Ships Fer-de-Lance Fer-de-Lance Owner's Club

[Adeptus Kaze]

Tactical is appealing to me. I like several shades in it. However, I'd prefer to at least see the military in-game first at least once. Since I'm not one to ever change such a thing again, because I couldn't be bothered, I just want to snipe the most appealing. If it were for the by number most appealing skins contained I'd choose tactical any time. Or gold. Basically, give me a golden FdL.

E:// A bit unrelated, I present to you The Terror, a Fer de Lance that can burst away a shieldless Anaconda in but 1 approach:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_la....Iw1-ADJFA===.EwBhrEEYZz-MKQ==?bn=Torpedo FdL

I was toying with a build very similar to this as a PvP Wing Support/Assassination build. It is frighteningly effective at demolishing exactly 2 'Condas, and then it's 'Bomber returning to base, requesting escort', *lol* - I love it!

As to color, I'd love to see some Black/Blue/Cyan navy-style camo...

 

[Chaodiurn]

I was toying with a build very similar to this as a PvP Wing Support/Assassination build. It is frighteningly effective at demolishing exactly 2 'Condas, and then it's 'Bomber returning to base, requesting escort', *lol* - I love it!

As to color, I'd love to see some Black/Blue/Cyan navy-style camo...

I came to the build for similar usages, by toying around on the test servers. I've hit up the Federal Gunship with 4 such C2 torpedoes; then came the idea of the FdL. I see it's primary strength, however, even more precisely in the defence of sectors and areas. The FdL suffers low jump range but has great top speeds and high mobility. Combined with this loadout and perhaps combined with some more continual fighters, it should greatly help keep systems in check. I imagined this in case of Sothis. Pirates in Dropships, Clippers and the like could be blasted away within one salve, or heavily damaged if fire is spread some bit.

I am playing the loadout on the mainserver with a fixed C3 beam, however, as it saves some energy, gives more damage if the hits come somewhat constantly, and thus helps the largest problem of this: heat. If you're too low on weapon capacitors the energy will be taken from the power plant, what quickly can heat your ship well above 400%. Since I'm doing that, binary systems really only feel a bit more expensive than buying the fuel thanks to repair bills, but nowhere near to danger. The maximum heat damage my own torpedoes had caused me so far was 20% something directly away from hull. So managing those shield stripper weapons is a very important thing to do.

Also, 120k credits to reload 8 torpedoes. Doesn't matter too much if you hit something valuable with them, and as you're in a FdL, exclusivity should be part of one's lifestyle anyway, be it the ship itself or only taking the best munition.

Cruising around with that murder ship is the best feeling ever! Well, almost.

There's only one thing I don't know how to take yet. On the testservers it's already implemented that destroyed power plants won't destroy the ship anymore. So, nuking that won't cause a whole Conda to explode in the future. However, it does seem to immobilize them and limit their actions strongly. Also, the torpedoes will still take a whole ton of hull% away. I'm not sure how I'll feel having to clear the target after hitting all torpedoes. Should still happen rarely, hope. So far, even NPC Gunships are killed by a full volley, and they have very much armour as it is.

I love that loadout even more than I loved the C4 PA, as crazy it is to say.

 

[Adeptus Kaze]

I came to the build for similar usages, by toying around on the test servers. I've hit up the Federal Gunship with 4 such C2 torpedoes; then came the idea of the FdL. I see it's primary strength, however, even more precisely in the defence of sectors and areas. The FdL suffers low jump range but has great top speeds and high mobility. Combined with this loadout and perhaps combined with some more continual fighters, it should greatly help keep systems in check. I imagined this in case of Sothis. Pirates in Dropships, Clippers and the like could be blasted away within one salve, or heavily damaged if fire is spread some bit.

I am playing the loadout on the mainserver with a fixed C3 beam, however, as it saves some energy, gives more damage if the hits come somewhat constantly, and thus helps the largest problem of this: heat. If you're too low on weapon capacitors the energy will be taken from the power plant, what quickly can heat your ship well above 400%. Since I'm doing that, binary systems really only feel a bit more expensive than buying the fuel thanks to repair bills, but nowhere near to danger. The maximum heat damage my own torpedoes had caused me so far was 20% something directly away from hull. So managing those shield stripper weapons is a very important thing to do.

Also, 120k credits to reload 8 torpedoes. Doesn't matter too much if you hit something valuable with them, and as you're in a FdL, exclusivity should be part of one's lifestyle anyway, be it the ship itself or only taking the best munition.

Cruising around with that murder ship is the best feeling ever! Well, almost.

There's only one thing I don't know how to take yet. On the testservers it's already implemented that destroyed power plants won't destroy the ship anymore. So, nuking that won't cause a whole Conda to explode in the future. However, it does seem to immobilize them and limit their actions strongly. Also, the torpedoes will still take a whole ton of hull% away. I'm not sure how I'll feel having to clear the target after hitting all torpedoes. Should still happen rarely, hope. So far, even NPC Gunships are killed by a full volley, and they have very much armour as it is.

