Corvette is actually a better trader ship than an Anaconda

I love the way the corvette looks and I wanted one, but I keep reading on the forums that it's a terrible trading ship, that the anaconda beats it hands down and no traders should upgrade to a 'vette.

So I decided to do some numbers.

The best trading routes I could (Large pad) were Imp Slaves one way and whatever is profitable coming back. These I will admit are generally over the corvette's laden single jump distance, therefore it means the corvette cant run them? in a word... no.

These were the builds I used :

Anaconda :
http://coriolis.io/outfit/anaconda/...4.Iw18ZlA=.CwBhGYyhGWvhj7CA?bn=Trade Anaconda

Federal Corvette:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/federal_c...40406060605054a04030324.Iw18Z5A=.AwhMIyu5w1xA

After quite a bit of checking around I found multiple routes like this :

Out Route2613 cr/ton
Return Route666 cr/ton
Distance18.18ly

This would be one jump for an anaconda or two jumps (unless the stars are placed really weirdly) for a corvette. Timings from Leaving the station and from jump in to the station in the destinations would be effectively the same for both ships, therefore the only difference between the two is the additional jump for the corvette which I timed at ~45 seconds.

(EDITED For Correct travel times!)

ShipTravel Time (sec)CargoProfitTotal Cargo ProfitProfit Per Second TravelledProfit Per Hour
Anaconda600448327914689922,448.328,813,952.00
Federal Corvette690576327918887042,737.259,854,107.83
Ship Stats:
AnacondaCorvette
Shields785mj944mj
Armor945666
Lock Factor2324
Cost185mil277mil
Insurance9.28 mil13.87 mil

This makes the Federal Corvette 10.1% better at trading than the Anaconda. (Your milage may vary).

If you run without shields:

(EDITED For Correct travel times!)

ShipTravel Time (sec)CargoProfitTotal Cargo ProfitProfit Per Second TravelledProfit Per Hour
Anaconda600464327915214562,535.769,128,736.00
Federal Corvette690608327919936322,889.3210,401,558.26

Corvette is 12.2% better (But it has less armor to get away).

OR you can add a 4D Hull reinforcement which gives the corvette 51 more armor than an anaconda and it still beats it by 9%

(EDITED For Correct travel times!)

ShipTravel Time (sec)CargoProfitTotal Cargo ProfitProfit Per Second TravelledProfit Per Hour
Anaconda600464327915214562,535.769,128,736.00
Federal Corvette690592327919411682,813.2910,127,833.04
Other benefits of the Federal Corvette :

It flies like a spaceship instead of like a slightly aerodynamic brick.

Other Benefits of the Anaconda :

You do get *slightly* more netflix time with the anaconda as you dont have to do the second jump in the middle.

n.b.
If you can find a trade route thats under 11.7 ly distance for similar gains then the corvette would absolutely destroy the anaconda. I'm still looking but I'm sure there's one out there somewhere :) best I have found so far is a 2700 cr/ton 6 ly jump route and that would mean that the anaconda is 1% better (continuing to do its 3279 cr/ton route) than the corvette.

Please feel free to let me know if you think I've got any numbers wrong anywhere (I did... travel times were wrong!)

Would I give anything for a longer jump range? Oh yes.

Edit: Is this thread about how the cutter compares to this? : No!

 
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guess were just going to have to nerf it.
we cant have a dedicated long range combat ship with good trading capability!!
You're going to have to give something up. That's the way we handle anything on the forums right?
the end is near, the sky is falling, this is sarcasm.
 
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I feel the same as you op, i loved the look of the corvette, bought one kitted it out for trading, use it occasionally when i need to top up my bank balance, wouldnt be seen dead in one of those darn imperial ships, no sir. repped.
 
Another post claiming 12 round trips/hr. or 5 mins. per round trip.

Can anyone post a video of how this is done?

I don't see how, unless you log off on launch, and even then I can't believe 12 trips per hour. What am I missing?

