That is EXACTLY what I thought. Thanks for the education.
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Newcomer / Intro Pure Pirate Bounty Hunter Ship Recommendations
- Thread starter Marvin the Martian
- Start date
my favourite bounty hunter is my Python. the same setup works on the Krait Mk II as well:
- 2 * 3C gimballed multi cannon with incendiary rounds
- 1 * 3C gimballed multi cannon with corrosive shells
- 2 * 2F gimballed multi cannon with thermal shock
When there used to be only two grades of CZ Low and High there was nothing much to choose between them except the numbers of ships involved and high was much safer due to safety in numbers.
Now there are other complications involved in addition to the likely numbers per side there are also various bonus targets that can show up which vary in toughness and ability to fight back some of them you have to defend which you are likely to get depends on the grade of the CZ. These include;
Journalists, attack or defend
Captains usually in a Cutter and very hard to kill, attack or defend
Special Ops wing four very heavily armed and tough combat ships with exotic/engineered weapons labelled Alpha to Delta, if you attack Alpha the wing will all attack you but if you attack them from Delta to Alpha there is a good chance to fight them one on one
Capitol Ships one of the attack or defend tasks you can drive one off but you want to be hitting the target Modules from long range to minimise the return fire you receive
I would have suggested Chieftain as an alternative to the Krait II for pure combat.
I find the FDL is a pain to fly as it's great pitch rate is only available in a narrow speed range. It makes me feel like the ship is more in control than I am.
The Chieftain is a lot of fun to fly and easier to fly. What it lacks in top speed vs FDL it makes up for in being more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. It is the best ship in the game for fighting Thargoid Interceptors with the right weapons and build.
It's a beast but needs 2 Module Reinforcement packages to help protect the somewhat fragile canopy from cracking. Fast charge bi-weave shield is best so when it drops it can recover quite quickly. The 3 small hardpoints beg for rail guns and/or interesting engineering special effects like multi cannon with corrosive shell, pulse laser with scramble spectrum, a torpedoe launcher with feedback cascade for taking out big ship shields in one hit, and even all 3 at once. The bigger hard points are tightly grouped and on top making any fixed mount weapons like plasma accelerators easier to live with.
Lots to play with.
I have burst lasers with rapid fire and intertidal impact on my list to fly with this ship. Need to be close to the target to hit due to high jitter.
I find the FDL is a pain to fly as it's great pitch rate is only available in a narrow speed range. It makes me feel like the ship is more in control than I am.
The Chieftain is a lot of fun to fly and easier to fly. What it lacks in top speed vs FDL it makes up for in being more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. It is the best ship in the game for fighting Thargoid Interceptors with the right weapons and build.
It's a beast but needs 2 Module Reinforcement packages to help protect the somewhat fragile canopy from cracking. Fast charge bi-weave shield is best so when it drops it can recover quite quickly. The 3 small hardpoints beg for rail guns and/or interesting engineering special effects like multi cannon with corrosive shell, pulse laser with scramble spectrum, a torpedoe launcher with feedback cascade for taking out big ship shields in one hit, and even all 3 at once. The bigger hard points are tightly grouped and on top making any fixed mount weapons like plasma accelerators easier to live with.
Lots to play with.
I have burst lasers with rapid fire and intertidal impact on my list to fly with this ship. Need to be close to the target to hit due to high jitter.
The only thing I like about the Chieftain is the visuals as it explodes - it is even better than my previous favourite the Imp Clipper. 
My first "real" combat ship was also a Chieftain. I actually liked it's semi-drifty nature, and the sounds it makes made me giggle. These days I have three ships I use for bounty hunting.
I use a corvette for efficiency, like massacre missions, conflict zones and bounty hunting community goals. It is moderately well fitted and mostly G5 engineered (around 3000 for both armour and bi-weave shields with resistances between 50 and 60%). I run it with two huge gimballed MCs, an array of gimballed lasers and a (at the moment) deadly NPC fighter, and it can tank alot of damage and practically melts most pirate ships. I never change the guns on that ship, but depending on the task at hand I swap out two class 7 SCBs for cargo bays, a fuel scoop and / or a FSD booster, so it also makes a decent mission runner or armed trader unless you need to fit on medium pads.
