ASP to Clipper

[Telnets]

So what do you guys think about "sidegrading" from an ASP to Imperial Clipper...

Right now im sitting in my ASP and wondering about buying a Clipper.. I have done some research on it and there doesn't seem to be any real answers on whether its worth a trade or not.

The reasons I was thinking about it:

• Nice looking
• I can spend hours doing Milk Runs and not get bored.. I really do enjoy the trading aspect of the game
• I don't get in that many fights - At least, i dont go looking for them
• If I did want to hunt, Id just take my Grade A Cobra out of the garage.
• I consider the ASP or Clipper "end game" for me at this point, as I have no desire for a Python/Anaconda

My concerns are:

• Maintenance - Is the upkeep that much off from the ASP? I currently have no problem with the costs of running the ASP but I don't know if I have the IRL time to upkeep a ship that's double the cost etc...
• Slightly worried about no outposts, but not a huge deal, most of my trading is "legal"
• I heard somewhere you incur repair costs EVERY time you dock? Is that right?
• Is it really worth the money? Is it 30 Million dollars better then a fully kitted out ASP? will i go from an ASP to a clipper and be like "whoa! AWESOME!" like i did from the cobra to ASP?

Thanks for your opinions guys!

PS: i know about the type-7 and type -9.. I know i dont want a type 7.. I MIGHT consider the type 9, but i dont think thats a ship for me...

 

[Raf von Thorn]

Well, i kept my ASP, but the Clipper makes money really fast, comparing to it. I run my Clipper as a pure trader (no shields- 248 cargo space) and i dont have repair costs at all, unless i hit some crane next to the landing pad (Clipper is FAT). Repair costs are comparable to an ASP.

It is definitely worth the money. One thing that will discourage you: A rated FSD drive will allow you to jump 15.0 ly, when the ship is fully loaded.

For two weeks i was only intericted twice, both times by an ASP. It seems like the smaller ships are affraid of you. And the docking: the NPC actually MOVE OUT of your way. I have never had any collision with an NPC, so far.

If youre a trader, dont even think twice about it. A "normal" round trip (1000 profit one way, 1000 profit back) will earn you 500k credits, so you need to do 13 of those to buy the ASP back . It REALLY feels like you are in a different leauge.

 

[Telnets]

Thats great and a helpful insite to it, thank you! +rep

Right now im just filling up my ASP with up to 96 rares, as I have a 12 system "route" that's paying decently.. Do you know if going into a clipper is the turning point where the volume of cargo you carry outweighs the value? What I mean is that rares are between 5 and 20 items, then you need to find more.. assuming i float around 100 rares in a hold, I can make 1.5-2mill a round trip.. However, with the clippers hold, would it be more profitable to just invest in alot of one commodity and just haul it to another station and the payout be more then the larger number of stops i would have needed to make with rares?

 

[KillaALF]

Right now im just filling up my ASP with up to 96 rares, as I have a 12 system "route" that's paying decently.. Do you know if going into a clipper is the turning point where the volume of cargo you carry outweighs the value? What I mean is that rares are between 5 and 20 items, then you need to find more.. assuming i float around 100 rares in a hold, I can make 1.5-2mill a round trip.. However, with the clippers hold, would it be more profitable to just invest in alot of one commodity and just haul it to another station and the payout be more then the larger number of stops i would have needed to make with rares?

As I see it, the more cargo space you have, the less relevant rare trading gets. Like you I'm doing some rare trading in my T6 (104T) right now, but to maximize cr/h I'd probably be better off picking a good route and working that.

 

[777Driver]

The clipper is an awesome ship to fly, and excellent money maker. Maintenance is quite expensive if you are just having fun with the ship. If you are just doing normal trading then it's likely you will need to do much repairs.

I just got back from a trip to the Pleides & California Nebulae, around 1500LY round trip. Hull was at 79% 140,466c , ship integrity 68% 312,173 :/ That's nearly half a million credits..

 

[Poplin]

Well if you take the no shield cargo number given at 248 tons, and you find a 2k cr/t round trip, that's 496k per trip. Average round trip is usually 10-15 minutes, so if you're only getting 4 an hour that's 1.98 mil an hour. If you get 6 trips in an hour which is entirely doable, then you're looking at 2.97 mil an hour.

So yeah, it's at the spot where it beats out rare trading, and if you find a better route the gap only widens.

 

[Raf von Thorn]

No more rares trading, my friend! I do this sometimes in my old ASP, but mainly to discover some systems between the "rare" systems.

You see, if you have more than 200 cargo space, loading a 12 tons of anything, even if it makes 300k is pointless. You earn as much just hauling gold of ConsTech with one jump, BOTH ways. Rare trading is great for smaller ships, complete waste of time in big ones. Also, imagine an unfortunate accident and losing over 200 ton of rares...

I was planning to do it in a Clipper, but the first time you will see the 360k profit for selling ConsTech... You just gain a different perspective . Clipper is pure money AND is pretty (this cockpit view!) AND sounds great. And by the way, you get a lot of friendly comms from commanders (and commandress`) .

