Ships Ferdelance PvE Build Advice Needed

[Safester]

I'm currently out in the Colonia region inbetween exploration jouneys and thought I'd hang around for a while and do some bounty hunting. Looking to buy a Ferdelance for the task but engineering has never been a strong point of mine. I'm not looking for specific full builds, although they will be welcomed, but rather pointers as to how I should approach certain modules / outfitting e.g., should I go for an armoured PP or low emissions, that kind of thing. Also, I've only ever used lasers and multi cannons on my other combat ships but am willing to try out some other weapons if anyone can recommend some.

All advice appreciated.

 

[sinisalo]

There is no one way to do it, and you'll see as many opinions as replies. The FDL excels as a shield tank, is fast and maneuverable, and packs a good punch. It can support any number of weapons combinations, but mine is the same old boring multicannons and beams. But I really like this combo, and it is also a low power footprint, which dovetails nicely with my build priorities. This is my FDL as outfitted for the current CG

Eagle Weslake CZ

It is light for a FDL, which takes full advantage of the speed and agility. No armor upgrade aside from Heavy-Duty on the stock alloys. Shields like these will never collapse in PvE unless you are taking wing assassinations or something, so the integrity is more for peace of mind, and CZs where some NPCs can bypass shields. In typical RES, CNB and CZ combat it is pretty good. Thermal resists are key in my view, but I've gone with Reinforced and Hi-Cap just to maximize mj, and thermals resists are made up through the boosters. Usually anything over 40% is fine, but 50% would be better.

The huge multicannon has corrosive, and the outboard mediums use autoloader, with efficient beams. Thermal Vent keeps heat in check and allows continuous firing. DPS may be low for a FDL, but I'd bet DPM is not. One cool thing about the huge mutlicannon is that it has no spin-up time. The autoloaders do. What this means is that by having all multicannons on the same firegroup a quick pull of that trigger spits out single huge corrosive rounds, and holding it down longer spins up the autoloaders, in effect making it act like a dual-stage trigger. I really like this. It allows me to apply corrosive without being profligate with the mediums. So I can keep the beams on a dying target, popping off a few corrosive rounds to increase damage.

You can brew up better multicannon ammo with synthesis, which increases the damage potential beyond what Coriolis is showing here. You can take a lot of different approaches with this ship. Concentrate on shields, and then whichever weapons appeal to you. It can handle it.

 

[sinisalo]

Oh yes, I didn't adress the power plant you asked about. In this ship I have a down-class 5A with overcharged. and thermal spread For this CZ config, it's more than is needed, but it is there for when I add things like a FSDI for assassinations and pirate lord missions, a scoop or a GFSDB. Swapping those out for HRPs drops the power draw and makes the PP overkill a bit. Armored is best in my view. My advice is to build out the ship in Coriolis, then do the power plant last, with whichever class and engineering you need to cover the power draw of the modules and weapons you have chosen.

Truth is, a ship with shields like this is not going to lose them in PvE so I think you can get away with any power plant mod. It is not going to be damaged. PvP would be another matter.

 

[Northpin]

Do you really want a FDL?
I mean the Krait Mk2 is so much better in PVE and so much versatile

IF you are set on FDL you can try this one. It has a KWS so shields are not the best they could be.

 

[sinisalo]

Good point Northpin, Krait is marvelous. But you and I both have each (assuming the one in your link is yours), so we don't have much room to talk haha

It is best to have both in your fleet!

 

[Safester]

Thanks for the input, I'll look into your suggestions.

I'm not set on an FDL but I was looking at the shipyard at Jaques Station and it seemed the most obvious ship to buy for the task that was in my price range. I already have a Krait Phantom so perhaps that's why I didn't look at the Mk II. You've given me some food for thought but I think I'll stick with my original idea, I'm not planning on staying in Colonia for long so if the FDL doesn't live up to my expectations I'll just move on with my next exploration journey.