Wall of text warning
E: D came long way since the early days and credits became less and less of a issue and it's shifting more towards "what you want to fly" or "optimizing your current task", so ship progression based on their cost kinda becomes kinda redundant, not to mention fact that some ships are straight up overpriced for what they offer.
Then there are new ships from previous year, Python MkII and Type 8 are reasonably priced for their top end capabilities, Mandalay im kinda mixed on and Cobra MkV straight up makes good chunk of ships more expensive than it redundant.
Im not saying in any way to nerf new ships, but their top end capabilities should be reflected in their cost (and #arx pre-builds eliminate ship hull rebuy cost).
Ships designs in Elite serve for really long time, so one would expect them to get some touch ups from time to time.
Disclaimers before i get to ship themselves:
1. Every current ship is included even if no changes are suggested, ships themselves are ordered by their base buy costs (fully equipped costs are also factored in)
2. Descriptions on ships are based on my own experiences (in PvE, AX and occasional PvP), each ship has it shorter or longer.
3. I don't know how hard changes are to make so i try to split them into what i consider simple aka ship base stats and the more complex aka models and modules, still i try to keep changes rather small.
Sidewinder 32.000cr: The Starter, The Backup, The Fallback, The Teleportwinder (to not say other name), I would keep it as it is, MKII could be introduced as replacement in shop if better one is desired.
Eagle MkII 44.800cr: Early Bounty hunter, despite excellent maneuverability, it doesn't offer much else and is quickly replaced by more capable ships.
--most base thing i would suggest is reducing base mass from 50t to 45t, so it can better utilize enhanced thrusters.
--then there's question of Bulkheads, Eagle has lowest base hull HP and bulkheads being % increase causes them to offer little extra integrity for the whole 4-8t they weight, so they're delegated for resistances, so either base ship HP could be increased or mass of bulkheads dropped to 2.5-5t.
--lastly and probably most complex would be adding second utility slot, 1 utility slot is real pain point of the ships in most activities.
Hauler 52.720cr: Early Trader, Courier, Explorer, Bubble shuttle despite its lowly status it can offer a lot thanks to its low weight, its already good in its roles and im not sure how to even improve it.
Adder 87.808cr: Larger Hauler and Earliest Core Miner, it loses some points over hauler for more weapons and optional slot.
Imperial Eagle 110.830cr: Eagle that's trying to be Viper, but not nearly there
--i would make same changes as Eagle (reduction in hull mass 50t -> 45t and adding second utility slot), but it already has higher base HP so changes to bulkheads are not necessary.
Viper MkIII 142.931cr: The premiere early bounty hunter and combat ship with good maneuverability, high speed and small hit profile.
Cobra MkIII 349.720cr: First true multi role and ship were CMDR can "spread their wings", through it definitely felt all the years
--some reduction in hull mass would definitely make it fell bit better 180t -> 170t.
Viper MkIV 437.930cr: Quite oddball as it trades one of key attributes of Viper mkIII "speed" for more versatility and very high potential hull durability for its size, is it worth trade off? really hard to say, but it makes ship different.
--similar suggestion to Cobra mkIII, hull mass 190t -> 180t.
Diamondback Scout 564.329cr: First ship with 4 utility slots, offering great thermal characteristics and maneuverability, but has weak boost, limited optional slots.
--same as previous one hull mass 170t -> 160t, Cobra MkV really makes ships in this mass range fell bad with its 150t hull..
Cobra MkIV 764.720cr: i don't have it, but opinions on it ain't great either, it tries to be what Viper mkIV was to mkIII, but somehow even harder with not only speed, but also maneuverability suffering harsh penalties.
--i question if changes should be made given it is not available, but still reducing hull mass from 210t to 180t, increasing it base speed from 200m/s to 340m/s and boost speed from 300m/s to 320m/s might give it something.
Type 6 Transporter 1.045.945cr: It does what it says in the name and it takes some time for it to be outclassed in that field
--hull mass reduction as standard 155t -> 145t and possibly to up-size its optional slots, so there's bigger gap between it and multi role's (1 c3 -> c4, 1 c2 -> c3?)
Dolphin 1.337.323cr: was best small pad hauler, transporter and courier, now it point remains Luxury cabins, that aren't even that big of a +
--to give it at least edge in jump range hull mass 140t -> 130t
--bulkhead weight could been also reduced from 32/63t -> 21/42t
Diamondback Explorer 1.894.760cr: First true explorer, before Mandalay it held 2 highest jump range after Anaconda, but it still holds ok and can serve as decent small combat ship albeit with undersized thrusters
Cobra mkV 1.989.461cr: Practically all strengths of small ships with optional slots of a medium ship, enough said.
