Anaconda load-out advice - Cannon's or Multi's ?

[philmo]

I have an Anaconda, mostly used up until now for missions and trading - it was built for weight. Now I have fully updated it to A grade for combat.

I am trying to turn my hand to some PVE combat and would love some load-out suggestions for use in conflict zones/resource ex sites.

I am currently going with https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/ana...d2d322b2b24.AwRj4yo1qA==.AwiMIyunKA==.&bn=an1

I am not loving the Cannons even though many have suggested they pack a punch, but the agility of the ship makes them a pain to use.

I have on engineered my FSD and boosters.

Any advice would be well received.

Cheers

 

[Adhock]

Depends on what you're trying to hit.

What you have now in terms of cannons are best used as equalizers when fighting a ship of similar size. Anything smaller then an Asp you should focus on bringing down with your smaller guns and save the large guns for heavy slugfights.

Multicannons are good for killing smaller nimble ships with a steady stream of hailfire while cannons are generally better for hunting things bigger then you are. Try swapping out some of your smaller energy weapons with multicannons to compliment your turrets and save the big guns for another Anaconda.

 

[philmo]

Depends on what you're trying to hit.

What you have now in terms of cannons are best used as equalizers when fighting a ship of similar size. Anything smaller then an Asp you should focus on bringing down with your smaller guns and save the large guns for heavy slugfights.

Multicannons are good for killing smaller nimble ships with a steady stream of hailfire while cannons are generally better for hunting things bigger then you are. Try swapping out some of your smaller energy weapons with multicannons to compliment your turrets and save the big guns for another Anaconda.

Hi - I guess it is a mix of targets (what ever turns up) - what is tricky in the Haz Res sites is I tend to get attacked on mass by a variety of ships.
Cannon's seem to be making too long to get through the ships.

I will think about swapping my smaller points to Multis - I might also experiment again with Multi's to replace the Cannons for a little to see if it works better.

Any further advice from anyone would be appreciated.

 

[two quiet suns]

this was my conda loadout till i got a corvette!

1 x gimb C4 pulse rapid fire mod
2 x gimb d3 multicanon overcharged
2 x turret c2 multi overcharged
2 x turret c1 multi overcharged

 

[Earth Ultimatum IV.]

Fixed cannons, of course. I run a full cannon Conda (plus corrosive MC for extra hull damage), it absolutely devastates things. In the next update, cannons are getting a huge buff in damage and ammo capacity, larger mag capacity, engineer effects are getting buffs and reload time is faster, it will be even better.

 

[philmo]

this was my conda loadout till i got a corvette!

1 x gimb C4 pulse rapid fire mod
2 x gimb d3 multicanon overcharged
2 x turret c2 multi overcharged
2 x turret c1 multi overcharged

Hi - so did you not use a Hardpoint or did you mean 3 x gimb d3 multicanon overcharged ??

Thanks

 

[Kneejo]

1x class 4 gimbal Beam with short range blaster with heat conduit
3x class 3 gimbal multicannons overcharged with one corrosive
2x class 2 gimbal multicannons overcharged with one corrosive (because the med multi starts firing much sooner and is on the opposite side of the ship.. trust me I thought about this )
1x class 1 gimbal beam with short range blaster and regeneration
1x class 1 gimbal pulse with overcharge

Weapon focused distributor and dirty drives 5. She's a monster.

 

[Cornelius lucius]

I use 2x turret beams on the class 1's. 2x gimbaled beams on the class 3's, and the rest are multicannons.
The beams take down Shields quite happy, and the multis shred ships when Close, particularly the big one.

 

[philmo]

1x class 4 gimbal Beam with short range blaster with heat conduit
3x class 3 gimbal multicannons overcharged with one corrosive
2x class 2 gimbal multicannons overcharged with one corrosive (because the med multi starts firing much sooner and is on the opposite side of the ship.. trust me I thought about this )
1x class 1 gimbal beam with short range blaster and regeneration
1x class 1 gimbal pulse with overcharge

Weapon focused distributor and dirty drives 5. She's a monster.

