Ship Builds & Load Outs Ships Passive defence systems

[BaruchSpinoza]

Hi all!

I'm new to the game, but my ultimate goal is to be able to play ED very passively as a long haul space trucker (or possibly a passenger transport), gliding from A to B, and avoiding combat as much as possible. I've formed this picture in my head of fitting out a ship in such a way that any pirates that attack will be surprised by that it basically defends itself instead of me having to do any manual dog-fighting.

As a first attempt at this, I've just fitted a point defence turret to my Sidewinder, but that seems to do very little to stop me getting blown to pieces whenever I get attacked. Is my idea at all feasible? If so, could someone give me some pointers as to the kind of ship and equipment I should be aiming for next?

I've heard there are some sort of automatic lasers I might be able to get in addition to the point defence turret, and I'm guessing there will be ways to significantly upgrade my shields. Maybe there are certain ships that just have loads of slots for automatic lasers and defence turrets? Or greater shield capacity? Or a particular station to go to to get hold of this sort of equipment?

Any pointers would be great!

 

[Ganogati]

Hi all!

I'm new to the game, but my ultimate goal is to be able to play ED very passively as a long haul space trucker (or possibly a passenger transport), gliding from A to B, and avoiding combat as much as possible. I've formed this picture in my head of fitting out a ship in such a way that any pirates that attack will be surprised by that it basically defends itself instead of me having to do any manual dog-fighting.

As a first attempt at this, I've just fitted a point defence turret to my Sidewinder, but that seems to do very little to stop me getting blown to pieces whenever I get attacked. Is my idea at all feasible? If so, could someone give me some pointers as to the kind of ship and equipment I should be aiming for next?

I've heard there are some sort of automatic lasers I might be able to get in addition to the point defence turret, and I'm guessing there will be ways to significantly upgrade my shields. Maybe there are certain ships that just have loads of slots for automatic lasers and defence turrets? Or greater shield capacity? Or a particular station to go to to get hold of this sort of equipment?

Any pointers would be great!

Completely hands-free, automated defense won't really be too feasible here. You have turrets, but they have their limits in how they function, how much damage they can do, etc. On a Type 10 you might be able to be a somewhat menacing threat to small ships with just a full turret build and you not doing anything to help (especially if you use a ship launched fighter), but against larger pirate ships you'll definitely feel the limitations.

Turrets, point defense and the fighter are about the best automation you can get. Now, with that said, that's likely enough for most small time NPC pirates, especially early on.

Now, on a side note: I have a buddy whose entire gameplay genre for years was "space trucker". Whatever space game he played, he was a space trucker at some point. In EVE, he was one of the better ones. During wars in EVE, it can be hard to get supplies into war torn areas, and without those supplies the stations can't sell anything. A good trucker can make some $$$$ getting supplies into locked down sector in the middle of a raging conflict.

If he taught me one thing about successful space trucking, it's that you don't try to fight- you RUN. Your ship is built to haul crap, and theirs is built to kill crap; you are not going to be winning any fights like that. So for him, he always built his ships for speed. It was always a surprise to them how quickly those monsterous things could scoot when the going got tough, and so unlike most space truckers EVE he rarely ever got popped (usually just blobs around the gates would get him; you can't do anything about that no matter who ya are).

If you want a ship that can fight passively AND haul, you're gonna want one of the big 4: Type 10, Cutter, Corvette or Anaconda. You want a combat oriented ship that you happen to be hauling in. You're a mercenary carrying cargo, and the monsterous corvette sized ship you fly will do most of the work for you.

But you want to be a proper space trucker, as in Type 6, 7 or 9? You wanna build your ship to take a beating and get to running, IMO.

Now, if you wanted a small hauler that can fight pretty well (better than you'd expect anyhow) but would require some effort on your part? I'd go Keelback all the way. Best ship in the galaxy for the hauler who wants to kick a pirate in the teeth.

 

[BaruchSpinoza]

Thanks for the really detailed answer. Really appreciate it. These seem like great ships to aim for in the long run, but what about ships for under a million? Any thoughts on the best one to go for to suit this playstyle?

 

[Ganogati]

So if we're looking at 1 mil, then the Type 6 costs 1,045,000. But if we're talking specifically under 1 mil, honestly you cannot go wrong with a Cobra MkIII.

INARA

The community site for Elite: Dangerous, Starfield with the game databases, information, gaming news and other handy content...

inara.cz

This ship is THE early game multi-role. There are folks who keep flying this thing even years later, because it just can't be beat. Personally I do not like the aesthetic of it, though a lot of folks do; but whatever you want to do, this ship can do it.

Honestly you can make a killing with the Cobra and then figure out what you want to swap to after that. The Type 6 is a proper space trucker, but it has almost no defenses at all. Once you hit 3 mil you can get a Keelback if you wanted, but otherwise the sky is the limit.