My second one is a (mostly) G5 engineered Mk.II that I use for goofing around with fixed weapons in RES sites. I have a full set of efficient plasma slug PAs for it (and an extra fuel tank for staying power), which is alot of fun, but I'm not good enough to take on deadly or elite Anacondas if they have wingmates (and I might once or twice have gotten my behind handed by a wing of DBXs). Alternatively I swap out the class 2 PAs for long range / plasma slug Hammers. That ship is alot of fun, but I have to choose my targets more carefully. If I want to be quicker on small targets I swap in a set of MCs and beam lasers.
The third one is a vulture (again, mostly G5) with also two plasma slug PAs which is insanely fun to fly but the most inefficient of the three because it has the lowest effective DPS (whem I fly it); it also lacks a KWS, so it makes significantly less money bounty wise. I use it to try and get at least some flying skills (with little success, I might add) because you absolutely must keep on the tail of you target. And did I say it's insanely fun to fly?
I use a corvette for efficiency, like massacre missions, conflict zones and bounty hunting community goals. It is moderately well fitted and mostly G5 engineered (around 3000 for both armour and bi-weave shields with resistances between 50 and 60%). I run it with two huge gimballed MCs, an array of gimballed lasers and a (at the moment) deadly NPC fighter, and it can tank alot of damage and practically melts most pirate ships. I never change the guns on that ship, but depending on the task at hand I swap out two class 7 SCBs for cargo bays, a fuel scoop and / or a FSD booster, so it also makes a decent mission runner or armed trader unless you need to fit on medium pads.
My second one is a (mostly) G5 engineered Mk.II that I use for goofing around with fixed weapons in RES sites. I have a full set of efficient plasma slug PAs for it (and an extra fuel tank for staying power), which is alot of fun, but I'm not good enough to take on deadly or elite Anacondas if they have wingmates (and I might once or twice have gotten my behind handed by a wing of DBXs). Alternatively I swap out the class 2 PAs for long range / plasma slug Hammers. That ship is alot of fun, but I have to choose my targets more carefully. If I want to be quicker on small targets I swap in a set of MCs and beam lasers.
The third one is a vulture (again, mostly G5) with also two plasma slug PAs which is insanely fun to fly but the most inefficient of the three because it has the lowest effective DPS (whem I fly it); it also lacks a KWS, so it makes significantly less money bounty wise. I use it to try and get at least some flying skills (with little success, I might add) because you absolutely must keep on the tail of you target. And did I say it's insanely fun to fly?
I'm heading to a RES site now in the Chieftain. I'll report how it goes.
Edit to add:
In just a few minutes I racked up about 5 kills. This thing is really good at what it does, but the fixed lasers are really, really hard for me to handle. I miss with them about 80% of the time.
Edit to add:
In just a few minutes I racked up about 5 kills. This thing is really good at what it does, but the fixed lasers are really, really hard for me to handle. I miss with them about 80% of the time.
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Well, NPC Chieftains aren't that agile or cleverly flown. They are at their best when shieldless and cold orbiting a Thargoid Interceptor or three.The only thing I like about the Chieftain is the visuals as it explodes - it is even better than my previous favourite the Imp Clipper.
Don't ypu mean the other way round. A nav beacon is like a deserted low RES. I'm killing around 120 to 150 an hour in a low RES.
Actually, you're a bit off anyway because you get all ranks turn up at a nav beacon, while as a low RES has only up to competent, except for the very occasional wing of high rank ships that comes in to confound AFK farmers.
