Newcomer / Intro What did you do first after the sidewinder and why

[Alzibar]

I spent quite a while in my old Sidey
I found it a great little all-rounder.
When I did move up, I went HAULER > EAGLE > VIPER > COBRA. Still have them all in storage, apart from the Sidewinder.
I'm currently making a few mill every week doing rare routes in the Cobra outfitted for trading but in some ways I miss my SW...

 

[Iskariot]

I will probably never be a trade mogul because I don't see a point to having millions of credits or an expensive ship that makes you invincible.

Expensive ships do not make you invincible. A good Viper pilot can take out the currently most expensive ship in ED: the Anaconda.
The only reason I am in an expensive upgraded Clipper myself is that I can combine worthwhile large(r) volume trading with bounty hunting that way. But I would be very hesitant to take it into a fight against a proficient PC Viper pilot. Even when I would prevail the repair costs might be horrendous.

 

[carlisle]

On a side note, the fact that there are so many legitimately different ways to progress through the early part of the game is a real feather in ED's cap.

Yeah, although I complain a bit that the Cobra is something of a bottleneck for most pilots, with no real alternatives for it's size, function and price, this is a lot better than most games that give you choice, but very quickly some players have worked out a 'you'd be stupid not to' build that is objectively better than every other build.

 

[vmk]

I was going to switch from Sidewinder to Adder, but I decided to buy Eagle first. I like to upgrade gear, and most of the gear of Eagle and Adder are of the same class. This means that when you sell Eagle and buy Adder, you don't have to spend much extra for gear.

In default configuration Eagle has less cargo room than Sidewinder, but the cargo rack can be easily upgraded to match Sidewinder, and after that it is just like a very quick and well armed Sidewinder.

 

[jpaulwilson1982]

I started with a Sidewinder and a free Eagle, but I immediately went from my Sidewinder to the Eagle. I played with it for a while without many upgrades (mostly exploring, then bounty hunting). After playing a mix of exploration and bounty hunting, I had enough cash to buy a Viper or a Cobra with insurance left over, so I bought the Cobra right away. I continued playing mixed jobs, but wasn't making enough cash to really upgrade my Cobra as fast as I wanted. So, I bought a T-6 when I could, got as much cargo space as I could, and traded a couple of days. On day three I was satisfied with my profits, sold the T-6, and tricked out my Cobra, bought a Viper, and upgraded it, as well.

At the moment, I take the Viper into combat zones and use the Cobra for exploration and bounty hunting. I'm not very wealthy, but I got enough credits to take care of deaths and repairs. I do want the Federation Corvette but I'm not in a big hurry. I'll get it when I get it. Just enjoying myself.