Helpful thanks - so are the class 1 pulse/beam also gimbal ?

Also any advice for vanilla weapons - no immediate plans to engineer for a while.

Thanks

 

[d8veh]

For RES farming, use only Pulse lasers, but to be honest an FDL or Python would be better because you need more speed to get and keep the NPCs in range. In an unengineered Anaconda, you spend too much time chasing them around the field rather than killing them.

For CZs, I use only gimballed pulse lasers and multi-cannons, though the small multi-cannons run out of ammo too quickly, so probably all pulse is better. If you use turrets, don't set them to fire at will because they'll exhaust ammo too quickly, drain your capacitor when you need it, and worst of all, they'll tag any enemy that comes within range, which makes them start shooting back at you, so you end up dealing with too many at once. To be honest again, an unengineered Anaconda is a bit of a liability in a CZ, I'd use a tanked up Python or FDL until I've sorted out the engineers. Once you have shields and boosters engineered to grade 5, an Anaconda is a beast to be feared by NPCs in a CZ or anywhere else.

If you have to go to a CZ to get stuff for engineers, i think a fast ship like the FDL is better. You need to work around the edges to pick up the materials. If you're doing massacre missions, a fast ship will get you out of there each time they gang up on you. An unengineered Anaconda would be a sitting duck.

 

[Kneejo]

Helpful thanks - so are the class 1 pulse/beam also gimbal ?

Also any advice for vanilla weapons - no immediate plans to engineer for a while.

Thanks

The class ones are gimbal, yes. After flying the anaconda for a long time you learn to master its weight, so to speak.. so keeping the nose on the target gets easier the more you practise it. I used to have primarily turrets, but I don't need them anymore.

The class one beam is made for healing wingmates, but the better option for a class one laser is the pulse with overcharge grade 5, so that's what I put on the second class 1 hardpoint.

This ship is tuned by using the right thermal properties (by rolling alot) on the engines, powerplant and weapons so that it overheats to a little over 100% when the weapons capacitor is drained by the huge beam. At that point I switch to all multicannons, allowing the weapon capacitor to fill up again for another blast of laserfire. Thermal conduit gives a 100% increase on the DPS of the beam when it is at around 100% temperature. Total DPS is between 186 and 211. I have an AFMU on board to restore module health after fighting for a long time.

For vanilla I would go with a huge pulse and class 1 pulse or burst, depending on your taste. Fill the class 2 and 3 with multicannons. This will still give a decent firepower. Upgrade the FSD, then the Shield and Shieldbooster, then the drives, then the weapons. Because in the beginning you want to get to the engineers fast with a good jumprange, then you want protection because it is slow without upgrades, then you want speed, and then its time to upgrade the weapons. Good luck!

 

[Rubbernuke]

Fixed cannons, of course. I run a full cannon Conda (plus corrosive MC for extra hull damage), it absolutely devastates things. In the next update, cannons are getting a huge buff in damage and ammo capacity, larger mag capacity, engineer effects are getting buffs and reload time is faster, it will be even better.

Is that your budgie piloted fart machine ? It looked nasty up against big ships. Whats it like with annoying enemies like Vipers?

 

[TheGit]

1x C4 Gimballed Multi-Cannon Overcharged
3x C3 Gimballed Multi-Cannon slightly modded but can't remember what with. One's red though!
2x C2 Turreted beams unmodded
2x C1 Seeker Missiles

It gives me great dakka-dakka fun with the turrets providing withering fire and small ship protection. On bigger ships I use the SLF with the turrets to wear down the shields then open up with all the multi-cannons for maximum carnage! I only use the seekers if things are getting hairy but doesn't often happen.

It all works great for PvE but I doubt it will do much against a fully modded PvPer.

