Ships Good Fer De Lance build?

[Jason Sefer]

Let me hear your suggestions for a good combat FDL build

 

[cmdrrdmc]

I'm still pretty new to the game, but I just bought an FDL outfitted like so, and I'm loving it so far. I based it on some of the common FDL builds I saw. Does lots of damage and shields hold forever. Never had such an easy time in RES sites.

https://eddp.co/u/x9mYKNkr

 

[ArchEmperor]

Multi Cannon + burst lasers build
Fear-de-Lance
https://eddp.co/u/LAyqvlVt

Long range MC + fixed bursts
Fer-de-Fixed
https://eddp.co/u/EwrogRPw

Even if fixed weapons are pretty cool to fight with and very efficient, it is taking serious effort for your brain and muscles to keep that crosshair on your target when boosting in circles using fa off.

So I found that gimbal mounts and long range worked best for me.
Fer-de-Light
https://eddp.co/u/t5jRyaec

The bursts can be replaced by Pulse lasers as the difference is in less energy and heat vs a small amount less dmg.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[d8veh]

There isn't a best build. Engineers bring so many options, and fit-out depends what you want to do with it. As a general rule, work on the thrusters first.

 

[SeraphimToaster]

Ohh boy do I miss my FDL. Ran A rated with bi-weave shields, a class 4 fixed beam laser and 4 class 2 gimbaled multi-cannons. Or, if you can make the shots, 4 class 2 pulse lasers and a fixed class 4 cannon, that bad boy rips anacondas apart! Never did any engineering, but id do efficient on the lasers and overcharged on the various cannons, highyield on the class 4 cannon to just rip a new one in any ship that you come across.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

Depends what you want to do with your FdL but some things are pretty much mandatory for the FdL:

Maximum PP with G5 overcharged.
Either a Bi-Weave with a resistance-heavy set of boosters or a Prismatic and at least 3x heavy-duty boosters (best to have a mix of resists and capacity boosters either way)
A 4A SCB, maybe even two if you're willing to cycle power between them - you're unlikely to be able to power both at the same time.

The C4 hardpoint pretty much has to be a multicannon/cannon/PA, anything else and the FdL overheats, quite severely - that's probably a result of needing the PP to be overcharged to support the shield and boosters. You don't *HAVE* to shield-tank in an FdL but that's kind of the niche FDev made for the FdL. It has comically large shields and 6 utility slots but not enough normal slots for hull/module reinforcement.

The other weapons are very much optional and based on your preferences and what you're hunting. I'm fond of a C4 overcharged multicannon with corrosive (gimballed - so that you can run lasers fixed). I prefer pulse over burst lasers since heat management favours them slightly. Two efficient with scramble and emissive, two focused for increased range and armour penetration. Then I have two fire-groups one with all weapons for close range, one without the efficient for longer-range moments.

 

[Jason Sefer]

Depends what you want to do with your FdL but some things are pretty much mandatory for the FdL:

Maximum PP with G5 overcharged.
Either a Bi-Weave with a resistance-heavy set of boosters or a Prismatic and at least 3x heavy-duty boosters (best to have a mix of resists and capacity boosters either way)
A 4A SCB, maybe even two if you're willing to cycle power between them - you're unlikely to be able to power both at the same time.

The C4 hardpoint pretty much has to be a multicannon/cannon/PA, anything else and the FdL overheats, quite severely - that's probably a result of needing the PP to be overcharged to support the shield and boosters. You don't *HAVE* to shield-tank in an FdL but that's kind of the niche FDev made for the FdL. It has comically large shields and 6 utility slots but not enough normal slots for hull/module reinforcement.

The other weapons are very much optional and based on your preferences and what you're hunting. I'm fond of a C4 overcharged multicannon with corrosive (gimballed - so that you can run lasers fixed). I prefer pulse over burst lasers since heat management favours them slightly. Two efficient with scramble and emissive, two focused for increased range and armour penetration. Then I have two fire-groups one with all weapons for close range, one without the efficient for longer-range moments.

What about rapid fire Mc instead of overcharged?

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Depends what you want to do with your FdL but some things are pretty much mandatory for the FdL:

Maximum PP with G5 overcharged.
Either a Bi-Weave with a resistance-heavy set of boosters or a Prismatic and at least 3x heavy-duty boosters (best to have a mix of resists and capacity boosters either way)
A 4A SCB, maybe even two if you're willing to cycle power between them - you're unlikely to be able to power both at the same time.

I'm surprised that you're having *this* much power problems.

I have a maxed powerplant with G3 overcharged and the heat reduction experimental (so +26% power at not much above base heat). This powers at once:
- 4A prismatic shield
- 5A SCB, 4A SCB
- 2 railguns (long-range, not efficient) and 3 overcharged multicannons
- 4 shield boosters (2 resist, 2 heavy)
- all the other usual A-rated core components (some of which have engineering which further increases their power consumption), though D-rated sensors and life support
...with a decent amount to spare.

