Newcomer / Intro Cobra VS Viper VS Eagle, wich one would you go with, as a newbie.

[yuizling1974]

i'm tired of going from A to B, and back trading comm's in my T6.
it's time to see what ED has to offer, other than making that bank account increase.

if i sell my T6, i will have around 7M to spend, on a New combat ship With Upgrades.

i've had a pretty decent rigged Cobra, and it did great in combat.
i met several Vipers (NPC) in combat, and it was no real challange really.
that said, NPC no real pilot, no idea how bad equipped this Viper was, other than Pulse Lasers,
and some kind of missile rack that didn't do anything else but missing me.
that makes me Wonder, Viper the best combat ship around for a newbie?

or maybe go With an Eagle, i've seen many speak highly of it.

 

[777Driver]

i'm tired of going from A to B, and back trading comm's in my T6.
it's time to see what ED has to offer, other than making that bank account increase.

if i sell my T6, i will have around 7M to spend, on a New combat ship With Upgrades.

i've had a pretty decent rigged Cobra, and it did great in combat.
i met several Vipers (NPC) in combat, and it was no real challange really.
that said, NPC no real pilot, no idea how bad equipped this Viper was, other than Pulse Lasers,
and some kind of missile rack that didn't do anything else but missing me.
that makes me Wonder, Viper the best combat ship around for a newbie?

or maybe go With an Eagle, i've seen many speak highly of it.

If I only had 7 mill I would go with a Viper, 7 mill would do it up very nice... Eagle would be a lot cheaper but nowhere near as powerful. You need at least 10 mill to get a nicely upgraded Cobra, preferably more. that's not to say you can't have fun spending 7 mill on Cobra, it's still a blast to fly.

 

[Spur]

Viper is cheaper to outfit than the Cobra, it's more fun and it's a better ship all-round. Go for that. Eagle is not powerful or fast enough to be viable, but it does have a special place in my heart.

 

[Ian Skippy]

Eagle: cheap, hull made of porcelain, most agile ship in the game. Great fun to fly, insurance is near-neglible.
Viper: best combat ship in the game. Perfect hardpoint placement meaning you can go full-fixed if you want. With 7 million you can outfit it as you please.
Cobra: great multi-role ship and approaches the Viper when it comes to combat. With 7 million you can do a lot, but you cant go all A-rating.

If you plan to do some part time trading/smuggling or whatever, get the cobra. If you want to do 100% combat against NPCs go for eagle or viper, just get both and fly em around for a bit to see what is your taste. If you plan to go up against other human cmdrs, Viper for sure. For your information: my Viper is my main ship, but I get into the Eagle after a few beers.

 

[helmstif]

Eagle: the smallest, cheapest dedicated combat vessel but with upgrades it can do wonders. Not as fast or sturdy, but far more agile than either Viper or Cobra, and it's absolutely delightful to fly in one. I've been doing Anaconda assassination missions in my Eagle for a long time, which is a great way to make money quick while giving you adrenalin rush like nothing else. Just a few days ago I used it to beat the crap out of a Cmdr flying Viper.

Viper: the proper heavy fighter. A complete loadout probably won't leave you much space for cargo hold, but it cruises faster and has a smaller body than Cobra so if you just wanna kill stuff, Viper is the way to go.

Cobra: the best low-tier do-all ship. Similar handling and weapon capability to a Viper, albeit a bit slower, and its giant hull is super easy to hit in combat. However it opens up a lot of possibilities - mining, hauling, pirating, it can do all of them.

 

[yuizling1974]

tanks a lot, guys. +1 to all of you.

thats it then, Viper it will be. further Down the road somewhere, i'll be looking for pvp. (cmdr's)
but first, i need combat experience against NPC's.

as far as weapons go, think i'll stick With gimbal, still a rookie combat pilot.
what am i going to do With fixed ones, when i can't hit anything haha.

again, thanks Commanders

 

[thorn-]

For combat, definitely Viper over Eagle.

From 12/16, I flew the Eagle for bounties until I could afford the Viper. A few weeks later, I've got an A-level Viper with all the toys. A couple nights ago, I was feeling nostalgic for the pure agility of the Eagle. I've got some spare cash, so I bought another Eagle and outfitted nearly everything to A/B levels except life support and the FSD. Flew to a combat zone and started engaging. And after a couple sorties, something struck me - how LONG it was taking to kill anything. The problem with the Eagle isn't just that it's made of glass, it's also that the weapon mounts are so small. So while it might take me a a couple of mins to really put some damage on an Asp, it was taking 10+ mins with the Eagle. Staying on the back of the target was no problem at all, but inflicting actual damage took forever. At one point I started to just disengage and give up trying to kill something with spitballs.

After a few kills, flew back to the station and sold it off. Was a nice "test", but now I realize the sentimentality I had of the Eagle doesn't measure up to the reality of one.

