Why choose the Diamondback Explorer over the Asp Explorer

CoreHaven

CoreHaven
I can't say that I can tell you that. The Asp Explorer is superior in almost every way. Sometimes I think I'd rather fight in an Diamondback though. It's smaller and more maneuverable.
But for anything else at all? Asp Explorer. I have 2 asp explorers and 2 diamondback explorers btw. lol. Used them for different jobs in the past.

For planetary base assault it's my Diamondback X . Every time. For flying a combat ship I don't mind loosing it's the same. It's a cheap ship and I don't mind it going pop. And I like it for combat.
I would not use my Asps for these kinds of jobs. I use an Asp for exploration. I built another for smuggling. Both work extremely well in those regards.

So? Depends on the job. ;)
 
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ShadowWolf Kell

ShadowWolf Kell
FalconFly said:
I fly both and for me it's basically the different Cockpit view, while still having a high JumpRange similar to the AspX.

Other than that, the AspX has its Internals going for it. So if Cargo Rack and/or AFMU shall be onboard, then the DBX can't compete.
And I kinda like the bigger Fuel Scoops, the Class 4 Scoop on the DBX works just fine but at times I wouldn't mind a Class 5 one.
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Kind of hard to give up a C6 fuel scoop, dual AFMUs, an SRV bay, and comparable speed to a DBX with the smallest thrusters you can fit on an AspX. Runs very cool modded too. I'm down to 16% heat on mine.

I've always viewed the DBX as the "special snowflake" of the ED ships.
 

Devari

D
ShadowWolf Kell said:
Kind of hard to give up a C6 fuel scoop, dual AFMUs, an SRV bay, and comparable speed to a DBX with the smallest thrusters you can fit on an AspX. Runs very cool modded too. I'm down to 16% heat on mine.

I've always viewed the DBX as the "special snowflake" of the ED ships.
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In a straight-up comparison for long-range exploration, the Diamondback Explorer can't really compete with the Asp directly, but it's one of only two ships that I find is ideal for fast mission running, the other being the Viper IV. You could also argue that the Diamondback series has a niche role for stealth builds (either for combat or smuggling) although I'm finding that due to it's excellent agility and speed the Diamondback Scout is better suited for a stealth build than the Explorer despite the very limited internals as you really need to be fast and agile to get the most out of a stealth build.

Part of the difficulty here is that having "Explorer" in the name suddenly makes some players think it should be able to compete effectively with the Asp which it really doesn't accomplish, but it does have a niche that makes it rather useful when operating within the bubble.
 

Mercury Shift

Mercury Shift
Most of my reasons that I choose to fly a DBX as an explorer over an AspX have been listed here already, but I have another couple that I did not notice anyone else mention:

1. Handling was mentioned in favor of the DBX, but no one mentioned the DB's lack of the Asp's drift. It didn't stop on a dime like a Vulture, but the DBX didn't have the Asp's tendency to continue on to Sol when you tell it to stop at Lave.
2. Maybe I am crazy and this isn't really a thing, but it felt like both DB's handle better ... in supercruise. I overshot way less, and if I did, I would manage to save it more frequently than I ever did with an Asp. But I could still be crazy.

Those two things on top of most everything else that everyone else said.
 
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goemon

goemon
Mercury Shift said:
1. Handling was mentioned in favor of the DBX, but no one mentioned the DB's lack of the Asp's drift. It didn't stop on a dime like a Vulture, but the DBX didn't have the Asp's tendency to continue on to Sol when you tell it to stop at Lave.
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oh yes! i tend to forget how i shouted "stop! stop!", when i still used my AspE for rare trading ... also the AspE has one of the worst yaws.

looking to the numbers here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182465 ... basiclly the AspE looses in acceleration, decelleration, speed-pips etc.ratio always between 15% and 30%. it just rolls better.

so if you like to roll, take an AspE.
 

Mercury Shift

Mercury Shift
goemon said:
oh yes! i tend to forget how i shouted "stop! stop!", when i still used my AspE for rare trading ... also the AspE has one of the worst yaws.

looking to the numbers here: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182465 ... basiclly the AspE looses in acceleration, decelleration, speed-pips etc.ratio always between 15% and 30%. it just rolls better.

so if you like to roll, take an AspE.
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Damn, I forgot about the speed pip thing too. The Asp is just terrible with that. Such a massive scale for the speed at different pip settings whereas the DBX has a much narrower window.

