A simple tactic for defeating interdictors in an unarmed Diamondback Explorer

Ziljan

Ziljan
Since I have large reservations about the combat ability of the DB Explorer, I have been testing different loadout configs in Open to see which ones were the most survivable. Straight up dogfights seem to be rather risky, so I decided to try a mostly defensive build. My unfriendly local interdictor of the hour was most commonly an Imperial Courier which has a high boost speed, 3 class 2 guns, and outstanding shields. However, the DB's strength is that it has quite a bit more mass than the Courier, so rather than run away, I decided to turn into the fight with my unarmed Diamondback, at ramming speed.

The result? After two quick jousts @ 4 pips to shields, I didn't even lose one ring. The courier? He got a rebuy screen.

Just a heads up. The shields on the DB aren't massive, but it is excellent at ramming otherwise deadly, but light weight, fighters. :D

The jump range on this build was just over 30LY. Footnote, with this build, I could have also eventually escaped with half a ring left, but this was so much more fun and effective.


In case you're wondering if the guy really deserved this kind of humiliation, he was interdicting ships at the explorer's CG trying to kill people with possibly months worth of data.
 
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lexrax

lexrax
congrats , Interesting defensive idea. What else can it go through @ 4 pip`s to shields ? You get a +1 Rep :)
 
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Ziljan

Ziljan
I am not sure if it can ram anything bigger than 100 Tons and come out ahead, perhaps with Aislings Prismatic Shields. The ship seems to favor kinetic burst weapons due the power situation and sluggish turning. I am testing out a cannon laden gun boat build for trips under a week in length. It seems to be a strong build. The only problem is that you can't get into endless fights, but I imagine that you can minimize this by altering your vector into the bubble for the shortest path before you enter your target system.
 

Murishani

Murishani
How much of ramming damage is actually calculated by mass and how much by shields?
I really don't understand this mechanic, a Vulture with 4 pips to shields can seriously ruin a pythons day with a good solid ramming run. Yet the python is more than 100 tons heavier than a vulture.
 

Ziljan

Ziljan
Murishani said:
How much of ramming damage is actually calculated by mass and how much by shields?
I really don't understand this mechanic, a Vulture with 4 pips to shields can seriously ruin a pythons day with a good solid ramming run. Yet the python is more than 100 tons heavier than a vulture.
Click to expand...


I honestly have no idea. Maybe it has to do with density? The Explorer is 70T heavier than the Vulture and perhaps about the same size or smaller iirc. In which case, the DB's chassis is kind of like a uranium cannon slug.
 

jabberwalkie

J
Murishani said:
How much of ramming damage is actually calculated by mass and how much by shields?
I really don't understand this mechanic, a Vulture with 4 pips to shields can seriously ruin a pythons day with a good solid ramming run. Yet the python is more than 100 tons heavier than a vulture.
Click to expand...

Ziljan said:
I honestly have no idea. Maybe it has to do with density? The Explorer is 70T heavier than the Vulture and perhaps about the same size or smaller iirc. In which case, the DB's chassis is kind of like a uranium cannon slug.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering if it has to do with the mass of the ship, optimum mass of the shields, and the shield pool available for the ships to burn through. The Vulture can have a pretty big shield bank IIRC, but for the life of me I can't remember the mass of the ships vs the optimum shield amount for the mass. Not sure if that makes sense right now, but my brain is kind of tired.
 

Kuroshio

Kuroshio
Nice work, Ziljan.

I just took mine out to the local RES with D4 thrusters... and I'm not doing that again. There were rocks around flying and turning faster than me. :)

On the plus side, two medium beams are capable of enough sustained fire to take down smaller targets in the first pass, and the medium hardpoint placement is nice. Shields are strong enough to keep an angry 3-pirate wing at bay while waiting for them to accidentally fly past the firing arcs.

On the neutral side, the ventral mount (cannon in my test case) needs an attack profile similar to a Cobra to be effective, so it's a good thing she isn't capable of too many negative gees.

Time to A-spec it, I guess...
 

Mephane

Mephane
Okay, am I the only one who, when reading the title, thought this thread was about attacking an Imperial battleship? :D
 

WR3ND

WR3ND
Kind of a humorous "tactic," but it seems oddly appropriate for the ship none the less. It does look like it would make a fairly good ram, except for the heath of the pilot.

Something I'd like to see however is actual incentive to play in open, even if you aren't a PVP pirate or bounty hunter, other than just for the challenge of it. Right now, certain primary play styles in the game have nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing in open, which is a real shame and a flaw in the game's design.
 

Ripster

Ripster
Nice thread OP, made me chuckle out here in the black. Can't wait to get back and have a go in the DB myself :)
 

Ziljan

Ziljan
Well I hope I haven't over sold the DBE. It's not the worst combat ship in the game, but don't let the large weapon fool you. It was never designed to pick fights and win. If you run, it's about as survivable as a fully laden cargo ship vs pirates, just as slow but with potentially stronger shields. If you turn and fight, then your odds of survival depend entirely on the incompetence of your aggressor.

For full disclosure, if the Courier hadn't slotted tickle lasers, had better aim, or put any pips to shields, it might have ended very differently. The DBE's shields are made from thick construction paper, and the Courier can easily get shields in excess of 500 MJ and slot multiple strong shield cell.
 
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