Ships help determining anaconda vs federal corvette

[SENA-]

A lot of discussion about combat capabilities, so I'll focus elsewhere. The 'Conda is a lumbering tub among the dense asteroid fields I prefer in ring mining, which significantly slows core mining and in particular SSD mining. I now have my 'Vette rigged for mining and its higher maneuverability makes a large difference in such situations. Its hardpoint options make a full mining kit -- cores, SSD, SD and laser -- trivial, with multiples of mining weapon types that used ammo loads to minimize synth'ing. By downgrading its combat-designed default optional slots you can get well over 500T cargo capacity but still operate in safety outside the bubble -- or in it if you are sensibly cautious -- and outflying NPC interdictions is a lot easier as well. Since I own a fleet carrier the lesser jump range is a moot point -- I park the FC in orbit around the mining target planet and am rarely more than a LS from carrier to hotspot. J's Redoubt also doubles as an well-armed, armored, and shielded cargo transport when delivering goods to market, at the expense of around 64T of cargo space.

On the other hand, I did all of that to a lesser degree in my 'Conda as well, and the doubled jump range made it my primary exploration ship before FCs entered the game. Working the rings in my 'Conda made the 'Vette affordable, so it's not as if it has no place in mining. I now have it stripped down to long-range jumpaConda status, where I think it shines the brightest, though my recently-acquired AspX gives it a very good run for its money in terms of jump capability.

I plan to buy a second Vette for the same purpose, it is indeed a wonderful miner; Second only to the best miner, the Queen Cutter
The Cutter slide between rocks like a pro-surfer, no big ship compare to the Cutter when it comes to the mining - the fact you reach almost 150 with the cargo door open make a T9 cry... Add the great acceleration, boost speed, and you make any pirate who may try to reach you also cry ....
Back to Conda explorer - well, after getting almost 70 yl jump in my Phantom, I desisted to buy another Conda for exploration - a stripped down Conda for jumping is useless in combat, and costs a lot more, credits wise and engineering materials, than a Phantom.

Add the very important size factor in equation - you never land a Conda where a Phantom, DBX, ASP or Dolphin can easily fit - all those Guardian sites where you need your mothership near to cover you against those pesky missiles - I land usually right in the middle of Guardian sites, with 2-3 point def. turrets fitted, and I laugh at missiles- you cannot do that in a Conda !
And another downgrade of Conda is that huge thirst for fuel - in a Dolphin or Phantom I can do easy 4-6 jumps with a single tank, when the Conda can "drink" the tank in just 2-3 jumps...I put that CG FSD in my Phantom, added the mass manager effect, and now I can go 8 jumps without need for refuel easily... try that with a Conda !

 

[ChipStar65]

Add the very important size factor in equation - you never land a Conda where a Phantom, DBX, ASP or Dolphin can easily fit - all those Guardian sites where you need your mothership near to cover you against those pesky missiles - I land usually right in the middle of Guardian sites, with 2-3 point def. turrets fitted, and I laugh at missiles- you cannot do that in a Conda !

I beg to differ. I used mine throughout the entire Ram Tah Guardian research mission and gathering blueprints and the like, thousands of LY and dozens of planets, and only once found a Guardian site where I could not set down -- it was jammed onto a mountainside in the midst of the ridiculously jagged peaks you can run across on smaller planets. It sometimes took some serious searching to find just the right spot, but it can be done. Nowadays I'd be much more likely to use a smaller ship, but at the time, my 'Conda was the only one I owned that was properly fitted for such work, and its solid jump range was essential.

 

[SENA-]

I beg to differ. I used mine throughout the entire Ram Tah Guardian research mission and gathering blueprints and the like, thousands of LY and dozens of planets, and only once found a Guardian site where I could not set down -- it was jammed onto a mountainside in the midst of the ridiculously jagged peaks you can run across on smaller planets. It sometimes took some serious searching to find just the right spot, but it can be done. Nowadays I'd be much more likely to use a smaller ship, but at the time, my 'Conda was the only one I owned that was properly fitted for such work, and its solid jump range was essential.

