What ship do you use for exploration/exobiology?

HevKenzieHarris

H
I'm just curious as to what other people use, when I first started exploration I saw a lot of posts recommending X ship with whatever parts or Y ship with whatever parts

I've currently got a Dolphin with A-rated parts (where applicable, and including a 5A fuel scoop) and zero engineering or Guardian modules which gets me a tiny bit over 41LY max jump range, runs at 18c when not charging for system jumps and can land on all but the spikiest of terrain

Frankly I can't see myself ever getting something better, but I'd like to know what other people use and why
 

Aashenfox

Aashenfox
Mandalay, cos it's the best ship for exploration and exobiology. :) I don't do exobiology much to be fair but when I just want to go somewhere quickly and do something, it's the mandy every time. Great ship, can even still do 45ly in combat fit. Comfortable 50 if you don't plan on doing any fighting.
 

Felix DiCestria

Felix DiCestria
These days it's mandalay unless I'm including Fungoida in the Inner Orion Spur, in which case the Cobra V is better at it.
Before SCO it was different with the AspX, 'Conda and DBX all well regarded, then came the Phantom though shortly before the SCO I started using a T6 on the reccomendation of Cmdr Varonica.
 

Jaffz

Jaffz
ASP, I can't bothered engineering any of the new ships, this one took long enough

The Mandalay is fugly
 

KhaosDoctor

KhaosDoctor
Felix DiCestria said:
These days it's mandalay unless I'm including Fungoida in the Inner Orion Spur, in which case the Cobra V is better at it.
Before SCO it was different with the AspX, 'Conda and DBX all well regarded, then came the Phantom though shortly before the SCO I started using a T6 on the reccomendation of Cmdr Varonica.
Click to expand...
Why is that?
 

b-rad2

B
I went to Colonia in an unengineered Dolphin, it was great. I upgraded to a Mandalay only for the SCO tuning, it's just so much better when you need to go 250k light seconds
 

Helmut Grokenberger

Helmut Grokenberger
I started exploration way back in my early CMDR career with a Krait Phantom. Later I kind of fell for the trap and used an Anaconda, but I got really bored of it, as it is a chore to fly in SC and annoying to land on anything other than a flat plane, and I hated seeing it everytime I returned to it with the SRV or on foot.

For a long time I then had two exploration ships; one Beluga with all the toys you can think of, which was also a hoot to fly, more so for it's size. I did a lot of Stargoid chasing in it, so not really exploration. But it was built and planned as an explorer.

Most of what little exbiology I did was in the exploration ship I loved the most: The Dolphin. It was great and fast to travel with because of the ability to scoop and charge even with a G5 OC plant, I loved the way it handles both in SC and normal space, and it can land on a stamp. And it makes cute sounds, and the canopy in VR is awesome. I got it to a respectable 60 ly while having good armor and shields, so it traveled very well too.

I did my last big kind of "exploration" in it doing the Project Dynasty tour and finishing wih visiting the Zurara. That was the last time I left the bubble, really.

I have built a 72 ly exploration Mandalay just to own one, but I haven't used it yet. I don't really have the time and stamina anymore to go out in the black.
 

aRJay

aRJay
I started properly exploring using a Phantom but as I like exobiology I switched to something much smaller so most of my exploration has been done with a Hauler.

I tried the Mandalay which I find splendid for exploring but the bottom of it is too far below my eye-line for comfortable low level flight for me so it has been semi retired and is now a combat test bed.

When I next go exploring I will be using a Cobra mk5 which I find much nicer at low level.
 

Brieus

Brieus
HevKenzieHarris said:
I'm just curious as to what other people use, when I first started exploration I saw a lot of posts recommending X ship with whatever parts or Y ship with whatever parts

I've currently got a Dolphin with A-rated parts (where applicable, and including a 5A fuel scoop) and zero engineering or Guardian modules which gets me a tiny bit over 41LY max jump range, runs at 18c when not charging for system jumps and can land on all but the spikiest of terrain

Frankly I can't see myself ever getting something better, but I'd like to know what other people use and why
Click to expand...

You do know that all A-rated is not necessarily the best for jump range, right? A lot of things benefit from being D-rated or A-rated 1 size smaller. The Mandalay I use has an 80ly jump range using the Titan SCO drive and a size 5 Guardian FSD booster.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone

The Mandalay is good because the landing gear is fairly close together for a ship of its size, and it stands tall enough that you can drive in from almost any angle with your SRV.
 

