I’ve found a nice rare trade route now that’s netting me around 800k per round trip, including cartographic data. Takes a couple of hours to run it one way, exploring en route with the detailed surface scanner, and in Open Play makes it a lot more exciting! Every hollow blip on the scanner is a potential pirate to me, so I’ll either flee or drop to normal space and power down to hide. Got interdicted by an npc firing purple bolts of energy earlier, each hit knocked about 1/3 off my shields. Not sure what the hell kind of a weapon that is, but I didn’t hang around to find out.
Of course to keep cartographic data collection viable, I have to find different paths, although that’s not exactly difficult even between known points. Came across a player in a Type 6, he fled as soon as he saw me, guess he thought I was probably a pirate. I wouldn’t blame him.
I’m done doing rare runs, and want to dump my hauler and either explore, mine, or dip my toe into bounty hunting. I have about 350K in my wallet.
Suggestions for a new ship? I can afford an Adder, Viper or (barely) a Cobra. Are either of the first two suitable for any of those activities?
conVurt
3643
Without a doubt, get a cobra ASAP. It’s a very versatile ship.
You might want to get started on a Viper first. 350k is very viable for a basic kitted out Viper. The Cobra may be a more versatile ship but you don’t really want a barebones Cobra.
If you only have $350k and want to explore or mine then the Adder is a good choice. I don’t think you can afford the extra needed gear after purchasing a Cobra. never owned a Viper so I can’t comment on that one.
The only part about the Adder I’m currently not liking as I’m exploring is the limited Cockpit view. In the Sidewinder it was a lot easier to look up through the ceiling of the cockpit for moving points of light. In the Adder, the ceiling is mostly closed off except for a tiny moonroof. Stupid Moonroof.
I had about the same amount of money btw. And I went with the Adder. Once I upgraded all the components to be about the same or slightly better than the Sidewinder, I had no money left. With more slots comes a greater cost.
Thanks for all the advice! … though I’m still conflicted. I’m thinking now I’ll outfit the Hauler to do some mining and make some more cash that way, then upgrade directly to a Cobra when I’m > 550K.
By the way… found these charts, which seem pretty helpful, on another forum:
Charts
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I don’t think you can make a bad choice as long as you love your ship! Personally I loved moving from my Sidewinder to my Hauler ($20k two-way per trip, can’t argue with that!) to my Viper. According to the forums I perused intensively before making my decision, the Viper is the better combat ship, and honestly I got tired of hauling Tea and Marine Equipment between two in-system stations. Now I’m just face-melting Cobras and Eagles instead.
edit: I’m not really sure whether $550k is enough for a basic Cobra fitout, because you’re going to be kitting out Class 3 and 4 internals. Someone else may be able to advise you.
All those conflict zones are more than 100 LY away from me. Should I venture in that direction in my little Sidewinder?
Thanks for the charts!
Yeah I think you made a good choice. As Destarius noted, i don’t think you can make a bad one.
When you finally to get a Cobra though, you definitely get the “oh wow, this is a step UP” feeling. Its a beautiful ship.
conVurt
3651
No idea. The ones in George Pantazis are gone as of an hour or so ago, but some have opened up in AZ Cancri, so it seems like they’re moving around. Actually, where are you? I can move pretty quickly and even though I’m playing a solo game, I can check some systems in your neck of the woods if you like.
Thrag
3652
With that amount of cash if you want to hunt, get an eagle and outfit out it well.
The eagle doesn’t get the love it deserves. It’s a fantastic ship. Wonderfully manuverable, excellent field of view, and reasonably priced. It is fragile, but once you get the hang of flying it the enemy should rarely be able to bring their guns to bear.
Holy shit, Tionisla is where it’s freaking at. Two very active and lucrative RESs (got 200k in about 30 minutes) along with two conflict zones and two checkpoints (whatever those are). VERY busy and volatile system, so lots of good hunting here.
Thrag
3654
I have been doing well in the region around LHS 3505. It’s a fed system that is high tech so the outfitters have good stuff. There are extraction sites to hunt in right outside the main station. It’s right next to an empire system (Laiedas?) and two major independent systems (Furbade and 31 Aquille). The proximity of fed and empire systems makes for maximum bounty opportunities.
Oh I’m right near the starting areas, LHS 3447.
I think I need to move on because I’m pretty bored. Do some Resource Extraction locations have fewer security forces by chance? In the few I’ve tried, we just ganged up on all the Cobras that spawned. Whether I got the bounty seemed kind of random. Maybe I should buy an interdictor and try that for a while.
JMR
3656
What exactly are the checkpoints?
No idea, gonna check those out next.
conVurt
3658
Neto has a couple of low intensity zones, currently, and it’s less than 25 ly from LHS 3447.
Hopped through about a dozen Fed systems nearby, Neto is the only one I found. Dunno if the conflict there is spinning up or spinning down.
How do you find out where these zones are opening up?
conVurt
3660
I was just passing through various sectors and looking at what was listed under the Navigation tab. Unfortunately I don’t know of any other/better way to find them, which is why I figured I’d post any conflict zones I saw for anyone here who’s interested.
