Newcomer / Intro Viper loadout advice for a newbie...

[Damian666]

Just started in this amazing game and have done a little trading and some bounty hunting and finally have enough for a new ship.
As I enjoy the bounty hunting style of game, I have decided to invest in a Viper Mk 3 which people have told me is perfect for the role of doing some bounty hunting message board missions but I am unsure on what weapon load out would be most effective?

I have scowered the internet there seems to be several differing opinions on the 'ideal' loadout and mostly is down to the players personal traits...

Things they have recommended...
1, All cannons - to maximise damage
2, All burst lasers - Seems best bang for buck
3, A mixture of pulse lasers and multi cannons - for shields then hull

As a newbie, all advice appreciated [yesnod]

 

[Chris Simon]

Hi!

My personal favourites for "quick job ship" is either 2xC1 Burst Lasers and 2xC2 Multicannons, or (if I'm lazy) C2 Dumbfire missiles.

Once you have A-rated powerplant and distributor, you can switch to beam lasers - they are a bit quicker.
C2 cannons suck on Viper The hardpoints are on the belly, which means the gun can "see" only 10 degrees above horizon. So if you are in a positive G turn, you don't see the ship you're trying to shoot. (Naturally you can flip the ship and follow the dogfight with negative Gs, but that's kinda uncomfortable.

 

[goemon]

hey,

i suggest you go to a station with good outfitting and a RES close by - you can sell weapons/moduls without a loss, and test your ideal loadout for your own style.

it's been a time since i flown a viper ... but the hardpoint placement of the smalls is perfect.

i would probably go for:

1 small beam, 1 small cannon, 1 medium Multicannon, 1 medium pulse - lasers on one side, kinetics on the other. reason of a cannon would be, that they don't suffer size penalties - use them against medium and large targets.

a medium missile rack is a good weapons to kill small ships fast and cripple external moduls of larger ships - in that case i would run 1 or 2 missile racks, combined with lasers for shieldstripping. you will run out of ammo fast, though.

 

[Damian666]

Or maybe better to save for something like a Diamondback Scout?

 

[Chris Simon]

Or maybe better to save for something like a Diamondback Scout?

Hey, don't skip Viper. It's a fun ship.
And if you're going for maximum agility, then yes DBS is nice, but for everything else, I'd recommend Viper Mk.IV - She has a load of internal compartments and is much more versatile, which is the thing you want if you do missions

 

[Philip Coutts]

In general you won't go far wrong with 2 lasers and 2 multi-cannons. I went for fixed pulse lasers and gimballed multi's for a start as I found that's what suited me best.

 

[goemon]

Or maybe better to save for something like a Diamondback Scout?

yes! yes!

Hey, don't skip Viper. It's a fun ship.
And if you're going for maximum agility, then yes DBS is nice, but for everything else, I'd recommend Viper Mk.IV - She has a load of internal compartments and is much more versatile, which is the thing you want if you do missions

i personally group the combat ships into 2 lines: a) nimble (and fast beside the first one): eagle, DBS, courier (lightweight), FDL (lightweight). that's the type of ship i like to fly in combat.

b) tanky and beefy: viper, viper mkIV, vulture, FAS. that's the type of ship brutally effective pilots fly ;-) and it prepares you better for the large ships.

___

DBS is also a good idea for the 4 utility slots, but it has a larger hitbox and compared to its size and hitbox, it has lower shields then a viper mkIII. i fly a DBS in combatzones with good success ... if i don't fly a FDL.

 

[CMDR Mr. Boombastic]

More advice/loadouts/videos on this recent thread: Hi RES bounty hunting viper mk3 advice
But as you can see every CMDR has their own personal preference which comes down to your own flight and combat style & experience.

The Viper Mk III is great for combat training before moving onto bigger and better ships like the Diamondback Scout, Vulture, Federal Assault Ship.

 

[Damian666]

Thanks for the advice, a lot to take in but I am in no rush

ok, now... Viper mk 3 or mk 4?
I read that mk3 is faster and more agile, where as the mk 4 is less agile but can take more of a beating (something to do with selling it's shield, cargo rack and replacing a higher class shield?

 

[Chris Simon]

Thanks for the advice, a lot to take in but I am in no rush

ok, now... Viper mk 3 or mk 4?
I read that mk3 is faster and more agile, where as the mk 4 is less agile but can take more of a beating (something to do with selling it's shield, cargo rack and replacing a higher class shield?

Yes, mk.IV is heavier and can equip one class higher shield generator (and couple of other things), she also has much MUCH more internal space for cargo, reinforcements, cell banks, etc... But like you said, it is at a price of speed and maneuverability. If you are a fast ship enthusiast, DBS is much closer to home, however not as tanky.
Anyway, I'd suggest sticking with mk.III until you have 2-3 million and then try both of these and decide for yourself.

 

[d8veh]

For a career in combat, go Sidewinder (all gimballed pulse) to Viper (all gimballed pulse) to Vulture (2 burst lasers) to FDL. You won't have the first two ships long enough to worry about weapons choice. Try and avoid beam lasers for RES farming because you get more bounties on yourself when you accidently hit another ship with them.

