SHIPS: Advice - Which Ship To Buy After The Sidewinder - #00031
A multi role is a multi role is a multi role
Anonymous
One of the most often asked questions by newbies at an early stage is about the best successor to their Sidewinder.
Before providing ship type information and some general features of potential 'next step' ships, there should be some praise for the Sidewinder:
This little ship has far more potential than most newbies think it has. There is a reason why even highest ranked (and filthy rich) CMDRs still use a Sidewinder for certain tasks.
Your Sidewinder is agile, it's cheap and it's a lot of fun if equipped wisely. Do not aim for the next ship to compensate for your lack of experience and skills. Go for a bigger ship out of demand like more cargo, more jump range, more offensive or defensive powers.
I want a new ship. Stop talking and tell me what to buy!
No answer on that kind of question, sorry. It all depends on what you wish to do.
I can give you a rough overview of the least expensive ships and what you can expect them to be capable of. Read on.
HAULER
Basically a bloated, ugly, slow and absolutely unattractive version of the Sidewinder. It is cheap as hell, not only in terms of money needed but also in look and feel.
The Hauler is not a wise choice if you want a 'better' Sidewinder as it doesn't carry that much more cargo and its survival rate in combat is even worse.
It is a great choice if you need the most jump range for money invested. You can build a decent exploration Hauler for 500-700.000 credits. This Hauler can rake in 6-10+ million credits per hour in forced exploration!
(Consult the Forced Exploration - Road to Riches pages of ed-howto.com)
- Weak in defense, offense, handling, speed, look & feel, prestige.
- Bearable in amount of cargo.
- Strong in jump range and overall cost.
Adder
A seriously underrated ship. Some CMDRs even went to combat ELITE rank in this ship.
The Adder's problem is not that it has any serious weaknesses. Its problem is the existence of the Cobra Mk III which - for not that much more money - not only delivers 10-30 percent better performance in everything, it has one serious advantage: Its inside doesn't look like a baby vomit proof minivan.
It's a fine ship if you don't have the money for a Cobra Mk III with decent options as a well outfitted Adder is a way better ship than a standard - low budget - Cobra Mk III. It just doesn't look nice. Its cockpit doesn't have a cinemascope view, it's a bit slower, it sounds... like a minivan. If you wish to have fun or in case you wish to be proud of your ship, save a little more and get a Cobra Mk III.
If you need a tool that does the job, go for the Adder.
- Weak in looks, interior.
- Bearable in about everything. Minivan. Remember?
- Strong in ship-per-money-spent and for being a quite rare sight these days.
... read more on page 2