Ships should be reworked in order to give more incentive to players to use something other than the Python or the Anaconda. (No nerfs involved)

CoyoteXStarrk

CoyoteXStarrk
The game has now been out for years and the Anaconda and Python are objectively speaking the best ships in the entire game still.

Anaconda

- Magical Hull

- 30 to 40+ LY jump range even when fully loaded and armored up.

- Great DPS

- Respectable Cargo capacity

- Great module variety

- Acceptable handling for such a large and beefy ship

- Affordable to buy

- Affordable to outfit

- Can adequately perform all tasks in the game

- No rank grind needed to get it



Python

- Absurd cargo capacity for a ship that only needs a medium pad

- Armed to the teeth for a medium ship

- Heavily armored

- Decent handling

- Affordable to buy

- Affordable to outfit

- Can adequately perform all tasks in the game

- No rank grind needed to get it


The Anaconda and the Python are just great ships that answer almost all questions in the game. But the problem is that this leaves alot of ships collecting dust. There is just no real reason to use them aside from simply wanting to use them or preferring the way they look or feel. And that to me is a bit of a waste considering that there are so many great ship concepts that are available. I feel like the easiest way for FDev to address this without punishing players who are using the Python or the Anaconda is to simply revisit the rest of the ships in the game and give them some much needed attention. And for the record I am not talking about across the board major buffs for everyone. Thats not what I am saying at all. Not every ship in the game needs that level of attention. In fact I would argue that some ships out there such as the Clipper for example only need minor adjustments in order to make them vastly more practical for the average player.


So essentially what I am suggesting is that instead of trying to nerf the Python or Anaconda in order to bring them down to the level of everything else what FDev should be doing is going through the rest of the ships in the game and ask themselves "How can this ship be better?" and then applying the necessary changes. In many cases I believe that the changes are simpler than one might think and wouldn't necessarily change the identity of the ship itself.

For Example
- Give the Clipper an extra Size 6 or 7 slot or let it carry a Fighter Hanger to justify its "Large" designation

- Have the Mamba have better heat management or a better jump range.

- Give the Corvette a boost in jump range to bring it in line with other large ships like the Cutter or the Type -10


And so on and so forth. Just small adjustments to allow other ships to make a better argument for themselves. Give us the players an incentive to step outside the box and use some of these other ships out there. Make us not only want to use them, but also make it WORTH using them. This avoids the problem of nerfing the most popular ships in the game, but it would also make alot of players happy in the process. So it not only would bring some balance to the game, but it would provide a good amount of positive PR for FDev going forward as we head into the future of Elite.
 

Chris Simon

Chris Simon
I agree.
But you're about 700th person to suggest that these two ships are destroying the ship balance and so far Frontier was ignoring us all.

So unless you have a truck-full of pizza incoming to Frontier HQ to accompany your suggestion, I'm afraid it will end up the same way the previous 699 threads did - with a couple of infractions for hotheads and nothing more.
 

insanephoton

insanephoton
Raise that landing pad internal heights by 50 cm or whatever the problem was with the T7. If the T7 was a medium pad ship and maybe had its armour and hardpoints beefed up a bit it would certainly start giving the Python a run for money. Having said that, the Krait II is pretty much an alternative especially now that loads can be broken up.

If the T9 and T10 weren't so sluggish they could give the Annie so competition. Or removing the rank restriction on the Cutter and Vette
 

Taifu

Taifu
Its always interesting to see posts like this not give the weighting that FDev gave to the credit cost of buying and outfitting those ships.

Yes I know credits have next to no meaning in the context of the current game. But that is how Fdev originally balanced the ships.

This is why the Type 7 is too tall and the Clipper too wide for the medium pad. They are cheep relative to other ships of similar capabilities, and constructed with massive drawbacks to make you want the more expensive ones.

Is it really too much to ask for the most expensive ships, to be the best ship in the game? I'm beginning to think it is when credits just magically appear out of the vacuum of space.
 

Vedmo

Vedmo
Both are great ships for sure, but I don't think either of them stand out as best in size to the point they make other ships trivial.

Python is the best medium ship for hauling cargo or bodies, and that is it. For medium combat ships, it would barely make my top 10 (out of 15). I wouldn't put in the top 3 medium exploration ships, and for multi-purpose builds while it does have a nice array of internals, it no longer stands alone with the Kraits now in the game.

Anaconda is by far the least used Large ship in my fleet. I've done one exploration journey with it, and I'd rather have less jump range and better handling, not to mention how much you have to gimp it to get those jump ranges. I actually prefer it to any other large ship for combat (very close with Vette, but like Conda weapons layout better). I'd take a T9, 10, Vette, or Cutter over it any day for hauling. It definitely has that magic hull that lets it do things no other ship can, but nothing that brings it the point I wouldn't use anything else.
 

Hacker#451563

Hacker#451563
We can all leave the ships alone and add content for other ships.

1. Small landing pad stations/bases only with high-paying and dangerous missions.
2. Mission givers that are adamant about their goods/passengers/vengeance being delivered in a such-and-such ship for whatever reason.
3. Infiltrating a group of pirates/bounty hunters/cultists/etc that only fly a certain type/size/make/whatever of ship and basing missions around this.
4. In-game competitions (like CQC only, ya know, integrated into the main game) that use specific ships.