"Nowadays I'd be much more likely to use a smaller ship,--" that says all
And the problem is, in case you do nor read / understand my post - to land IN THE MIDDLE of a Guardian base, so you get support ANYWHERE from the mothership turrets - a thing the Conda cannot do at will, since will not fit or will block some essential objectives ; Is not about landing close, is about landing INSIDE.

 

[ChipStar65]

to land IN THE MIDDLE of a Guardian base, so you get support ANYWHERE from the mothership turrets - a thing the Conda cannot do at will, since will not fit or will block some essential objectives ; Is not about landing close, is about landing INSIDE.

Unless you drive like an absolute klutz, avoiding Sentinels is child's play, and it's supremely easy to simply move closer to your ship if you're outside its protective canopy, which for a 'Conda, because of its height, is considerable. Landing inside a ruin or other site isn't of any great benefit, if any at all -- more trouble than it's worth.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

You know, one positive thing about moving between the Corvette and Conda, is all of the core internals save for bulkheads will swap right over.

You can gradually grind for that Corvette, when you get it, swap your Anaconda parts on for a test drive. If you don’t like it, you can easily swap back.

At the end of the day, whether you choose a Conda, Vette, Cutter, or even a Type 10, they will be more than enough for any human NPCs you will encounter.

 

[SENA-]

Unless you drive like an absolute klutz, avoiding Sentinels is child's play, and it's supremely easy to simply move closer to your ship if you're outside its protective canopy, which for a 'Conda, because of its height, is considerable. Landing inside a ruin or other site isn't of any great benefit, if any at all -- more trouble than it's worth.

Allow me to disagree, a ship parked INSIDE will make the SRV invulnerable at missiles, and that is very important - you forgot is a timer involved here ? The time is limited for keeping the pillars activated, and running to get near the ship will steal your precious time !
Secondly, you forgot also are many valuable things you can gather from a Guardian base - and an SRV can only carry 2 at once - having the ship at some seconds of you will shorten the runs considerably !
At least, the HUGE difference on price & materials between a Conda and a medium/small ship is a heavy argument for new players...
Even now when I own some 40 ships, all fully upgraded, I will still take a Dolphin or a Phantom any day over a Conda for exploring ! All are a lot more agile , in normal space or hyperspace, a lot easier to land and a lot cheaper.

 

[SergMx]

Anaconda and Corvette are close enough that it's going to come down to pilot and loadout. Both ships have advantages, but overall, I personally prefer the durability, less vulnerable (excepting the FSD) module placement, and small agility advantage of the Corvette. However, anything that has been specifically built to counter the other will have the edge.

When my CMDR is in a large combat ship, it's usually a hybrid Corvette with a general purpose fixed huge beam and rail loadout with medium utility turrets and the large hardpoint as swing space for whatever seems most useful at the time, that I use for both PvE and PvP with no real changes between loadouts. Anti-big ship loadouts and large amounts of focus fire are problematic, but rare enough that I was able to get away with the setup I settled on for years.

Examples vs. Anaconda:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lz_0Amkckk

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46rjR81lf5Y


And a few vs. mediums:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYq2gS06w84

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZrIy5gH3A


No real point in linking PvE content. Suffice to say the ship can do ten wing assassination missions or the same number of medium/high CZs, by itself, before needing resupply, if I pace myself on ammo expenditure.

Anyway, issues with SLFs inducing rubberbanding in instances since 3.4 have pushed me away from using large ships. Fighters, to me have always been one of their big uses cases (both for practical combat utility and gameplay variety), but if I can't deploy them in the presence of others without it having a good chance of causing technical issues, it really dampens their appeal.

Isn't this bug still fixed?

 

[ChipStar65]

Allow me to disagree, a ship parked INSIDE will make the SRV invulnerable at missiles, and that is very important - you forgot is a timer involved here ? The time is limited for keeping the pillars activated, and running to get near the ship will steal your precious time !
Secondly, you forgot also are many valuable things you can gather from a Guardian base - and an SRV can only carry 2 at once - having the ship at some seconds of you will shorten the runs considerably !
At least, the HUGE difference on price & materials between a Conda and a medium/small ship is a heavy argument for new players...
Even now when I own some 40 ships, all fully upgraded, I will still take a Dolphin or a Phantom any day over a Conda for exploring ! All are a lot more agile , in normal space or hyperspace, a lot easier to land and a lot cheaper.

