PvP Flying the Black once more

[Goose4291]

Well, I've pretty much got as much satisfaction as I'm going to get out of creating Anarchy systems for a while, and am not wanting to get too involved in the engineer grind for a bit, so was thinking of diving again back into the exciting world of Piracy for a short while.

Sadly, it's been a while since I played any level of PvP beyond running away at speed, and I'm pretty much still in my awesome Adder, which I realise isn't going to cut it in today's big ship climate.

Any suggestions for whats the smallest I could get away with? I'm thinking an Asp at an absolute minimum, but that's just me.

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Hey Goose,

The Asp makes a really nice platform because of the utilities, internals, and hardpoints. One of its drawbacks is it's rate of deceleration, and those extra utilities are nice to have (manifest and wake scanners), but really are just that... "nice-to-haves". The dropship might be good, too, though I haven't flown one in ages.

I don't see any reason why you couldn't accomplish some fine hit-and-run piracy in a Cobra III or similar small ship. There are plenty of videos with people using the Cobra effectively. And really all you need is an FSD interdictor and a hatch-breaker, as long as you don't mind scooping manually. I also don't see why the Adder couldn't be used effectively in such a way. You probably want a collector though, since compliant traders are willing to drop larger amounts than can be reasonably scooped.

Although you don't want to get too grindy with the engineers, if you can get FSD disruptors (either from Grom or Liz Ryder), and some kind of drag weapon (frag cannon, seeker), they will help to contain your prey. I also went with an array of effects on my multis, so that my targets' cockpits light up like Christmas trees when I hit them - a little bit of shock and awe to give them incentive to submit

 

[Avvie Rayne]

Good medium ships do cost several million, and several million more to outfit properly. Money and superpower ranks aside, good PvP ships can range from:

Fer-De-Lance (4 Mediums, 1 Huge, good maneuverability makes it a formidable fighter with a lot of hardpoint options)
Federal Assault Ship ( 2 Medium, 2 Large, not a whole lot of variation but amazing hull tank with engineering)
Federal Gunship (2 Smalls, 4 Medium, 1 Large, way more options for weapons but less speed than the previous two)
Imperial Clipper (Same as FAS for weapons but boasts extreme speed for a Large ship. One of the fastest combat-fit vessels in a straight line, great for chasing prey down)
- Or if you want to go small, there's probably only one best option -
Vulture (2 Large, meaning it can pump out big DPS for a small ship and with good flying, can be an untouchable target)

When choosing a ship it's important to understand that even though some ships have the same shield generator it won't always give you the same numbers in another ship. A prime example of this is the Anaconda to the Federal Corvette: Same shield size and utility slots but 3500 shields on the Conda will get me 4100+ on the Corvette with everything moved over. Also, utility slots play an important part. It's why you don't see many Pythons in PvP (You didn't on Xbox, anyway), because the lack of slots (4) made it impossible to have good shields, plus it lacked the maneuverability to make it a hull-tank fighter. It's also why the FDL is a meta PvP ship, because of it's 6 utility slots. 5 boosters & 1 sink for banking, or 5 boosters & 1 chaff.

As a beginner, I'd say get a Cobra Mk3, kit it for speed, put some Enforcers on the smalls and fixed Multis on the mediums and evolve it from there. Overcharged Multis offer the best DPS/DD (Distributor Draw), amazing for small ships with small PDs.

 

[Powderpanic]

Asp Explorer is a good shout for PVP piracy.

You can masslock everything up to a T7.

Wont stand up to much attention from a gank squad but hey, pick your battles.

You can 15 seconds log or high wake out of most situations.

Overcharge your powerplant and have at it https://eddp.co/u/GG7cHTnY

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Asp Explorer is a good shout for PVP piracy.

You can masslock everything up to a T7.

Wont stand up to much attention from a gank squad but hey, pick your battles.

You can 15 seconds log or high wake out of most situations.

Overcharge your powerplant and have at it https://eddp.co/u/GG7cHTnY

The other good thing about the Asp for piracy, at least in my estimation, is that it isn't generally perceived as a very threatening ship. Capable, but not overly capable.

This helps to prevent panic, which can spoil the meat

 

[Marra Morgan]

Well, I've pretty much got as much satisfaction as I'm going to get out of creating Anarchy systems for a while, and am not wanting to get too involved in the engineer grind for a bit, so was thinking of diving again back into the exciting world of Piracy for a short while.

Sadly, it's been a while since I played any level of PvP beyond running away at speed, and I'm pretty much still in my awesome Adder, which I realise isn't going to cut it in today's big ship climate.

Any suggestions for whats the smallest I could get away with? I'm thinking an Asp at an absolute minimum, but that's just me.

Good on you Goose!

Can't rep you because you've said worthy things elsewhere recently!

I use a Cobra with good success - speed, hull tank and plenty of SR is fine against traders and gets you away from any hunters nicely. And if it doesnt work out, its only a 500k rebuy

 

[Powderpanic]

Good on you Goose!

Can't rep you because you've said worthy things elsewhere recently!

I use a Cobra with good success - speed, hull tank and plenty of SR is fine against traders and gets you away from any hunters nicely. And if it doesnt work out, its only a 500k rebuy

I remember flying a Cobra... Good times.... happier times..

 

[Ouberos]

Cobra 3 gets my vote too.

DD5 makes mine run a bit hot during combat but stupid fast. I think I've done some powerplant work. Distributor too, usually I go for charge so probably done that on my cobra. For some reason mine currently has dual plasma and underslung MC's. I use Biweaves (currently unengineered due to my very slap dash approach to optimisation!) and I pop heatsinks when it starts to cook or my shields drop.

Lots of folks seem to just hull tank them though which might be more efficient. Julio Montega could tell you.

I've found with the plasma the traders shields go down quickly enough and the MC's get my point across. I wouldn't bother with scanners and such. Just pick your routes or your CG and you can be sure of a good cargo. Squeeze a hatchbreaker in for the non compliants but DONT FORGET LIMPETS! Like I always do. I can't power a collector too so I had to git gud at combat scoops. I'm never flush with cargo to choose from in PvP anyway so it's usually a non issue.

Vin recently came up with a cunning plan about target selection. If he hasn't already PMd you I'm sure he will shortly...

See you in the Black Cmdr!

 

[Ouberos]

PS.

I've changed my mind. I think you should stick with the Adder. Its your thing dude, own it.