Newcomer / Intro Not bad, 500,000cr reward for community goal, Any suggestions for a Cobra loadout?

Cobra Mk2 · Mar 5, 2015

I got a 500,000 reward on top of my normal tier reward for the community goal at one of those planets that are being terraformed.
It was totally unexpected as I had only managed to reach it shortly before it finished. Compared to the rewards in the earlier community goals this definitely a lot better (obviously!) and it helped me upgrade from my trusty Adder which I grew quite fond of (I loved those engine sounds) and bought myself the Cobra Mk3.
Ahh the Mighty Cobra! The one and only! How many years has it been since we last scd the hull off the starport entrance in another wreckless approach?

I had managed to save up enough cash to buy one but this half a million has let me upgrade it a bit so if there are any Cobra pilots who could give me some loadout advice then please do.
I've already looked at a few topics concerning loadout's but I'd like to know what current pilots are using.

cmdr lowest · Mar 6, 2015

One of the reasons I love my Cobra is that is it so versatile so before any commander can offer loadout advise you would need to add what you are trying to do with it?

Mining? Bounty Hunting? Pirating? Exploring? Etc.?

the100thmonkey · Mar 6, 2015

There are some basic configurations that don't really change - weapons, for instance.

The size 1 hardpoints on the wingtips are very far apart. They should be gimballed to keep you on target. The class 2 hardpoints should house kinetic weapons to avoid the damage penalty against medium and minimise it against large ships.

An A-rated FSD and power distributor are a must.

OirishM · Mar 6, 2015

As I understand, it's the fastest ship, at least in boost. Makes it useful for general quick getaways - get a decent power distributor and thrusters and you can boost to very high speeds. 4 pips with a decent rig and you can boost twice in quick succession, which gives you a lot of space between yourself and an attacker.

Kuroshio · Mar 6, 2015

That's how my Cobra used to be equipped when she was my jack of all trades, used for Exploration, NAV/RES bounty hunting, rares and small-time commodity trading and missions. The intention was to have a load-out that I would keep all the time, I don't like constant re-fitting.

Cobra Mk III Mistake Not...

M: 2D/F Beam Laser
M: 2D/F Beam Laser
S: 1G/G Multi-cannon
S: 1G/G Multi-cannon
(I know, I know, the damage penalty - but I rarely engaged anything larger than a Cobra, and there's something about me that prefers enemy shields to be stripped fast.)

U: 0I Heat Sink Launcher
U: 0I Point Defence
(Is it just me or do these things really work insanely well?)

BH: 1I Reinforced Alloy
(Probably the strangest choice for a multirole ship, it cost me about 1.5 LY range. On the other hand, it has saved my neck in a number of collisions and fights.)

RB: 4D Power Plant
TM: 4D Thrusters
(The weakest part, she'll get a 4A plant and thrusters someday. Was a question of money, I'd gladly have sacrificed another 05. LYs for those to - I slammed into more than one asteroid because she turns way faster than she changes direction.)

FH: 4A Frame Shift Drive
EC: 3D Life Support
PC: 3D Power Distributor
SS: 3A Sensors
(Another .25 LY range gone, but I like the effect on the gimballed weaponry and the extended range during RES bounty hunting.)

FS: 4C Fuel Tank (Capacity: 16)
4: 4D Shield Generator
4: 4E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 16)
4: 4E Cargo Rack (Capacity: 16)
(32 tons of cargo are enough to make 0.9-1M Cr per hour on a rares run.)
2: 2A Fuel Scoop
(Another sacrifice due to multi-roling, this time for cargo space. But I don't really mind scooping during exploration, I usually do some scans, check the system map, scribble some notes and so on. Nowadays, I have a shield cell bank in that slot.)

2: 1C Advanced Discovery Scanner
(Keeping it, because even though I don't take her on explorations anymore, I like being able to scan entire unknown systems.)

2: 1C Detailed Surface Scanner
(Has been taken out and fitted in my Asp. There's a C2 fuel scoop in there now as a security blanket.)

Unladen range with a full tank was 23.67 LYs, power draw 77/103 %. The loadout comes at roughly 5.18 MCr.

