Ships All ships ranked by maximum jump range

DjVortex · Apr 21, 2024

Today the thought occurred to me: "Which ship has the lowest jump range, even when maximally optimized for it?" Then I thought, why not rank every single ship based on that, and make a sorted list? So I did a bit of testing at edsy and created the list.

Approach: Only jump range matters, ie. only optional modules that affect jump range and nothing else (which in practice means the only optional is a guardian FSD booster). From all the other modules, the lightest one that doesn't have a red warning symbol on edsy. Besides engineering the FSD (or using the 5A FSDv1 if applicable), full engineering for weight on everything, of course (ie "lightweight" or "stripped down" experimental, whichever applies). Lightest power plant that can power up everything (with "overcharged" engineering as needed).

NOTE: There's a better, more updated list later in this thread. I'll leave this here as an historical artifact. Please consult the other list later in this thread for more accurate values.

Code:

Ship                 |  Rng (ldn/max)| Cost (with modules)
---------------------+---------------+--------------------
Anaconda             | 76.45 / 79.54 | 168 M
Diamondback Explorer | 75.99 / 82.01 | 5.05 M
Krait Phantom        | 74.61 / 80.14 | 42.8 M
Asp Explorer         | 73.11 / 78.38 | 13.1 M
Orca                 | 70.84 / 75.72 | 54.9 M
Krait Mk II          | 66.38 / 70.54 | 51.2 M
Dolphin              | 63.33 / 67.52 | 9.32 M
Type-7 Transporter   | 62.88 / 66.52 | 23.5 M
Python               | 60.46 / 63.76 | 62.7 M
Asp Scout            | 60.16 / 63.85 | 12.2 M
Type-6 Transporter   | 59.36 / 62.93 | 9.05 M
Hauler               | 58.48 / 65.44 | 1.81 M
Alliance Chieftain   | 57.75 / 58.90 | 25.6 M
Imperial Clipper     | 57.67 / 58.82 | 28.1 M
Beluga Liner         | 55.63 / 60.34 | 142 M
Adder                | 54.44 / 60.36 | 2.18 M
Imperial Courier     | 54.23 / 60.08 | 4.62 M
Keelback             | 53.72 / 56.49 | 11.1 M
Alliance Challenger  | 53.13 / 54.06 | 36.6 M
Diamondback Scout    | 53.05 / 56.10 | 3.77 M
Imperial Cutter      | 52.42 / 54.12 | 261 M
Cobra Mk III         | 52.39 / 55.14 | 5.16 M
Federal Assault Ship | 50.76 / 51.60 | 26.1 M
Viper Mk IV          | 50.51 / 53.02 | 5.25 M
Type-10 Defender     | 49.90 / 51.41 | 181 M
Alliance Crusader    | 49.27 / 50.04 | 29.1 M
Cobra Mk IV          | 47.13 / 49.25 | 5.55 M
Eagle                | 46.60 / 47.86 | 2.16 M
Imperial Eagle       | 46.60 / 47.86 | 2.20 M
Vulture              | 46.20 / 47.89 | 12.9 M
Viper Mk III         | 46.17 / 47.40 | 2.24 M
Type-9 Heavy         | 46.16 / 48.30 | 96.1 M
Federal Corvette     | 44.75 / 45.57 | 210 M
Federal Dropship     | 44.48 / 45.07 | 20.5 M
Federal Gunship      | 44.06 / 44.64 | 42.0 M
Mamba                | 43.63 / 44.22 | 63.7 M
Sidewinder           | 43.29 / 44.44 | 0.99 M
Fer-de-lance         | 43.18 / 43.76 | 59.6 M

DjVortex · Apr 21, 2024

I find it a bit funny that the description of the Orca says "the Orca has not been designed for combat or exploration" even though you can achieve the 5th largest jump range of all ships...

Morbad · Apr 21, 2024

DjVortex said:
I find it a bit funny that the description of the Orca says "the Orca has not been designed for combat or exploration" even though you can achieve the 5th largest jump range of all ships...

