I really like the Asp

[Crazy Jedi]

I can't let this thread pass without offering an alternative view. I loathe the Asp.

Just about everything that has been said on here about the qualities of this ship is just about spot on. It is, almost certainly, the most versatile craft available, certainly to those who haven't got the hundreds of millions required for the biggies. It will do any task you need to do and do it well. An A-specced Asp may be had for about 30 million which must make it the best value for money ship in the game, and it has tremendous views from the cockpit - so great for sightseeing and a massive plus in combat. And all those good things, ladies and gentlemen, are in my view its downfall.

The Asp is so good it is boring. I called mine Kevin and sold it after a week, I couldn't cope with such a goody-two-shoes ship and was bored witless. Now I run a combination of a Vulture and a T6, both of which have drawbacks, some serious, for the sort of game I play but at least I have to think and plan, and when in the T6 beware of the ships moving to try and interdict me.

I dunno. I don't find it boring as there is still a very big chance that you can bite off more than you can chew in a combat situation whilst flying an Asp.

The only ship that I have struggled to bond with is my T6. I like the excitement of living in proper peril whilst running freight because you cannot defend yourself (mine has no guns because they're pointless on a T6) but the fact that it is ponderous and a bit of a clumsy cow in flight gets a bit frustrating. Also when I get bored of truckin freight I then have to fly back to my Asp or Cobra before I can go BH rather than just look up the closest RES as I could in my Asp

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If you want Asp'y combat fun, try 6 cannons.... unshielded viper/cobra SPLAT.

Anything with a shield , you're dead meat, but once those shields go.....

Bill

<<still worried about..... Thargoids

I've gone for x4 beam lasers on small and x2 Canon on Med hard points. Proper shield melting ability with a big punch

 

[Jakester13]

Like the OP, my long-standing ship was an A rated Cobra, Vanity - did a bunch of exploring in it, out to the Chamaeleon Neb, put my name on a load of systems and made Pathfinder, ranked to Count in Empire, traded rares, etc.

Played around in a L6 (Just don't have the patience to trade). Then I finally sold it. Grabbed a Courier at the beginning of PP and had quite a blast in it, doing the PP stuff.

But as someone who plays for 2-5 hours a week, wasn't seeing the rewards in PP, and a lot of negatives such as being pulled over countless times by hostiles, and killing them for no reward.

So, left my power, headed to Jameson Memorial, parked the Courier, and bought my first Asp. Upgraded it quite a bit.

Now 1,000 Lys out and plan on a 2-3 week exploration mission to build up the bank some more. So far, I like it. Great ship.

(2 burst, 2 pulse and 2 multicannon, all fixed. That should melt even the toughest of Thargoids?)

 

[Banana's_Are_Good_For_You]

Just bought one the other day and bought it for the Multi-Role options.
Looking forward to using it.

 

[Para Handy]

If we could just turn off those two bright blue lights at the sides of the canopy the Asp would be just about perfect. Unfortunately those lights force me to reduce my field of view setting and so muck up viz of other stuff even more than the daft head-bobble does anyway.

 

[Kitanaikoneko]

Has anyone ever managed to load 6 rails on one? That would be great fun!

It's a lot of fun, just bring your heatsinks. 2 volleys from all 6 and you're about to overheat.

 

[DanTheMan]

I thought the Asp was the bee's knee's until I got my Python.
Limited range, but boy can it take a beating and still come out on top.
Toe to Toe with Anaconda's...always a giggle.

 

[Swifty]

It's a lot of fun, just bring your heatsinks. 2 volleys from all 6 and you're about to overheat.

I'm definitely gonna try this. I'm messing about with a 4 rail DB scout at the moment, it's not exactly efficient with all the ammo runs but damn it's fun.

 

[Ving]

Me too...the Asp is a great ship!

 

[Mango Fizz]

Me too and I cant wait to get one. Currently working my butt off rare trading in my Cobra to generate enough funds. Soon.... soon.....

 

[askavir]

Well I have played with all the ships in the game except the Anaconda and de Federal Dropship, and I have to say that the Asp holds a special place in this Commander's heart.

I still have one, althoug I spend most of my time in my beloved Clipper.

In my early game days, the Asp was the first ship that felt like a first real proper "big", "expensive" ship, was felt like winning the lottery after so much time spent in the Cobra (which I also loved) and the T6 (there was still no Vulture to make big credits fast back then).

It just had so much good things that none of the smallest and cheaper ships had... Lots of fuel for large journeys without stopping, as much cargo space as the T6, but quite fast and quite nimble, and with sufficient firepower to cruise along the stars without much worries. And I loved the growling sound of its engines.

I used it a lot of rare good trading, as I could pick everything in the lave cluster, and fly all the way to witchhaul without stopping to refuel. Also used for bounty-hunting in RES.

After the Asp, only the clipper gave me such a sensation of wonder, as all the other more expensive ships that I tried (T7, FDL, Python and T9) felt lackluster for their price and "fame".

The Adder (felt great leaving the sidey and flying in that space shuttle clone), the Cobra, the Asp, the Vulture and the Clipper are the ships that make me feel more nostalgic, as they were the ones in which I had my best gaming moments.

 

[Elgered]

the best ships always have been there They are the ones that survived the centuries.
Asp
Cobra
Python
...

 

[acg515]

If you are looking for purely exploring, then I wouldn't recommend the Asp. It's great at it, but the DBX has such awesome thermal reduction capability that I'd take that over asp for pure exploration duty.

But if you wanted one ship that was excellent still at exploration, AND could do all your other multirole stuff, then Asp.

Not even saying the Asp can't be a great explorer, it definitely is. But if exploration is the ONLY consideration, then personally the DBX has it beat by a little. you have to try it to see how close and how long the darn DBX can get to a star to appreciate just how much better it is at that vs an asp or any other ship

I just completely stop my ship the second I come out of frameshift so I haven't crashed my ship into a sun in a while. Flying into suns is a pretty big danger out there, but I don't think it is THE consideration to worry about. That being said, I got caught by a sun the other night and my Asp didn't have any issues, I just dropped a heatsink and my heat was already gone. So I disagree that it's better but it may certainly have advantages.

 

[Chaodiurn]

On my part, the Asp makes for an excellent long range escort ship for fellow incoming explorers. The jump range while armed stays uncontested!

For about 10 seconds before your ammo runs out...

Worst movie in the history of movies. Right on par with Pacific Rim.

 

[samdalley]

Asp for me as well. Currently fitted out for 120 tonnes of cargo which gives me just shy of 2 million/hour on a 4 stop circular run. There's a fair distance between 3 of the systems (50ly+) but no more than 3 jumps between each and a couple of single jumps over 23ly which makes the Asp the best ship for the job. A T7 might give comparable results per hour (slower & needing more jumps) but can't defend itself as well as the Asp (somebody's going to prove me wrong now).

 

[Senex VII]

I love my big red Asp.
The Callipygian.

And my blue one.
Blue Moon.

(Yeah, I have two. It's a hangover from when I thought they were going to reduce the 100% module sell-back prices, so I got two: one kitted out for prickly trading and the other just for exploring.)

For sheer enjoyment the Asp is hard to beat. The Python and Vulture come a close second and third for me.
And that's what this game is about: finding out what it is you enjoy, how you're going to get to enjoy it, and going with that.