Mandalay - combat or exploration, why not both?

[Stealthie]

I tried to see how strong I could make the Mandalay if I just went all-out with the goal of making it as much of a tank as possible, capable of soaking up enormous amounts of damage. I got these stats out of it. I'm not really a combat ship expert, so I don't know if these are good or mediocre:

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Problem is, if you get into builds like that, you have to ask yourself why you're not building an FdL or a Python 2 instead.
A P2, in particular, can have (almost) twice the shield and hull, more firepower and a similar jump-range.

I'd also wonder about power and weapons with a Mandy' combat build.
4x C2 and 2x C1 hardpoints are okay but they're not great... and, after you've loaded the ship up with SBs, GSBs and other fighty parts, how much power is left for weapons?

 

[Cmdr Snuffler]

Problem is, if you get into builds like that, you have to ask yourself why you're not building an FdL or a Python 2 instead.
A P2, in particular, can have (almost) twice the shield and hull, more firepower and a similar jump-range.

I'd also wonder about power and weapons with a Mandy' combat build.
4x C2 and 2x C1 hardpoints are okay but they're not great... and, after you've loaded the ship up with SBs, GSBs and other fighty parts, how much power is left for weapons?

Handling, cockpit layout, view, engine sound...many reasons.
Personally I refuse to fly a FDL. Hate the off center seat, hate the cockpit, hate the view, hate the handling. For me it's the worst ship in ED, detest the FDL.
Python Mk2, now that's a beast. Still has the off center seat though...I have a frag mk2, which makes soloing wing assassination missions far too easy. Due to it being so over powered I got bored of using it very quickly.

For PvP is will potentially make a difference, I get that, but for PvE and open play you only need your dps, shields and hull to be above a certain threshold to make it a very viable combat build.

 

[DjVortex]

A P2, in particular, can have (almost) twice the shield and hull, more firepower and a similar jump-range.

I tried a similar damage-soaking Python2 build, and here's the comparison (Mandalay above, Python2 below):

• The Python Mk II has bigger hardpoints, so it definitely wins in firepower by a country mile. But then, it's a dedicated combat ship, so one would expect more firepower.
• Python Mk II gets about a third less jump range, which isn't surprising.
• Max speed and boost speed are very similar, with the Python Mk II actually being a tad bit faster, although not by a lot. Neck in neck.
• Python Mk II has better pitch speed, same roll speed, and significantly slower yaw speed.
• Having more utility mounts means you can get significantly stronger shields with the Python Mk II, by quite a long shot.
• However, and conversely, having less optional module slots means that you can make the Mandalay significantly sturdier in terms of hull resistance.

If you really want a combat ship (rather than a multipurpose ship that can do decent combat), the Python2 definitely wins because of the larger hardpoints. Otherwise, they are pretty equal (with the major difference being that one has stronger shields and the other a stronger hull). The Mandalay, unsurprisingly, gives you a bit more jump range.