I myself is also looking for a more bountry hunting pure fighting ship, and out of the Wiki I did seem to want to pick either Chieftain or Challenger (Yeah, I writting from the future. I hope it is still some life in this threadMy suggestion, and it's only that, is to put thermal resist on the shield and then balance out explosive and kinetic through booster engineering. My build I put up earlier is done like this, but only one example of what you can do.
Here it is again so you don't have to go back a page
Outrider Chieftain -- Rail Boat
Resistance and force block on the boosters balance out the the other resistances. But thermal is key. Not only are thermal weapons by far the most effective against your shields, thermal weapons like lasers have infinite shot speed, making hitting you far eaiser for AI pilots than other weapons. It makes sense to focus on thermal resistance in PvE.
)So as I can read out on here, the majority do seem to suggest the Chieftain. But I do have one question related to your build. Could I in theory swap out one of the boosters for KWS or even the point defence for on?
And I know the bi-wave shield is a faster recarge, but would you recommend that I just put a normal shield generator on it as to have that more shield strenght (I think it is called) then the bi wave can have? Just a more mental safety in my brain that I know the shield could handle abit more before I do relay on the armour to tank the hits.
I also noticed that the armour is lightweight one. Woulding an armour for more blast resistance or military grade be better too for hull tanking, or is that just more because of the mass or/and FSD range?
For the first question, of course you can, but it will affect your shields and especially your resistances. In PvE I wouldn't worry about it, and just equip your ship with the gadgets you want. One fewer booster will affect the numbers, but I doubt you'll notice, and the extra money you get from the KWS will make up for it
For the second question.... I would not recommend this, but that does not mean you shouldn't do it. I think bi-weave is the superior combat solution, except in specific cases, like assassinations. For me, bi-weaves excel in sustained combat against multiple ships (RES, CNB, Pirate Threat etc), and normal ones best for burst defense, that is, defending against a single ship (excluding prismatics for the moment)
Every ship I have in my fleet uses stock alloy bulkheads with heavy duty. For me, armor just makes my boats heavier, slower, less agile and more expensive. In essence I trade integrity for speed and agility, and jump too. Lower cost. The vast majority of the ships I see have armor, but I don't use it and don't need it, in PvE.
First Im happy for the fast reply. I was prepared to wait at least a couple of days XDFor the first question, of course you can, but it will affect your shields and especially your resistances. In PvE I wouldn't worry about it, and just equip your ship with the gadgets you want. One fewer booster will affect the numbers, but I doubt you'll notice, and the extra money you get from the KWS will make up for it
For the second question.... I would not recommend this, but that does not mean you shouldn't do it. I think bi-weave is the superior combat solution, except in specific cases, like assassinations. For me, bi-weaves excel in sustained combat against multiple ships (RES, CNB, Pirate Threat etc), and normal ones best for burst defense, that is, defending against a single ship (excluding prismatics for the moment)
Every ship I have in my fleet uses stock alloy bulkheads with heavy duty. For me, armor just makes my boats heavier, slower, less agile and more expensive. In essence I trade integrity for speed and agility, and jump too. Lower cost. The vast majority of the ships I see have armor, but I don't use it and don't need it, in PvE.
Secondly, I can see the use for Bi-wave for that, which I havent thought on. I guess I just looked at the raw number (I think I will need to remember that, as well the thermal resistance. Im in the middle to get credits and mats to outfit FDL for CZs so I can continue to grind for the engineers)
I also havent thought of that about the armour. But I wont change it as I can see that your set up still have the low mass behind it. Something I do training myself to use the speed and agility as with my Eagle. In a nutshell, training myself as not to fear or panic but trust in the speed and agility the Eagle has as to use for it's main form of defence
Everyone has their own mojo. I like my ships to be fast, agile and run cool. I'm willing to trade firepower and integrity in exchange. It's just my way. But even so, that Chief has 2700 integrity, with no armor, so it's no paper tiger.