A lot of ships in the game seem to have sort of a vertical "progression" of "this is the next ship to go for after the one I'm in", but you'll find a lot of folks don't follow that progression, and use ships in ways they weren't necessarily intended. For example, for years I flew a Keelback exclusively, despite being able to afford MUCH better, and then eventually upgraded to my Alliance Challenger. I use the Challenger as a multi-role, though that's not really its purpose. I used the Keelback as a multi-role as well. Some folks use the Python as their space trucker over the others because it has great armor, weapons AND can haul a bunch of stuff, while still being able to land on medium slots unlike the Type 7+.

I'd look over the ships in the inara shipyard and decide which ship fits not only your playstyle, but your envisioned aesthetic and goal. Don't worry too much about what's "the best"; it's not necessarily a competition, and ships can be customized and engineered enough that you can take a ship out of its comfort zone and still make it do amazing things.

Good luck!

 

[BaruchSpinoza]

So if we're looking at 1 mil, then the Type 6 costs 1,045,000. But if we're talking specifically under 1 mil, honestly you cannot go wrong with a Cobra MkIII.

INARA

The community site for Elite: Dangerous, Starfield with the game databases, information, gaming news and other handy content...

inara.cz

This ship is THE early game multi-role. There are folks who keep flying this thing even years later, because it just can't be beat. Personally I do not like the aesthetic of it, though a lot of folks do; but whatever you want to do, this ship can do it.

Honestly you can make a killing with the Cobra and then figure out what you want to swap to after that. The Type 6 is a proper space trucker, but it has almost no defenses at all. Once you hit 3 mil you can get a Keelback if you wanted, but otherwise the sky is the limit.

A lot of ships in the game seem to have sort of a vertical "progression" of "this is the next ship to go for after the one I'm in", but you'll find a lot of folks don't follow that progression, and use ships in ways they weren't necessarily intended. For example, for years I flew a Keelback exclusively, despite being able to afford MUCH better, and then eventually upgraded to my Alliance Challenger. I use the Challenger as a multi-role, though that's not really its purpose. I used the Keelback as a multi-role as well. Some folks use the Python as their space trucker over the others because it has great armor, weapons AND can haul a bunch of stuff, while still being able to land on medium slots unlike the Type 7+.

I'd look over the ships in the inara shipyard and decide which ship fits not only your playstyle, but your envisioned aesthetic and goal. Don't worry too much about what's "the best"; it's not necessarily a competition, and ships can be customized and engineered enough that you can take a ship out of its comfort zone and still make it do amazing things.

Good luck!

Thanks for the wealth of information!

 

[Ganogati]

If you're looking for info on different ships, this guy (The Pilot) does some great little "commercials" for pretty much every ship in the game.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jNIVw8xVnM

 

[B.Roberts]

Thanks for the really detailed answer. Really appreciate it. These seem like great ships to aim for in the long run, but what about ships for under a million? Any thoughts on the best one to go for to suit this playstyle?

Not happening. If you want something that will defend you on its own you need one of these ship launched fighters and the cheapest options here are the Krait MkII and Keelback. These are the smallest ships with fighters on board. Keelback with 58 tons of cargo capacity and a fighter will cost you 5.4 millions (here it is https://s.orbis.zone/6lyu) and Krait Mk II with 190 tons and a fighter will cost over 50 millions (here it is https://s.orbis.zone/6lyv). Under a million you can't have anything worth mentioning if you want to be able to take some reasonable cargo, go reasonably far and to be safe. For example even decently outfitted Cobra will cost you over 3 millions. As much as it sounds a lot of money but in reality you can make this kind of cash pretty easily by trading or mining.

 

[Morbad]

Speed and shields are the best passive defenses. Of course, every defense is more potent with proactive use.

 

[B.Roberts]

Speed and shields are the best passive defenses. Of course, every defense is more potent with proactive use.

Very true. That's why I like to use Clipper for blockade running. Unfortunately fast ship with decent cargo, shields and range would also cost way over a million.

 

[Rick6549]

Point defense turrets only shoot down missles.

Really, this game doesnt favor the type of things youre looking for. Its pretty much learn combat, run, or die

 

[Pristine_Bump]

My Cobra got me to 70m and my Krait 11 (with upgrades) in a couple of weeks and I still love to fly it

 

[GeoJase]

My suggestion for a trucker is to not bother with mounting any guns. You'll be tempted to use them and that will most likely get you killed. You can't make a jump with your guns deployed, and jumping out is your best defence. A couple of point defence turrets (which are automatic but only shoot missiles), fire off heatsink and chaff, and jump the hell outta there.

A Type-7 is probably something to aim for in the medium term. Its great at beating interdictions, even from players, and can still haul a reasonable amount to satisfy your truckiness. And it looks like a truck

 

[Ceekay]

A Dolphin might be worth a look as they are fast enough to outrun most NPC's but you'll need a lot of engineering and the cost is over 3 mil https://s.orbis.zone/6l-n

Mines can be quite effective but you need to be faster then the attacker and fly straight so they fly into them.