Almost all ships were designed before Engineering or Guardian tech. The Orca was also given a major buff (in the form of a large mass reduction) about seven years ago without the ship description being altered.

DjVortex said:
Approach: Only jump range matters, ie. only optional modules that affect jump range and nothing else (which in practice means the only optional is a guardian FSD booster). From all the other modules, the lightest one that doesn't have a red warning symbol on edsy. Besides engineering the FSD (or using the 5A FSDv1 if applicable), full engineering for weight on everything, of course (ie "lightweight" or "stripped down" experimental, whichever applies). Lightest power plant that can power up everything (with "overcharged" engineering as needed).

Anaconda | 76.45 / 79.54 | 168 M

Without swapping fuel tanks or creating a ship that cannot boost, I get 79.97 / 83.57 for the Anaconda:

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous

edsy.org

A more optimized (and practical) range loadout reaches over 83.4ly unladen:

EDSY

EDSY is a ship outfitting tool for Elite Dangerous

edsy.org

Boosting with 4D thrusters is a bit overrated and there is little point in retaining the functionality at the cost of having to use a much larger distributor. Downsizing the fuel tank to maximum single jump, plus a two-ton margin was generally most efficient for reaching fringe systems, until fleet carriers made jump range for exploration moot. Using the rest of available thruster mass for cargo rack so that jump plots can be tuned to save fuel (even 24t of virtual cargo significantly increases range per tank) helps as well.

I can currently build the above ship with an 83.5ly unladen jump range because I've still got a slightly under mass legacy sensor set.

DjVortex · Apr 22, 2024

Morbad said:
Without swapping fuel tanks or creating a ship that cannot boost, I get 79.97 / 83.57 for the Anaconda:

The difference appears to be in the power distributor. Maybe I trusted too much the red exclamation symbol in edsy, presuming that choosing one would just not work.

Morbad · Apr 22, 2024

DjVortex said:
The difference appears to be in the power distributor. Maybe I trusted too much the red exclamation symbol in edsy, presuming that choosing one would just not work.

You do need the ENG focused cluster capacitors to get the 4D distributor to allow an Anaconda to boost and limiting the thrusters to G1 is not an immediately obvious way to allow drive distributors to get 4D thrusters to a sufficiently high optimal mass.

Tassier · Jun 28, 2024

DjVortex said:
Today the thought occurred to me: "Which ship has the lowest jump range, even when maximally optimized for it?" Then I thought, why not rank every single ship based on that, and make a sorted list? So I did a bit of testing at edsy and created the list.

Approach: Only jump range matters, ie. only optional modules that affect jump range and nothing else (which in practice means the only optional is a guardian FSD booster). From all the other modules, the lightest one that doesn't have a red warning symbol on edsy. Besides engineering the FSD (or using the 5A FSDv1 if applicable), full engineering for weight on everything, of course (ie "lightweight" or "stripped down" experimental, whichever applies). Lightest power plant that can power up everything (with "overcharged" engineering as needed).

...

I love this kind of thing, since the SCO drives came out and have increased range slightly I thought an updated list might help, I've kept the same criteria as you apart from adding a large fuelscoop to each build, they have 0 weight but are essential for long journeys. I've also included edsy links for all builds.

I've also done the additional tweaks as per @Morbad 's comments, most of the big ships were able to get more range with some additional engineering tweaks.

These now all include the double engineered (long range + fast boot) SCO drives from the Battle of Sol community goal, also available to buy from the Human tech brokers.