 

[philmo]

For RES farming, use only Pulse lasers, but to be honest an FDL or Python would be better because you need more speed to get and keep the NPCs in range. In an unengineered Anaconda, you spend too much time chasing them around the field rather than killing them.

For CZs, I use only gimballed pulse lasers and multi-cannons, though the small multi-cannons run out of ammo too quickly, so probably all pulse is better. If you use turrets, don't set them to fire at will because they'll exhaust ammo too quickly, drain your capacitor when you need it, and worst of all, they'll tag any enemy that comes within range, which makes them start shooting back at you, so you end up dealing with too many at once. To be honest again, an unengineered Anaconda is a bit of a liability in a CZ, I'd use a tanked up Python or FDL until I've sorted out the engineers. Once you have shields and boosters engineered to grade 5, an Anaconda is a beast to be feared by NPCs in a CZ or anywhere else.

If you have to go to a CZ to get stuff for engineers, i think a fast ship like the FDL is better. You need to work around the edges to pick up the materials. If you're doing massacre missions, a fast ship will get you out of there each time they gang up on you. An unengineered Anaconda would be a sitting duck.

Much appreciated - was thinking about investing in an FDL (I have the spare cash) - will give it a go. Is this much more fun/effective than a combat Python ?

 

[two quiet suns]

Hi - so did you not use a Hardpoint or did you mean 3 x gimb d3 multicanon overcharged ??

Thanks

sorry i missed the c3 turret on the bottom with rapid fire!

 

[Earth Ultimatum IV.]

Is that your budgie piloted fart machine ? It looked nasty up against big ships. Whats it like with annoying enemies like Vipers?

Back then when I recorded the fart cannon video, the cannons were unengineered

I carry a fighter to deal with Vipers, but usually don't bother engaging them. Too much work for no pay.

 

[d8veh]

Much appreciated - was thinking about investing in an FDL (I have the spare cash) - will give it a go. Is this much more fun/effective than a combat Python ?

The FDL is fast, so you can get to the targets quickly and keep them in range. If things go bad, you always get away using the FDL's speed. You have to use the vertical and side thrusters a bit more than most ships to keep on target, but once you get the hang of that, nothing can earn more money in a RES. You need maximum shields and shield boosters. Something like this:

https://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_l...1b1b1b1b02040408040l4a5d---.Iw18aQ==.Aw18aQ==

Add a fuel scoop if you want to go anywhere. You could add another SCB and heatsink launcher. I haven't tried it recently: You might be able to fire two SCBs at once with one heatsink - maybe a class 4 and a class 2. Avoid beams in a RES. You get too many bounties on yourself with them.

A Python is more multi-purpose. Not as good as a FDL in a RES, though not far behind, but probably better in a CZ when fully tanked up. It's slower, so not as much fun. If I were doing the engineers, I'd probably just use an all-purpose Python to save keep swapping ships. The Python can carry much more and jump further than the FDL.

I did Zachary Hudson level 5 powerplay using a Python. You have to kill 1000 ships a week in a CZ to keep level 5, which gets you double bounty payments plus 50 million a week. I got 1.8 billion doing it for 4 weeks. The 1000 ships is a bit of a grind especially when you have to keep running away. I swapped back to the FDL for the RES farming.

 

[CMDR Tom D]

Cannons are pretty much useless until the release of 2.2.03.

If your only choices are these two then I'd suggest Multi-cannons.
However I would personally go for Pulse/Beam lasers. engineered max as efficient.

 

[joshman72nd]

2 class 4 beams on top fixed.

2 multie cannons on side one is corrosive and the other is heat special for shields.

2 class 1 burst turrets that cause random failures when they hit a ship.

and the bottom hardpoint is also a multie however i put smart rounds on that one

 

[CMDR Carbo]

I switched my C4 cannon with a C4 gimballed MC and it feels much more useful for my fighting capabilities.