suggestions for viper setup

[fireman71]

I need a break from exploring and trading.....gonna try bounty hunting at a few RESs until I decide to go get lost in the void again.

I just bought a viper and have about 36mill to spare. Any suggestions for a bounty hunting setup? All I want to do with this ship is bounty hunting.

Thanks in advance

 

[Senex VII]

My personal choice in exactly the same situation was to get a Vulture, not a Viper, and spend (IIRC) around 23 million on it for base ship and outfitting.

What would the Viper give you except speed? And you don't really need too much speed at RESs. Instead you need agility. Yes you need to get from place to place within a RES, but no rush - let the police soften up targets first!

The Vulture has superior firepower, tank-like armor and shields, and excellent agility compared to the Viper. And you can afford it.

 

[Jesse30]

My personal choice in exactly the same situation was to get a Vulture, not a Viper, and spend (IIRC) around 23 million on it for base ship and outfitting.

What would the Viper give you except speed? And you don't really need too much speed at RESs. Instead you need agility. Yes you need to get from place to place within a RES, but no rush - let the police soften up targets first!

The Vulture has superior firepower, tank-like armor and shields, and excellent agility compared to the Viper. And you can afford it.

Are you sure the Viper's only has speed? The Vulture is nice but not every's choice, there is the Courier and the Scout as well.
[video=youtube;sVj52Hmek5o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVj52Hmek5o[/video]

 

[Senex VII]

Thanks for the video link Jesse. That only reinforces the contrast of the Viper with the Vulture! I was quite disappointed at how ineffective the Viper was in that video. The Vulture would have finished off the targets long before each scene fade.

But horses for courses. Fireman is looking for a RES bounty hunter. You want speed of kills in a busy RES, or at least I would want that. The Vulture, with two large hardpoints, will outperform the Viper, Courier and Scout in that department. Nothing is quite so able to stay in a conda's blind spot, or take down small ships in a few second's fire, as a Vulture, and it's quick and efficient against medium ships. However, if your idea of maximizing fun is to draw out a battle and make it last, then yes one of the other ships will certainly do.

 

[M4rt1n]

Vulture is not just OP, it is plain overkill for RES. You don't need that much firepower to handle anything in a RES, there is no point to spend 20+mill on a ship to do a job a 2mill ship can perfectly do. Here is a cheap and efficient build for local RES hunt: park it in a system with your favourite RES place, and go out for some asteroid patrol if you wanna kill things!

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=70M,5Rg5Rg5QG5QG3wU0_g,2-4s4s5K3m4s5K22,7Pc

Optional: install some cargo racks and put 1-2t of high-value commodity in it for extra fun!

 

[Senex VII]

Thank you, Martin, for so ably proving my point! In pointing out how well the Vulture does its job, you demonstrate how other things fall short.

But joking aside, let's examine the different scenarios (all RES based):

• If you have plenty of playing time available and you like the thrill of the chase, then your suggestion (and Jesse's) is a good one.
• If you're more restricted on game time, but still want results in what little time you have, then the Vulture is the better choice.
• If you're interested in "ranking up" in either a navy or in the Pilots' Federation, then the Vulture will get you there quicker as it can take on higher ranked opponents.
• If you're interested in maximum credits, and 1 million/hour is too low, then the Vulture will increase your profitability.

As I said, it's horses for courses.

Fireman has money to spare, so frugality is an unnecessarily constraint. My 20 million Vulture tank is within his reach and the perfect choice, unless he's more interested in the first option above. Park it at your home base, travel to your local RES or across the galaxy to a bounty hunting community goal*, and swap back to your freighter or explorer when you're done. (* The small fuel scoop in my load-out allows a Have Gun, Will Travel mentality and will get you 200 light years in perhaps 40 minutes.)

 

[Monk]

I find myself going back and forth between Vulture and Viper. I get bored in the Vulture, either because it is too effective, too slow (running across a RES to catch up to some laser fire makes my brain melt it is so slow, just me though) or too easy to fly.

I like how my Viper can get me out of hairy situations...shields down? no problem, boost away. I like how vulnerable it feels sometimes. I also love how it sounds...this is the ship Ricky Bobby would pilot. Most of all, I love the weapon convergence for fixed weps. The vulture's are just wide enough to drive me insane as I like to get in really close.

But then, I like to go back to the Vulture b/c it just obliterates anything bigger than a Viper.

 

[Starender]

i suggest either the vulture who is the king of pve you will only lack a little speed (380-390) or the courier who will lack a little firepower (bad distributor)

 

[VPR]

My current build for the Viper:

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=70M,7OW5Rg7My5QG01Q01Q,314s4s4s3m4s4s3c,7Pc7fE4xo9pC

I usually ditch the fuel scoop and interdictor for Combat Zones and add another shield cell. I tend to get on better with cannons over multi-cannons as I find them better against power plants on larger opponents. With practice hitting smaller ships is also possible though one cannon will usually only hit against the smaller opponents. D rated sensors are better if you need more power but I find with fixed weapons A rated sensors help a little with aiming at longer distances.

As said the Vulture is a superior ship which will kill and earn bounties much more efficiently but I can't seem to get away from the Viper as I find fighting in it a more rewarding experience.