I usually fly imperial ships but wanted to try something different so first I bought a python, A rated it but hated it so I sold it within 3 days. Next up, I bought a Dropship, A rated it and engineered it a little. This ship has a bit of a bad rep but its quickly becoming one of my favorite ships. It does drift almost as bad as my cutter but you can actually use that to your advantage. Iv been flying exclusively FA off and it's very easy to handle. Shields are weak but with the new MRPs hull tanking works well. I think it's more fun than the FAS. Anyone else appreciate this ship?
Dropship is awesome.
- Thread starter Threeofseven
- Start date
I enjoyed the Dropship as a fun multirole ship, but for combat I would recommend the Federal Assault ship. If you already enjoy the Federal Dropship for combat then you will like the Federal Assault Ship even more. It's faster, far more maneuverable and the hardpoint placement is better overall. I would recommend that you sell your Dropship and buy a Federal Assault Ship instead, at that point the only "upgrade" from a FAS is going to a FDL and with hull tanking being viable again the FAS has become much more competitive with the FDL anyways.
Gunship is Funship.
Never liked the Brick of Self-Sacrifice that is the dropship myself. It's speed range just doesn't jive with me in fights. A Gunship with grade 5 dirty drives is heavenly though.
Gunship is Funship. Everyone wants to fly the Funship.
Never liked the Brick of Self-Sacrifice that is the dropship myself. It's speed range just doesn't jive with me in fights. A Gunship with grade 5 dirty drives is heavenly though.
Gunship is Funship. Everyone wants to fly the Funship.
I actually have an FAS, it's a fine ship as well. I just can't do an FDL, I seriously dislike the looks and everyone and their brother flys the FDL. I have not tried the FDS in pvp yet, I'm gonna engineer the hull/HRP first but I think it would do well if I can master it's flight characteristics. Naturally it won't be as good an a FAS but it will give a certain level of unexpectedness to the loser.
I've really appreciated it for some time. It was my go-to intermediate ship in order to get to the bigger ones (I've restarted a few times), used it as proximity trader, miner, planetary attack ship at the time when planetary attacking was still a thing for ships... Looks cool, carries stuff, holds weapons.
A few things made it annoying for me on the long run though, and it really stood as an odd duck for some time with meta variations.
- First, I can't live with such a tiny fuel tank. A fuel scoop or an extra fuel tank is almost mandatory, taking one of your 7 slots.
- After the silent running nerf, and with engineers, its lack of shields became problematic. It was too slow to run on many occasions, and missiles buff made every ship this size (too big to misfire, too slow to flee, not big enough to tank) a tasty target - dead thrusters were the end of your life. Resistant on the hull side, but not enough to justify it at the time / + running with multiple HRPs made it even less of a "multirole", even more of a clumsy traveller.
Now, things have really changed for the better and I'm almost tempted to give it another go. 2 military slots = more options. Module defence pack = enf of the tiny shields problem and new hull tanking capabilities.
It looks soooo cool, and it's so easier to get that its somewhat imperial counterpart, the clipper...
A few things made it annoying for me on the long run though, and it really stood as an odd duck for some time with meta variations.
- First, I can't live with such a tiny fuel tank. A fuel scoop or an extra fuel tank is almost mandatory, taking one of your 7 slots.
- After the silent running nerf, and with engineers, its lack of shields became problematic. It was too slow to run on many occasions, and missiles buff made every ship this size (too big to misfire, too slow to flee, not big enough to tank) a tasty target - dead thrusters were the end of your life. Resistant on the hull side, but not enough to justify it at the time / + running with multiple HRPs made it even less of a "multirole", even more of a clumsy traveller.
Now, things have really changed for the better and I'm almost tempted to give it another go. 2 military slots = more options. Module defence pack = enf of the tiny shields problem and new hull tanking capabilities.
It looks soooo cool, and it's so easier to get that its somewhat imperial counterpart, the clipper...
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Core Dynamics for life meh dude!
Yes. Really good ship. Gets the job done. One of my favorite ships.
I'm a Federal Assault Ship man myself. I toyed with the idea back in the day to go either Dropship or Assault Ship and went with the FAS due to it's agility and firepower.
It's a good enough multirole to be my main ship and most importantly of all it is fun to fly and packs a punch. Mind you the hardpoint convergence of the Dropship lends itself quite well to all fixed weapons - it can actually be a pretty bad azz PvP ship.
I just really, really want FD to undo what they did to the FAS's cockpit in 2.2. They've destroyed its distinct look and I really want them to fix that.
It's a good enough multirole to be my main ship and most importantly of all it is fun to fly and packs a punch. Mind you the hardpoint convergence of the Dropship lends itself quite well to all fixed weapons - it can actually be a pretty bad azz PvP ship.
I just really, really want FD to undo what they did to the FAS's cockpit in 2.2. They've destroyed its distinct look and I really want them to fix that.
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I've never touched any of the Federal triplets.