I love that loadout even more than I loved the C4 PA, as crazy it is to say.

You could also Hybriize the Assassin Build with my P&T mkIIb to have a 4pa, 2 x Med Pulse Lasers, and 2 x Class 2 Torpedo... You could run a a Bomber role, shifting to Torpedoes only vs. specific larger targets and CMDRs... This would work very well as a part of a diversified wing.

 

[quickr]

My current setup.

I find myself more and more in vulture rather in FDL. This ship just doesn't suit me

 

[Chaodiurn]

You could also Hybriize the Assassin Build with my P&T mkIIb to have a 4pa, 2 x Med Pulse Lasers, and 2 x Class 2 Torpedo... You could run a a Bomber role, shifting to Torpedoes only vs. specific larger targets and CMDRs... This would work very well as a part of a diversified wing.

Like this?

http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_la...326b4u.Iw0gMZdQ.EwBhrSQRmmrMY0g=?bn=P&T FdLv3

It would only allow you the use of linking an A4 and A1 shield cell, and only when the PA is deactivated. I excluded some toys, as many of them aren't too useful most often. Since the PA needs much power, it basically has to be run on 4 PIP weapon for the longest time possible. An idea would be to swap the pulse lasers for two multicannons. They would do less damage to the shields but also drain less energy and generate less heat. The PA is already good against shields (if hit), and with the torpedo pylons one would have to go for reloads frequently anyway. Since gimb. multicannons drain 0.04% more energy off the A5 power plant, the ship would be unchanged otherwise. So you would only have to run on 4 PIP between PA shots.

 

[Chaodiurn]

My current setup.

I find myself more and more in vulture rather in FDL. This ship just doesn't suit me

Why don't you make use of that A6 power distributor? The multicannons drain practically no energy, so you easily could fit something like a C3 fixed burst laser. If you want to also use rail guns, try swapping one or two multicannons for them and work with firegroups.

 

[Adeptus Kaze]

Why don't you make use of that A6 power distributor? The multicannons drain practically no energy, so you easily could fit something like a C3 fixed burst laser. If you want to also use rail guns, try swapping one or two multicannons for them and work with firegroups.

The center-line Railgun is fairly easy to aim because of it's position below the cockpit.

My current setup.

I find myself more and more in vulture rather in FDL. This ship just doesn't suit me

I can see at a glance why the Vulture is doing better for You. Lightweight Armor leaves you vulnurable to Kinetic Damage, Power Allocations leave You under-equipped, and The Railgun hurts You as the only reliable way to bring down Shields.
Just shutting down the redundant Chaff and SCBs until needed gain You enough power to add a second Class A Shield Booster, like so:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_la...66.AwRj49U6g===.AwhMIys1SA==?bn=Vulture Sub 1

...or alternatively You can sub 2 Class 2 Beam Lasers to destroy Shields, and Keep the Center-Mounted Rail to shoot out subsystems:

http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_la...66.AwRj49U6g===.AwhMIys1SA==?bn=Vulture Sub 2

In either case You are not fully using the power available from the C4 hardpoint.

Please consider using a Class 3 Beam (Fixed or Gimballed) to suppliment your multicannons rather than the Railgun; it will increase your performance by a good bit; and upgrade that Armor to Military Grade Composite. Since the last Update - armor actually means something and can really improve your staying power.

Just a couple of thoughts,
Ambassador Kaze

 

[Jackie Silver]

I love my 'Lance. I use a lightweight build with an extra fuel tank and an ADS to provide a bit more interstellar mobility and with one of the size 4 general purpose bays holding either a big fuel tank, an FSD Interdictor, a cargo bay or whatever else is appropriate for what I want to do. Great for running assassination missions and poking about in combat zones; I'm slowly raising my combat ranking towards Deadly and the heady heights of Elite.

I value speed very highly in ships, so much that I don't feel comfortable in anything that won't do at least 400ms-1 under boost.

 

[Jackie Silver]

Post 1.4 I found my previous weapons fit (2 gimballed C2 multicannons (side slots), 2 C2 fixed pulse (top slots), 1 C3 fixed pulse) which had been serving me very well was no longer as effective due to the (good!) armour and module changes. After considerable faffing about I ended up with 2 gimballed C2 multicannons (side slots), 2 turreted C2 multicannons (top slots), 1 C3 fixed pulse - it can be run more-or-less continuously (i.e. firing when on target) with only 2 pips in weapons and it's funny watching the little gatling guns pivot about impotently once they've run out of rounds. It's funny what works. I like a nice easy "point in the general direction of the target and press fire" setup.

 

[Faster than Jesus [VR]]

Anyone else find that it's running hotter in 1.4? Course, it could just be my imagination...

 

[Space Pigeon]

Haven't done much with my FDL in 1.4 yet. But my Vulture actually gave me a heat warning. And it's running the normal dual Pulse set up. Never had it before. Can imagine that the FDL is more sensitive to heat as well, if all ships had this change.

 

[cometcruiser]

Anyone else find that it's running hotter in 1.4? Course, it could just be my imagination...

