Bounty hunter ship of choice

[Loskene]

Bounty hunting for maximum profit I choose the clipper. It simply offers the shortest time to kill of any of the uh, more affordable combat vessels. Vulture is a close second with those large hardpoints and ability to basically maintain a static position behind a target's engines for the entire fight. Clipper also comes with the advantage of being able to disengage at will if things get too hot. The Vulture has to rely on tanking until FSD charge in order to escape a dire situation, and no amount of armour packages can really save you from a wing of Fer deLances.
The Python probably offers a very short kill time too but it is slow as hell, the clipper can simply get in and out of multiple fights much quicker in a RES. Also I can't afford one.

This is my current clipper loadout, the only thing I really have left to upgrade is the thrusters and PP, but it shreds small ships before I can scan them and makes short work of Anacondas. Sounds lovely doing it too. I like running all lasers because I hate running out of ammo, and Gutamaya indulged me in this and gave the clipper bucketloads of power to play with.

[Imperial Clipper]
L: 3E/G Pulse Laser
L: 3E/G Pulse Laser
M: 2E/T Beam Laser
M: 2E/T Beam Laser
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0I Chaff Launcher
U: 0D Kill Warrant Scanner

BH: 1I Lightweight Alloy
RB: 6C Power Plant
TM: 6B Thrusters
FH: 5A Frame Shift Drive
EC: 5D Life Support
PC: 6A Power Distributor
SS: 5D Sensors
FS: 4C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 16)

7: 7C Shield Generator
6: 6E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 64)
4: 4C Shield Cell Bank
4: 4E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 16)
3: 3C Fuel Scoop
3: 3E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 8)
2: 2E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 4)
2: 2E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 4)
---
Shield: 378.00 MJ
Power : 17.63 MW retracted (84%)
21.93 MW deployed (104%)
21.00 MW available
Cargo : 96 T
Fuel : 16 T
Mass : 683.6 T empty
795.6 T full
Range : 17.61 LY unladen
15.48 LY laden
Price : 48,364,222 CR
Re-Buy: 2,418,211 CR @ 95% insurance

My insurance is still below 2m Cr from buying one of the Princess's discount models too.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

I haven't done much hunting yet, but I'd look at ships for it: The Python is the powerhouse, I find it highly impossible to creat a build that even maxes out it's powerplant. Limiting factors are heat and speed. The Clipper is sort of the polar opposite. Energy isn't much of an issue, but firepower is lower and effectiveness limited be weapon placement, weakest shields of the 3. On the pro side, nothing escapes. Masslock, high speed and very good jump range to give chase through hyperspace. Last no least the FdL. Somewhat power limited, less overall firepower than the Python, but a C4 cannon to knock powerplants out, okish speed. With enough money I'd probably have all three, using whatever works best against the chosen prey.

 

[Loskene]

I haven't done much hunting yet, but I'd look at ships for it: The Python is the powerhouse, I find it highly impossible to creat a build that even maxes out it's powerplant. Limiting factors are heat and speed. The Clipper is sort of the polar opposite. Energy isn't much of an issue, but firepower is lower and effectiveness limited be weapon placement, weakest shields of the 3. On the pro side, nothing escapes. Masslock, high speed and very good jump range to give chase through hyperspace. Last no least the FdL. Somewhat power limited, less overall firepower than the Python, but a C4 cannon to knock powerplants out, okish speed. With enough money I'd probably have all three, using whatever works best against the chosen prey.

For the record the clipper above with 7C shields and a pair of boosters has a higher total shield value than a FDL with 4B shields, and just shy of one with 4A shields. Tradeoff is power and cargo space but a combat clipper has plenty of the former and little need of the latter.

 

[Zylark]

If only going after NPCs then any old ship will do from the Viper and up. Apart from the Type 6/7/9 naturally. To be efficient at it, I'd recommend a Vulture if on a budget of 15mill or less. If you got 50mill to spend, get a Clipper. If you got 100mill or there-about, both the Python and Furry-Lance will do very well.

 

[Cmdr. Numa]

For the record the clipper above with 7C shields and a pair of boosters has a higher total shield value than a FDL with 4B shields, and just shy of one with 4A shields. Tradeoff is power and cargo space but a combat clipper has plenty of the former and little need of the latter.

Clipper is at a disadvantage with the utility slots though. KWS, wake scanner andd two boosters leave no more room for chaff or point defense. FDL with it's 6 mounts has no issue with that. If the Python had those same 6 utility slots, I probably wouldn't even look at the FdL.

 

[SHADEVARI]

Clipper is at a disadvantage with the utility slots though. KWS, wake scanner andd two boosters leave no more room for chaff or point defense. FDL with it's 6 mounts has no issue with that. If the Python had those same 6 utility slots, I probably wouldn't even look at the FdL.

Oh I would so love to have 6 utility mounts with the Python!