Code:

Ship                 | Rng (cur/max) | Cost (with modules)| Edsy link
---------------------+---------------+--------------------+---------------------------
Mandalay             | 91.21 / 99.38 | 52,046,810         | https://edsy.org/s/vnAC8Hl
Anaconda             | 93.83 / 98.09 | 242,126,640        | https://edsy.org/s/vO1A0eW
Diamondback Explorer | 82.88 / 89.63 | 7,908,390          | https://edsy.org/s/vM6luvP
Gutamaya Corsair     | 82.25 / 88.61 | 112,548,610        | https://edsy.org/s/vmC9nXv
Krait Phantom        | 81.26 / 87.50 | 71,395,000         | https://edsy.org/s/vkRM5fX
Asp Explorer         | 79.55 / 85.47 | 41,656,300         | https://edsy.org/s/vYZy3HI
Orca                 | 77.31 / 82.88 | 83,456,540         | https://edsy.org/s/vhGAZ06
Dolphin              | 74.75 / 79.85 | 10,571,320         | https://edsy.org/s/vJpOpE9
Hauler               | 69.74 / 78.59 | 2,551,020          | https://edsy.org/s/vbsFmUv
Krait Mk II          | 72.16 / 76.84 | 79,814,200         | https://edsy.org/s/vXiitDm
Cobra Mk V           | 71.41 / 75.97 | 10,930,491         | https://edsy.org/s/vqJWeK8
Asp Scout            | 71.29 / 75.82 | 13,286,760         | https://edsy.org/s/vfgFy9r
Type-6 Transporter   | 69.96 / 74.26 | 16,513,620         | https://edsy.org/s/vzAkmDx
Type-7 Transporter   | 68.14 / 72.20 | 52,224,280         | https://edsy.org/s/voucWSb
Python               | 67.50 / 71.51 | 90,987,010         | https://edsy.org/s/vPTSqM0
Imperial Courier     | 63.86 / 71.34 | 5,010,510          | https://edsy.org/s/vGUbKQl
Adder                | 63.60 / 70.96 | 2,573,720          | https://edsy.org/s/vF5qRm1
Beluga Liner         | 64.58 / 70.29 | 119,157,770        | https://edsy.org/s/vMUAiwX
Diamondback Scout    | 62.86 / 66.56 | 3,064,000          | https://edsy.org/s/v8l9hni
Keelback             | 63.10 / 66.43 | 18,591,120         | https://edsy.org/s/vwsC9qN
Type-8 Transporter   | 61.94 / 65.15 | 134,087,440        | https://edsy.org/s/vOkIiB7
Cobra Mk III         | 61.72 / 65.07 | 6,405,470          | https://edsy.org/s/vpHqIwL
Alliance Chieftain   | 63.57 / 64.97 | 54,052,280         | https://edsy.org/s/vQA5cUZ
Imperial Clipper     | 63.48 / 64.87 | 119,024,800        | https://edsy.org/s/v0A4mYd
Imperial Cutter      | 60.95 / 63.05 | 498,224,940        | https://edsy.org/s/v2QCGpC
Viper Mk IV          | 59.44 / 62.49 | 6,503,380          | https://edsy.org/s/vrv2amk
Type-10 Defender     | 57.70 / 59.52 | 418,081,920        | https://edsy.org/s/veNNb8V
Alliance Challenger  | 58.24 / 59.37 | 65,009,600         | https://edsy.org/s/vrmKD06
Python Mk II         | 58.14 / 59.27 | 75,715,671         | https://edsy.org/s/vvaEn2F
Cobra Mk IV          | 55.33 / 57.89 | 6,803,410          | https://edsy.org/s/ve7VWNI
Type-9 Heavy         | 53.76 / 56.41 | 368,281,940        | https://edsy.org/s/vyvEAZQ
Federal Assault Ship | 55.29 / 56.27 | 34,990,410         | https://edsy.org/s/v9js4de
Eagle                | 54.38 / 56.06 | 1,934,570          | https://edsy.org/s/vfHrkwj
Imperial Eagle       | 54.36 / 56.06 | 1,977,970          | https://edsy.org/s/vU9tRRw
Viper Mk III         | 54.13 / 55.85 | 2,628,640          | https://edsy.org/s/v8Am1j0
Vulture              | 54.29 / 55.16 | 14,130,300         | https://edsy.org/s/vwVQmXz
Alliance Crusader    | 53.60 / 54.51 | 57,677,640         | https://edsy.org/s/vIhcXir
Federal Corvette     | 52.36 / 53.41 | 282,955,690        | https://edsy.org/s/vLDlmjn
Sidewinder           | 51.62 / 53.28 | 1,117,160          | https://edsy.org/s/v3cj9hA
Mamba                | 51.12 / 51.85 | 64,912,730         | https://edsy.org/s/vhvZ9iG
Fer-de-Lance         | 51.08 / 51.84 | 60,605,420         | https://edsy.org/s/vhVHUN6
Federal Dropship     | 48.22 / 48.92 | 49,079,320         | https://edsy.org/s/vBKZtjt
Federal Gunship      | 48.11 / 48.81 | 70,441,700         | https://edsy.org/s/vfIbOOf
---------------------+---------------+--------------------+---------------------------

