Ships Asp Scout, Anyone like it?

Hokum15 · Jan 29, 2016

I decided after playing my Cobra for what seems like years to try an Asp Scout, Better weapon placement, better maneuverability, class 4 power distribution, less internals but I could live with that... but the speed, I thought I could work around it.

Oh my, this positively kills the ship stone dead. When in a fight you can (in many ships) get on the tail of a large ship and keep with them even if your ship isn't that maneuverable as you can keep pace with them in Vipers or Cobras etc. But in the Asp Scout they can just boost away and turn on you.

Anyone got any tips or ideas?

Lily from anim.o.v.e · Jan 29, 2016

I guess hte point of this ship is being a cheaper explorer vessel than the ASP explorer. I am a but confused when I read the term scout, sicne htis would indicate a very mobile vessel. Which it isn't

so the only "scout" ability is actually the system hopping not the combat abilities.

Ceekay · Jan 29, 2016

I like it, maybe a little slow but very agile with good internals it makes a good missions ship.

SpaceMonkeyBoom · Jan 29, 2016

I loved my Asp Scout. I only went back to the Explorer because I could buy a livery. When they come out with some paint jobs for the Scout I'll go back. Can't beat the handling! Great for doing the CGs that require rares.

Phantasma · Jan 29, 2016

I quite like the exterior so i tried really hard to justify a spot in my roster for it. Maybe as a more agile little combat variant of the Explorer.
But except its maneuverability (and the AspX is by no means bad in that department anyway) it's strictly worse in every other way.
Less firepower, less speed (that one hurts the most), less space (that one was totally expected but still adds to the pile of deciding factors) and less shields.
Tipping point was the realisation that the Explorer even had more armor.
It's totally understandable that a cheaper ship can't be better overall than a pricier one, but the gap is far too wide as it stands now.

And because the price difference isn't that big anyway, i came to the realisation that the older brother will always outshine the Scout.... and brutally so.

I really would have liked a sidegrade. Less internal space but either more firepower and/or defense. Medium explorer with combat capabilities in the DBS vein.

Now? It's overpriced and underperforming.
Sure, someone will take the crippled puppy to their heart.
But i'm a space ship pilot, not an animal shelter.

A speed buff would help immensely without putting it even near overperforming territory.

But i've lost hope with several of the 1.5 additions. Doubt anything will change.

Shadowed · Jan 29, 2016

It is a very maneuverable tank. An excellent intermediate PvP ship with good survivability and jump range. It takes a surprising amount of ammo to take it out.

Farran · Jan 30, 2016

I adored the handling of the Asp Scout. It was super fun to fly, and I used it... well, for a little bit of everything, like you might expect one to use a multipurpose ship. I really wish I could come up with a better build for it so I could justify flying one again.

That said, the internals are disappointing. Even if it had a couple more small internal compartments, it would be a much more competent multipurpose. I can haul a lot more in a Type 6 while still keeping some flexibility in role, though, and that is exactly what I proceeded to do after owning the Scout for a little while.

GammaZ · Jan 30, 2016

Slower than python. Almost as large (and easy to hit) as python. Only 5 small internals. Only 2 utility mounts. Expensive. Yes, maneuverability is good, but it does not compensate all the drawbacks. Found no reason to use it...

Drownerfood · Jan 30, 2016

I have flown one for the last two weeks after mining in a python for a while. I like the maneuverability, but yes, it is slow. Slower than a Python! It works out like a Cobra with a better power distributor, but slower.
I took it on a 15 kly trip and it was fine for that, but I wonder where it fits in with the rest of the ships, too. It's like 'ok the Asp is already too good, so we have to make something new that's not as good' or something. It's jump range isn't as good either, whatever the description says. 5ly less is significant. A better trade off would have been if the 4 and 5 slot ships (DBS, DBX, AspS) had more range than the multipurpose ships (Asp, Anaconda), but they don't.
I feel like it was made to be better at combat than the Asp... but a Vulture is far better and costs about the same, so. :S

Poseidal · Jan 30, 2016

Yep. Vulture is way too fast (or maneuverable) compared to its peers.

