Taking on an anaconda in a viper - where can I find one?

[Gorf]

So yesterday I managed to take out four elite condas in my clipper. At the end of it all, I just about broke even in terms of mission and bounty revenue vs rearm and repair costs. Someone on the forum mentioned that the clipper is too big, and that a small, nimble ship like a viper or cobra will do better.

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Unfortunately, I'm struggling with this. My viper is maxed out on all the important stuff, with fixed small beams and gimballed medium MCs. I can't seem to stay close without actually hitting the anaconda, so it's obvious I need practice.

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My question is this: Is there a way to get a mid-skill NPC conda without trying to resort to the bulletin board? Using this method only generates elite ones, and if I get blown up, I lose rep with whichever faction generated the mission. The ones at nav beacons tend to be competent or dangerous, but are usually not Wanted.

 

[uberdude]

USS or sit at a nav beacon for awhile. a wanted conda will show up eventually. The issue is it could be Elite. Could also be mostly harmless without shields.

 

[Raf von Thorn]

I dont know if it helps you, but here is a video of my Eagle, killing an Elite Anaconda:

[video=youtube;KRbE86s9ht4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbE86s9ht4[/video]

Ive done it a lot of times, also in a Viper. The key is finding a dead zone, where his weapons cant reach you (behind the thrusters) to recharge shields and weapons, and then moving to his side with weaker weapons, where you have clear shot on his power plant. Move between those two spots using your vertical thrusters (boost WITH the vertical thrusters, when you are losing your positioning) and you will kill it surely every time, unless something else is attacking you. Also, using the vertical or lateral thrusters makes you very hard to hit.

 

[Goilveig]

Can always also find a combat zone.

The problem is that killing Anacondas with assistance is different from without - they behave differently because you're the only target. You could just take the mission from a faction you don't care much about, and run like a little girl if your shields are about to (or do) collapse. Running away won't fail the mission and you can repair and rearm for the next round. You certainly will take your lumps before you get the hang of it.

Also, if you want, sometime when I'm not insanely busy at work (probably not this week) I could wing up with you and show you the ropes. I'd also be willing, if you record a video, to watch it and give you pointers. Here's my credentials for speaking on how to kill them:



That's around 65 kills, give or take. If you're interested in either duoing or having me review a video, be sure to PM me, I may not see this thread again if it goes deep down the forum.

 

[ShadowWolf Kell]

They seem to be pretty common in combat zones, especially High Intensity. Sure beats jumping from station to station looking for an assassination mission.

After 1.2 goes live, you should be able to find 4 or 5 at once in a Strong USS. That could be entertaining.

 

[Starlear]

Go with 4 multicannons instead of beams, chaff, 1SCB and 4pips to shields. Be baffled at how easy it becomes even without using the blind spot.

 

[Pyrion]

When looking at old videos don't forget that the combat AI has steadily gotten better. There is a video of a hauler killing an anaconda... granted, it was a mostly harmless one i think, but still...
With 1.2 it is again harder to do. And it will keep getting harder.

 

[scorpyon]

RES site next to my local station.
Always seems to be teeming with Anacondas whenever I go there (each night).

Had an epic battle with 2 at once last night. Killed one, then scuttled away quickly with 50% hull, no shields, no Cells left and 1 chaff remaining.
Cost me a fair whack in repairs, but I don't care. The battle was fun enough for me!

 

[CMDR Generic EventHandler]

I struggled taking out the big ships in a viper, until I fitted the Class 1 beam turret. The turret hardly misses under 1km range, I can just keep circling the target until the shields drop then do passes with the 3x Multicannons.

 

[Gorf]

...Also, if you want, sometime when I'm not insanely busy at work (probably not this week) I could wing up with you and show you the ropes. I'd also be willing, if you record a video, to watch it and give you pointers.

Many thanks for the offer - I'll record one as soon as I have a new stick. Managed to break the trigger last night with my dumb brain thinking that pulling harder will make it fire faster.

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Still - I've had it for 16 years, so I got my money's worth...

 

[Gorf]

I struggled taking out the big ships in a viper, until I fitted the Class 1 beam turret. The turret hardly misses under 1km range, I can just keep circling the target until the shields drop then do passes with the 3x Multicannons.

Thanks for the reply. There's a variety of advice on the setups which work for different individuals. It seems to me that I need to work my way through the anaconda ranks gradually honing my technique and loadout.

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Managed to find an assassination mission for 50K last night - it was an Orca that didn't even return fire. Then missions of 130K to 180K which were all elite anacondas. There seems to be no structure to it...