I've been tempted more than once to spend my excess income on a FAS, but those shields are just so poor, no matter how I spec it on EDShipyard, they barely go past my Asp X. I just don't see the logic in hull tanking. For one, you have to pay for repairs, and then there's the more crucial issue about how the hull doesn't grow back over time like shields do. That not only limits your time in RESs and CZs, but it also leaves your external subsystems wide open (MRPs only protect internal modules). Meanwhile my FdL can manage 50-60 kills in a high-intensity CZ before running out of SCBs and heatsinks. Even when they do run out, all I have to do is fight more conservatively and let the shields regen on their own.
It's a shame that Core Dynamics couldn't just stick the Vulture's shields on everything.
I've been tempted more than once to spend my excess income on a FAS, but those shields are just so poor, no matter how I spec it on EDShipyard, they barely go past my Asp X. I just don't see the logic in hull tanking. For one, you have to pay for repairs, and then there's the more crucial issue about how the hull doesn't grow back over time like shields do. That not only limits your time in RESs and CZs, but it also leaves your external subsystems wide open (MRPs only protect internal modules). Meanwhile my FdL can manage 50-60 kills in a high-intensity CZ before running out of SCBs and heatsinks. Even when they do run out, all I have to do is fight more conservatively and let the shields regen on their own.
It's a shame that Core Dynamics couldn't just stick the Vulture's shields on everything.
It's something you learn to live with, plus it keeps me from getting lazy. I have Bi-weaves, a 4A SCB and two shield boosters and I have no problems staying in CZs and Res sites for as long as my ammo holds out. Engineering the Bi-weaves and the two boosters has given me some extra breathing room.
Don't Bi-weaves have less MJ than normal shields? Wouldn't that make your shields even weaker?
Actually, shield cell banks don't grow back over time either, and a shield dedicated build is nothing without shields. When they drop, without HRPs, you'd better leave unless you've got to the biggest ship tanks. And I personnally don't see the logic in one single type of obvious meta. Variety is the spice of the universe, better encourage it. I was glad they introduced the MRPs. For the external system protection, in theory, every weapon has (I think) the possibility of "sturdy mounts" mods. That nobody uses I guess, because, overcharged mod = the single mandatory choice = evil. One other case of obvious meta/shortage of ideas.
[alien]
Hull tanking is fun, and it's absurdly cheap with the economy as it is.
2 million in bounties will cost me less than 50k in repairs. Half of that 50k could be avoided if I stopped being a lazy pilot and dodged more instead of ramming my way to victory in my gunship.
I almost always run out of ammo before I run low on hull. It's just not a big deal and the FAS/FGS are fun to fly
Oh, and some people like the Dropship too.....
As I said, my shields will recharge on their own without SCBs, I just use them as insurance going up against Corvettes and Cutters. It's also cheaper to reload SCBs than it is to repair hull damage. On my Anaconda, the SCBs aren't even necessary, as the shields just don't drop. I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm still looking for a reasonable excuse to buy a FDS/AS/GS. Defense will never be that excuse, when compared to other ships in my fleet.
Less MJ but their recharge rates are much higher so that makes up for it. A 4A SCB can get my shields from just one ring up to full again.
And if they do go down the FAS has the hull to tank a couple of hits while the shields come back up, and they come back relatively fast so I don't have to tank as much damage on my hull if for example I was waiting on the slower normal shields to come back up. I actually run Bi-weaves on all my combat ships. The Vulture is particularly ideal with Bi-weaves and a 4A SCB.
I might have to try Bi-weaves sometime. I only use thermal-resistant regular shields on all my combat ships right now, with 2-4 heavy duty shield boosters and the odd SCB for emergencies.
Sturdy mods on Railguns in a silent shieldless FAS build is pretty evil
Less heat, more health to the Railgun mount and G3 onwards it adds additional armour pierce.
I honestly don't bother with Bi-weaves on the FAS/FGS even though they'd probably suit me better. I just find it handy every now and then to put 4 pips to shields and soak it all in because I'm in a bad position and know my tubby slow ship isn't going to get out of it anytime soon.
Saves some hull, and ultimately for me the Bi-weaves don't really. If I'm going to lose my shields it tends to happen at a point where Bi-weaves wouldn't come back before the fight is over, meaning I've got a minute while I locate the next target where even standard shields will regen.
That's my pace though, not yours.
I tend to try and stick on the enemy's tail and use chaff if they're using turrets and overpower them by shooting out their power plant before they can get enough hits in. I tend to go for high damage weapon configs such as 3 medium rails + 1 large PA or my more casual config:
2 rapid fire medium pulses,
1 large rapid fire phasing pulse
and 1 large corrosive multi
Cutrently working on getting all the pulse lasers to G5 rapid fire and all with phasing sequence - now that FD has shown mercy on our souls with the horrendous levels of RNGineer grind \o/
It's when taking on wings of NPCs that things get a little hairy but I rarely have to take hits to my hull as long as I still have chaff and an SCB.
Having too much fun with the Gunships Ultra-Yaw right now myself and developing bad habits. It's easy to let NPC's run by me and then whip around and catch them broadside and stay on top of them for a long time. Hull is so thick that I rarely worry about evasive maneuvers unless I'm taking missiles to the engines.