Fighter role for wings cobra or Viper? Only two I have

[Smoon]

Hello.

I have a cobra and a viper and I am deciding which one to pour my credits in to max out. I am thinking the cobra due to the jump distance over the viper but then I started thinking. What if I join a wing of vipers only? We could have closer jump distance since we are all vipers. If I am in my cobra I might be the limiting factor if the wings have Asp or greater ships.

So am I stuck at keeping both ships and outfitting both of them until I can afford a higher class of ship? Would you choose one over the other? I was thinking about selling the viper to help finance the cobra outfitting but what if selling the cobra is the better option? I only have 3 ships a T-6, cobra, and viper.

Here I was thinking Wings would be an easy thing to figure out.

 

[Ratas]

Most PvP players seem to prefer Viper over Cobra, and so do I. NPC:s should go down with either of these. Hardpoint layout is better and it is a smaller target. Better shields help a lot too. Battle ready Viper is also quite a bit cheaper ship to build. If you need more general purpose, like hauling relieved cargo, then Cobra is lot better. But for pure high risk low reward fighting, nothing beats Viper, IMO.

 

[CloneWarrior85]

It really is up with you. Both ships are awesome, but both ships have their flaws.

Just try to imagine your future, do you intend to fight only? Or fight and haul a little bit every now and then? If first, focus on viper, otherwise cobra.

Just don't sell either ship, always keep a backup, you never know if you'll hit a wall and you'll need that spare old ship.

 

[Smoon]

This thread is chock full of good advice. Time to get new seat cushions for the old T-6. Looks like I will be in her awhile making money. Thanks for the advice

 

[obsidianuk]

This is a pretty good advice.

Cobra is a mutli-purpose ship and if you are planning to do other things besides fighting (think about it, you won't be playing with you friends all the time), then Cobra would be the obvious choice.

Personally, I prefer the Cobra even if I was planning to fight all the time.. Cobra has a bigger jump range and maybe some of these missions might require you to travel. Second, the Cobra has a faster boost speed and their maneuverability is exactly the same, maybe Cobra is easier to hit but the Cobra has a strong hull armor and stronger shield.

Just note, the vipers shield is stronger than the cobras

 

[Tryst]

Just note, the vipers shield is stronger than the cobras

that depends on your fitting. Against NPC's I have never lost my A class shield in a Cobra except to an Elite Anaconda, even with only one SB on board and an A class power distributor. But then, I have stripped all non-essentials from the ship to give me more power to recharge, I am currently at 94% power plant drain with everything deployed. It is currently running All A class gear, fixed weapons. A C class scanner to reduce power requirements since I don't need it to target gimballed weapons. Nearly 300 top speed unladen and 425 boost with no pips to engine.

 

[Marek15]

Lol how?

Cobras can equip 4A Shield Generators and Vipers can only equip a 3A.

Shield generators act as a multiplier when calculating shield strength. The formula is something like this: Ship shield rating * shield generator rating (E to A) * mass modifier (based on hull mass and optimal mass).
So since the viper has a higher ship shield rating and has a much lower hull mass than the optimal mass of a 3A generator it will have much stronger shields than a cobra.

Edit: See this chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xq2fmxhjfNiwtR2fBR1MAZrwEcjFudSuSjTOLwfcqlM/pubhtml

 

[Tox Laximus]

The viper is a tough nut to crack, it always gets me home.

The cobra is good too but from the top its a big target.

I would keep both.

 

[Hitsuke]

Lol how?

Cobras can equip 4A Shield Generators and Vipers can only equip a 3A.

You're typing "lol" when you're wrong. A Viper with A3 shields has higher shield values than a Cobra with A4 shields. Base shield stats are much more important than generator size.

that depends on your fitting. Against NPC's I have never lost my A class shield in a Cobra except to an Elite Anaconda, even with only one SB on board and an A class power distributor. But then, I have stripped all non-essentials from the ship to give me more power to recharge, I am currently at 94% power plant drain with everything deployed. It is currently running All A class gear, fixed weapons. A C class scanner to reduce power requirements since I don't need it to target gimballed weapons. Nearly 300 top speed unladen and 425 boost with no pips to engine.

It doesn't depend on your fitting at all really. A Viper DOES have stronger shields than a Cobra and if they both fit max class shields, the Viper has about 50% more shields.

 

[bigmuthatrukka]

You're typing "lol" when you're wrong. A Viper with A3 shields has higher shield values than a Cobra with A4 shields. Base shield stats are much more important than generator size.



It doesn't depend on your fitting at all really. A Viper DOES have stronger shields than a Cobra and if they both fit max class shields, the Viper has about 50% more shields.

Absolutely correct. If you want a punch up, a viper will tear a cobra a new one. Also the canopy isn't made of cellophane lol

 

[Yabba Addict]

If it's for pvp I'd say viper, just because of the amount of fixed beams out there. That big target on the cobra can make alot of difference with fixed weapons. If you're ganging up on bigger ships, I'd say viper because the directional thrusters are so good for keeping out of LOF. If it's for piracy then I'd say cobra for the extra utility. There's alot of min/max questions here which can change the answer.

 

[Marek15]

I don't know the exact formula used for calculating the shield strength. But since the formula only takes hull mass into account and ignores module and cargo mass, the values of that chart always apply.

 

[Kaeldian]

Believe me, if you actually drive both like I do, you feel a difference between the two's shield strength quite easily.

Viper is the better combat ship, period. Same number of small/medium points as a Cobra (just reversed as to which hemisphere of the ship they cover), lighter and thus more manueverable than a Cobra. Only reason I still have my Cobra is I prefer it's versatility. If i were to go pure combat, I'd go with a Viper any day of the week.

 

[Commander Filip]

Good thread. I am selling my Cobra and getting a Viper lol.