Code:

Ship                 | Rng (cur/max) | Cost (with modules)| Edsy link
---------------------+---------------+--------------------+---------------------------
Mandalay             | 84.08 / 91.53 | 58,171,550         | https://edsy.org/s/vc08neL
Anaconda + CG 6A FSD | 86.76 / 90.71 | 242,126,640        | https://edsy.org/s/vkJfoJq
Anaconda             | 86.48 / 90.37 | 261,542,080        | https://edsy.org/s/vvHVSlH
Diamondback Explorer | 76.39 / 82.54 | 14,033,130         | https://edsy.org/s/vPatV1s
Gutamaya Corsair     | 75.92 / 81.72 | 118,673,350        | https://edsy.org/s/vlmic0Y
Krait Phantom        | 75.02 / 80.70 | 77,519,740         | https://edsy.org/s/vCzVtLV
Asp Explorer         | 73.46 / 78.86 | 47,781,040         | https://edsy.org/s/vWnyjst
Orca                 | 71.42 / 76.49 | 89,581,280         | https://edsy.org/s/vyxDbLz
Dolphin              | 69.08 / 73.73 | 12,503,420         | https://edsy.org/s/vr5trej
Hauler               | 64.27 / 72.34 | 2,743,290          | https://edsy.org/s/vUQFNtW
Krait Mk II          | 66.72 / 70.99 | 85,938,940         | https://edsy.org/s/vqr81sz
Cobra Mk V           | 66.04 / 70.19 | 12,862,591         | https://edsy.org/s/v10VIrj
Asp Scout            | 65.93 / 70.05 | 15,218,860         | https://edsy.org/s/vYl1MWx
Type-6 Transporter   | 64.72 / 68.63 | 18,445,720         | https://edsy.org/s/v13idoX
Type-7 Transporter   | 63.06 / 66.75 | 58,349,020         | https://edsy.org/s/vXgS8pr
Python               | 62.47 / 66.13 | 97,111,750         | https://edsy.org/s/v5SARQ4
Imperial Courier     | 58.91 / 65.73 | 5,620,010          | https://edsy.org/s/vqixPKE
Adder                | 58.67 / 65.36 | 3,183,220          | https://edsy.org/s/vL6i92C
Beluga Liner         | 59.81 / 65.01 | 180,704,710        | https://edsy.org/s/vmKK7EP
Keelback             | 58.46 / 61.50 | 20,523,220         | https://edsy.org/s/vZa8nCA
Diamondback Scout    | 57.99 / 61.37 | 4,996,100          | https://edsy.org/s/vpbEkGt
Type-8 Transporter   | 57.40 / 60.33 | 140,212,180        | https://edsy.org/s/vpFjkR4
Alliance Chieftain   | 58.89 / 60.16 | 60,177,020         | https://edsy.org/s/v1zXeWn
Cobra Mk III         | 57.09 / 60.14 | 8,337,570          | https://edsy.org/s/v8kpqWM
Imperial Clipper     | 58.81 / 60.07 | 125,149,540        | https://edsy.org/s/vfNlIOn
Imperial Cutter      | 56.49 / 58.41 | 559,771,880        | https://edsy.org/s/vfF0qoj
Viper Mk IV          | 55.01 / 57.79 | 8,435,480          | https://edsy.org/s/vsKnYbs
Type-10 Defender     | 53.53 / 55.20 | 479,628,860        | https://edsy.org/s/vNW2VHo
Alliance Challenger  | 54.03 / 55.06 | 71,134,340         | https://edsy.org/s/vewgin0
Python Mk II         | 53.94 / 54.97 | 81,840,411         | https://edsy.org/s/vW4dhWs
Cobra Mk IV          | 51.26 / 53.60 | 8,735,510          | https://edsy.org/s/vGYsP9R
Type-9 Heavy         | 49.94 / 52.36 | 387,697,380        | https://edsy.org/s/v2UTaGt
Federal Assault Ship | 51.33 / 52.23 | 41,115,150         | https://edsy.org/s/vCZvGJg
Eagle                | 50.26 / 51.80 | 2,544,070          | https://edsy.org/s/vMC7Qip
Imperial Eagle       | 50.24 / 51.80 | 2,587,470          | https://edsy.org/s/v2BSKsl
Viper Mk III         | 50.04 / 51.60 | 3,238,140          | https://edsy.org/s/vanGkCV
Vulture              | 50.42 / 51.22 | 16,062,400         | https://edsy.org/s/vF1d4tA
Alliance Crusader    | 49.80 / 50.63 | 63,802,380         | https://edsy.org/s/veRR7Sr
Federal Corvette     | 48.66 / 49.62 | 302,371,130        | https://edsy.org/s/vtyHsg5
Sidewinder           | 47.60 / 49.11 | 1,309,430          | https://edsy.org/s/vBCx9OR
Mamba                | 47.53 / 48.21 | 66,844,830         | https://edsy.org/s/v9fpGcG
Fer-de-Lance         | 47.50 / 48.19 | 62,537,520         | https://edsy.org/s/vJhT4y4
Federal Dropship     | 44.89 / 45.53 | 55,204,060         | https://edsy.org/s/vI0Visz
Federal Gunship      | 44.79 / 45.43 | 76,566,440         | https://edsy.org/s/vO3O7GG
---------------------+---------------+--------------------+---------------------------

