Not just to buy the base ship, but to upgrade and equip it well enough to make it a worthwhile step up from the hauler. I have a pretty well upgraded hauler now, and about 300,000 CR, so it's tempting to go for it soon, but I'm concerned it will be a backward step if I can't upgrade systems, cargo capacity etc,. straight away.
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Newcomer / Intro How many credits do I need for a Cobra?
- Thread starter Touchwood
- Start date
even an e-graded cobra mkIII will "outperform" your hauler in speed, cargo etc. --- but you'll get a serious hit on jumprange. FSD is one of the most expensive moduls on a cobra mkIII.
i would wait, till you have the money to d-grade it and fit at least a b-class FSD and have 2 times insurance - that's 1,1 mio CR .
btw. - you might have a look at the Adder. it is a small, but nice step up from the hauler towards a cobra.
or you take your hauler and do a couple of rare trading runs: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/63119-Rare-Commodities-List! --- you'll have the money for your cobra "in no time".
after owning a cobra and a-grade it (around 10 mio) you don't need any other ship in this game --- all other are sidegrades, not upgrades (nevertheless fun to fly).
fly safe!
I brought my cobra with 500k in the bank. Two reasons. The cobra was the reward, for reaching that target and I know, I could build a cargo mission runner for that. It is now worth over 10 million, but I have had it for over 18 months now. Cobra is king and will pay for itself, 50 times over.
Possibly the question you should ask is "how many credits should I carry for ship insurance and buybacks?"
I see you said something about "straight away".
That's all well and good but I would strongly recommend with any ship having surplus credits for insurance buybacks of your ship and load-out.
There is a never ending chorus of screams from new commanders who buy something they can't afford to pay the buyback insurance on and then they end up back in some hangar in the Pilot's Federation "loaner" Sidewinder and are starting again, practically, from day one.
Start small and slow down a bit; think about planning ahead.... and not just for the next night's game-play.
My opinion. You can treat it as advice if you wish...stay safe and have fun CMDR!
I see you said something about "straight away".
That's all well and good but I would strongly recommend with any ship having surplus credits for insurance buybacks of your ship and load-out.
There is a never ending chorus of screams from new commanders who buy something they can't afford to pay the buyback insurance on and then they end up back in some hangar in the Pilot's Federation "loaner" Sidewinder and are starting again, practically, from day one.
Start small and slow down a bit; think about planning ahead.... and not just for the next night's game-play.
My opinion. You can treat it as advice if you wish...stay safe and have fun CMDR!
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Here is a mostly D rated Cobra build as you can see you will need 1,173,000 cr (and change) to buy it and with the minimum 3 re-buys you will need something like 1,330,000 credits.
https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk...i2h.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=Cobra mostly D rated
I recomend that you buy the Cobra as soon as you can afford it - even E-rated, provided you keep at least twice the insurance cost in the bank. For me, at least, gradually upgrading a ship is one of the most rewarding parts of the game.
You will lose a fair bit of jump range, but everything else will be an improvement on the Hauler.
You will lose a fair bit of jump range, but everything else will be an improvement on the Hauler.
I agree with Lizard, here, although my reasons are a bit different.
I never understood people who wait with buying a ship until they have enough money to A-rate it. For me it's not fun.
I personally buy ships as soon as I have money for stock model plus 3x insurance. For two reasons:
1) I'm impatient and I usually look at and look forward to the ship for a long time, already. To have the ship within my reach but "wait till I could make it the best possible" is unacceptable.
Plus it actually doesn't make sense. You are usually buying a ship that it similar to your previous one but bigger/better/prettier/... Why use an inferior ship to earn money to make the better one better, when the better one is... well... better at earning that money?
There are exceptions, of course and the new E-rated ship might be slightly worse than the A-rated old one, but the other points still apply, so why wait?
2) You are looking forward to that new, awesome ship. You will enjoy flying it, so why not flying it as long as possible? If you wait till you can A-rate it, you'll never enjoy it, because this is a neverending spiral of new ships. You basically fly your A-rated ship, but already looking at her replacement in the future - earning money so you can immediately A-rate the next one. Your current ship doesn't deserve that. It deserves a proper love and use.
When you buy an E-rated ship, you can enjoy making it better. Both you and your ship will grow together. You will see all her advantages and make them even better as time goes, but also, you will see her cons and down sides. You will improve on them, but you will be aware of them more from the beginning, which will make you a better pilot. A-rated ships mask their disadvantages better and if you are not aware of them, the consequences are in the end more severe.
Naturally there are cases when you want to buy an A-rated ship. For example if you already have a bigger ship and lots of money and want to buy a smaller one for different purpose or just fun. Then it makes sense to equip her properly from the start. You probably flown her or similar ship, already, at that point, anyway.
