Best defensive ship and its loadout?

[AluminumAlloy]

When we talk combat, the first thing that comes to mind is a good fighter ship with good offensive weapons.

But let's go deeper into the categories of combat and select 100% self defense. Let's say that we can't just swoop behind the attacker and switch into offensive mode, let's say that we are going to remain with the attacker approaching us for the entire battle.

What do you folks think would be good for this scenario?

 

[StiTch]

So basically tanking.

It's a hell of a meta, but it boils down to this: Big ship, big shields, shield boosters, shield cell banks and heat sinks to support the SCBs, which there will often be a lot of. Any spare internal slots are given to hull reinforcement packages and then slap on the often extortionately expensive military grade composite bulkheads. Annies are frequently given as example for this, especially with all that space for modules/utility mounts.

It's generally hypothetical to discuss ships that are intended for head-to-head tanking, because most pilots won't play game with that and will manoeuvre around a ship that's built like a slow brickhouse. Tankiness won't get you anywhere if you can't hit them and the moment they do get your shields down your power plant is being turned to dust. You can try use turrets to mitigate this, but they're a bit meh to start with, and if you're looking at the PVP meta it's a thing to see silent running/heatsink/hull tank builds, which will turn turrets into power hungry decor.

 

[Majinvash]

The obvious answer is the Cutter with Prismatics. 6 A boosters and 2 heat sinks supporting an 8A SCB and supplemented HRP.

But if you are talking about PVP against an organised wing with high alpha damage, I wouldn't see it lasting more than a minute on its own.

Majinvash
The Voice of Open

 

[Iskariot]

When we talk combat, the first thing that comes to mind is a good fighter ship with good offensive weapons.

But let's go deeper into the categories of combat and select 100% self defense. Let's say that we can't just swoop behind the attacker and switch into offensive mode, let's say that we are going to remain with the attacker approaching us for the entire battle.

What do you folks think would be good for this scenario?

If you do not want to fight?
Speed can be very effective as a defensive measure. The brave Sir Robin maneuver is the best defense if you do not want to do combat.
The Cobra and the Imperial Clipper will serve you well in this regard.
Having a good shield or hull tank setup is obviously important too in this case.

Jumping out of system will work regardless of the ship you have, but you need to hold out until the FSD kicks in.

 

[shadragon]

The best defence is a good boost-boost-boost on a weaponless Cobra stripped down for 450 m/s speed.

http://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk_iii/03A4A4A3A3A3A4C----00024803032o542f.Iw1-kA==.EwBjEYy6OSg=?bn=Shad%27s%20Smuggler

 

[Kazacy]

If you do not want to fight?
Speed can be very effective as a defensive measure. The brave Sir Robin maneuver is the best defense if you do not want to do combat.
The Cobra and the Imperial Clipper will serve you well in this regard.
Having a good shield or hull tank setup is obviously important too in this case.

Jumping out of system will work regardless of the ship you have, but you need to hold out until the FSD kicks in.

In my opinion this is the best answer. After you learn how to fit and fly these ships (CobraMk3 and Imperial Clipper), you can fly anywhere with impunity.

 

[Lily from anim.o.v.e]

The question is what do you need defense for?

Defense has just two purposes:
make you last longer to blow up your opponent before he blows you up.
Survive

The firts one will be with currently mechanics be focused on irst big boom boom (because pew pew isn't that good), and in PVP will mean stealth, because it makes it harder to see and shoot you and therefore you will survive longer.

For survival it is in PVP either stealth and jump outor just boost boost with soem shields and then highwake or jump out.

Serious and true tnaking doe snot work well in Elite, because dps and shields ar enot in a good relation.

 

[Durden T.]

I'll say the Cutter is the safest ship at the moment. Of course safety comes at a price...

- It has the most powerful shields.
- It is fast in straight line.
- It can't be mass loqued by another ship (except another Cutter).
- It can be loaded with heavy firepower in case you want to stay.

I really think nothing (be it PvP or PvE) can kill a well equiped Cutter if he decides to run.

 

[Archvillain]

If you have a faster ship and can outrun, are there weapons (mines? torpedos?) that the chase ship closes the gap with, such that you can be outside chase-ship weapons-range, yet chase-ship flies into the range of your weapons while they are en-route? (ie So you cannot be hit but you can hit the pursuer?)

In other words, is the range of a missile/mine measured from its location to the location it was launched from, or is it measured from its location to wherever your ship happens to have moved to?

(I'm assuming the later, intentionally implemented that way to preclude exactly this possibility, but I don't know so thought I'd ask. And there's something to be said for allowing this to work, because pursuit is generally "supposed" to have some disadvantages, so there is a decision as to what point your advantage is sufficiently overwhelming that you should risk pressing it via pursuit despite a disadvantage)

 

[Iskariot]

If you have a faster ship and can outrun, are there weapons (mines? torpedos?) that the chase ship closes the gap with, such that you can be outside chase-ship weapons-range, yet chase-ship flies into the range of your weapons while they are en-route?
In other words, is the range of a missile/mine measured from its location to the location it was launched from, or is it measured from its location to wherever your ship happens to have moved to? (I'm assuming the later, intentionally implemented that way to preclude exactly this possibility, but I don't know so thought I'd ask.)

Mines are not offensive weapons. And they are pretty harmless anyway.

Pursuers can fire missiles, but I have never been hit ever by a missile when I was fleeing, even in a ship like the Python. They are too slow I think and there are effective countermeasures in the game.
And when they hit you they do little harm. I think missiles are hard to balance and currently I consider them pretty useless.
Torpedoes should be too slow too. Traditionally torpedoes are used against large slow vessels.
I have no experience with them in Elite though. I suspect they are not more effective than missiles.

 

[bladebss]

Right now all explosive wepons are utter rubbish, torpedoes being the least rubbish and mabe viable in some situations.

HOWEVER. I have heard that soon... they will be much better and very effective at destroying external modules, such as wepons and utilities and drives. So you may then be able to blast the guns off an attacker with mines as you flee or to simply dissarm them to force them to dissengaged.

I have always seen rails and missiles as defensive wepons due to there ammo limmit. So your not in a res your in a trader or such like on route to a station and you just need to survive one or two encounters and in a less than combat fitted ship the big damage make up the gap. The attacker will be out for extended and mutiple assults and would have wepons with more stamina.

Though this also works for assasination .. so.. yea lol