G5 overcharged really shouldn't have any capacity problems at all.

 

[npcole]

I'm most comfortable in my Cobra III, but I've just bought an FDL for those times when you just need something to explode, and you want the odds to be always in your favour.

I'm running a standard shield (engineered) with a mix of engineered boosters.

For the weapons I have a large Gimbled Beam laser in the nose and I've put medium seeker missiles on the other four slots. The laser melts smaller targets, and at close range four missiles overwhelms most defensive systems if you time the shot well.

It isn't a build for sitting in a Haz Rez for hours. It's a build for bounty-hunting missions.

That said, I'm still getting used to the ship. I tried the large PA but against medium and small targets it can be very hard to aim because the PA is actually out of your line of sight under the nose. A targeting camera would be an excellent addition to this ship. Once I'm a bit more comfortable with it, four multi-cannons seem like a good bet.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

What about rapid fire Mc instead of overcharged?

It's similar DPS to overcharged and slightly easier on your WEP capacitor, but you also chew through your limited ammo 44% faster and there's jitter, which ruins the range of the MC. Whatever floats your boat, really.

I'm surprised that you're having *this* much power problems.

I have a maxed powerplant with G3 overcharged and the heat reduction experimental (so +26% power at not much above base heat). This powers at once:
- 4A prismatic shield
- 5A SCB, 4A SCB
- 2 railguns (long-range, not efficient) and 3 overcharged multicannons
- 4 shield boosters (2 resist, 2 heavy)
- all the other usual A-rated core components (some of which have engineering which further increases their power consumption), though D-rated sensors and life support
...with a decent amount to spare.

G5 overcharged really shouldn't have any capacity problems at all.

Hmm, I may not have updated my FdL's PP yet, so it's still running a legacy mod which is hotter (probably 0.55 efficiency). I also have a C5 shield instead of a C4 shield, G5 drag drives, KWS (quite power-hungry, but so very worth it for PVE) and 5 shield boosters.

You've gone the "consumables" route that needs replacing regularly - once your SCBs are gone you need to dock and re-arm. My bi-weave FdL can stay out for a couple of hours with nothing more than the very cheap re-arm on the 4A multicannon. I'm not disputing that your build is wrong, it's just a different tool for a different job. IMO, the FdL is designed as a shield tank, so it seems odd to not exploit that natural advantage with the largest generator you can fit. If you're purely PVP then sure, generator capacity is less important than SCBs but at the expense of having to dock and resupply your shield cells/heatsinks on a regular basis.

 

[Straha Yeagar]

Here is my current loadout for my PvE FDL. There are a few things that I could improve upon, but with this build, and some minor FA-OFF skill, I can melt wing assassination missions without losing my first ring of shields.

http://www.edshipyard.com/new/#/L=CO0H4C0S0,ElxG3I4AxhXCthXIxCpMypDHf5GBH4CzcQGvcQKqpDcqdrHf5GBK4CzcQGvcQKqpDcqdrHf5GBK4CzcQGvcQKqpDcqdrHf5GBK4CzcQGvcQKqpDcqdr,DBwG5Ia16004qpD8u00Cw58DBwG5Ia16004qpD8u00Cw58DBwG5Ia16004qpD8u00Cw58DBwG9I56phX8u00IrSAMrSAQrSADBwG9I56phX8u00IrSAMrSAQrSADBwG9I56phX8u00IrSAMrSAQrSA,9p30AAAG7H36u008wPcCu00AOEG5H56qpD8phXEq00GwPcKypDAcIG5Ha0upD6qpD8qpDGyPcAsO0B8gG3IcIkPcKxCpQkPcSxCpYkPcaxCpBLAG3G32_Pc6y00Iu00BZY0,,7T4G9K34wPcasPcgy0007204_w05PU02UI0,KATE_0FOSTER,STR_D21

While not built for long duration constant engagement with multiple targets, it definitely holds its own in combat zones and resource extraction sites, but with those tanked shield, and absolutely massive alpha strike damage makes this a great assassination build. Adding premium multi cannon ammunition, it takes roughly 6 seconds to take down a T-10. The only frustrations I run into are the incessant chaff and shield cell boosters the high ranking NPC keep spamming.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Four Guardian Plasma Launchers, one Huge PA, a couple heat sinks, some shield boosters, reactive armor, fill up with a mix of HRP, MRP and SCB and practice your aiming.

 

[Powderpanic]

PVE Farming build for you

https://eddp.co/u/WSgAkEur

Engineering everything heavy duty, on a thermal shield.
Roll your SCB for lower heat and pop both on a single heat sink.
Tank every NPC with overcharged, autoloader multicannons. Dakka Dakka
Engineer everything cos thats what you do now.
Included a fuel scoop and interdictor for all NPC related high jinx and for getting around when you cannot outfit.