Imperial Courier 2.542.930cr: Top end high speed combat ship, due to lower hull mass compared to Viper MkIII it doesn't need to give up as much for high speed.
Keelback 3.126.154cr: One of ships suffering from "SLF bay syndrome", where a lot of its budget is allocated into SLF bay, but it also costs one of the optional slots to use
--i think of same treatment as Type 6 hull mass reduction 180t -> 170t and possibly to up-size its optional slots (1 c3 -> c4, 1 c2 -> c3?)
--optionally minimum thrust value could be increased for better top speed at lower eng pips (45% -> 55%?)
Asp Scout 3.961.160cr: i gotta remind this ship cost TWICE the amount of Cobra MkV, ship has also very awkward stat-line having very good maneuverability, but low top speed so i don't really know what to touch.
--1 as standard hull mass reduction from 150t to 140t
--2 minimum thrust value increased from 50% to 75%?
both should improve what its already doing, through i doubt it becomes that much better
Vulture 4.925.615cr: High end small Combat ship and it does that pretty well, despite 2 large hardpoints being bit limiting due to 50/50 split
Asp Explorer 6.661.160cr: A handy mult role/exploration ship, through it becoming bit by bit outclassed and im not sure how to help it.
Federal Dropship 14.314.210cr: First Federal Brick and Ship with c6 power distributor and plenty of optional slots, being sort of hybrid between multi role and combat ship, but its slow, heavy and with limited range.
Given these older ship got bit of power creeped by newer releases and them being hull tanks i have 2 sets of changes
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70
--Secondary would be moving 2 Utility slots from bottom of the ship to the top like on Federal Gunship, so its possible to get better PD coverage given missiles wreck hull.
--Lastly for Dropship specifically i would change internal fuel tank from c4 to c5, so it more leans towards multi role
Type 7 Transport 17.472.250cr: With Type 8 being straight upgrade, its only strength compared to other hauler's of its size is lower price point, well it sort of has higher jump range, but that's because it carries less.
--only thing i can think off would be reducing it hull mass from 350t to 300t or 290t, so it would have at least that little edge, up-sizing its smaller optional slots is also option
Mandalay 17.639.220cr: High end Exploration ship, while also offering better multi role capabilities than Asp Explorer.
Alliance Chieftain 19.382.250cr: Highly maneuverable ship for both Human and AX combat.
Federal Assault Ship 19.814.210cr: Faster and more maneuverable version of the Dropship at cost of its optional slot, very comparable to Alliance Chieftain (or Chieftain to FAS given it came later)
Same reasoning as Dropship.
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70.
--Secondary would be moving 2 Utility slots from bottom of the ship to the top like on Federal Gunship, so its possible to get better PD coverage given missiles wreck hull.
Imperial Clipper 22.295.860cr: Kinda weird ship: "Imperial ship, but weak shields", "Combat ship, but bad convergence", "Medium ship for Large pads" and i can understand why its like that, its still preforms well as Fast Transport.
--Internal Fuel Tank could be increased from c4 to c5 to lean towards multi role side.
--"Big Maybe" would be raising base shield strength from 180shp to 200shp.
Alliance Crusader 22.866.340cr: Second ship suffering from "SLF bay syndrome", its in all regards downgrade compared to all other Alliance line ship's for ability to equip SLF bay that also takes one of limited optional slots.
--i would reduce hull mass from 500t to 450t, i won't change whole lot, but its something. (maybe 500t to 430t even)
Alliance Challenger 30.472.250cr: A trade-off of Alliance Chieftain speed for extra optional slots and different weapon load-out. (especially allowing for expanded weapon options in AX)
Federal Gunship 35.814.210cr: Big Angry Brick and first ship with c7 power distributor.
Same reasoning as Dropship.
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70.
Krait Phantom 37.472.250cr: Fast Multi role with good armament, for Exploration it got outclassed by Mandalay as it served same role of a explorer with high top speed.
Type 8 Transporter 38.453.970cr: High end medium pad transporter that can also be used for more distant ports thx to SCO.
Krait MkII 45.814.210cr: Multi role combat vessel and excellent AX platform, only hampered by below average maneuverability.