 

[Fish172]

With any poorly armed ship just make sure you have decent shields and engines.

1) Learn to avoid interdictions, it takes practice but thats all.
2) If interdicted do not immediately run from the attacker. Turn to face them and boost at them. It will mean you take some hits. Then as you pass them boost and throttle until you can engage SC. This will work 99 percent of the time for NPC. It will not work on a human player who knows what they are doing.
3) Make sure you have chaff and heatsink. Activating these while being fired at buggers up their aiming and shooting.

As for weapons...well unless you are quite prepared to stand and fight..dont bother!


Hope this helps

 

[Madrax573]

Weapons in ED are purely offensive. Even mines.

One simple things tells you this. With weapons deployed you cannot engage your FSD...

For defense your tactics are shield up, get cold and run like heck!

 

[Ashnak]

Hi all!

I'm new to the game, but my ultimate goal is to be able to play ED very passively as a long haul space trucker (or possibly a passenger transport), gliding from A to B, and avoiding combat as much as possible. I've formed this picture in my head of fitting out a ship in such a way that any pirates that attack will be surprised by that it basically defends itself instead of me having to do any manual dog-fighting.

As a first attempt at this, I've just fitted a point defence turret to my Sidewinder, but that seems to do very little to stop me getting blown to pieces whenever I get attacked. Is my idea at all feasible? If so, could someone give me some pointers as to the kind of ship and equipment I should be aiming for next?

I've heard there are some sort of automatic lasers I might be able to get in addition to the point defence turret, and I'm guessing there will be ways to significantly upgrade my shields. Maybe there are certain ships that just have loads of slots for automatic lasers and defence turrets? Or greater shield capacity? Or a particular station to go to to get hold of this sort of equipment?

Any pointers would be great!

Not going to work.
Yes, there are large ships that can shrug off enemy fire for some limited time, and there are automatic turrets that will shoot at anything they perceive as hostile, but you're looking at 1 billion credits and more - if we're talking about NPCs. If you want to play in open and shrug off player pirates, simply forget it, as those will fly equally well equipped ships - just with better weapons.

As others already said, as a trader, if you don't want to actively fight, your option is to run. Build your ship so that it can soak up some damage, and forget about weapons. Main issue is that, as long as you have weapons deployed, you can't jump.

Ship choices: well, the Sidey is the cheapest starter ship. It also makes for a rather nasty endgame ship after you've unlocked all of the engineers and several of the PowerPlay toys - if you're interdicted by a shieldless Sidey, don't try to fight it . Point defense turrets are missile defense - they will shoot down incoming missiles (torpedoes, mines) at close range. They will also shoot at enemy ships, if they come close enough, but with limited effect. With one million in the bank, though, you won't get far. Yes, you could buy a Cobra Mk.III and a few better modules for it, but you'd probably better off with a B-rated Adder (or a Hauler).

This means - you need money. Lots of money (from your perspective) to go up to a respectable trader. And since trading usually isn't going to make you rich (and neither are bloodless low volume missions), you'll need to find some other way to get it. Profitable trading is rare, unless you want to run slaves (I don't). Best profit still is to ship Basic Medicines from a High-Tech system in boom to a system in Outbreak. Right now (i.e. as of two hours ago), you can buy at Ross 780 for 182 Credits and sell at Epsilon Indi for 4665 Credits per tonne.
Another newbie friendly way of making money is to scan systems (and planets) and sell the scan data to Universla Cartographics. You'll need to be 20 ly from the scanned system to sell. The scheme is also known as Road To Riches (R2R), and there are a few websites around that will calculate a well paying trip if you proivde your current location and ship capabilities.
The current make money fast way, though, is to mine Low Temperature Diamonds. Each tonne can give you (in the right conditions) up to 1.5 million credits (not on weekends, usually), and right now there's about a dozen stations that will pay over 500k.

Back to your original question, though. If you want a ship that will give any NPC pirate who pulls it from Supercruise a short surprise, you'll be looking at a combat ship that also carries cargo - like my Krait Mk.II. You'll be looking at ~240 MCr., unlocking all the Engineers, a couple of Guardian goodies and a few PowerPlay toys. I'll be carrying (in the current configuration) up to 64 tons of cargo (one size 6 compartment) - of the 230 tonnes that are theoretically possible.

 

[Anticon]

Python! Python! Check 'em out, best interim ship for multipurpose while you make credits for your ultimate ship. Just work up the cash for a Python ASAP. They carry a fair load, pretty tough, good to fly, agile enough that you can avoid most fights. By the time you've built up a cash pile with ytour Python, you'll know an awful lot more about the game and the other ship capabilities.