I'm sure others could add to this list considerably.

This will let the people who don't care to have a hanger full of ships that stretches to the far horizon (and all the associated engineering) play the game as they do now and will let other people mix it up as much as they want without the feeling that they are changing ships for the sake of it.
 

Captain Willard

Captain Willard
No need. I do have two pythons, I'll never fly an annie. So many better ships than that one.
The Python is king for medium ships for a few situations, but their are many medium ships better than the python for many other things.
 

Dunkel Reynolds

Dunkel Reynolds
I had the Anaconda for, like, 15 minutes before I sold it back. I grudgingly had a Python for longer for specific scenarios...but dumped it in favor of the Krait Mk II. For the most part, I fly my LITERALLY UNPLAYABLE Clipper which is LITERALLY UNPLAYABLE since it can't land on outposts....or something, however that whine goes.

Point is, I personally don't fly either of the two ships you're talking about, so I'm not sure what the fuss is. There are a lot of ships to choose from...just pick the one(s) you like and go with it.
 

Dagwit

Dagwit
Python's the best medium hauler, but otherwise there are plenty of reasons to choose a KII, Phantom, Fer-de-Lance or even a Mamba over it.

Anaconda's the best explorer, but the Cutter dominates for haulage or mining, and the Corvette is the go-to large combat ship; while the Beluga ruled for VIP passenger transport when that was still the meta for money-making.

So I don't see either the Python or Anaconda as quite as dominant as the OP insists.
 

kdogg788

kdogg788
Another ship that’s imbalanced is the FDL. I don’t really get involved with combat much or pvp much at all, but I read a story about a tournament recently where every player involved took an FDL. It’s by far the combat ship of choice for a majority of players.

-k
 

sandkid

S
My two credits...

I use neither of these ships. Never have and likely never will.
I'm not a min/max type.
They're ugly.

Relative to OP, which is inherently a 'balance' issue - because nothing is forcing you to use the 'best' ships, an arbitrary definition - I'd argue that while the Conda needs a nerf on its mass for the sake of it being so obviously not balanced, there really isn't anything wrong with the Python. Many of the medium ships perform just fine compared to it in all sorts of arenas.

There will always be a 'best ship' for something - including everything - by virtue of how module slots are designed. If you want balance, give all ships the same number of slots, all hulls the same amount of hit points based on three sizes, and the same hardpoint counts just aesthetically different but with identical convergences.

I know, I know, that seems like taking it too far. That's because it is.
But seriously, I only ask that a player consider the following questions when they get upset about a 'best' ship that 'everyone' uses:

What is your definition of best? Is it based on efficiency? Ease of use? Aesthetics? Raw stats? PvP viability? Meta?
What makes flying a ship fun to you? That it is efficient? Is specialized? Aesthetics? Raw stats? PvP? Meta?
What ship matches what is fun for you?


The answer to #3 wildly varies. I love my DBX (and my Beluga Liner is a close 2nd). It's a mini-conda for me. The only thing it doesn't do pretty good is combat, though engineering makes it at least a little dangerous to medium ships. I don't want an Anaconda, the ultimate multi-role. Why?
  • It's ugly. Apache Space-Copter all day.
  • It has too many slots. I feel like it has wasted space on it.
  • It costs too much. I like risking my ship and losing it. A lot.
  • Lots of people think it's great, but I see it get waxed pretty regularly. I like killing Anacondas. They're like Type-9s, easy to hit but friskier.

And the Python? Same gig.
  • It's ugly. Actually, it's uglier. Alliance Chieftain is where it's at. chef kiss Love them engines. Krait Mk. II is nifty for SLF and has neato cockpit. And the Federal Lineup are all a blast to sit in and fly, yet wonderfully unique from each other and distinctively corporate cool in their appearance. Python is just boring. And ugly. I already said that.
  • It doesn't look like a mining ship. It doesn't look like an explorer. It doesn't look like a trader. It doesn't even look like a combat ship. It looks like a steel doorstop.
  • It costs too much and has too many slots for a medium.
  • I like killing it, too. It reminds me of a Cobra Mk. III, so much utility and yet so easy to pilot terribly. Pythons always seem to have idiot NPCs in them, too.


Point of my mini, probably-more-than-two-credits-worth-of-typing, rant?
There is but one reason to be upset about balance on a ship.

You like the aesthetics of a different ship but are ticked the better ship isn't as pretty.
You want a corvette's performance in a VW Bug.
That's fair. Really.

But if efficiency is really bothering you that much...fly the better ship. It'll be more fun for you. Then, balance doesn't matter to you because you're in the ship you want to be in. It's that easy.
 

Agony_Aunt

Agony_Aunt
Clipper is one of the best all round ships in the game. Versatile, good at many roles, nice SC manouverability for its size, and very fast.

No idea why people keep banging on about it needing to be better. If it was any better then there would be threads saying how everyone is flying a Clipper and how other ships need a buff.

You basically end up in a never ending circle of buffs to other ships to overcome the current favourites.

The Anaconda is a good ship, but it has its weakneses. For example, while having the largest jump range, its otherwise a terrible exploration ship. It makes a good combat ship, but its also a large slow target.
 
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