It served me really well - I've done roughly 5,500 LY of pure exploration in it, and earned my competent combat ranking. Without rares trading, income was relatively low, though.

Pyrion · Mar 6, 2015

First you should upgrade everything to D. Cheap, makes the ship lighter, basically a no brainer.
If funds allow, go for power distributor and FSD first. These two are the most crucial.
For everything else we need to know what you intend to do with your cobra.

Fluzi Suzi · Mar 6, 2015

Make sure you have enough left to cover insurance

Zelos1983 · Mar 6, 2015

Just save the money. I think my Cobra is worth around 9 Million credits.

What you upgrade, depends on what you want to do with the Cobra. It's also an allround ship, for me, I do everything with it except stock commodities trading and mining.

Edit: I have a similar loadout to DoubtOutLoud.
Except: Everything possible in A-Class. 4x Gimballed Multicannon and Chaff launcher instead of Heat Sink.

Anarky · Mar 6, 2015

A - thrusters
A - FSD
A - Power Distributor

No weapons, no shields, everything else cargo space and Ds. Sometimes swap out a 4-cargo rack for an A rated fuel scoop.

superflyguy · Mar 6, 2015

big guns and a case of Evil Juice!

Hanson.dani · Mar 6, 2015

I agree for sure. I kinda regret kitting out my viper instead of a cobra... Now when I want to get anywhere I have to go home, pick up my Asp, then blast off into the abyss. I can't remember tho, how are the class 2 hardpoints on the cobra for fixed placement? I enjoy putting C2 cannons in those on my viper. Not sure how this would work in a cobra that has slightly poorer maneuverability? Cobra users, be aware of your massive advantage in power supply. Vipers max out at 12.0 MW i think, cobras are like way better and can handle some of those fun weapons, like railguns! Not so in a viper.

Kuroshio · Mar 6, 2015

The medium hardpoints are in the upper bow and well suited for fixed weapons in my experience. The small ones, however, are on the lower outer wings and are better off with gimballed weapons. (They still won't hit anything in the upper hemisphere.)

The Cobra turns quite fast, the problem is having enough thrust to make her go where she's pointing.

Cobra Mk2 · Mar 6, 2015

The first thing I noticed about the Cobra is how much more expensive it is to refuel compared to the Adder, the second thing was how much better the boost was and the third is never try to fly underneath a T9 when passing through the entrance slot.

While coming in to dock I got wedged stuck with an outgoing T9 and although the T9 managed to saunter on as if I wasn't there, I on the other hand suddenly had thrusters that didn't work and I spent 30 secs spinning round in circles before the station defence lasers put me out my misery... and to top it off I get a 500cr fine for blocking the entrance.

The guy in the T9 was like " oh sorry man that was my fault, do you want some cargo to cover the cost of repairs?" that was 5 secs before I blew up with 250,000cr of cargo onboard.
I had enough to re-buy my Cobra but not enough to re-buy it again so I will have to keep out of trouble for a while.

After it happened I was pretty mad but considering I received that half a million credits the day before and I had enough to re-buy the Cobra I feel better today, plus I've learned never to approach the entrance from underneath (Do T9's have low visibility?). Although the other cmdr was good enough to offer me some compensation for repairs I think it was actually my fault as I chose a very poor line of approach and he couldn't of seen me until it was too late.

After reading your replies the Cobra definitely seems like a versatile ship. I've fitted fixed beams on the bigger hardpoints and I'm experimenting slightly with the two weapon slots underneath although I will keep them gimballed like you suggest but I also want to try gimballed on the wide hardpoints and fixed on the front hardpoints.
As for the internal equipment I want to have a long-ish jump distance and also a decent bit of cargo space. I don't intend to play like a pirate or bounty hunter but I do want to be able to face up to npc's who interdict me.
At the moment I'm getting about 14ly when laden and 12.5ly when laden with 36t of cargo and thats with an upgraded hull.
A good thing about the Cobra is that you don't know for sure if the cmdr is a trader or pirate and it definitely deserves a little more respect than my old Adder.