 

[Ian Skippy]

as far as weapons go, think i'll stick With gimbal, still a rookie combat pilot.
what am i going to do With fixed ones, when i can't hit anything haha.

Ha, not a problem. Don't mistake gimbals for being 'rookie' weapons. One of the great advantages is that you can target subsystems super efficiently (if you really dislike a human cmdr you can kill their sensors. A real nasty for them way to discover you cant land without sensors!) ). Also, gimbals allow you to keep shooting when facing agile fighters who try to force you into a turning war. However, any enemy with chaffs can disable your auto-aim and make your gimbals act like they just drank a gallon of vodka. Your only way out in that situation is to de-select your target, which makes gimbals act like fixed weapons. So getting some practice with fixed in the future will save your bacon in these situations.

 

[yuizling1974]

Ha, not a problem. Don't mistake gimbals for being 'rookie' weapons. One of the great advantages is that you can target subsystems super efficiently (if you really dislike a human cmdr you can kill their sensors. A real nasty for them way to discover you cant land without sensors!) ). Also, gimbals allow you to keep shooting when facing agile fighters who try to force you into a turning war. However, any enemy with chaffs can disable your auto-aim and make your gimbals act like they just drank a gallon of vodka. Your only way out in that situation is to de-select your target, which makes gimbals act like fixed weapons. So getting some practice with fixed in the future will save your bacon in these situations.

alright, i'm With you mate. i never fancied fixed pulse lasers that much, but With
fixed ones, you can actually take out the FSD, or the Power generator?
that would be THE hoot, a heavily armed combat ship, but no Power to fire them.....

thanks thorn- +1, sir. think i'll just outfit an eagle, just for the sake of owning one.
take it out for a ride now and then, but bring out the Viper when you want some real dmg done.

my combat tactics aren't that great, i usually go lance, head on (thats what you Call it?)
fire-turn-fire-Shields Down-missile-dirtnap. (easy NPC targets)

on a side note: i'm thankful for the grammar police not beeing around, i would be in trouble
this Norwegian Windows auto correct thing, can't turn the darn thing off.....

and one more thing, where do the pvp ppl hang out mostly? Anarchy systems?

 

[SpydersByte]

I know you've already got your recommendations but I figured I would just chime in and second the Viper choice. The Eagle is a fun little agile ship but as others have mentioned it's both make of glass and equipped with pea shooters. I learned my lesson taking Eagles into high intensity conflict zones... not a smart idea. I've never used a Cobra in a combat role (mine is just loaded with racks, 60 cargo) but considering you have 7 mil you have enough to fully fit a cargo cobra *and* a combat viper. Whichever you choose, good luck out there

 

[Ian Skippy]

alright, i'm With you mate. i never fancied fixed pulse lasers that much, but With
fixed ones, you can actually take out the FSD, or the Power generator?
that would be THE hoot, a heavily armed combat ship, but no Power to fire them.....

thanks thorn- +1, sir.

Oh, I fear I have been unclear: you can target subsystems with both, but it is easier with gimballed. Let me put it like this:

Gimballed: easier to target subsystems, easier to hit in general, MUCH easier to hit in turning wars. However, much lower damage in general and can be easily countered with chaff.
Fixed: much higher damage, immune to chaff. Requires more skill in general. Not just in aiming but you'll need to be proficient with FA-off to even get to the point where you can try aiming in many situations.

Because most pvp pilots use chaff people with gimballed need to force their gimbals to be fixed. At that point they are slightly MORE difficult to use than fixed (remember even fixed has mild auto-aim!) while doing far less damage. In a way, you've lost before you've started. In short: Against NPC gimballed is actually better IMHO. Against pvp fixed is the way to go. For the record, I use 2x gimballed beam lasers and two gimballed multi-cannons. I don't seek out pvp but won't flee either. I currently have a win:loss ratio of more or less 10:1, but only because the other commanders made even more mistakes than I did. Against a real pvp pilot it'd probably be 1:10.

As for targeting modules: some modules result in instant death. For example, blowing up a powerplant is a very efficient way to kill anacondas compared with just pummeling the massive hull. Other modules have different effects. Shoot the life support and you force the other pilot to flee. Shoot the trusters and the hostile is not destroyed but you'll just float through space with nothing you can do about it. Sensors seem unimportant but as you have no contacts you have no docking permission. Both essentially require you to self-destruct, which is a rather shamefull and humbling thing to do.

Apologies for any misunderstanding.

