Ships Asp Vs Imperial clipper/courier for bounty hunting

[CashewCraft]

I recently noticed that there is that rank discount on the imperial ships and have taken advantage. I have managed to work my way up to serf and have found systems that sell both the clipper and the courier. So I would like to know if it is worth selling my asp for the clipper or just some of the components for the courier (Also I know the vulture is best for combat, but I don't like it. Deal with it.). I usually stay in a system where there is a station near a HIRES, so the landing pad isn't really a drawback for me. I'm fine using gimbals on the large hardpoints. I also heard that the clipper has a good pitch speed but horrible yaw, but I usually roll to fly "up" to my target, so I don't think this would effect me much. I also use a docking computer on large ships, so the "docking is hard" argument is also nullified. I haven't hear too much about the courier though, so I might consider that too. I'm also quite experienced at moving pips around during combat. Also I only do PvE combat.

So based on that, can any imperial pilots give me an opinion on if either of these ships would work well with my playstyle?

 

[quickr]

You'll need a lot of credits to outfit clipper properly. I bought it few days ago ago, used it with basic shields in RES and it's just not good enough without A grade components and better shields. I look at clipper as a pirate ship (big weapons, big internal compartments for storing cargo) or as a well armed transport ship. In my opinion clipper is no good for solo combat. Only in a wing when you need to chase down wounded enemy.

Courier on the other hand is excellent little ship and i love it. Traded my vulture for it, outfit it with A grade modules, rail gun, shield boosters and 3x SCB. It's basically a tank. It's also small, agile, relatively fast and most important: fun to fly in. It looks great it sounds great and that canopy, it's like flying in a jet plane. Drawbacks are poor power distributor and it has heating issues.

Out of these two i would recommend courier for bounty hunting. clipper is more for trading/pirating.

 

[newman1702]

Speaking of rank discount (being able to buy the clipper without being a Baron), is that still in effect? I've been out on an exploration trip while that happened and was planning on coming back in a few days. Does anyone know if it's still there and how long will it last? I'd kind of like to get a clipper without the oh-so-much-fun rank grind fest

 

[Vertexico]

I've never tried the Courier, but from what I hear it is comparable to maybe in between Vulture and Viper, so seems like it might be a good choice. It has strong shields, high speed, and reasonable fire power, with OK maneuverability.

I've been using a Clipper as my main ship though and I quite like it. It is definitely expensive to outfit as has been mentioned, if you want the top grade shield it's 50M for that one module. I have mine A-rated now except for Shield and Thrusters and it's doing excellent for RES and Assassination: more firepower than the Vulture and better speed, comparable shields once upgraded and good maneuverability if you rely on pitch. Going back to my Asp for some Fortification grinding, and getting interdicted was a nightmare, felt incredibly neutered compared to the Clipper. I don't see how it's possible to have more than one or two fixed weapons, even the medium hardpoints don't converge well, I use all gimballed.

As far as I know the rank relaxation is still active, but I have no clue.

 

[CashewCraft]

Rank discount is still active, I brought a courier for my asp's engines but may swap it for a clipper because if I'm going to have to use gimballed beam lasers I want to use them for more than 2 seconds at a time . I have no idea when it will end, but it's been going on for a while now so it's ripe to end at any point

 

[newman1702]

Rank discount is still active, I brought a courier for my asp's engines but may swap it for a clipper because if I'm going to have to use gimballed beam lasers I want to use them for more than 2 seconds at a time . I have no idea when it will end, but it's been going on for a while now so it's ripe to end at any point

Thanks for the reply. I am currently out on an exploration expedition and was planning a return by the end of the month. I may expedite it by a day or two in order to take advantage of this.. I only hope 3 week's worth of data is enough to get a clipper Fingers crossed it's still active by the time I return.