Can somoene comment on my Python PvE build idea?

[Shaamaan]

Hey there.

I'm scraping money for a Python (the FDL I recently got is a bit too annoying - call me lazy and whatnot, but that C4 placement is really getting me angry and I don't think I have the nerves to deal with it).

I don't have the money for a full all grade A python, so I'm looking for just the essentials - I'll upgrade components as I make the money back.

Here's my first attempt, playing around in the Shipyard:
http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=605,4zh4zh4zh4yH4yH0_g0_g0_g3wK,2-BG9Y7_6uB6A08I,mpU7UImpX2UI

The main "limiting" factor is the 7B power plant - it provides just enough power to keep essential combat systems running and a few non-essential components need to be downgraded (sensors, KWS, life support - albeit the last one tends to be a waste even when power ISN'T an issue).

My main concerns are the weapons. Will a full-beam Python work or will it overheat in a second (especially since the reactor doesn't have the best heat efficiency)? Will the capacitor hold up? Perhaps pulse or burst lasers would be better? Or perhaps is it better to fit some turrets to those pesky Vipers when their behind?

Remember please that this is a build for PvE only.

 

[Morbad]

You have a B class PP which is less heat efficient than an A and you have no heatsink launcher. If you leverage those five beams you will be constantly melting your subsystems.

 

[Midian27]

If youre just doing pve then gimballed pulse lasers are the way to go. Less power consumption, less heat, and better armour penetration for shooting out power plants.

 

[Shaamaan]

You have a B class PP which is less heat efficient than an A and you have no heatsink launcher. If you leverage those five beams you will be constantly melting your subsystems.

That's why I asked! Thanks!

If youre just doing pve then gimballed pulse lasers are the way to go. Less power consumption, less heat, and better armour penetration for shooting out power plants.

Sounds like you two are in agreement. ^_^

Just out of curiosity - why not burst?

 

[Renegade Roach]

Yeah, you're much better off going with a A rated pp, downgrading thrusters to C and running pulse if you're doing RES. Might mean saving an extra 12mill but you'll have a viable setup instead of one which just frustrates you.

edit: Pulse are easier to fit and won't drain your cap as badly, which means longer sustained fire which is what you want for pve. They'll still melt npcs in seconds.

 

[Morbad]

Just out of curiosity - why not burst?

Because (gimbaled) pulse offer very similar DPS and thermal efficiency. They also require less power from the PP, do better hull damage, and have lower cycle time (which means lower miss penalty).

edit: Pulse are easier to fit and won't drain your cap as badly, which means longer sustained fire which is what you want for pve. They'll still melt npcs in seconds.

They drain WEP cap at a very similar rate because they have similar thermals. The WEP cap doesn't power the weapon directly, just the weapon's cooling system.

 

[cometcruiser]

The beams will over heat. I have 1x C3G beam on the bottom, 2x C3G bursts on the top, 2x C2G beams on the medium points. Put the beams on one fire group, and the bursts on the other. The beams have around 7 seconds of fire with an A7 distributor, which is enough to melt any sheild on one pass, or a sit on anyone's tail. The bursts then eat armour. The bursts will shoot slower, as the heat is well up with the beam firing. But they will keep firing.

 

[-SOVEREIGN-]

I wouldn't recommend 5 beams. They drain the capacitor in 3 seconds, are ineffective against hull/subs thus raising your time to kill and you occasionally will take heat damage. Also they use a ton of energy.

The Bursts tend to miss more than Pulse because if the crosshair moves next to the ship most likely all three shots will miss. They also use a ton of energy.

The Pulse are fairly accurate in average, do a surprising good amount of hull/sub damage and use ~40% less energy which allows for SCB or a cheaper power plant.

I personally use C3G Pulse and C2F Beams (highest C2 damage output available). The Beams are mainly used for alpha damage to shields and sniping targets that move out of the gimballed effective range. Usually it goes the following: use all hardpoints to burn shields, target power plant, use Pulse only most of the time. I do not use C2 Multis because I occasionally do PvP and in that case a full laser alpha strike to burn shields as fast as possible is needed, I don't like ammo refilling and the C3 Pulse are sufficient to destroy power plants.

 

[Jerakeen]

I agree with the others. The beam lasers are overkill and you'll only get a few seconds fire out of them before the capacitor is drained. Pulse lasers melt the shields of anything in a very short time and will go on to destroy the target in not much more. They'll keep firing for ages too and enable you to operate with 3 pips to weapons and 3 to shields.

I fit twin rail guns on the medium points for extra stopping power on Pythons and Anacondas but for anything smaller I just use the pulses.

You don't need the A class power plant. Yes, I know it improves the heat handling but it costs 51 million. If you count your disposable wealth in the hundreds of millions then there's no reason not to have it but it's an awful lot of money for an extra 2.5MW, a slightly better heat rating and an extra 0.7 light year jump range.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Can we see a picture. It's all about the picture Sir

 

[Derath]

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=605,4zg7Px7Px4yG4yG0_g0_g0_g3wU,2-9Y9Y7_6uB6A08I,7jw7jw7UI50U

for pve, shield boosters to top up shields with hardpoints in, great shield strength for hardpoints out, very fast brap brap and instant large ship kills! Or run the B powerplant and leave the SCB's on, you won't notice the difference in heat efficiency.