Bi-weaves have much faster recovery and recharge. They are more 'elastic' which is the term I like to use. They bounce back fast, and so rarely drop to a noticable degree. You can always build more -- more protection, more firepower, more speed, whatever -- but there's always an opportunity cost. Getting this, means not getting that. These sorts of trade-offs and design decisions have been troubling shipmakers for centuries, and no different for the commanders here. Speed, firepower, protection. How to balance this. Much latitude.
Bi-weaves have much faster recovery and recharge. They are more 'elastic' which is the term I like to use. They bounce back fast, and so rarely drop to a noticable degree. You can always build more -- more protection, more firepower, more speed, whatever -- but there's always an opportunity cost. Getting this, means not getting that. These sorts of trade-offs and design decisions have been troubling shipmakers for centuries, and no different for the commanders here. Speed, firepower, protection. How to balance this. Much latitude.
Bi-weaves when you expect to get in multiple fights at the same location in rapid succession, bounty hunting in a RES. Their peak strength might be lower but because of their fast recharge the average strength is probably higher then.
Standard shields when you expect one fight at a location or multiple fights but a long time apart, the fact that it takes so much longer to recharge isn’t an issue if you aren’t going to have to fight again quickly.
Standard shields when you expect one fight at a location or multiple fights but a long time apart, the fact that it takes so much longer to recharge isn’t an issue if you aren’t going to have to fight again quickly.
I will give the Bi-waves a go. If I like them, then I will mostly thinking on to put those on other of my ships where I would need the fast recharge
Yeah it is like how designers for tanks dreaming of making a tank that is both armoured, fast and have good firepower. That is abit off topic I know.
I did save your build and made my own on Chieftain from the buttom up. It took me a while to figure out what was the big differences between the one I made and yours.
This is what I currently is aiming for, the only different between Faolan (What I will call it) and yours is that it was a slight longer jump range. Speaking under 1 ly differance. And two second longer recharge on the shields. Other wise Im happy that the speed is the same, while the shields are close to the same, with mine having a slight stronger shield
I however need to take the overcharge of the powerplant compared to yours armoured. I would love to have the armoured engineered power plant, but it will put a power problem on the ship with the current set up. I hope my power plant wont take too much damage in a fight like that. If it does, then I will change it around.
No problem - go for armoured grade 5 + monstered, or sacrifice 400 meters (15%) of KWS range by choosing a B rated KWS. Your beams start their fallof at 600 meters in any case, so they're only marginally more useful at 2600 meters compared to 3000 meters.
That's a perfect illustration. And we face the same challenges in Elite.
I think your Chief looks good. But then of course I would
The collector limpet is there because I like to hang about RES and CNBs, get my tags in and scoop the mats left behind. Scavaging. With no armor plate it's nice and agile, and needs to be with fixed beams and rails. A good set of pedals dovetails nicely. I use Crosswinds, and of all the boats in my fleet, this Chief is the one that sees the most dancing on the controls. Every other ship in my fleet uses gimballed weapons. SO I built it to be something very different, and it's a lot of fun to fly and fight. I won't use it against single high level enemies, other ships are far better suited for me. But in a RES this sort of ship is a good time. Good hunting.
Thank you, and I will also keep the limpet control, as I still have some engineerings to unlock (Even some for the high grade stuff that this Chieftain do need) so I figure I might as well keep it as to make sure I could still collect some mats from downed ships. Either those I do or other NPC does, like the system policeThat's a perfect illustration. And we face the same challenges in Elite.
I think your Chief looks good. But then of course I would
The collector limpet is there because I like to hang about RES and CNBs, get my tags in and scoop the mats left behind. Scavaging. With no armor plate it's nice and agile, and needs to be with fixed beams and rails. A good set of pedals dovetails nicely. I use Crosswinds, and of all the boats in my fleet, this Chief is the one that sees the most dancing on the controls. Every other ship in my fleet uses gimballed weapons. SO I built it to be something very different, and it's a lot of fun to fly and fight. I won't use it against single high level enemies, other ships are far better suited for me. But in a RES this sort of ship is a good time. Good hunting.