Some ship rebalancing suggestions...

[Amanojaku]

1. An extra module slot for the Orca (and the Beluga) might not be such a bad idea imo, but the Kraits are fine. Their main role is combat and they really don't need to be better at it. Especially due to their permaboost ability. The FDL just needs a slight nerf, because it has dominated the field of combat for far, far too long.

2. No. These ships are fine imo. I have a FGS that kicks butt. The reason they aren't widely used is because the FAS and Chieftain have been popularized by the community and content creators as the "best" out of the Fed and Alliance ships at PvP combat. The fact is most CMDRs just don't bother trying to make effective builds with the other variants, and outside of combat some of them are better than the favorites.

3. I used to think the Clipper needed a buff too, until I engineered it and realized the reason it was given bad convergence. It's a large ship that handles like a small ship, can boost to 600m/s, and has insane internals when you compare it to most combat ships it can outmaneuver. The Clipper can do anything. If it could fold it's wings in and land on medium pads, I bet a lot of people would consider it over the Python. Especially since it's like half the price. And if it had great hardpoint convergence a lot of gankers would trade their FDL in for a Clipper.

4. Preference. I love the way the Adder sounds, but some people hate it and think it's too over-dramatic. The Clipper also sounds awesome, but most other ships sound kinda meh to me in comparison when they boost, and I can't stand the sound the Krait makes when it boosts (burrrrOOOOOooooooh, burrrrOOOOOooooooh, burrrrOOOOOooooooh). shudders Still, others might like it, and the way the Python sounds too.

 

[Kulin]

1. An extra module slot for the Orca (and the Beluga) might not be such a bad idea imo, but the Kraits are fine. Their main role is combat and they really don't need to be better at it. Especially due to their permaboost ability. The FDL just needs a slight nerf, because it has dominated the field of combat for far, far too long.

Yes, the Kraits are maybe fine for combat, but as they are - by their description - multi role ships it would be cool if they are nice for something else. I don't really see how a tier 5 slot would make them OP in combat anyway. They are still far away from a FDL no matter a little bit more armor or module health.

Don't get me wrong, i don't say they are completely useless. What i try to say is that the Python dominates everything in the medium segment, beside combat. And i just can't find any reasonable explanation for that. This one slot difference is a world of comfort. FSD-Boost, more then 3 collector limpets, bigger fuel scoop - no problem to fit all of that on a python, while every other medium ship is struggling. And this leads to the current situation: the python dominates everything in the non-combat medium ship segment. Would be nice to have a bigger variety of choice.

2. No. These ships are fine imo. I have a FGS that kicks butt. The reason they aren't widely used is because the FAS and Chieftain have been popularized by the community and content creators as the "best" out of the Fed and Alliance ships at PvP combat. The fact is most CMDRs just don't bother trying to make effective builds with the other variants, and outside of combat some of them are better than the favorites.

I don't think so. They aren't widely used because there are just much better ships in every regard. It's not just hype. Why should i buy a challenger that packs the same punch as a chieftain and has around the same survivability while being much less agile?

3. I used to think the Clipper needed a buff too, until I engineered it and realized the reason it was given bad convergence. It's a large ship that handles like a small ship, can boost to 600m/s, and has insane internals when you compare it to most combat ships it can outmaneuver. The Clipper can do anything. If it could fold it's wings in and land on medium pads, I bet a lot of people would consider it over the Python. Especially since it's like half the price. And if it had great hardpoint convergence a lot of gankers would trade their FDL in for a Clipper.

For me the clipper is fine, too. And it would be even better with gimballed mining turrets. I mean would a clipper that is actually able to hit a static target on a asteroid really hurt someone?

4. Preference. I love the way the Adder sounds, but some people hate it and think it's too over-dramatic. The Clipper also sounds awesome, but most other ships sound kinda meh to me in comparison when they boost, and I can't stand the sound the Krait makes when it boosts (burrrrOOOOOooooooh, burrrrOOOOOooooooh, burrrrOOOOOooooooh). shudders Still, others might like it, and the way the Python sounds too.

Yeah, maybe. The sad part about the python however is that it has no distinctive sound at all. It almost sounds like it has been made in an era where the thought that all ships should have a unique sound wasn't even in their heads.

 

[Greasetrap42]

Python dominates everything in the medium segment, beside combat.

I think most explorers would disagree.

 

[DemiserofD]

3. I used to think the Clipper needed a buff too, until I engineered it and realized the reason it was given bad convergence. It's a large ship that handles like a small ship, can boost to 600m/s, and has insane internals when you compare it to most combat ships it can outmaneuver. The Clipper can do anything. If it could fold it's wings in and land on medium pads, I bet a lot of people would consider it over the Python. Especially since it's like half the price. And if it had great hardpoint convergence a lot of gankers would trade their FDL in for a Clipper.

Ehh...it's a medium ship with the landing class of a large ship and the handling of a...slightly smaller medium ship.

In exchange it has bad dps and a huge hit profile.

I'd like to see it get six utility slots, like the FDL and Mamba. Or maybe five? That'd be unique, and it has a perfect spot in the top back of the ship.

 

[m0rl0ck]

It's too good, because basically every other medium ship is worse. Neither the price nor tradition justifies that. Wouldn't it be better to have more options. So let's buff the other ships.

And then we can give everybody a participation trophy.

 

[Amanojaku]

Ehh...it's a medium ship with the landing class of a large ship and the handling of a...slightly smaller medium ship.

In exchange it has bad dps and a huge hit profile.

I'd like to see it get six utility slots, like the FDL and Mamba. Or maybe five? That'd be unique, and it has a perfect spot in the top back of the ship.