Orca 48.539.890cr: Another kinda weird ship, it's like Clipper for people that don't have Empire Rank.
--one of c5 optional slots could be up-sized to c6
Fer-de-lance 51,567,040cr: The OG overloaded ship, enough said.
Mamba 55,867,040cr: Someone took FDL and traded some stats around and actually made it less overloaded.
Python 56.978.180cr: High end medium pad multi role ship, compared to Krait MkII trading speed, SLF bay and fast boost utility for extra c6 optional slot and more base durability.
Python MkII 67.527.361cr: High end combat ship with 4 Large slots allowing for firepower comparable to that of large ships, only limited by c6 distributor.
Type 9 Heavy 76.555.840cr: Large bulk trader and does its job well albeit sloooowly.
Beluga Liner 84.532.760cr: I don't know it's purpose or what it's supposed to be, Luxury cabins are nice, but they don't really compensate for loss in bulk.
--hull mass reduction from 950t to 800t should give it good boost to long range, through it would still lag behind Anaconda.
Type 10 Defender 124,755,340cr: Awkward member of the Big 4 combat ships, not really bringing anything to the table beside highest number of guns, but with bad convergence angles (+ ability to shoot backward with turrets)
might as well go ham on changes..
--Base Hull HP 580 -> 800 (~1100 eff hp more).
--Armour Rating 75 -> 100.
Anaconda 146.969.450cr: Most firepower you can get on the ship be it AX or regular combat, its no longer ship with best jump range, but still can get job done.
Federal Corvette 187.969.450cr: Pretty balanced ship in most regards beside Jump range, 3 c7 optional slot's allow for plenty of utility, only limiting factor is that ship relies on its 2 huge hard-points with have rather limited weapon selection (and there are no Huge weapons at all for AX combat)
technically both Federal Corvette and Anaconda have empty slots for 2 extra utility slots (10 total), but i doubt there's need for them
Imperial Cutter 187,969,450cr: Strongest shields and largest possible cargo capacity in the game on ship that can outrun some medium's, only problem is changing directions.
And that's be all suggestions and possible issues (like ship possibly getting too much) would be welcome.
These are just my opinions based on my experiences in the game, some might have bit messy writing as it took a bit.
E: D came long way since the early days and credits became less and less of a issue and it's shifting more towards "what you want to fly" or "optimizing your current task", so ship progression based on their cost kinda becomes kinda redundant, not to mention fact that some ships are straight up overpriced for what they offer.
Then there are new ships from previous year, Python MkII and Type 8 are reasonably priced for their top end capabilities, Mandalay im kinda mixed on and Cobra MkV straight up makes good chunk of ships more expensive than it redundant.
Im not saying in any way to nerf new ships, but their top end capabilities should be reflected in their cost (
Ships designs in Elite serve for really long time, so one would expect them to get some touch ups from time to time.
Disclaimers before i get to ship themselves:
1. Every current ship is included even if no changes are suggested, ships themselves are ordered by their base buy costs (fully equipped costs are also factored in)
2. Descriptions on ships are based on my own experiences (in PvE, AX and occasional PvP), each ship has it shorter or longer.
3. I don't know how hard changes are to make so i try to split them into what i consider simple aka ship base stats and the more complex aka models and modules, still i try to keep changes rather small.
Sidewinder 32.000cr: The Starter, The Backup, The Fallback, The Teleportwinder (to not say other name), I would keep it as it is, MKII could be introduced as replacement in shop if better one is desired.
Eagle MkII 44.800cr: Early Bounty hunter, despite excellent maneuverability, it doesn't offer much else and is quickly replaced by more capable ships.
--most base thing i would suggest is reducing base mass from 50t to 45t, so it can better utilize enhanced thrusters.
--then there's question of Bulkheads, Eagle has lowest base hull HP and bulkheads being % increase causes them to offer little extra integrity for the whole 4-8t they weight, so they're delegated for resistances, so either base ship HP could be increased or mass of bulkheads dropped to 2.5-5t.
--lastly and probably most complex would be adding second utility slot, 1 utility slot is real pain point of the ships in most activities.
Hauler 52.720cr: Early Trader, Courier, Explorer, Bubble shuttle despite its lowly status it can offer a lot thanks to its low weight, its already good in its roles and im not sure how to even improve it.
Adder 87.808cr: Larger Hauler and Earliest Core Miner, it loses some points over hauler for more weapons and optional slot.