So my advice is - don't wait. 500k Cr is more than enough for a Cobra.
I never understood people who wait with buying a ship until they have enough money to A-rate it. For me it's not fun.
I personally buy ships as soon as I have money for stock model plus 3x insurance. For two reasons:
1) I'm impatient and I usually look at and look forward to the ship for a long time, already. To have the ship within my reach but "wait till I could make it the best possible" is unacceptable.
Plus it actually doesn't make sense. You are usually buying a ship that it similar to your previous one but bigger/better/prettier/... Why use an inferior ship to earn money to make the better one better, when the better one is... well... better at earning that money?
There are exceptions, of course and the new E-rated ship might be slightly worse than the A-rated old one, but the other points still apply, so why wait?
2) You are looking forward to that new, awesome ship. You will enjoy flying it, so why not flying it as long as possible? If you wait till you can A-rate it, you'll never enjoy it, because this is a neverending spiral of new ships. You basically fly your A-rated ship, but already looking at her replacement in the future - earning money so you can immediately A-rate the next one. Your current ship doesn't deserve that. It deserves a proper love and use.
When you buy an E-rated ship, you can enjoy making it better. Both you and your ship will grow together. You will see all her advantages and make them even better as time goes, but also, you will see her cons and down sides. You will improve on them, but you will be aware of them more from the beginning, which will make you a better pilot. A-rated ships mask their disadvantages better and if you are not aware of them, the consequences are in the end more severe.
Naturally there are cases when you want to buy an A-rated ship. For example if you already have a bigger ship and lots of money and want to buy a smaller one for different purpose or just fun. Then it makes sense to equip her properly from the start. You probably flown her or similar ship, already, at that point, anyway.
So my advice is - don't wait. 500k Cr is more than enough for a Cobra.
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I waited till I had enough to mostly A rate the Cobra, a bit over 8 mil for my build and cushion.
this is my build now and my only ship. what I had was the same but a 4E fuel scoop and Basic Discovery scanner.
https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk...501v62f.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=hey little cobra
but the reason is I still really like the Sidewinder after it is A rated it. I played it for a very long time, the Hauler was fun but I liked the Sidewinder more and went back to it quickly.
this is my build now and my only ship. what I had was the same but a 4E fuel scoop and Basic Discovery scanner.
https://coriolis.io/outfit/cobra_mk...501v62f.Iw1-kA==.Aw1-kA==?bn=hey little cobra
but the reason is I still really like the Sidewinder after it is A rated it.
I played it for a very long time, the Hauler was fun but I liked the Sidewinder more and went back to it quickly.
My MkIII was kitted out with all A rated components. It cost me ~ 9 Mcr.
Also this is nice build on a budget, even D rated the Cobra is a good ship and like has been said you can do it all in a Cobra III.
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One thing is key though! Surprised it wasn't mentioned......You said you had an upgraded Hauler.
When you take the decision to upgrade to the Cobra, whether now (and I am more in that camp than waiting until I can upgrade it. I enjoyed the step change into the stock Cobra personally), or later on.....
SELL your Hauler modules off first - replacing the core ones with the cheapest you can find. You get 100% value back on modules. You can also just sell without replacing optional modules you may have fitted like weapons, utility mounted accessories, extra/ up-rated cargo bays etc
Then sell the stripped out hulk of your Hauler, which you lose 10% on from the original purchase price.
PS: Make sure you purchase your Cobra at a discount system (usually Li Yong Rui exploited/ controlled) getting the full 15% of the ship price, and further, off upgrading modules. Use Inara.cz shipyard and the search box upper right. Ensure "Only discounted" is ticked. You can then search for the nearest system to you offering the discount, what the discount is and so on. Works afterwards for the modules too (Be aware that annoyingly, you will not necessarily find all the Cobra modules you want discounted in the same station you purchase the Cobra in - some yes, but not all. Thankfully when you then search again, it is usually only a case of a short hop or even an alternate station within the same system.
Good luck!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who does (did) this. Regretted it once and had to downgrade again but still wouldn't change what I did. Little doubt it will happen again if I ever qualify for a Cutter.
Bought my Cobra before i saw your post!
Fortunately I had already picked up on most of the advice - I sold the hauler modules off in outfitting first, and i did get the discount from the Li Yong Rui system - the only thing I missed out on was replacing the hauler modules I'd upgraded with cheaper ones, i don't suppose it cost me much.
Many thanks anyway!
It's good to hone these habits early. It may be just a 10k loss on a Hauler, but in big ships it can be tens of millions.
Anyway, congratulations on getting a Cobra, one the most iconic, fastest and generally feel-good ships in the galaxy. Have fun!