 

[-SOVEREIGN-]

The C3 Cannon setup looks quite funny indeed ^^ ~70MJ/s with the laser are enough vs NPC and the cannons may one-hit power plants from the correct angle.

 

[Derath]

The C3 Cannon setup looks quite funny indeed ^^ ~70MJ/s with the laser are enough vs NPC and the cannons may one-hit power plants from the correct angle.

Its what I used for my RES speed runs whenever I was going all out, I can't say for certain that its faster than an A powerplant with 5x gimballed pulses which would be my next choice but i'm fairly sure, just not 100%!

 

[Nereus]

As others fine fellas said above, I think a 5 beams setup will heat you up way too much, and is also very power intensive.

For PvE, I would either stick to pulses or combine a maximum of 3 beams with 2 something else, like MCs.

Besides, I don't like gimballed beams very much, and I'm not certain if the current version of the Python is nimble enough to use fixed beams efficiently.

I'm not an amazing pilot, though, so perhaps a skilled CMDR like Mr. Morbad can advise better on that.

Fly safe, And remember to keep some insurance money.

 

[Sayne]

I like the Cannon build Derath posted. You can't run both boosters at the same time with a 6A PP, but you can turn one off and use it until it's out of ammo, then turn the other one on.

I like having kinetics on whatever is the largest hardpoint available to reduce the damage reduction against hulls. Don't bother firing them against shields, not effective enough, basically a waste of ammo unless you absolutely must have that shield down as fast as possible.

I think that 5A Scoop is overkill, but it sure as hell will fill the fuel tank fast.

 

[HeavyGroovez]

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=605,4zg7Px7Px4yG4yG0_g0_g0_g3wU,2-9Y9Y7_6uB6A08I,7jw7jw7UI50U

for pve, shield boosters to top up shields with hardpoints in, great shield strength for hardpoints out, very fast brap brap and instant large ship kills! Or run the B powerplant and leave the SCB's on, you won't notice the difference in heat efficiency.

Yeah this is a great PvE loadout. The cannons are epic against big ships and the Pythons large hardpoints give you unobstructed firing arcs for the gimbals unlike the FdL huge hardpoint which sucks for gimballed kinetics.

 

[Shaamaan]

Personally I'm not a fan of having to go to a RES site with two weapon types. My reasoning is that with 2 weapon types you need at least 2 firing groups (one with the weapons, another with the KWS) which leads to a lot of switching back and forth could end up with a non-scanned target getting shot instead of scanned.

I do agree the cannon build looks powerful. But, given all the initial responses, wouldn't pulse lasers be better instead of beams in that example?

 

[RedWizzard]

Personally I'm not a fan of having to go to a RES site with two weapon types. My reasoning is that with 2 weapon types you need at least 2 firing groups (one with the weapons, another with the KWS) which leads to a lot of switching back and forth could end up with a non-scanned target getting shot instead of scanned.

I do agree the cannon build looks powerful. But, given all the initial responses, wouldn't pulse lasers be better instead of beams in that example?

My python is 2xC3G beams and 1xC3G + 2xC2G cannons. One fire group has the beams on primary and the scanners on secondary and the other has beams on primary and cannons on secondary. If the target is smaller than a cobra I'll finish them off with the beams. If it's a cobra or larger I'll deal to the shields while scanning and then switch to the other fire group to bring the cannons up for hull/powerplant.

 

[Agarthan]

Go gimbaled pulse and either auto tracking or gimbaled multi cannons, put the pulses on the larger hard points and the cannons on the smaller, if you are overheating alternate to the cannons to allow the weapons power bank to recharge. This setup seems to work superbly on the Cobra I don't see why it wouldn't work if scaled up. Make sure you have the best sensors you can buy though to increase the effective range of both.

 

[[HJ]-RedRaven]

... you're much better off going with a A rated pp.

Of course, but the top PP for the Python is 51mil by itself.

I agree though, even with the top powerplant, large beams are overly power hungry and WEP capacitor-destroying - you're better off using the C3G Pulse lasers for the C3 hardpoints.

I had this until last night, when I finally ground enough RES Anaconda's to buy the 7A Powerplant. Good (Python) bang for buck, resilient and (reasonably) agile.
http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=605,5...,2-BQ9i7_72B69s8I,7Uc50o7ig7ig15O9tk0Ko13q12G

Managing the power on this, you can run all day in a RES, with 8 shield charges as safety net; and with strong shields to begin with. Plenty of melting power and reasonable agility for around 92-97% power usage (and thats just on the 7C power plant). You can run A-class thrusters, a bit better scanners etc too if you have the budget, as well as 5A shield cells for more shield boosting power. Keep resisting the urge to fit large beams...for RES the pulses are where its at.

And, if a CMDR shows up and has a go at you, the extra armour will help. The added 28tons of weight is +210 on top of the base 260 armour, so... ~80%+ more armour, and for a lot less than the 26-tons of reinforced bulkheads (20+mil). Purists will say it slows you down, but really? 28 tons of vs a total 770+ tons of ship mass? No, just no.

Anything you don't need in Supercruise (AFM, FSD, Cargo Hatch, Interdictor, one of the cell banks), set to priority 5 so it all switches off when you drop into a RES.
Easy, and fun.

Best bang for buck still goes to the toy Vulture, but the Python is a stately lady, with teeth.