Bought an Anaconda late last year, even made a post of it here, but to be honest I didn't like it. It seemed at the time that the only thing going for it was it's maximum jump range, and even as an explorer it seems you need to sacrifice great views and handling just so you can make the biggest jumps.
I know that others had achieved 84LY with fairly stripped down builds, so I was wondering how capable I could build an Anaconda while sacrificing the least amount of jump range. Immediately I had in mind 75LY as a target or at worst 70LY; with 9LY of room, surely I could build a well protected explorer?
Well after some initial engineering, I had to adjust my expectations and settle on a 70LY (fully fueled) target, and I only just managed to scrape past this by slightly compromising on the actual performance of the ship (especially the power plant, I could of had a much more heat efficient setup if I just caved in and went with a 6A, but noooo, I had to scrape past 70LY...
).
However the result is far more capable then I had hoped (for an exploration ship)...again the 5D engine solidifies itself as my favourite ED engine (I have the exact same engine on my AspX, Python and Krait Mk II), and the 5D shields perform exceptionally well when I decided to go all shield boosters:
My current build (Endless Sea): https://s.orbis.zone/lu
0E shield boosters for the win!, over 1500MJ of absolute protection and 2600MJ of thermal protection with 0-pips to SYS. Incendiary rounds on the 3C multi-cannon's works very well; and so does the 4A's corrosive. Even with 2-pips to weapons I can keep firing nearly indefinitely (rail guns not included
) due to lightweight engineering reducing the distributor draw (and this is on a 5A Distributor). I was impressed at how well the 5A power plant did considering how much stuff it needs to keep powering. 70LY jump range, but it can do 72.70LY on fumes.
Outfitting:
Top View:
It turns out that 84LY is with a completely stripped build and a more realistic minimalistic exploration fit is nearly 82LY:
https://s.orbis.zone/m2
So for a trade off of just over 9LY I get:
-Shields increased 10-fold (153MJ -> 1583MJ) not even counting the much improved resistances
-Increased Hull integrity and resistances (1706.7)
-The ability to dish out decent amounts of damage
-Improved engine speed
-Fighter Bay
-Repair & Fuel limpets
Overall a pretty reasonable trade; however while I build all my explorers this way (with better defence/offence), the Anaconda manages to do so while still retaining it's obscene jump range advantage