 

[Chris Simon]

For a career in combat, go Sidewinder (all gimballed pulse) to Viper (all gimballed pulse) to Vulture (2 burst lasers) to FDL. You won't have the first two ships long enough to worry about weapons choice. Try and avoid beam lasers for RES farming because you get more bounties on yourself when you accidently hit another ship with them.

Do you know how to recognize a good advice from a bad one?
Good advice will tell you how to do what you want to do.
Bad advice will try to tell you what to do.

 

[Damian666]

Hi!

My personal favourites for "quick job ship" is either 2xC1 Burst Lasers and 2xC2 Multicannons, or (if I'm lazy) C2 Dumbfire missiles.

Once you have A-rated powerplant and distributor, you can switch to beam lasers - they are a bit quicker.
C2 cannons suck on Viper The hardpoints are on the belly, which means the gun can "see" only 10 degrees above horizon. So if you are in a positive G turn, you don't see the ship you're trying to shoot. (Naturally you can flip the ship and follow the dogfight with negative Gs, but that's kinda uncomfortable.

Is C the highest class of weapons the Viper Mk 3 can use? Or are they restricted to C because of power cost?

 

[Chris Simon]

Is C the highest class of weapons the Viper Mk 3 can use? Or are they restricted to C because of power cost?

No, weapons don't have ratings like internals do (E to A)
There is always only one weapon of given type. For example multicannons are always "F" (I think. Not in the game, now), Railguns are "B" and so on. It's an artifact from a long time ago and it IS confusing.

Weapons only have different sizes (which are properly called "Class" - to avoid confusion,cause you used "class" instead of "rating" ) Viper for example can equip two class 1 and two class 2 weapons, etc.

 

[aRJay]

I would favour the burst lasers on the small hard points and multi cannons on the mediums. As I am atrocious at aiming I would suggest gimbal mounts even though I mainly prefer turrets despite the many penalties.

Shipwise I went from the Sidewinder to the Viper 3 to the Cobra 3 and on up I did get a Viper 4 later on my time with the Viper 3 was fairly short I didn't like the feel of the handling I loved the Cobra even though I wished the hard points had been the other way round, the Viper 4 was bought to be a capable expendable craft after a player had killed my more expensive ship in a CG I was most impressed with it and thought that for me it was much better to fly than its sibling.

 

[Chris Simon]

I would favour the burst lasers on the small hard points and multi cannons on the mediums. As I am atrocious at aiming I would suggest gimbal mounts even though I mainly prefer turrets despite the many penalties.

Shipwise I went from the Sidewinder to the Viper 3 to the Cobra 3 and on up I did get a Viper 4 later on my time with the Viper 3 was fairly short I didn't like the feel of the handling I loved the Cobra even though I wished the hard points had been the other way round, the Viper 4 was bought to be a capable expendable craft after a player had killed my more expensive ship in a CG I was most impressed with it and thought that for me it was much better to fly than its sibling.

Viper mk.IV really shines with FAoff. And with something like two beams + two railguns, she's an assassination beast. (Just saying. Not that I advise anyone in the newcomers area to try it)
Otherwise I agree with Bursts/MCs setup. It's the easiest one to be successful with.

 

[Damian666]

No, weapons don't have ratings like internals do (E to A)
There is always only one weapon of given type. For example multicannons are always "F" (I think. Not in the game, now), Railguns are "B" and so on. It's an artifact from a long time ago and it IS confusing.

Weapons only have different sizes (which are properly called "Class" - to avoid confusion,cause you used "class" instead of "rating" ) Viper for example can equip two class 1 and two class 2 weapons, etc.

Thanks for the explanation, makes more sense now

 

[Rob_the_Sparky]

P.S. this may be a little advanced but...multi-cannons take very little energy from your WEP capacitor but lasers take a lot so lasers/multi-cannons make a good pairing. Use lasers to take down the shield then switch to multis. At this point the WEP cap will be low or empty but that is no real problem with multis as they draw so little from it.

 

[d8veh]

Do you know how to recognize a good advice from a bad one?
Good advice will tell you how to do what you want to do.

.. but surely he already knows how to go to a station, buy a ship and fit it out because he's already done that?

Bad advice will try to tell you what to do.

Depends who's giving the advice!

 

[Celticwrath]

Just started in this amazing game and have done a little trading and some bounty hunting and finally have enough for a new ship.
As I enjoy the bounty hunting style of game, I have decided to invest in a Viper Mk 3 which people have told me is perfect for the role of doing some bounty hunting message board missions but I am unsure on what weapon load out would be most effective?

I have scowered the internet there seems to be several differing opinions on the 'ideal' loadout and mostly is down to the players personal traits...

Things they have recommended...
1, All cannons - to maximise damage
2, All burst lasers - Seems best bang for buck
3, A mixture of pulse lasers and multi cannons - for shields then hull

As a newbie, all advice appreciated [yesnod]

Thank you Chris, great advice