All ships keep their original size fuel tank and are able to boost. The only ship I noticed where removing the ability to boost made any real difference was the Anaconda, gaining an extra 0.5 LY range.

Edit - Type 8 added with 57.40 / 60.33 LY range.
Edit - Mandalay added with 84.08 / 91.53 LY range, Anaconda with special community goal 6A FSD added with 86.76 / 90.71 LY range, table reordered by max range rather than current range.
Edit - Cobra Mk V added with 66.04 / 70.19 LY range.
Edit - All ships updated with double engineered SCO FSD drives from the Battle for Sol community goal - also available from Human tech brokers.
Edit - Gutamaya Corsair added with 82.25 / 88.61 LY range.

DjVortex · Jun 28, 2024

It's curious that the lowest max jump range you can achieve today is about the same as the highest you could achieve back in the days before engineering.

Power creep much?

marx · Jun 28, 2024

Nah, the absolute maximum you could reach on a cardboard (entirely stripped-down) Anaconda was just barely 40 ly. Granted, that's only 10% less than the FGS up there, which doesn't sound like much, but given how the galaxy is structured, when traversing the sparse areas that +4 ly would have made a significant difference.
Some years ago, I made a comparison of how the jump range of a fairly regular exploration build of an Asp Explorer had changed through the updates, this thread, and you can see there that the biggest relative increase was Engineering 1.0. The original sin

DjVortex · Sep 9, 2024

Tassier said:
Edit - Type 8 added with 57.40 / 60.33 LY range.

Can't wait to see the Mandalay added to the list...

Tassier · Dec 13, 2024

List updated with Cobra Mk V, can't wait to see if the new pre-engineered community goal SCO FSDs bump up the ranges even further

DjVortex · Dec 18, 2024

And now the list needs to be completely updated...

Tassier · Dec 19, 2024

List completely updated

Mandalay is so close to a 100LY jump now!

DjVortex · Dec 19, 2024

I added a note to my original post to refer to your list instead. I left my original list there as a sort of historical artifact.