spread. Running 3 x 0E shield boosters G5 Heavy duty / Super Capacitors. It does require power management as 2 bay vehicle hanger cannot run at same time as FSD and/or Guardian FSD booster and same issue with using AFMU. But its easily managed.
The ship runs at 20% or sometimes 19% heat supercruisng in deep space. I've got G5 engine focus + super conduits on the Power Distributor where I set 4 pips to engines, 2 to sys and then switch the Power Distributor off. I can turn it on anytime without any power management issues.
This low heat means I can jump sooner after navigating around a star without cooking the ship - reduced travel time if I want to sprint a few thousand light years.

 

[baudelier]

I'm running 3A Prismatics on mine, modded with enhanced low power /high-cap. Plus 3 E-rated boosters with a mix of heavy duty, resistance augmented and, thermal resistance mods.

Gives me 1.2Tj of absolute strength and keeps my jump range just over 63 light years on a full tank.

 

[GloatingSwine]

I'm running 3A Prismatics on mine, modded with enhanced low power /high-cap. Plus 3 E-rated boosters with a mix of heavy duty, resistance augmented and, thermal resistance mods.

Gives me 1.2Tj of absolute strength and keeps my jump range just over 63 light years on a full tank.

5D Enhanced Low Power/Hi-Cap would give you more shields for less power than 3A Prismatic, and be a ton lighter.

Resistances mean nothing on an explorer, all collision damage is absolute damage. 3A Prismatic ELP/Hi with 3 class E boosters also isn't giving you 1200MJ absolute shields on a Krait Phantom, it's giving you about 680 even if they were all Heavy Duty/Super Caps. (You'd get about 715 with 5Ds)

That is, however, just overkill. You do not need any better shielding than a standard 5D ELP/Hi-Cap. You would be better off investing in your thrusters so you can control your ship in more environments and not bonk into things as much.

 

[CMDRQuainMarln]

5D Enhanced Low Power/Hi-Cap would give you more shields for less power than 3A Prismatic, and be a ton lighter.

Resistances mean nothing on an explorer, all collision damage is absolute damage. 3A Prismatic ELP/Hi with 3 class E boosters also isn't giving you 1200MJ absolute shields on a Krait Phantom, it's giving you about 680 even if they were all Heavy Duty/Super Caps. (You'd get about 715 with 5Ds)

That is, however, just overkill. You do not need any better shielding than a standard 5D ELP/Hi-Cap. You would be better off investing in your thrusters so you can control your ship in more environments and not bonk into things as much.

I dropped 3A Prismatics into the coriolis build for my Phantom just to see what the effect is. They use more power for a tiny bit less protection which forces me to abandon the lower emissions thermal spread PP engineering that keeps the ship very cool or move up to a heavier 4A PP that reduces the jump range. The only advantage is you get the size 5 internal slot back, which I don't need on a dedicated exploration ship.
I don't have access to prismatics anyway, although I'd like one/some for freighter ships.