The timer is inconsequential. If you do it properly, all Sentinels are eliminated before making the pylons run. I never once had to fight while lighting up pylons. After claiming a blueprint, the multiple Sentinels that arise are, again, child's play. If you ever found them of any mentionable difficulty, well, sorry 'bout that, git gud.

The most valuable stuff at Guardian sites is not tangible cargo, but Guardian materials and blueprints. All the artifacts don't amount to much in terms of credits unless you collect a great many, in which case the 'Conda's ample cargo hold makes it worthwhile, but barely. Shorter runs are also not of any significant consequence, a matter of seconds rather than minutes if you know how to handle an SRV.

Keep in mind that this thread concerns comparisons of the Anaconda and the Corvette, so comments about cost versus smaller ships are superfluous.

 

[Morbad]

Isn't this bug still fixed?

As far as I know, it was never fixed. Last time I investigated in detail was in 3.6.02 and it was still present. The only fix they had specifically for this issue wasn't actually for this issue...spamming commands was never the underlying problem.

 

[CMDR Cknarf]

Yeah man, if you don’t rush through the pylons you don’t need support from a ship’s point defense.

I just set the parking brake, and shoot down the 2-3 sentinels that spawn and move on to the next. There’s cover to use against the missiles too, depending on the site.

They’ll push you around, but they’re super weak.

Fighters are still, unfortunately, super broken. Humans can pilot them, but if an NPC does they cause some sort of lag.

 

[SENA-]

The timer is inconsequential. If you do it properly, all Sentinels are eliminated before making the pylons run. I never once had to fight while lighting up pylons. After claiming a blueprint, the multiple Sentinels that arise are, again, child's play. If you ever found them of any mentionable difficulty, well, sorry 'bout that, git gud.

The most valuable stuff at Guardian sites is not tangible cargo, but Guardian materials and blueprints. All the artifacts don't amount to much in terms of credits unless you collect a great many, in which case the 'Conda's ample cargo hold makes it worthwhile, but barely. Shorter runs are also not of any significant consequence, a matter of seconds rather than minutes if you know how to handle an SRV.

Keep in mind that this thread concerns comparisons of the Anaconda and the Corvette, so comments about cost versus smaller ships are superfluous.

You probably did not run many Guardian sites, since you say here " I never once had to fight while lighting up pylons." - when in my experience, most of the time I light up a Pylon only to see a pair of sentinels rising and attacking me seconds later... In fact, I fight over a dozen of them - each time , usually in pairs or even 3 at a time - and again, what is not worth for you may be valuable for new players. And when you park your whale at 1 km and my Dolphin is at 70m, is not a factor of seconds but of minutes. Simple math, no matter how great SRV driver you are.

And for those who think "they’re super weak. " - nothing more subjective. Most of the players go for Guardian sites just because cannot afford to engineer a weapon or a module, right after the start of this journey. They are fresh players, and all is new for them.
I still remember my first contact with them, when I was just some weeks in the game - first pair of sentinels pop my SRV in seconds, the explosions from missiles turn my SRV upside down, and I got killed. Next one I was pushed down a cliff by explosions, so was a bit hard first time. After some months in the game I know they are easy to kill, but that come after a learning curve, something new players struggle to do, in first weeks.
Back to the topic, I will end-up reiterating my conviction the Conda have no such big value as explorer ship, at least not anymore after the introduction of FC.s.
The difference between a Conda engineered for jump range and a Phantom, DBX, Dolphin, etc, is almost insignificant. Record jumps on Conda require an extreme strip down, who downgrade all the other aspects of the ship at dangerous levels ( crap boost, crap speed, no armor, no weapons, etc) - and nobody with a bit of common sense will use such build except to make a vid about;

The real value of a Conda, in my view, reside in the relatively easy grind ( just credits) and the great multi-role ability.