However you do not need point defense at all, the missiles have been nerfed into absolute uselessness. Wake scanners are also pretty much useless. While you have the room to equip it in the FDL you do not have the jump range to actually follow anything > 13-14 ly and why would you, just kill it before it ran run off. ;-) Chaff is interesting though and I use it in conflict zones where you can easily have 2-4 ships firing at you at the same time and the KWS gets equipped instead of chaff when bounty hunting. The other 3 slots on the Python are for A rated shield boosters.

 

[Loskene]

Clipper is at a disadvantage with the utility slots though. KWS, wake scanner andd two boosters leave no more room for chaff or point defense. FDL with it's 6 mounts has no issue with that. If the Python had those same 6 utility slots, I probably wouldn't even look at the FdL.

You don't need a wake scanner, if someone's hyperjumping just line yourself up behind them and flick down your navigation targets until you find which star they're pointing at. More utility slots is always useful but when it comes to PVE bounty hunting most of the time you barely even need shields.

 

[Ben Ryder]

This sounds like which ship is best for sitting at a resource site and spawn camping npc pirates and misses out the hunting aspect. How do they different ships fare for tracking ships down in supercruise and catching the ones that hyper space away from a fight? I think there's going to be a lot more to bounty hunting very soon. Any advice welcome about ranges, scanners and stuff like that. Cheers chaps. Good thread!

 

[v01i0]

This sounds like which ship is best for sitting at a resource site and spawn camping npc pirates and misses out the hunting aspect. How do they different ships fare for tracking ships down in supercruise and catching the ones that hyper space away from a fight? I think there's going to be a lot more to bounty hunting very soon. Any advice welcome about ranges, scanners and stuff like that. Cheers chaps. Good thread!

I use single ship for all these purposes: the Python.

Spoiler

View attachment 31874

Can do all the things I want with superior performance. After trying Fer-de-Lance & Anaconda, I found the Python being most effective.

-v

 

[Ben Ryder]

Thank you! Another reason to love my python. Now I just needs some cash to upgrade from alloys.

What's the tracking range like for the Fer-de-Lance? I was under the impression that it was the super bounty hunter ship.

 

[v01i0]

Thank you! Another reason to love my python. Now I just needs some cash to upgrade from alloys.

What's the tracking range like for the Fer-de-Lance? I was under the impression that it was the super bounty hunter ship.

What do you mean with tracking range? Of course, the FDL was a decent ship and probably one of the best in case the only thing one does is bounty hunting (or combat). The problem with FLD was that it has small fuel capacity and too few internal compartments.

This Python setup is however for other purposes, such as trading free commodities ...and of course all but serious exploration or trading, for which it is no good. If I wanted to trade, I'd switch for Annie or Type-9.

-v

 

[xDreadnoughtx]

Recommendations for full-Combat Python build? Recently got my vulture and its now pretty kitted and starting to save up those CR I thought about the FDL too but i just like the Python better party for the way it looks. I also don't like the idea of my main "heavy hitter" being a single bottom-mounted turret like the FDL has. positioning for those is always a pain.

come to think of it, I'll probably pick up the clipper when i get the Emprie rating for it just because its soo sexy to look at. I hear the view from the cockpit is nice as well

It depends what I'm using my python for but this works very nicely for BH in res.
[Python]
L: 3C/G Beam Laser
L: 3C/G Beam Laser
L: 3C/G Beam Laser
M: 2D/G Cannon
M: 2D/G Cannon
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0A Shield Booster
U: 0I Chaff Launcher
U: 0A Kill Warrant Scanner

BH: 1I Military Grade Composite
RB: 7A Power Plant
TM: 6A Thrusters
FH: 5A Frame Shift Drive
EC: 4D Life Support
PC: 7A Power Distributor
SS: 6A Sensors
FS: 5C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 32)

6: 6A Shield Cell Bank
6: 6A Shield Cell Bank
6: 6A Shield Generator
5: 5A Shield Cell Bank
5: 5A Shield Cell Bank
4: 4E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 16)
3: 3A Fuel Scoop
3: 3E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 8)
2: 1C Advanced Discovery Scanner

Edit: not using the mil grade armour at the moment. Not enough Doubloons yet

 

[Jackie Silver]

For the record the clipper above with 7C shields and a pair of boosters has a higher total shield value than a FDL with 4B shields, and just shy of one with 4A shields. Tradeoff is power and cargo space but a combat clipper has plenty of the former and little need of the latter.

...but the 'Lance's largest bay is size 5, not size 4 - with 5A shields and a couple of boosters my 'Lance packs a much higher shield than the Clipper can manage even with all of its utility points packed with shield boosters, and for less mass and cost.

I'm trying out different all-energy-weapons loadouts for PVE bounty hunting at the moment - I've found that turreted size 1 pulse lasers on the side hardpoints have a much higher arc of fire than turreted class 2 pulse lasers in the same points. Not sure what's going on there, but the class 1 lasers are more generally effective, and they're lighter and use less power.

 

[Raf von Thorn]

FDL all the way:

[video=youtube;dBGplNaIXK4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGplNaIXK4[/video]