It has a pitch rate comparable to a Vulture, albeit with "big ship drift". I'm actually the most comfortable in the Clipper than any of my other combat ships if I get attacked or interdicted by another player. My Mamba feels sluggish compared to it. It does have bad dps, but I run 3 efficient pulses on it (1 class 3 emissive, 2 class 2 oversized) and an efficient burst (class3 scramble). All gimballed, but with 2 pips to weapons I can fire for like 25 seconds straight until the capacitor drains. Most people run all frags but the convergence makes the sweet spot for landing with all frags even tighter than normal, so they feel too gimped (to me) in the Clipper. I was outfighting (and out turning) a plasma Krait in the last CG with it, to the point where he was going reverski on me every time his shields dropped. I feel like if I were in my Mamba, or even my Corvette, he would have outclassed me and been able to outmaneuver me easily, and land shot-after-shot. But I'm not that good at PvP really, so maybe the Clipper is more for that lower tier CMDR who needs the gimbals and the speed to get away if something goes wrong lol

Five or six utility slots would make sense.

 

[TheDragon2001]

Another thing that could use some work is the T-7. According to Mr. Google, a medium pad is 150m x 90m. The T-7 is 81.6m x 56.1m x 25.4m. In other words, a T-7 could fit on a medium pad. the problem is it can't fit under the deck. The next tallest medium ship is the FAS at 22.8m high. With the difference this small, it would be easy to make small adjustments (or just fudge it) to make the T-7 fit on medium pads.
The point of all this, with the T-7 landing on medium pads, the Python would no longer be the best medium hauler (by a whole whopping 12t), and the T-7 would actually be a ship worth owning, rather then being obsoleted by T-9s and Cutters. The keelback would also remain valid because the T-7 can't carry a fighter.


On a sperate note, I am all for reducing the clipper's width to make it fit on a medium pad. Its dimensions are 106.7 x 103.7 x 24.8. The width would have to be brought down by a lot but that could also help (slightly) with hardpoint convergence.

 

[Spacegamejunkie]

Make it boring, only 3 ships, SML, no engineering so we can see what we get.

The entire point of the engineers originally was to provide variety, other MMO's have almost endless variety in player roles, no two players in LOTRO, for instance, would ever have the exact same stats due to the vast variety of armour and different ways to enhance legendary weapons. The same with BDO with crystals and different types of weapons. The ships in ED take this roll. I think the engineers was originally designed to provide some of this variety, of course people with time and money just rolled endlessly to get premium rolls and that slight extra advantage over others, and that wasn't a bad thing, except for the players who complained because they didn't have time or couldn't be bothered harvesting the mats needed to do the rolls, so now we have the current system.

The end result of cutting it down and down and making it easier and easier to get mats is that everyone just ends up with identical ships, no variety or differentiation even possible let alone desirable, oh well, if that's the way it has to be to satisfy some people I guess that's what we will get!

I did not say "Only 3 Ships", I said have one OP ship for each role.
And 3 OP Ships for Multi Role, for S,M,L landing pads.
As a starting foundation for the role you want to play.
The way it is now, is like spaghetti and noodles, where you have to go
out of the game, in order to make any sense of it all.
Remember the KISS rule ? Keep It Simple Stupid.
There is no reason to have all the complicated Make Work, in the game.

 

[Captain Willard]

I did not say "Only 3 Ships", I said have one OP ship for each role.
And 3 OP Ships for Multi Role, for S,M,L landing pads.
As a starting foundation for the role you want to play.
The way it is now, is like spaghetti and noodles, where you have to go
out of the game, in order to make any sense of it all.
Remember the KISS rule ? Keep It Simple Stupid.
There is no reason to have all the complicated Make Work, in the game.

Tell it like it is.
You WANT. Ships to be what you want. LOL Another I want thread.
How boring.

 

[Kulin]

I think most explorers would disagree.

But it's not bad as a explorer either. But you are right. Exploration and Combat is the role that the python doesn't "win" in the mid segment.

But giving the others a addition level 5 slot wouldn't make them better then the python either. It just would bring them a bit closer in terms of outfitting flexibility.

 

[Ethaidan]

I couldn't disagree more. The only measure by which the Python is an OP/best medium ship is medium pad outpost haulage. I reckon the reason the Inara stars seem so biased is due to early game players being convinced that it is the best ship to earn credits quickly, and BGS players.

Better Explorers: AspX, Phantom, DBX, even Krait mkII (for the SLF)

Better CZ combat: Krait, Chieftain, FAS, etc.

Better AX combat: Chieftain, Krait mkII

Better Core miner: Krait mkII

Better cockpit visability: AspX, Krait(s), etc.

More fun to fly: Clipper, Phantom, Chieftain, Krait... pretty much any medium other than the FGS?

The Python was one of my first ships on my main account (it may still be my default on Inara). Now I use it for BGS haulage to medium pads. Otherwise...
CZ combat - Krait
AX combat - Chieftain or Krait
Non-haulage BGS missions (planetary scan, black box, salvage, etc.) - Phantom or Courier
Core mining - Krait
Piracy/Megaships - Phantom
Exploring - AspX or Krait
Planetside missions... I reckon I'll use my Phantom or Courier.

Once you look past that little advantage in haulage efficiency to outposts, in a galaxy where credits drop like cheap candy, and look more holistically at medium ships, the Python becomes a bit meh.

 

[Paul_]

I once purchased a cheap guitar for myself. When my daughter plays it, it sounds awesome. She has some considerable skills. When i play it, sounds just like a cheap guitar. . . being played rather badly.

ok have a great day.

 

[Vardaugas]

Maybe we just need a new hauling ship like the Zorgon Peterson Transporter and the python promptly becomes "only" the best jack-of-all-trades instead the best at anything.