Agreed - just use a Cutter with 728T capacity. 2 Mil per round trip consistently, a bit more when prices are right. I can't see how you can do more than 6 round trips per hour and then only if everything goes right. last time I discussed this topic i did some testing with an A rated Cobra between 2 systems with an avg. of 750ls to stations and it took about 10 mins. which would be 6 trips per hour, and that was without actually buying or selling anything at each end.

I'd love to hear other thoughts or a video showing how you can do the claimed 12 per hour.
 
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Another post claiming 12 round trips/hr. or 5 mins. per round trip.

Can anyone post a video of how this is done?

I don't see how, unless you log off on launch, and even then I can't believe 12 trips per hour. What am I missing?

Agreed - just use a Cutter with 728T capacity. 2 Mil per round trip consistently, a bit more when prices are right. I can't see how you can do more than 6 round trips per hour and then only if everything goes right.

I'd love to hear other thoughts or a video showing how you can do the claimed 12 per hour.


You sir are correct. I'm quoting the times for a one way trip but using the profit for a two way trip! I'll have to edit the numbers above.
 
How long is the return on investment, extra cost of Corvette over Anaconda?

~25 hours

EDIT: Revised to 50 hours based on following discussion.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

You sir are correct. I'm quoting the times for a one way trip but using the profit for a two way trip! I'll have to edit the numbers above.


Thank you,

I've seen others make the same mistake without the honesty to admit it.

+1 rep to you

EDIT: revised time for ROI to 50 based on the revisions.
 
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i'd just use a cutter for trading and beat them both :p

Thats like saying to someone who's played for 10 hours.. You shouldnt be using a cobra you should be using an anaconda.

The post is about comparing the Corvette and the Anaconda as everyone keeps saying how terrible the corvette is at trading compared to the anaconda and you shouldnt use the corvette for trading at all. There's always a bigger ship.
 
Thats like saying to someone who's played for 10 hours.. You shouldnt be using a cobra you should be using an anaconda.

The post is about comparing the Corvette and the Anaconda as everyone keeps saying how terrible the corvette is at trading compared to the anaconda and you shouldnt use the corvette for trading at all. There's always a bigger ship.

All 3 are better than a T-9

I agree - the Corvette can be a great trader and probably generate a bit more profit than an Anaconda. One difference I'd point out though, is that I get 20.5LY per jump out of my trade Conda that could be a factor on a route that might take 3 jumps to make in a Corvette because of star positions, but that would seem to be minor.

I think the point of Corvette vs Cutter for trade is relevant because they are close enough in price that if you can afford one you can probably afford the other. I think my Trade Cutter is worth around 500M. I have enough to buy a Corvette and will be buying it soon after I return from the outback. I haven't priced one out yet, but I would think it's probably in the same price range.
 
All 3 are better than a T-9

I agree - the Corvette can be a great trader and probably generate a bit more profit than an Anaconda. One difference I'd point out though, is that I get 20.5LY per jump out of my trade Conda that could be a factor on a route that might take 3 jumps to make in a Corvette because of star positions, but that would seem to be minor.

I think the point of Corvette vs Cutter for trade is relevant because they are close enough in price that if you can afford one you can probably afford the other. I think my Trade Cutter is worth around 500M. I have enough to buy a Corvette and will be buying it soon after I return from the outback. I haven't priced one out yet, but I would think it's probably in the same price range.

Heres what I put together for the clipper:

1 Jump route (for all three ships.. I did find one) 2945 cr/ton

ShipTravel Time (sec)CargoProfitTotal Cargo ProfitProfit Per Second TravelledProfit Per Hour
Anaconda600464294513664802,277.478,198,880.00
Federal Corvette600592294517434402,905.7310,460,640.00
Imperial Cutter600708294520850603,475.1012,510,360.00

You can see there it's quite a nice progression. My build was :
http://coriolis.io/outfit/federal_c...40406060605054a04030324.Iw18Z5A=.AwhMIyu5w1xA

PriceInsurance
Anaconda173mil8.6mil
Corvette224mil11.2mil
Clipper336mil16.8mil

For a trip (like the original one) that the anaconda can do in one jump but the other two have to make two jumps it works out like this:

ShipTravel Time (sec)CargoProfitTotal Cargo ProfitProfit Per Second TravelledProfit Per Hour
Anaconda600464327915214562,535.769,128,736.00
Federal Corvette690592327919411682,813.2910,127,833.04
Imperial Cutter690708327923215323,364.5412,112,340.87

So.. (shock horror). Better trading as you pay more for the ship. And higher insurance.