If the Asp Scout were fast, I would take it for a spin, I think the ship looks good (even though I'm not a fan of Lakon canopies).

Psycho Romeo · Jan 30, 2016

I've had success with the AS in situations where the opponent might not necessarily be running way, such as a CZ or a thick hasRES tussle.

I've had less success at nav beacons.

It comes down to acting preemptively. If you see your opponent wanting to boost past you, you need to turn early and boost with them, to give you more time on target. You have more than enough maneuverability to do so.

I feel the AS would make a fantastic escort. The idea of it puppy guarding something (such as a T9 convoy) as it moves from A to B makes it sound terrifying.

Caspar · Jan 30, 2016

I tried this ship and loved it but felt that it was a missed opportunity in the weapons department. yet another 2 x med 2 x small config, like Cobra III / Cobra IV / Viper III / Viper IV / DBS etc

Weapons placement is really good though.

It could have been interesting with 1 x large and 2 med.

CTCParadox · Jan 31, 2016

Would have been nice if the Asp Scout was the military brother of the civilian Explorer.
Asps used to be heavy fighter in the Federal navy after all, maybe make it require a rank to get.
Drop internals for larger weapons (maybe 4 med/2 small).

Seems weird that for the same size it has less hardpoints, less internals, smaller modules.
Given that FDev say they have an internal layout of each ship (for later when we can walk around in them) I guess the Asp Scout will have a lot of empty space.

CMDR CTCParadox

Kaybe · Feb 1, 2016

Too slow. Too expensive. One of these needs to change. The DBS is also half the price of the DBE, but the DBS is a fantastic ship both in agility and speed and there's a good tradeoff between the two. The Asp Scout ... not so much.

sbdags · Feb 1, 2016

I like finding it in a combat zone. Easy kill

SpaceMonkeyBoom · Feb 3, 2016

sbdags said:
I like finding it in a combat zone. Easy kill

Yeah I learned pretty quick that it wasn't a fighter. Cheap insurance at least, lol!

CariadocThorne · Feb 3, 2016

Shadowed said:
It is a very maneuverable tank. An excellent intermediate PvP ship with good survivability and jump range. It takes a surprising amount of ammo to take it out.

I really can't see any reason to use it in PvP.

I can fit a fairly decent DBS build for less than the base cost of the Asp Scout. Even fully-fledged combat DBS builds cost less than even the most basic useable combat build for the Asp Scout.

The DBS is also massively faster, slightly more agile, and has better jump range.

The only advantages I can see are the class 4 distributor and more armour. Neither of these are enough to make up for the massive loss of speed and slight loss of agility.

How is the heat management? I'm assuming it's not as good as the DBS, but unless it is at least close, that wipes out a lot of its already tenuous advantages, since the DBS can handle SCBs and powerful high heat weapons like PAs without worrying about heat damage (and without needing heat sink launchers), which negates some of the firepower advantage of the C4 distributor and the extra armour.

Is there something I'm missing? Because I love small fighters, and after my dissapointment with the Courier, I'm still looking for an alternative to my DBS, for an occaisional change of pace.

CMDR Argent Steel · Feb 4, 2016

I've toyed with the Asp Scout on Coriolis but can't really find a build that I like enough to blow the money on. I like that it is agile (stat-wise, as I haven't flown one yet), and it has a decent selection of internals. I just can't think of any reason I wouldn't retrofit my Asp Explorer instead, since except for agility the Explorer beats it on every count.

Maybe I'll get one to tinker with sometime. Doesn't seem like a must-have ship though.

Starender · Feb 4, 2016

I don't really see the point of this ship, it's super slow, it's a big target, the shield is meh, the firepower is not impressive for the size, and it's expensive.

At this point why not just buy a ASP explorer ?

Psycho Romeo · Feb 5, 2016

Starender said:
I don't really see the point of this ship, it's super slow, it's a big target, the shield is meh, the firepower is not impressive for the size, and it's expensive.

At this point why not just buy a ASP explorer ?

Double the maneuverability? A what, 300% smaller turn circle? Costs? Please, do continue to ignore any of the ship's strengths to formulate an argument.