Is it worth having a fuel scoop?

[Iskariot]

Hi,

I currently have a Lakon Type 6, and am soon to buy a Lakon Type 7.

Is it worth equipping a fuel scoop for these merchant ships? I am thinking of a situation where I submit to an interdiction, I select a system to hyperspace to (if the FSD is too slow to charge for supercruise), and I do not have enough fuel when I get there to jump anywhere else.

What should I do in the above situation? Should I have a fuel scoop?

Thanks.

It depends. If you have to jump through a lot of systems without suitable stations with large pads you might want to consider a fuel scoop.
In general though it is not necessary.

Currently a fuel scoop is very useful if you go exploring far way from civilization.
But I never used one on a trading run, even when the price of fuel for large ships was much, much higher than it is now.
If I plan a trading route I am careful though. I always check the distances involved and the systems I pass through.

 

[bamber]

Tried docking computer on release and it was awful has it got better as it was definitely quicker and safer to dock manually.

DC was better in 1.1 massively better in 1.2 and has from first glance took another significant step forward in 1.3

If you really want to know how the DC has progressed watch the NPC's they dock much better now because of the improvements

 

[Zplintz]

Not having a Fuel Scoop is fine if you run the same routes over and over and know the fuel requirements.

Fuel scoops are about safety and (if you have a high enough powered one) a time saver during long distances.

You will probably think not having one is a mistake the first time you find you have jumped into a system with no dockable station and do not have enough fuel to jump back.

Never used a docking computer, never needed to. There isn't a ship in the game that isn't easy to dock (including the T9 and Anaconda). With these two, you get used to where the cockpit is in relation to the rest of your ship and scraping the paint off 33% of the time becomes the norm and costs nothing.

DC is a waste of power and a slot IMO. (Most useful if you intend to fly semi-afk and don't mind if a Clank flies your ship and cargo into oblivion sometimes).

 

[Bazorlag]

Monetarily? No. To save on time? Yes. I've found travelling so much faster and easier with a fuel scoop.

It´s actually the same thing. ED is literally a game of "time is money". Every minute for a trader is worth about 100k or so and for bounty hunter it is about 50k/min.

 

[Canning_s]

@AgentExeider

Btw jumping to super cruise always takes less time then a hyperjump , set your jump to super cruise keybind , instead of using the standard jumpdrive keybind

I am a bit confused about your comment, can you please explain? Are you saying that rather than just engaging supercruise, use the jump to supercruise? If this is so, what actually is the difference?

 

[Ism]

As if you need more info.... I will add my 2 cent anyhow....

If you do buy a fuel scoop, I would recommend the largest you can get (EXPENSIVE), but it's the difference between seconds and around a minute scooping.
With a medium/small scoop (3A), I was constantly getting interdicted by NPC. With a large (6A), I can scoop on the fly in my Asp and in literally seconds, top off from a 30ly jump and be on my way before NPC even knows I'm in the system.
I have never overheated with the (6A) skimming a star at full speed, (3A) was a challenge. Type-7 may accept larger than size 6.

 

[DrakeAurum]

I am a bit confused about your comment, can you please explain? Are you saying that rather than just engaging supercruise, use the jump to supercruise? If this is so, what actually is the difference?

There are two keybinds for jumping from normal space - "Jump", and "Jump - Supercruise Only". If you have no interstellar destination selected and hit Jump, you'll go into supercruise, but if you have a star targeted and hit Jump you'll start spooling up for an inter-system hyperspace jump, which takes longer. Hitting the Jump To Supercruise button will only take you to supercruise, even if you have a star targeted.

Generally not important, but situationally useful.

Whilst jumping to supercruise is generally faster, it is subject to mass-inhibition if your pursuer is in a craft of equal or greater size than yours, which can make it take much longer. A hyperspace jump has a longer base time to engage, but it is not subject to mass-inhibition, making it a reliable option to get clear.