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.
The Anaconda is a known outlier. I have nothing to say about that, except that this mere fact does not at all prevent players from using other ships.
I know many who love big ships, including myself, and we do not use the Anaconda more than any of the other big ones.
So in that respect there is no real problem. Nobody feels forced to use the Annie because of her exceptional mass, so it seems to me.
The other ships do not need to be buffed to become like the Annie.
The Python. The mere fact that you call her affordable makes me laugh, because that sure is a sign of the current state of credits in the game. The Python used to be considered a very expensive medium ship, that took me half a year to get, and I could not even afford to A-rate her then. These days it is a ship noobs buy after playing the game for a few days. Sad, very sad, I think.
The Pythons exceptional position is mainly due to the fact that there is no medium pad competition. Why did Lakon build that extremely weird and badly designed T7 in stead of a proper medium hauler? And why did Imperial Gutamaya never design a proper medium pad competitor for the Python?
Nobody knows. I personally think this is very unrealistic. No self respecting ship builder would leave the medium pad, and therefore all serious outpost hauling, completely to the competition.
For years many players have been asking for other medium pad haulers that can compete with the Python. I do consider the Krait to be somewhat of a competitor. It has less cargo capacity, but it is better in combat and great for exploration. And as a basic mission hauler it is on par with the Python.
But I would also love to see a cool imperial medium pad hauler. I would be very happy with some sort of Imperial Python design (comparable to the Gutamaya version of the Eagle), with engine pods and a spoiler. I think an Imperialized version of the Python could easily become the most beautiful medium ship in the game.