Ship Builds & Load Outs [Anaconda] PvE Build Advice

[CptSuremo]

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/anaconda?code=A0putpFklndzsxf57o16161627270q0q040404040404040jB05nfm3em92d2dm92b2f0324.Iw18ZVA%3D.IzAMdSunfEHAEzCA.H4sIAAAAAAAAA11SPWhTURi9TXyvSW%2BT2%2FtMnjdK%2F3zPUKRjUXRxtDg46CA4OYlDBhFxENw6lQ5FOlRHJwcdheLkIA4BtaBIEcFBWzAGDBUCxvR%2BnkN4TXB4h%2B9757zzne%2B%2Bq%2Fy4UupgDFCaKyhl36PS%2B4D0OUDG%2FAXyRwBxt6hU4QYgugS9if%2BISM7H5POA6jaskgZ69wG9ed0TqWwcQJT3xykKANHWFPhXmFRpRhCt0CTw5zL%2B1Ayw3phUap7VSVZFVhOspOCvZnH6nGnWkcTRJMihDz%2F%2FFknu%2FoRn0V%2FLFov2AO4jZoYvkalWQE6ZGDjRpG8BQTUHUQ9VWKfJ0i%2BRY7fwuej%2FlWehNM%2FQuy7swiVMT%2FbamDk5UHIP5%2FrItAplWN4H%2F6QFuwWeaGko6mMlNY1HJcEPkSiEnbneFXHtDr6%2BzY12UEl5sAwjRIsabx8jWO0ejlrMCNUCZTwGh5voa60q%2BCl%2FMeNN7y%2Bs75fwg5dxgpaQEsT65UOTHcwzDwGz7yh64EXSF0irN1FJNGLXwiRXIdXEnpaQEuToiGidog5FbykipLNgpDIi6jBYu8hgeQbLMxhF1YGI%2Fzv6QmUD98k18Sv1Lu0IKUHi4Qp2DUn1JwZ%2FhMHi%2FOXsxM0VbH%2FiJlS5mJMSpEu%2F45w0L4pM%2B8Xs0tgurc9gZf2Vi88MqfJTUPob%2FXcBdpvz5%2Fzpw%2Fv2Bi9K53HL7B30ug5ICSL%2FACrXtnVvAwAA.EweloBhBmSQMwKYBNECcCGAbA%2BgcwFcA7AZwAsBLABxBAEYBOBgDiA%3D%3D&bn=Black%20Widow

My current PVE build allows me to keep pips 2 2 2 and engage long range with the long range mod on the 2 beams and 1 of the bursts. Once target comes closer the other 2 bursts kick in with phasing and start to damage hull through the shields. Smaller ships do next to no damage to shields at all but I have the SCB for emergency use if required, which is very rare. Against large ships (i.e. elite condas) I can keep my distance doing long range damage, and of course in all instances, when target shields drop I can move in and obliterate hull with multi's (esp with the corrosive shell mod).

No idea what this build is like PVP... yet! But for an all round build it rocks! I just swap out the SCB for a cargo rack or passenger cabin when required. Naturally, as I get better engineer unlocks I'll upgrade further to make SB's better and hardpoints even more devastating.

 

[Turnspit]

I've pretty much finished engineering my Anaconda with the stuff I have access to and have come to a point where I'm unsure which shield setup I should go for...

Number 1:
https://eddp.co/u/PU1qfGVF
6C Bi-Weave
7B SCB + 6B SCB
1x Heavy Duty SB + 5 SB with evening Resistances

Number 2:
https://eddp.co/u/5Ze2A3zz
7c Bi-Weave
2x 6B SCB
6 SB with evening Resistances

Both builds give me the same overall Shield Strength and similar Resistances, while the one with the LOWER grade Shield Generator would give me Effective Absolute Shields of +3000Mj more than the one with the HIGHER grade Shield Generator, just because of the grade 7 SCB. Is that so, or am I horribly mistaken somewhere?

 

[Ceekay]

The class 7 shields have a significantly higher regen rate than the class 6 (over 30% higher) so excluding SCB's the class 7's will have around 20% higher stock MJ than the class 6 and better regen it's a bit of a no brainer TBH , I don't use SCB's but I tend to see them in the same vein as HRP's/MRP's essentially a bit of escape protection.

 

[Turnspit]

The class 7 shields have a significantly higher regen rate than the class 6 (over 30% higher) so excluding SCB's the class 7's will have around 20% higher stock MJ than the class 6 and better regen it's a bit of a no brainer TBH , I don't use SCB's but I tend to see them in the same vein as HRP's/MRP's essentially a bit of escape protection.

Ah, I see, 4.4 to 3.2. But this Regeneration is only active while not in combat, right?

But still, in raw Shield Strength it's 4800 (c7) to 6100 (c6), despite the lower regen rate, which I personally wouldn't mind, should it only be applied out of combat.

 

[Ceekay]

AFAIK these are the standard regen rates for each class of bi-weave in combat or not, I'm not sure the accelerated out of combat regen made it into the current release as the radical shield changes weren't implemented.

 

[Turnspit]

Okay, so before starting to engineer anything, I took another theoretical look at my current Anaconda with the two different setup and still can't follow you saying it's a "no brainer".