Imperial Eagle 110.830cr: Eagle that's trying to be Viper, but not nearly there
--i would make same changes as Eagle (reduction in hull mass 50t -> 45t and adding second utility slot), but it already has higher base HP so changes to bulkheads are not necessary.
Viper MkIII 142.931cr: The premiere early bounty hunter and combat ship with good maneuverability, high speed and small hit profile.
Cobra MkIII 349.720cr: First true multi role and ship were CMDR can "spread their wings", through it definitely felt all the years
--some reduction in hull mass would definitely make it fell bit better 180t -> 170t.
Viper MkIV 437.930cr: Quite oddball as it trades one of key attributes of Viper mkIII "speed" for more versatility and very high potential hull durability for its size, is it worth trade off? really hard to say, but it makes ship different.
--similar suggestion to Cobra mkIII, hull mass 190t -> 180t.
Diamondback Scout 564.329cr: First ship with 4 utility slots, offering great thermal characteristics and maneuverability, but has weak boost, limited optional slots.
--same as previous one hull mass 170t -> 160t, Cobra MkV really makes ships in this mass range fell bad with its 150t hull..
Cobra MkIV 764.720cr: i don't have it, but opinions on it ain't great either, it tries to be what Viper mkIV was to mkIII, but somehow even harder with not only speed, but also maneuverability suffering harsh penalties.
--i question if changes should be made given it is not available, but still reducing hull mass from 210t to 180t, increasing it base speed from 200m/s to 340m/s and boost speed from 300m/s to 320m/s might give it something.
Type 6 Transporter 1.045.945cr: It does what it says in the name and it takes some time for it to be outclassed in that field
--hull mass reduction as standard 155t -> 145t and possibly to up-size its optional slots, so there's bigger gap between it and multi role's (1 c3 -> c4, 1 c2 -> c3?)
Dolphin 1.337.323cr: was best small pad hauler, transporter and courier, now it point remains Luxury cabins, that aren't even that big of a +
--to give it at least edge in jump range hull mass 140t -> 130t
--bulkhead weight could been also reduced from 32/63t -> 21/42t
Diamondback Explorer 1.894.760cr: First true explorer, before Mandalay it held 2 highest jump range after Anaconda, but it still holds ok and can serve as decent small combat ship albeit with undersized thrusters
Cobra mkV 1.989.461cr: Practically all strengths of small ships with optional slots of a medium ship, enough said.
Imperial Courier 2.542.930cr: Top end high speed combat ship, due to lower hull mass compared to Viper MkIII it doesn't need to give up as much for high speed.
Keelback 3.126.154cr: One of ships suffering from "SLF bay syndrome", where a lot of its budget is allocated into SLF bay, but it also costs one of the optional slots to use
--i think of same treatment as Type 6 hull mass reduction 180t -> 170t and possibly to up-size its optional slots (1 c3 -> c4, 1 c2 -> c3?)
--optionally minimum thrust value could be increased for better top speed at lower eng pips (45% -> 55%?)
Asp Scout 3.961.160cr: i gotta remind this ship cost TWICE the amount of Cobra MkV, ship has also very awkward stat-line having very good maneuverability, but low top speed so i don't really know what to touch.
--1 as standard hull mass reduction from 150t to 140t
--2 minimum thrust value increased from 50% to 75%?
both should improve what its already doing, through i doubt it becomes that much better
Vulture 4.925.615cr: High end small Combat ship and it does that pretty well, despite 2 large hardpoints being bit limiting due to 50/50 split
Asp Explorer 6.661.160cr: A handy mult role/exploration ship, through it becoming bit by bit outclassed and im not sure how to help it.
Federal Dropship 14.314.210cr: First Federal Brick and Ship with c6 power distributor and plenty of optional slots, being sort of hybrid between multi role and combat ship, but its slow, heavy and with limited range.
Given these older ship got bit of power creeped by newer releases and them being hull tanks i have 2 sets of changes
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70
--Secondary would be moving 2 Utility slots from bottom of the ship to the top like on Federal Gunship, so its possible to get better PD coverage given missiles wreck hull.
--Lastly for Dropship specifically i would change internal fuel tank from c4 to c5, so it more leans towards multi role
Type 7 Transport 17.472.250cr: With Type 8 being straight upgrade, its only strength compared to other hauler's of its size is lower price point, well it sort of has higher jump range, but that's because it carries less.