Oh dear, oh dear oh dear!
I think I messed up, big style - desperately need some advice here!
Firstly, I haven't got a Cobra - i've got a Viper. I got to Ross 584 early this morning after a long haul, using fuel scoop, and I think i was a little tired - I meant to buy a cobra but mistakenly I've bought a Viper! doh!
I then proceeded to compound the mistake by trying to swap the Viper for a Cobra without checking I had enough credits - sold modules in Outfitting etc. etc. then had to repurchase them when I found I couldn't afford the Cobra.
Decided I'd better just make the most of it and do some missions in the Viper to make some Credits. Took a data delivery to Wala (bloody ages in supercruise when in system) took a mission in Wala to deliver superconductors then found I couldn't jump to the star - something about fuel available for jump, max 6 tons, can't really remember. Decided to go back to Ross 584 - again route not available! ! Travelled to the other station in Wala (where I am now) to see if anything was better - same story.
Decided there was no point in keeping mission to deliver superconductors so abandoned it - forgot about fine - 43,000 CR! Now stuck in Clark Landing in Wala, illegal cargo of superconductors (stolen), no idea what to do next any worried about making yet another stupid mistake!
Help - anyone?
Oh, dear.
A fine mess you've gotten yourself into.
Okay, first thing - stop panicking. A fine won't hurt for some time, unless you get wanted.
Check system map if one of the stations, outposts or planetary bases has a Black market. If they do, go there and sell the stuff. That'll minimize the damage. Otherwise space it.
Next thing you should do is get out of the system.
You have two options. Either you embrace the Viper, buy some guns and go earn money the hard way, or you can buy something smaller (Adder, for example) that can jump better and you can afford to outfit it properly.
If you decide to fight, find a planetary ring with Resource extraction sites, or a Nav Beacon next to the star, drop there and wait for a bit (I suspect you're not that experienced in fighting, if you just came out of the Hauler) Once System security ships start fighting the pirates, join in, carefully. All you need to do target the pirate, wait until you clearly see they're wanted and that they are NOT in a wing, wait until cops almost kill them and then land a couple of shots in the last 10 seconds of the fight. You'll get the bounty. If it is a High intensity site, the bounties vary from 5k (Sideys) to 150k (Anaconda), so you should be set soon enough.
One word of caution, though - if you die, you'll be returned to the station that issued the fine, which means it will get added to your rebuy costs. Do'¨t worry too much. You have about 600k that you can use as a loan to pay the insurance (even repeatedly)
If you decide for an Adder or something like that, just outfit it and get out of the system, then keep doing whatever you were doing in a Hauler.
If you can be online around 11pm galactic time (yeah, I know it's late), I could come over and help you. Otherwise good luck!
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Oh, dear.
A fine mess you've gotten yourself into.
Okay, first thing - stop panicking. A fine won't hurt for some time, unless you get wanted.
Check system map if one of the stations, outposts or planetary bases has a Black market. If they do, go there and sell the stuff. That'll minimize the damage. Otherwise space it.
Next thing you should do is get out of the system.
You have two options. Either you embrace the Viper, buy some guns and go earn money the hard way, or you can buy something smaller (Adder, for example) that can jump better and you can afford to outfit it properly.
If you decide to fight, find a planetary ring with Resource extraction sites, or a Nav Beacon next to the star, drop there and wait for a bit (I suspect you're not that experienced in fighting, if you just came out of the Hauler) Once System security ships start fighting the pirates, join in, carefully. All you need to do target the pirate, wait until you clearly see they're wanted and that they are NOT in a wing, wait until cops almost kill them and then land a couple of shots in the last 10 seconds of the fight. You'll get the bounty. If it is a High intensity site, the bounties vary from 5k (Sideys) to 150k (Anaconda), so you should be set soon enough.
One word of caution, though - if you die, you'll be returned to the station that issued the fine, which means it will get added to your rebuy costs. Do'¨t worry too much. You have about 600k that you can use as a loan to pay the insurance (even repeatedly)
If you decide for an Adder or something like that, just outfit it and get out of the system, then keep doing whatever you were doing in a Hauler.
If you can be online around 11pm galactic time (yeah, I know it's late), I could come over and help you. Otherwise good luck!
Many thanks!
There was a blackmarket, so I sold the superconductors, and exited the system. Now - you mention an Adder - how about going back to the hauler? i was doing fairly well with that.
Wow!
Right - what is your distance from Yen Nu? And your online time envelope? I will be available @ 18.00 BST to log on if any good?
Adder is directly between the Hauler and Cobra when comes to small ships. It's a moderate step-up that will help you to earn money a bit more quickly.
But that's up to you, of course. If you feel comfortable in a Hauler, it's alright.
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