7C Bi-Weave, 2x 6B SCB (current loadout)
https://eddp.co/u/34LiD9iU

6C Bi-Weave, 1x 7B/6B SCB
https://eddp.co/u/CqdvCBe6

Running a 4/0/2 pip setup and using my own Anaconda as the opponent ship, in theory the shields would last 3 minutes longer with the smaller Shield/larger SCB setup (+3000 absolute effective shields). Shield rebuild and recharge times are slightly higher, but not to an extend that would deem it unusable in my opinion.

What am I missing? Without SCBs a 7C Bi-Weave is indeed a no-brainer, but with two SCBs added it feels that smaller Shield/larger SCB would be the better combination.

 

[Turnspit]

Thanks for the input dc83!

I didn't take the diminishing returns into account previously, good call! Found this nice calculator by Frenotx ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...MmsjdhjlWC7CSl9q33eEa-YD4/edit#gid=1939306605 ) that adds up resistances nicely before and after diminishing returns. It seems to me that a higher base resistance of the shields (including resistance mods) increases the cap limit rather than decreasing it! I will just have to tinker with some combinations to see what's best in the end.

Since I'm no flying ace, I have a hard time playing with fixed weapons, especially those with no aiming reticule (like lasers and railguns) - I might try Plasma Accelerators though with Long Range or Focused mod to increase the projectile speed.

SLF is equipped though, on the lowest c6 slot - love those things! Still unsure though which setup I should run on those, Fixed Beams, Fixed Pulses or Fixed Plasma Lasers...? I feel like Beams are the way to go, especially in PvP situations.

Concerning SCB:
I use two SCBs in a firegroup with 1 Heatsink Launcher. This gives me a total of 2 x 6 SCB shot in conjunction with 6 Heatsink shots from two launchers. Using the c7 & c6 SCB this gives me roughly 850 MJ of shields per shot, while 2 x c6 SCB only grants around 600 MJ - this is ~1200 MJ more of total shield power, while losing 100 MJ maximum shields due to the larger Shield Generator. Still unsure if this is really the better way to go or just some theoritcal nonsense that doesn't translate into the live game.
Heat-wise, using 2 SCBs with 1 HSL at the same time shortly overheats my ship to around 130%, dealing around 2% damage to my modules. Using only one SCB with a HSL would totally prevent overheating but would force me to equip 4 HSL and two SB, which I'm not really willing to do.

 

[JetsonRING]

I am not a huge fan of combat but Kudos on choosing a specific role and not trying to turn your ship into a pocket-knife. A purpose-made tool is always best for the job. My advice would be to mod to the max, simply because the opposition does and you want to be able to compete. No "multi" role, combat outfit completely and only. You can always trade the reinforcements, etc. for cargo racks later if you decide you want to trade.

 

[Turnspit]

I'll let the SCB issue rest, bringing me to SLF's: Go with fixed beams. I, again, understand "not a flying ace", but there's another argument this time: you don't have to fly it yourself. Your hired NPC pilots may not know the meaning of the word "dodge", but they do have super robot aim to get the most out of fixed beams!

That's the thing, SLF will only be piloted by my Aimbot-NPC - Fixed Beams it shall be! Just need to rank him up again after being blown up by a station for bumping into the mail slot... Lovely!

Regarding the SCBs I've collect some experience last night while being ganked by some CMDRs in Wyrd (though this thread was meant to be PvE specific...).
For whom it might interest:
c6 Shields, c7 SCB, c6 SCB fared extremely well compared to the previous build with c7 Shields and 2x c6 SCB (which had some comparable PvP encounters). The additional MJ from the c7 SCB is huge!
c6 G5 Thermal Bi-Weaves, 1x G5 Heavy Duty SB, 5x G4 Resistance Augmented SB (don't have mats for G5) seems to be the best shield setup for me with diminishing returns on resistances in mind.

Since I've been lucky and found some rare mats last night I will go for some G5 Overcharged and G5 Efficient on my weapons, this should be close to being my final setup:

https://eddp.co/u/UdX68g9s

Before doing the engineering I will test fixed instead of gimballed MCs and see how well I fare in some HAZRES runs - thanks dc83. ;-)

 

[Diceman199]

You're quite welcome. Before you go and G5 anything though, I'd like to take this opportunity to extol the virtues of Long Range mods for every weapon type. I know I mentioned it before, but doing the same damage at 3km (or, for that matter, 2km or even 1.5km) that you do at zero makes a massive difference in your options--with OC and EF, you'll be under a lot of pressure to stick to knife range; going with LR won't give you any boost at knife range, but I've found that the flexibility is extremely helpful even with gimballed burst weapons. That said, I guess with so many gimbals and turrets, you'll mostly BE at knife range, so I guess at your level, it could be argued either way.

Maybe you should put a set of g2 or g3 LR weapons in storage in case you feel like trying them out someday.

Edit: Burst laser scramble spectrum recommendation mostly removed, since I finally actually looked at your build and saw that you figured that out on your own! Congrats on that. I will just add instead that if I'm going with gimbals, I prefer burst over beam... and a pair of class 3 Scramble Spectrum burst lasers can REALLY ruin somebody's day. XD (You get a higher chance of malfunctions, and more serious malfs, applied to your target with heavier weapons, and burst lasers do a LOT more subsystem damage than beamers; a pair of those and you'll find yourself plucking the powerplants out of bigger ships WAY faster than you could've trashed their hulls. Again, no flying ace required; gimbal weapons are great at hitting subsystems!)

I also recommend the long range mod. I've got 3 large long range burst laser turrets on my Conda and it's doing full damage out to almost 4.5km