Stealthie

Stealthie
For exploration, I'm afraid I still use an Annie.
When I'm out in the black, I don't really care about agility or the ability to SCO around a system and, frankly, jumping into my tinfoil Annie is like putting on a comfy old pair of shoes.

Haven't really done a lot of exobiology (yet) but I've built a Keelback specifically for the job.
Took it out for a quick (2000Ly) shakedown and it performed exactly as intended.
Main feature is an SLF bay so I can search for stuff easily, before landing my ship and scanning stuffz.
I'm sure I don't really need to do that. Pretty sure a CM5 could have similar jump range and has good enough speed, agility and cockpit view to render the use of an SLF unnecessary but I like flying the Keelback so it's nice to have a use for one.
 

HevKenzieHarris

H
Brieus said:
You do know that all A-rated is not necessarily the best for jump range, right? A lot of things benefit from being D-rated or A-rated 1 size smaller. The Mandalay I use has an 80ly jump range using the Titan SCO drive and a size 5 Guardian FSD booster.

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone

The Mandalay is good because the landing gear is fairly close together for a ship of its size, and it stands tall enough that you can drive in from almost any angle with your SRV.
Click to expand...
I'm not particularly interested in utilising an huge jump range, now that I'm several k LY from Sag A I'm only jumping a max of 2.5LY every time while exploring

Also I don't have an interest in anything engineered or built from Guardian/Titan parts
 

Felix DiCestria

Felix DiCestria
KhaosDoctor said:
Why is that?
Click to expand...
Which part? The AspX, DBX and 'Conda were the best for jump range early in the game.
The Phantom released later but could match the previous three and wasn't as cramped for internals as the DBX or AspX.
The T6 was surprise, good jump range, good view for landing and small footprint for landing.
Obviously they all got retired to the back of the hanger with the Mandalay release.
T6 Explorer.jpg
 
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CMDR Lefty Jackson

CMDR Lefty Jackson

"What ship do you use for exploration/exobiology?"​


One word...Mandalay.

I can't wait to see the ship that is better. The Mandalay has been awesome. And now that I have it "fully" engineered, I have only one thing that I find can be an issue; it's the wings on landing. You really got to watch your wingtips when landing on Rocky bodies. Other than that small detail, the ship, I think, is the best out there for exploration and exobiology. You can carry everything you need for any length trip and still have longer range jump.

My main ship is an explore/bio ship, with a jump range of 85Ly unladen, so I'm still able to jump up to about 82Ly. Its jump range is about the best you can get. Mine could be extended with an extremely light build, but only about 5Ly more than what I have now. It requires some sacrifices that don't suit my preferences, so I'm very happy with what I have built.

Heres my build...ES Towodi

You really cannot appreciate jump range until you need it.

Exploring and hunting for biology can be done in many ways, so it's preference. If you just idle along stopping every 20-30Ly, then long range isn't needed but I have the range if I want it. Most other ships out there don't have that range, whether they want it or not! You really need to get out beyond at least 2kLy from the Bubble to even begin a trip. I cannot imagine doing those first jumps 40Ly or less at a time!

The other big factor is HEAT. The Mandalay runs cold as ice! This ship just doesn't get very hot. In SC overcharge, the hottest it gets for me is about 57% when making Ls runs for 40KLs. I let off the gas at about 40-50 cause I feel guilty stressing the ship like that. It just seems...wrong. Amazing.

Buying the Mandalay is cheap, so I bought two! Take the time to engineer it for the task you want. Enjoy.
 

CMDR Lefty Jackson

CMDR Lefty Jackson
Brieus said:
You do know that all A-rated is not necessarily the best for jump range, right? A lot of things benefit from being D-rated or A-rated 1 size smaller. The Mandalay I use has an 80ly jump range using the Titan SCO drive and a size 5 Guardian FSD booster.
Click to expand...

Indeed. It's about weight when it comes to range. Class A is much heavier than Class D, thus reduced range. Efficiency means need, not want. You need Class D for longer jump range.

And yes, downscalling modules is part of it. Several of my module slots are scaled down one grade.

And yep, for long range, the Titan FSD (SCO) and the 5H Guardian FSD Booster is basically a must.
 
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