Powderpanic
The Voice of Griefing

 

[Ian Doncaster]

Hmm, I may not have updated my FdL's PP yet, so it's still running a legacy mod which is hotter (probably 0.55 efficiency).

Could well be that. The new OC mods aren't quite as ridiculous at G1 as the old one with a top secondary could be, but the heat reduction secondary is very nice.

You've gone the "consumables" route that needs replacing regularly - once your SCBs are gone you need to dock and re-arm. My bi-weave FdL can stay out for a couple of hours with nothing more than the very cheap re-arm on the 4A multicannon. I'm not disputing that your build is wrong, it's just a different tool for a different job. IMO, the FdL is designed as a shield tank, so it seems odd to not exploit that natural advantage with the largest generator you can fit. If you're purely PVP then sure, generator capacity is less important than SCBs but at the expense of having to dock and resupply your shield cells/heatsinks on a regular basis.

Yeah, it's designed for PvP and other single-fight scenarios like wing assassinations primarily. That said, the shields are high-resistance high-strength, so in a RES or CZ the ammunition runs out way before the SCBs.

If I was going for PvE endurance then yes, more use of lasers, biweave shield would be the right way round (that would be less strain on the power plant, too). But I tend to get bored of the farming after 30 minutes anyway, so I don't usually need more ammo than that

 

[Nomad-01]

Not sure what to do with my huge hard point but I was running 4 guardian plasmas yesterday and had a lot of fun.

 

[Arry]

Four medium turreted pulse lasers and one huge Multi-cannon.

Yes I know that I am dammed to forever run to Hutton.

 

[Captain Jack Sparrow]

Bi-weaves on a shield tank? That's crazy.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

Bi-weaves on a shield tank? That's crazy.

Not really; Over a sustained 30 minutes of combat in a REZ, CNB, CZ or PP combat, the bi-weaves provide waaaay more shield MJ than a prismatic, because they're generating 1.5MJ more every second. It adds up pretty quickly so unless your only combat is single encounters followed by a return to dock for rearm/restock the bi-weaves work out to be the better option pretty quickly. Yes, you need 5 seconds of not being hit for the regen to start, but as a rule of thumb you can assume that one third of the time your shield regen rate is zero, regardless of what type of shield it is.

Look at it this way - a 5A has about 300MJ more than a 5C bi-weaves once you factor boosters, and at 1.5MJ/s faster regen rates for the bi-weave it has overtaken the 5A after just 200 seconds. The prismatics are overtaken in about 7 minutes.

Also, SCB's are a thing, and SCB's don't care what class your shield generator is. An engineered 4A SCB adds the same 600MJ to a prismatic as it does to a bi-weave. Throw a couple of SCBs into your build and the difference between a bi-weave and a prismatic looks even smaller - 2300 for the bi-weave and 2700 for the prismatic. Don't forget that the 5A prismatic weighs an extra 20T and uses an extra 2.9MJ of power. If we're being fair to the 5C bi-weave, the prismatic generator alone weighs and requires as much power as a bi-weave AND 2 4A SCBs.

This is why bi-weaves are by far the most popular PVE option, and favoured by some PVP players as well. Don't forget regen rates are much faster in supercruise so a bi-weave can recover a whole shield ring in the 20 seconds it takes to re-interdict someone who manages to low-wake in a hurry. Also, in a pure PVP build (though not necessarily for the iCutter and FdL) players will pick a B-rated powerplant and then armoured mod instead of overcharged mod to avoid havint their PP sniped when shields are down. With 40% less power avaiable, prismatics can't even be powered.

In fact, the slow, expensive, power-hungry prismatics are really only good for one type of play - single assassination encounters. Once your prismatic has lost its first ring, it's just a heavier, hungrier shield with absolutely rubbish regen rates.

 

[Jason Sefer]

Thank y'all for your suggestions, I ended up getting a huge multicannon rapid fire corrosive 4 pulse lasers and a 5a prismatic shield, and it's really good

 

[shadowhand]

Bi-weaves on a shield tank? That's crazy.

Bi-weaves make perfect sense on a shield tank for PvE REZ and CZ play. Since you'll be in and out of fights constantly and you don't always have the luxury of waiting for several minutes for your shields to regen after a heavy fight.

Bi-weaves with the new faster regeneration experimental mod make even more sense. Throw on some thermal resistance and go with a few resistance modded boosters and you're much better off than having say Prismatic or A-rated shields.

Or at least that's my experience and I've tried both approaches. In fact my current REZ setup has less than 1000MJ shields, but it outlasts my hi-cap prismatic build. And has much better heat management since I never really need to pop a shield cell bank. That allows me to bring an extra booster instead of a heat sink launcher, which again helps me last longer in fights.