But as for my original point, anyone that says you cant trade in a corvette.. is wrong :)
 
Thats like saying to someone who's played for 10 hours.. You shouldnt be using a cobra you should be using an anaconda.

The post is about comparing the Corvette and the Anaconda as everyone keeps saying how terrible the corvette is at trading compared to the anaconda and you shouldnt use the corvette for trading at all. There's always a bigger ship.
Did you really just say the route from cobra to anaconda is as long as the route from corvette to cutter?
 
Best trader = Cutter
Best all-rounder = Anaconda
Best combat = Corvette or Anaconda

But, unless you've already earned 200-300 million credits it's just nice to know what to aim for.
 
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Majinvash

Banned
The big problem is that FD has not reviewed its early ships much and it shows.

The original ships all served a purpose and other than the Python being a little OP were fairly balanced.

The trade ships had a nice progression. T 6 / 7 / 9

The multirole ships Adder, Cobra, Asp, Python, Conda.

The fighters Eagle, Viper, Clipper.

The other ships sort of made their own way depending on the player.

Then Wings arrived with the Vulture and FDL but more importantly along with that came the shield boosters.

Since then, all the ships that have come out have had more utility mounts than many of the earlier ships.
More and more fancy ships have come along and changes to how SCB are now working has meant putting in larger slots, so that the war ships can be viable.

Its making the warships viable that has made them accidentally into the best traders. You need 7A SCB's to keep a Corvette or Cutter in a fight if you are running the shield meta.

ED needs to go back and look at its earlier ships and then look at its latest and what is coming next and totally rebalance them, because many are just becoming pointless.

The first thing should be to buff the hell out of the T7 and T9 to give them VERY solid armour as a default, maybe more power so they can run higher grade shields, review the base shield strength to start, add more utility and change the internal slots to bigger ones.

The T9 never made sense to me, its a stupid ship choice compared to a trade conda. Yes the conda costs more and carries slightly less but its much harder to pirate.

I always thought the T9 should be able to carry around the 1000tonne mark and be made of pig iron, take a pounding and just keep going.
The ship builders much have foreseen that the biggest trade ship would be the biggest target to the nasties of the universe.

Majinvash
The Voice of Open
 
AnacondaCorvette
Shields785mj944mj
Armor945666
Lock Factor2324
Cost185mil277mil
Insurance9.28 mil13.87 mil

This makes the Federal Corvette 10.1% better at trading than the Anaconda. (Your milage may vary).

As you didn't include the costing for the Cutter I won't mention that.


10.1% extra profit from a ship that costs 50% more. You are making 1m more per hour so it will take you 50 hours of hardcore trading to get back the extra cost.

During which time the Anny pilot just racks up pure profit.

Sounds like a simple choice to me.
 
It highly depends on the trade route. I'm close to saying that the Corvette is not usable as a combat ship (in certain regions of the bubble).

I bought the Corvette and had to outfit it 40something ly away from my home system. I got the brilliant idea to fill the ship up with some cargo. The result was a 14 jumps journey back.

The low jump range is really crippling if the system density is low. I wonder why the Corvette has such a short jump range. That ship is designed to project the power of the Federation anywhere needed, but fully outfitted for heavy combat it can't even reach a lot of systems. Same applies to combat ships down to the Vulture (depending on what carrier ships the Federation has, if they have carrier ships at all).

Maybe the Federal Navy has FSD that allow a much longer jump range and CD only sells highly crippled ships to civilians?
 