 

[gregoreuo]

"Spitballs" I had a good laugh

 

[yuizling1974]

I know you've already got your recommendations but I figured I would just chime in and second the Viper choice. The Eagle is a fun little agile ship but as others have mentioned it's both make of glass and equipped with pea shooters. I learned my lesson taking Eagles into high intensity conflict zones... not a smart idea. I've never used a Cobra in a combat role (mine is just loaded with racks, 60 cargo) but considering you have 7 mil you have enough to fully fit a cargo cobra *and* a combat viper. Whichever you choose, good luck out there

i had a decent rigged cargo Cobra,and it did just great in combat vs NPC's.
thats why i'm asking, is a Viper armed to the teeth a better Choice, over a Cobra armed to the teeth?

thanks sleutelbos, Guess i'll just have to figure out myself how Things work.

i have another dumb question, is it possible to scan ships behind you?

 

[thorn-]

Viper vs Cobra - the weapon options will basically be the same.

I think the Cobra has a stronger hull, but the Viper stronger shields (just going by memory, and I had a late night). I prefer better shields.

Viper is faster, and can turn faster (though not by magnitudes) than a Cobra.

A Viper is a great fighter than can barely trade, while a Cobra is good at both (but not GREAT at either, and not good at BOTH with a single configuration).

 

[yuizling1974]

Viper vs Cobra - the weapon options will basically be the same.

I think the Cobra has a stronger hull, but the Viper stronger shields (just going by memory, and I had a late night). I prefer better shields.

Viper is faster, and can turn faster (though not by magnitudes) than a Cobra.

A Viper is a great fighter than can barely trade, while a Cobra is good at both (but not GREAT at either, and not good at BOTH with a single configuration).

thank you sir.

i'll most likely keep my T6 for trading, still got a few mill to spend on a pure combat ship.

so i Guess it will be a Viper, thanks for all the input guys.

 

[Thresh]

i'm tired of going from A to B, and back trading comm's in my T6.
it's time to see what ED has to offer, other than making that bank account increase.

if i sell my T6, i will have around 7M to spend, on a New combat ship With Upgrades.

i've had a pretty decent rigged Cobra, and it did great in combat.
i met several Vipers (NPC) in combat, and it was no real challange really.
that said, NPC no real pilot, no idea how bad equipped this Viper was, other than Pulse Lasers,
and some kind of missile rack that didn't do anything else but missing me.
that makes me Wonder, Viper the best combat ship around for a newbie?

or maybe go With an Eagle, i've seen many speak highly of it.

Being a newb at Elite myself, I think I may get a lot of use out of this thread.

Thanks for the post yuizling1974

 

[helmstif]

tanks a lot, guys. +1 to all of you.
thats it then, Viper it will be. further Down the road somewhere, i'll be looking for pvp. (cmdr's)
but first, i need combat experience against NPC's.

Then you might wanna go for an Eagle, or at least keep one for the sake of practice.

Yes, Viper hits about twice as hard than an Eagle can ever do and chips through NPCs like hot knife on butter, but PVP is a total different league where dodging is more important than shooting. That encounter I had last week? I interdicted twice and beat the crap out of that Cmdr in his Viper because he couldn't even touch me. It was during the second interdiction when the power threw me off course, and then he managed to bruise my shield with two homing missiles, which was no problem to me since I was carrying Shield Cell Bank. And his gimballed MC was completely useless because I have chaff.

I recommend you to get an Eagle first, do a few assassinations (which usually involves soloing an Anaconda). Work on your speed management and vertical movement, then attempt PVP. Otherwise those beta-era veterans would skin you alive.

 

[yuizling1974]

View attachment 10417 how is this, for a start? F2 gimb pulse lasers x 2 and B1 heatseeker missiles x 2

 

[the100thmonkey]

(I)s a Viper armed to the teeth a better Choice, over a Cobra armed to the teeth?

The weapon mounts are the same, so in that regard the amount of damage they can deal out is the same.

The Cobra is as wide as a barn door - I can easily take out the shields on NPC Cobras at 2KM with the beams on my Viper if I wait till the right moment.

If you want to practise PVP with another newb, PM me. I'm in the same position as you; I have an A/B-rated Viper but little PvP experience and would like to improve. The resource extraction sites are great for NPC killing, but aside from the occasional wanted Python or Anaconda that spawn in, there's no real challenge - I have an SCB, but haven't used it yet since I moved in to my new home.

And lose the BDS; you're not exploring and a KWS will up the bounties you receive.

 

[yuizling1974]

The weapon mounts are the same, so in that regard the amount of damage they can deal out is the same.

The Cobra is as wide as a barn door - I can easily take out the shields on NPC Cobras at 2KM with the beams on my Viper if I wait till the right moment.

If you want to practise PVP with another newb, PM me. I'm in the same position as you; I have an A/B-rated Viper but little PvP experience and would like to improve. The resource extraction sites are great for NPC killing, but aside from the occasional wanted Python or Anaconda that spawn in, there's no real challenge - I have an SCB, but haven't used it yet since I moved in to my new home.

And lose the BDS; you're not exploring and a KWS will up the bounties you receive.

i might do that sir, PM you for some sparring.
BDS is going, but what do i put in here???


i'm such a newbie

edit: KWS it is!

thanks guys!