So whats up next?

[Ray Nova]

Hey there Im a Bounty Hunter and use the Vulture for that matter as it turned you to be the best option for me at the time.

Have had a lot of fun with it at RES and earned a lot of money with it. In fact I liked it so much I didnt even bother getting
the Federal Dropship or the Imperial Clipper as this would intale faction grinding and i havent even done a single mission since my start in ED on Dec 16th 2014.

Now, with the accumulated wealth, a new range of ships shows itself on the horizon and the information regarding them on the net is cloudy at best!

Im talking about the Fer De Lance (FDL) and the Python...

I have done some extensive research on both vessels. They both have a similar pricetag yet the python will consume a lot more credits in upgrading than the FDL.
Also both ships are an upgrade in terms of shield power in comparison to the Vulture.

FDL: Seems to be the logical next step from the Vulture. it sacrifices the two class 3 hardpoints for 4 class 2 and 1 huge hardpoint (dont know what class that is).
It has better shields that both the Vulture and Python and has the edge when it comes to agility compared to the Python but isnt as agile as the Vulture.
Suffers from poor jumprange (I dont see myself jumping a lot with a heavy fighter).

I would probably run it with 4 class 2 Lasers and a Plasma accelerator however if the FDL shares any chractaristics with the Vulture I can see myself running into
powerproblems really quick.

Internet sais its cheaper to upgrade it and it looks stunningly beautiful to me.

Python: Will be an upgrade in terms of shield, power available and jumprange to the Vulture. From what I have heard the costs of upgrading and running it are very expensive.
The fuel cost of it seems to be a major factor in that calculation. It is not a pure combat ship which probably means I need to rethink my approach when entering fights.
With 3 class 3 and 2 class 2 hardpoints it looks like it has the edge in raw firepower however the lack of agility could make it hard to bring that power onto the target
comapred to the FDL and Vulture. The setup I have in mind would be 3 giballed/turreted class 3 pulselasers and 2 class 2 gomballed multicannons.

The stock configuration is gives me about 7 to 8 ly of jumprange which will be enough for a start and upgrading a vessel really is why I play the game. it makes me feel
like a lone captain trying to make a living in this big black unforgiving galaxy

Now what I plan to do in the lon run. I want to keep shooting stuff in the face so for that I think both hulls will do fine. Seeing the Pythons upgrade costs of 200 million as seen on youtube videos kind of intimidates me but as it is pretty much the Anacondas little cousin this probably is about right.

I think the Python will give me the ability to do the fighting I want, pursue the targets that manage to escape and once i had enough for the day I might trade a bit or do some faction missions in otder to gain reputaion, rank, and system permits. after all its a multipurpose ship and all its weapon systems I am familiar with now.

The FDL seems to be a very capable fighter however the lack of the 2 class 3 hardpoints bothers me a bit as I really like them and i have seen what class 2 weapons dish out in damage compares to the class 3 ones. Now i havent had the honor of firing that huge hardpoint yet. I do not now what kind of damage output is possible with this and if that compensates the 4 class 2s. The jumprange is the limiting factor of the ship to me. Im used to it because i fly the Vulture but it definitely wont let me pusue all targets should they manage to escape and I wont enjoy the same level of freedom as with the Python.

So now I wonder what people with hands on experience think. Did I get the characteristics of them both down correctly? did I miss anything? what would you recommend to a passionate combat pilot like me?

 

[Pyrion]

I have flown both (as well as most other ships). Did not like FDL, the huge HP is under the ship, makes aiming a nightmare. Some people get it to work, but for me it was too much work. It's also not very manouverable.
Python is great in almost all regards, but it is slow. You won't chase anybody with it. And in a RES you will take some time to get to the next encounter.
I would try out the FDL if i were you, look if you can make it work. My favourite combat ship at the moment is the clipper. Really fast, good punch, but shields are not very strong (shield boosters recommended)... can fly away though if needed. But in ANY case, don't expect a great boost in performance if you are coming from the vulture. That little ship is already close to the pinnacle of combat performance available.

Edit: Forgot to mention, you were worried about fuel costs. Don't be. Fuel costs got normalized and are now trivial in ALL ships.

 

[Ray Nova]

I have flown both (as well as most other ships). Did not like FDL, the huge HP is under the ship, makes aiming a nightmare. Some people get it to work, but for me it was too much work. It's also not very manouverable.
Python is great in almost all regards, but it is slow. You won't chase anybody with it. And in a RES you will take some time to get to the next encounter.
I would try out the FDL if i were you, look if you can make it work. My favourite combat ship at the moment is the clipper. Really fast, good punch, but shields are not very strong (shield boosters recommended)... can fly away though if needed. But in ANY case, don't expect a great boost in performance if you are coming from the vulture. That little ship is already close to the pinnacle of combat performance available.

Edit: Forgot to mention, you were worried about fuel costs. Don't be. Fuel costs got normalized and are now trivial in ALL ships.

Ok thanks mate

I dont expect better performance just more possibilities like trading to a certain degree or at least a cargohold larger that 20 tone (currently on my vulture) for smuggling opportunities....

 

[Synther]

In terms of combat, the FDL is like having a Vulture with faster speed and a huge hardpoint in the bottom. It really feels like a Viper 2.0 though thanks to the speed (300normal and 400 boost with a5!) and hardpoint placement. A gimballed cannon really works if you know how to use it (hint, practice with a Viper). Take an annie's shields down with the pulse lasers, and then up to 3 well placed hits with the gimbal cannon and the thing goes boom. Plenty of video evidence if needed.

However, 14ly jump range, heat problems (fuel scooping sucks compared to the vulture, even with a4), and 8t fuel is a total !

Current build. I might revert back to a slightly worse build that will allow me to use SCB in combat again. However with this I'll have ~860 shields!
http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=60O,7RL5Rr5Rr5Rr5Rr0_g0_g0_g0_g01Q01Q,2-7_7_6Q6u9Y6u5A,7Sk4_w7go2jw2UI

 

[Raf von Thorn]

If you are focusing on the PvE, get the FDL. If you are focusing on the PvP, get the FDL. .

Here, watch the FDL efficiency in the PvE ( i always forget to push the record button when fighting players):

[video=youtube;dBGplNaIXK4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGplNaIXK4[/video]

 

[Bazorlag]

I`ve been using FDL for quite a while now (Probably 3000 kills or so with it) and this kind of fitting is what I ended with: http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=60O,7RL7tw7tw4yH4yH0_g0_g0Wg0mI01Q3wo,2-7_7_6Q6k9Y6k5A,7Sk7gy7gy4xo2UI

HSL is mostly used if you are travelling and encounter a situation where you need to dump heat. Also I recommend installing class 4 scoop for long trips, small scoop is just a convenience item for shorter trips.

Beam lasers are installed in side mounts for best fire coverage and direct firing multicannons and gimballed big cannon are on secondary button and used against stationary or big targets mostly. You can run less than 4 pips in weapons most of the time, which helps a lot in maneuvers. You can downgrade components or offline some utility and run with gimballed multicannons instead, but that is up you. Some prefer using tier 3 weapon in low mount like the plasma cannon you mentioned. If you end up with the accelerator remember to put your aim assist to trailing mode, it helps a lot with it.

Also remember that you need to change your power priority more often in FDL than in Vulture, which is about as point and click flying as you can get in this game. Vulture = scalpel, FDL = broadsword.

As for the Python: It´s much slower ship than FDL and not as fun to fly (for me). On the flipside, it´s very easy to fit and tanks very well with ample room for cell banks.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

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