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Just to add to the above: Put 2 x C3 gimballed beam lasers and 2 x gimballed multi-cannons on and you absolutely slaughter everything out there in seconds for smaller vessels and a couple of minutes for everything else. She's a beauty indeed.

 

[Solarwind]

I would love a imp clipper and can afford 1 however i am 1 of those people who hate doing missions just to get a rank so i can uy xxx item or such ,, so unfortunately i will never e ale to get a imp clipper.

sure is a beautiful ship though

LOL apparently the B key is going out on my keyBoard ,,, only works on caps

 

[777Driver]

No more rares trading, my friend! I do this sometimes in my old ASP, but mainly to discover some systems between the "rare" systems.

You see, if you have more than 200 cargo space, loading a 12 tons of anything, even if it makes 300k is pointless. You earn as much just hauling gold of ConsTech with one jump, BOTH ways. Rare trading is great for smaller ships, complete waste of time in big ones. Also, imagine an unfortunate accident and losing over 200 ton of rares...

I was planning to do it in a Clipper, but the first time you will see the 360k profit for selling ConsTech... You just gain a different perspective . Clipper is pure money AND is pretty (this cockpit view!) AND sounds great. And by the way, you get a lot of friendly comms from commanders (and commandress`) .

I actually enjoy doing long rare trade runs in the Clipper, I fly the route below. Much more interesting then trading between the same two stations. I visit a lot of stations, so the large cargo bay comes in handy. I make 10000c or more per Ton

http://eliteraretrader.co.uk/?route...13,26,29,83&name=Clipper Ulta Long haul Route

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Dammit - I'm about to get one, but I know I'll just hate it due to the short jumprange and most of all its hardpoint placement. On the other hand I've wanted one since I saw the first screenshot of the Cockpit. How much surplus cash over the buy price would you guys recommend as a minimum to make it usable?

 

[Juffa]

How much surplus cash over the buy price would you guys recommend as a minimum to make it usable?

hmm, you'll want A5 frameshift drive, bit over 5M cr.
Minimum 400k for weapons.
128 unit cargo rack costs a bit under 1,2M
~1M for insurance
~1.5M for cargo if you are going to make it a hauler.

So.. I'd say 9-10M is a good starting point. Of course if you can handle less than 15Ly jump range when fully loaded, get cheaper frameshift drive.

I traded the bigger shields to a class 3 shields, still enough to prevent damage from minor scratches, and can carry 240 units of cargo. The ship feels so damn fragile when the shields are down and repair costs are very high, so I would not recommed flying without shields... Especially when it's so damn big that you can accidentally hit the station if you start to turn too early after flying through the slot.

 

[JeffRyan]

There's an excellent review of the clipper you should watch first.

[video=youtube;fURFH04vzxA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fURFH04vzxA[/video]

 

[Vandaahl]

Yesterday I got my A6 thruster, and OMG... I never go back to anything else. I removed the class 6 shield and put in an A4. Keeps it safe from most harm, only a head collision with a station isn't included in the package. With the A4 it can haul 220 tons. I fitted it with class 3 Burst lasers, and although I read the position of the main laser were not suitable for close range combat, the burst laser work remarkably well. Everything I met till now went up in smoke in a few clicks.

If you look at what a clipper can do, then the 22 mil doesn't make sense, compared to the Drop ship or even de T7. Its dead cheap for a lot of potential.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

There's an excellent review of the clipper you should watch first.

Yeah - I'd recommend that too - very informative. It's the reason why I know that I'm gonna hate it. I loathe using gimballed/turreted weapons - and the bit at 15:20 where he tries to use fixed weapons doesn't look good - not that I plan to use it for combat all that much.

And thanks Juffa.

 

[Summo]

My god, you people are in a different league.

 

[EddyRockSteady]

.....not that I plan to use it for combat all that much.....

Don't be scared to. This is the result of a couple of hours loitering at a Nav beacon in an Anarchy system, inbetween rare trades:

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Don't be scared to. This is the result of a couple of hours loitering at a Nav beacon in an Anarchy system, inbetween rare trades:

Thanks for the heads up - I assume that was using gimbals/turrets though. I know it sounds a bit excentric, but I thoroughly hate using them - it feels like my scanner is stealing my kills - and sitting on the right - oh my god...

I'll hate it, but I need one.

 

[EddyRockSteady]

Gimbals only. They are a necessity due to the hardpoint placements, even more so when engaging Anacondas and the like when it helps to hug their backside

 

[Juffa]

Thanks for the heads up - I assume that was using gimbals/turrets though. I know it sounds a bit excentric, but I thoroughly hate using them - it feels like my scanner is stealing my kills - and sitting on the right - oh my god...

I'll hate it, but I need one.

You could always try with one fixed and three gimballed weapons - You would still have to aim to cause maximum damage.
I tried it for a while, but it's bit too confusing since the aim point is way off-center, and moves even further to the side if your target is too close. And if the target is too close, and you are aiming with the fixed weapon, the gimballed ones on other side can't hit the target any more... They just can't turn that much, or your ship blocks their line of fire.