Both DB's really impressed me. Very well balanced additions, not over powered, didn't replace any other ship in full, just added true variety. I just wished they were maybe injected into the mid to late game ships instead of early to mid.
 

Devari

D
Mercury Shift said:
Both DB's really impressed me. Very well balanced additions, not over powered, didn't replace any other ship in full, just added true variety. I just wished they were maybe injected into the mid to late game ships instead of early to mid.
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I've recently been putting together some stealth builds with a Diamondback Scout, Viper IV and FDL and I've been quite impressed with the niche the Diamondback Scout fills in the stealth role. Usually I wouldn't consider a ship with only 4 internal slots for any serious use but the speed and agility of the Scout combined with the heat management is a fun combination to fly, plus the clustered hardpoint placement in the nose with excellent fields of fire also does a good job of maximizing the effectiveness of the ship's firepower.
 

Ozram

Ozram
I use my DBE for fast travel in or near the bubble. It can do rares, has over 40 LY jump and lands on anything. Rebuy is way smaller than AspE and it's 100% capable of all the things I use it for. I also have a golden Asp just waiting for the day I go out into the black.
Another benefit to the DBE, and this one the Asp simply cannot do, is if I want to engineer a single large weapon. It can carry it in the large hardpoint and will help gather all nessessary items far more efficiently than a large ship. If it's a single large hardpoint I'm focusing on with an engineer, the DBE will be my choice every time.
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goemon

goemon
... and to add ... since FDEV introduced ship-depending NPC spawns, the spawns are much more interesting and have a bigger variety in a DBE. Asp is a bit samey pirate everytime.
 

NecasekO

N
Also, how do Asp pilots deal with the 2 bright blue lights inside the cockpit? I used an Asp recently for a passenger sightseeing mission and found them quite distracting.
 

Wylie28

W
Because it is cheaper... Ships in Elite aren't all balanced equally. That would be stupid its not a competitive game. They are instead tiered.
 

Bryan K

Bryan K
I own both ships, but I always felt that the DBX just had more personality than the Asp. The flight model for the Asp is terrible, it drifts like a barge and has no excitement to it, even with dirty drive tuning. The DBX just feels nicer to fly, and the cockpit isn't some sterile bubble with a desk. It's also more compact and has a smaller hitbox than the Asp, making it more viable in combat (for me, anyway). It's also WAY better at heat management. Sure, it's slow and makes an odd clunking sound as it accelerates, but I still prefer it. It's like comparing an Alfa Romeo to an Audi. Sure, the Audi is more reliable and holds its value better, but I'd rather have the Alfa.
 

JuicerPrime

JuicerPrime
NecasekO said:
Also, how do Asp pilots deal with the 2 bright blue lights inside the cockpit? I used an Asp recently for a passenger sightseeing mission and found them quite distracting.
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They don't. They are always there, shining light into your eyes, day in, day out, until you finally snap. @.o
 

Mengy

Mengy
Steve_T said:
I know it's controversial as there's a lot of love for the DBX, but other than the price difference, why would anyone choose it in favour of the AspX?

I've never owned a DBX, but on paper the AspX seems to beat it on most stats.

Sell me.
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I can't sell you on the DBX, as it's a far worse ship than the Asp Explorer. I've tried to love it, but I sold mine back and will never fly one again.

DBX Pros:

- looks better than the Asp (subjective, but it does to me)
- I personally like the cockpit better (again, subjective)
- costs less than the Asp

DBX Cons:

- doesn't have enough internals for proper exploration, can't fit both an SRV and an AFMU, one or the other
- the fuel scoop is one size smaller than the FSD making it the slowest scooping ship in the game, taking three times longer to fuel up compared to the Asp!


Those two cons are HUGE and simply deal breakers for me. IMHO, the DBX is a terrible ship and I wish Frontier would just help it out some to give it a place and a purpose other than "stepping stone".

These are my opinions of course, others fly the ship happily and I salute them, but I just can't. I wish I could. I wish I could just make my Asp look like the DBX, LOL!
 
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Spacecat

Spacecat
DBX is kinda limited. Even for exploration, you can't have shields, ADS, , and FMU, fuel scoop, and SRV bay at once. You have to drop one thing (I recommend FMU). I mainly use mine to fly to systems to buy commodities for engineering other ships because of its great jump range.
 
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