Viper Explorer?

[CMDR Canaris]

Hey all. I've been trying to decide what to buy next. I had my sights set on the Adder but I also really want a Viper. I realize the two ships are totally different in role; the Adder is an agile transport good for smuggling and the Viper is a fighter.

The three things I want to do are: bounty hunt, pirate eventually, and explore. I realize that equipping one ship to do both will just make it weaker so I won't do that, but I can always swap out components. Can the Viper handle exploration as well as the Adder? Is it's jump distance shorter? Similar?

Also, before I go in 142k on a Viper, I'm really enjoying my Eagle, how does it perform compared to that? It looks faster and tougher just less nimble.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Dr Roly]

All three ships you mention can be used for dual-role combat and exploration but each has its own strengths.

If you just want to fight NPCs, the Adder is a great multi-role ship. You can make it a fighter/explorer or swap the discovery and surface scanners for cargo space and make it an ideal small pirate ship.

If you want to fight players, the Viper will always have the edge over the Adder in combat due to more weapons and stronger shields. However it has one less internal slot so you will have to compromise if making it into a fighter/explorer. The Adder also has a much longer jump range, again making it better for exploration.

The Eagle also makes a reasonable explorer as it has decent jump range, but the lack of internal slots means an exploration Eagle would only be recommended for limited combat against NPC. If you equip it purely for combat, it is an excellent bounty hunting ship.

Bear in mind that a cheap ship with A, B and C grade modules will always outperform a more expensive ship with E, F and G grade modules. If you only have just enough money for a Viper, I would recommend getting an Adder instead and spending the rest on upgrades.