Should I Change Ships for Better Exploration?

starhunter34

starhunter34
I'm in an upgraded cobra right now with 2.8mil credits in the bank. I can either upgrade the cobra for exploration or save up until I can buy an Asp and upgrades for exploration + insurance.

Should I just change some internal compartment modules on the cobra or should I just wait until I have the money for an Asp? I'm ok with the Cobra's view, and have seen pictures/videos of the Asp's cockpit too.
 

Dragotha

D
The Cobra explores just as well as anything else. The Asp can be upgraded to have a jump range well over 30 ly. If the things you want to explore are very far away, or in places where stars are very far apart (like at the edges of the galaxy), the Asp is big improvement. If you're exploring close to home, the Cobra is just as good.

You'd need about a 10 mil surplus over your upgraded Cobra to get an Asp and a class A FSD. The Asp also costs a lot more in wear and tear, and to repair any hull damage.
 

Emanon

E
Well if you wanted a truly kit out an exploring ASP where you spare no expense on all things that help exploring and defense then I'd say you need much more than 10 mil surplus. Just using the Shipyard website today made me realize how poor I really am (and subsequently how long its going to take to go from my Cobra to that beautiful ASP!).
 
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Citizensmith

C
Just go with a Hauler for exploration, it's the cheap way of getting long jump range. Class A FSD, class D everything else, ditch the guns and the cargo and add a Advanced discovery and a DSS.
 

KevinMillican

KevinMillican
I think the Cobra is better as an explorer ship if you're going to do the detailed scans because the wear and tear on the Asp in supercruise is prohibitively expensive for an exploration career.
 

kaivalagi

kaivalagi
Emanon said:
Well if you wanted a truly kit out an exploring ASP where you spare no expense on all things that help exploring and defense then I'd say you need much more than 10 mil surplus. Just using the Shipyard website today made me realize how poor I really am (and subsequently how long its going to take to go from my Cobra to that beautiful ASP!).
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised at how quickly things progress if you get into trading higher volumes...get yourself a T6, then upgrade that to an Asp and kit that out for trading 120T, then save a little until you can upgrade for exploration! I now have a T7 for trading and a A rated Asp for messing around in etc, that was from maybe 2 weeks of trading, some days hard grafting a fair few million out, others not much at all...mix it up a bit and get busy and it wont take that long

KevinMillican said:
I think the Cobra is better as an explorer ship if you're going to do the detailed scans because the wear and tear on the Asp in supercruise is prohibitively expensive for an exploration career.
Click to expand...

It's all relative, if you're trading in an Asp your profit margins are much higher so you can save more, then those running costs are covered for a big exploration trip, plus you have more room for repair modules etc to keep things running where there is no civilisation....you'll need the 30ly jump range the further out you go too!
 
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Kalpa

Kalpa
Quite frankly, I'm doing just fine in my exploring Adder. The only thing lacking is the view outside... it's truly quite blocked in Adder. Have been thinking of upgrading to Cobra but not sure if worth it... less jump range, less fuel capacity, not to mention the need for extra credits to properly kit it out for exploration again
 

fantodant

fantodant
For me, two things set the Asp well apart from the Cobra:

1. The panoramic views from the cockpit. Not so important if you're exploring for money, I suppose.
2. The fuel-scooping possibilities provided by the class 6 internal compartment. The best scoop (A4) you can get for the Cobra will net you 342/s fuel, while even a middle-range (C6) scoop on the Asp rates at 627/s. This saves tons of time, and by letting you spend less time hanging around stars it lowers your heat damage risks by a substantial amount.

The extra few LY of jump range can also be totally necessary to get to certain places.

Still, if your aim in exploring is to make money, your best bet is a hauler. You make exploration money by investing time and knowing what to look for, not by traveling huge distances. You could make millions and millions of credits without ever traveling more than 30LY beyond the edge of civilized space if you really wanted.
 
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