The big problem is that FD has not reviewed its early ships much and it shows.


The original ships all served a purpose and other than the Python being a little OP were fairly balanced.



The fighters Eagle, Viper, Clipper.





ED needs to go back and look at its earlier ships and then look at its latest and what is coming next and totally rebalance them, because many are just becoming pointless.




I don’t think that the Clipper was designed as a fighter. That just as a side note.




Listening to the recent live streams and the comments made by the dev.s I think they will - they have to - rebalance the ships in the near future when crafting is introduced to the game.


Considering that they said that they only want to make changes in small steps I assume that the newer ships already are „balanced“ to the new „balance design“ and with crafting in mind.


At least that’s what I hope.
 
Did you really just say the route from cobra to anaconda is as long as the route from corvette to cutter?


No what I said was there's no point telling someone who's comparing two particular ships.. ignore both of those and use this. You have to grind rep to get the corvette and cutter and it's reasonable that someone would have access to only one of those (for a casual player that could be for a very long time).

As you didn't include the costing for the Cutter I won't mention that.


10.1% extra profit from a ship that costs 50% more. You are making 1m more per hour so it will take you 50 hours of hardcore trading to get back the extra cost.

During which time the Anny pilot just racks up pure profit.

Sounds like a simple choice to me.

Actually 92 mil more..

But for the first 92 hours yes the corvette is making its credits back.. However after that 92 hours the corvette pulls away from the anaconda and the anaconda will always be behind.
(For the clipper...)
Approx 3mil more per hour than the anaconda.. and it costs 163mil more. So that's 163/3 = 54 hrs trading.

If the corvette's jump range was increased to match the anaconda it would pull in approx 2.5mil/hour (depending on route) more than the anaconda which would put the time taken to recoup the increased cost at 92/2.5 = 36.8 hrs.

It would still be under the Cutter for income by around 800k/hour.
 
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The big problem is that FD has not reviewed its early ships much and it shows.

The original ships all served a purpose and other than the Python being a little OP were fairly balanced.

The trade ships had a nice progression. T 6 / 7 / 9

The multirole ships Adder, Cobra, Asp, Python, Conda.

The fighters Eagle, Viper, Clipper.

The other ships sort of made their own way depending on the player.

Then Wings arrived with the Vulture and FDL but more importantly along with that came the shield boosters.

Since then, all the ships that have come out have had more utility mounts than many of the earlier ships.
More and more fancy ships have come along and changes to how SCB are now working has meant putting in larger slots, so that the war ships can be viable.

Its making the warships viable that has made them accidentally into the best traders. You need 7A SCB's to keep a Corvette or Cutter in a fight if you are running the shield meta.

ED needs to go back and look at its earlier ships and then look at its latest and what is coming next and totally rebalance them, because many are just becoming pointless.

The first thing should be to buff the hell out of the T7 and T9 to give them VERY solid armour as a default, maybe more power so they can run higher grade shields, review the base shield strength to start, add more utility and change the internal slots to bigger ones.

The T9 never made sense to me, its a stupid ship choice compared to a trade conda. Yes the conda costs more and carries slightly less but its much harder to pirate.

I always thought the T9 should be able to carry around the 1000tonne mark and be made of pig iron, take a pounding and just keep going.
The ship builders much have foreseen that the biggest trade ship would be the biggest target to the nasties of the universe.

Majinvash
The Voice of Open

There should be dedicated spaces for shields and stuff like computers, scanners, limpet controllers, ETC. They could still include limitations by power consumption and ship's CPU capacity so you can still play around with different configurations.
But it doesn't make sense that a shield generator or a cell bank is the size of 256 cargo canisters.
It doesn't make sense that you can make your hull stronger by storing hull reinforcement plates where there should be a cargo bays

The spaces for cargo bays should only be replaced by hangar bays, fuel tanks, refineries and ammo storage.

That way would be much more realistic, each ship would have more personality and more clear roles, while leaving space for customization.
 
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