Mine is running hotter since 1.4. I have had to totally re-do my set up.

 

[Chaodiurn]

My Python runs hotter as well, at least on fuel scooping. Can't say much about combat temperatures though. Mining laser heat seemed stable. In 1.4 beta I've not seen much difference in combat temperature concerning the FdL directly, while having tested some things with it.

 

[Poseidal]

Has the sound changed? The boost and engine sounded very different.

 

[SAB380]

Is the heat difference real?
I don't think I've ever seen a single post from anyone stating the FDL need to be balanced via even more overheating issues

 

[puca]

Is the heat difference real?
I don't think I've ever seen a single post from anyone stating the FDL need to be balanced via even more overheating issues

As any seasoned explorer will tell you, the amount of heat a ship gets while scooping is a function of what modules you have turned on. So -- if you need to travel somewhere far, just turn off modules that take a lot of power -- weapons and shields. I use a 2A scoop on my FDL, and while the jump range is not great as we all expect, I can easily maintain 60+ kg/s while being heat-stable. This is quite sufficient for the 8T tank the FDL has.

I started with the classic 4 gimballed pulses 1 gimballed C4 cannon, but then moved on to this build:

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=70O,5DS5Rr5Rr7u57u501Q01Q0mI0_g0_g3wo,327_7_6Q6u9Y6u5A,7Sk7gy7gy4xo10i

I think the key breakthrough for me was realizing firstly that a C4 cannon does not pull its weight overall in terms of damage it pumps out in a haz res session (too many fast ships, and even on larger ships it isn't a given you can make all shots land). And secondly that the FDL is a relatively fast turner with good weapon convergence, and to really take full advantage of that you need to learn to use some fixed weapons. That C3 fixed burst laser + 2 gimballed pulses actually does almost as much as 3 C3 gimballed pulses on a python.

I also learned that it's not all about max MJ in a shield, it's also how easy it is for you to avoid damage via chaff and maneuverability and even point defense.

 

[Jackie Silver]

I also learned that it's not all about max MJ in a shield, it's also how easy it is for you to avoid damage via chaff and maneuverability and even point defense.

Absolutely - and pip management and picking your targets to avoid being swamped.

I've moved on to a new weapons loadout with mine - a fixed C3 Pulse laser, three turreted C2 Multicannons and a turreted C2 Beam (on the left hand side slot, which is mildly important - it could be just my flying style but I think something about the cockpit position makes the left-side slot much less likely to fire with a multicannon turret fitted - try it); total shield is only somewhere over 500, but it's adequate for combat zones, compromised beacons and so on. Head-on with a full weapons charge the pulse and beam lasers strip shields, the beam keeps stripping them and the multicannons hit armour once the shield is down, it's excellent for dealing with small fighters without needing to put any pips into engines or mess about spinning the ship with FA off - just track round keeping the target anywhere in the vague direction of "up" and the turrets will spoil its day.

 

[Adeptus Kaze]

Is the heat difference real?
I don't think I've ever seen a single post from anyone stating the FDL need to be balanced via even more overheating issues

Yeah, I cook myself with my 4pa after a couple of shots now. I am toying with jumping on the Shield Banks off when hardpoints deployed bandwagon... how badly does this slow down your ability to deploy the SCBs?

 

[Faster than Jesus [VR]]

Yeah, I cook myself with my 4pa after a couple of shots now. I am toying with jumping on the Shield Banks off when hardpoints deployed bandwagon... how badly does this slow down your ability to deploy the SCBs?

Adds 3 seconds. An alternative is manually turning modules off rather than retracting hardpoints. Can be quicker, but is also more fiddly. With headphones, it's easy to tell when everything is retracted (I've not tested it, but I suspect bigger weapons retract slower, as they definitely take longer to deploy) as the sound effect(s) complete.

The PAC definitely seems to be dumping a lot of heat on to the FDL. It's almost tempting to go back to a class 3 pulse on the huge, but it is rather boring.

 

[Adeptus Kaze]

Adds 3 seconds. An alternative is manually turning modules off rather than retracting hardpoints. Can be quicker, but is also more fiddly. With headphones, it's easy to tell when everything is retracted (I've not tested it, but I suspect bigger weapons retract slower, as they definitely take longer to deploy) as the sound effect(s) complete.

The PAC definitely seems to be dumping a lot of heat on to the FDL. It's almost tempting to go back to a class 3 pulse on the huge, but it is rather boring.

I am an Xbox Player, so hotkeying the systems isn't an option for me. I'll learn to deal with the 3 second delay. I am currently working on this:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/fer_de_la...==.CwBhCYzBGW-yjxA=?bn=Patience and Time mkIV

The main problem that I have is that despite the A6 Distributor, Shield recharge is soooooooo sloooooow. I like being able to see the enemy from a distance, and not having to panic when my canopy gets blown, so I am fighting the urge to D Class Sensors/Life Support in order to increase Shields and Weapons further as I have seen in so many other successful Builds. I am considering a drop to B Class thrusters though... How badly do You think that will hamper me?