--only thing i can think off would be reducing it hull mass from 350t to 300t or 290t, so it would have at least that little edge, up-sizing its smaller optional slots is also option
Mandalay 17.639.220cr: High end Exploration ship, while also offering better multi role capabilities than Asp Explorer.
Alliance Chieftain 19.382.250cr: Highly maneuverable ship for both Human and AX combat.
Federal Assault Ship 19.814.210cr: Faster and more maneuverable version of the Dropship at cost of its optional slot, very comparable to Alliance Chieftain (or Chieftain to FAS given it came later)
Same reasoning as Dropship.
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70.
--Secondary would be moving 2 Utility slots from bottom of the ship to the top like on Federal Gunship, so its possible to get better PD coverage given missiles wreck hull.
Imperial Clipper 22.295.860cr: Kinda weird ship: "Imperial ship, but weak shields", "Combat ship, but bad convergence", "Medium ship for Large pads" and i can understand why its like that, its still preforms well as Fast Transport.
--Internal Fuel Tank could be increased from c4 to c5 to lean towards multi role side.
--"Big Maybe" would be raising base shield strength from 180shp to 200shp.
Alliance Crusader 22.866.340cr: Second ship suffering from "SLF bay syndrome", its in all regards downgrade compared to all other Alliance line ship's for ability to equip SLF bay that also takes one of limited optional slots.
--i would reduce hull mass from 500t to 450t, i won't change whole lot, but its something. (maybe 500t to 430t even)
Alliance Challenger 30.472.250cr: A trade-off of Alliance Chieftain speed for extra optional slots and different weapon load-out. (especially allowing for expanded weapon options in AX)
Federal Gunship 35.814.210cr: Big Angry Brick and first ship with c7 power distributor.
Same reasoning as Dropship.
--Reduce weight of bulkheads from 42/84t to 30/60t and increase Armour Rating from 60 to 70.
Krait Phantom 37.472.250cr: Fast Multi role with good armament, for Exploration it got outclassed by Mandalay as it served same role of a explorer with high top speed.
Type 8 Transporter 38.453.970cr: High end medium pad transporter that can also be used for more distant ports thx to SCO.
Krait MkII 45.814.210cr: Multi role combat vessel and excellent AX platform, only hampered by below average maneuverability.
Orca 48.539.890cr: Another kinda weird ship, it's like Clipper for people that don't have Empire Rank.
--one of c5 optional slots could be up-sized to c6
Fer-de-lance 51,567,040cr: The OG overloaded ship, enough said.
Mamba 55,867,040cr: Someone took FDL and traded some stats around and actually made it less overloaded.
Python 56.978.180cr: High end medium pad multi role ship, compared to Krait MkII trading speed, SLF bay and fast boost utility for extra c6 optional slot and more base durability.
Python MkII 67.527.361cr: High end combat ship with 4 Large slots allowing for firepower comparable to that of large ships, only limited by c6 distributor.
Type 9 Heavy 76.555.840cr: Large bulk trader and does its job well albeit sloooowly.
Beluga Liner 84.532.760cr: I don't know it's purpose or what it's supposed to be, Luxury cabins are nice, but they don't really compensate for loss in bulk.
--hull mass reduction from 950t to 800t should give it good boost to long range, through it would still lag behind Anaconda.
Type 10 Defender 124,755,340cr: Awkward member of the Big 4 combat ships, not really bringing anything to the table beside highest number of guns, but with bad convergence angles (+ ability to shoot backward with turrets)
might as well go ham on changes..
--Base Hull HP 580 -> 800 (~1100 eff hp more).
--Armour Rating 75 -> 100.
Anaconda 146.969.450cr: Most firepower you can get on the ship be it AX or regular combat, its no longer ship with best jump range, but still can get job done.
Federal Corvette 187.969.450cr: Pretty balanced ship in most regards beside Jump range, 3 c7 optional slot's allow for plenty of utility, only limiting factor is that ship relies on its 2 huge hard-points with have rather limited weapon selection (and there are no Huge weapons at all for AX combat)
technically both Federal Corvette and Anaconda have empty slots for 2 extra utility slots (10 total), but i doubt there's need for them
Imperial Cutter 187,969,450cr: Strongest shields and largest possible cargo capacity in the game on ship that can outrun some medium's, only problem is changing directions.
And that's be all suggestions and possible issues (like ship possibly getting too much) would be welcome.
These are just my opinions based on my experiences in the game, some might have bit messy writing as it took a bit.
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